Stephen Cottrell The Spectator A first for Christendom: Holy Week without church
“We are going to have to follow Jesus in his isolation”
Georges Staelens Blogue de Georges Ajourner la Pâque. Postpone the Easter.
Jonathan Jong St Mary Magdalen School of Theology On receiving communion in desire
Kevin J Moroney The Living Church On Presence, Real and Impaired
Simon Butler ViaMedia.News Do We Believe in Life After Death – A Response
Meg Munn Chair of the National Safeguarding Panel Safeguarding Adults
Janet Fife Surviving Church Surviving Creeds
Jayne Ozanne ViaMedia.News Who’s Caring for our Nation’s Spiritual Health?
I am glad Jayne is speaking up for spiritual health and the need to keep as many churches as possible open. Yes, there are practical difficulties to overcome but we must try. If supermarkets can be opened safely, surely we can open churches safely too?
Jayne, I agree very much with your views. Churches and Cathedrals are not ours, but the House of God. That man banging on the cathedral door is a judgement on our church, and all its members, top to bottom. Strange how silent the ABC has been during this was period.. I am now a retired priest aged 86, but for 25 years I was resident full time hospital chaplain. There for staff, patients and relatives at all times. Through the aids pandemic, and other virus’. But at no time was God shut out. These are the very times, as you… Read more »
Kevin J Moroney’s piece is timely on the eve of Maundy Thursday; the day of physicality, of aching even erotic intimacy: in the feet washing, the kiss of peace, the breaking of bread. And with Good Friday to come when we venerate the cross with a kiss or a touch. As the writer says, our virtual gathering is both real and impaired: “there are different measures of presence”. While I lament the impairment, these times hold the incarnation before me in new ways. Folk I meet on walks speak, the young deliver food and medicine to the old, and who… Read more »
I’m afraid I disagree with Jayne Ozanne – getting the church out of the building means that we are, in some ways, far more in touch with our parishes than we were when we were shut into the buildings. I prayed for Boris Johnson via Facebook live the other day – we’d have usually had a prayer meeting in church to which a dozen people would have turned up. It’s been shared 30 times and viewed over 700 times, many of those are people I know for a fact never come to our church. It’s made our ministry of prayer… Read more »