Vicar on Tory victory: “..the world just got harder & colder”
The Rev'd Caroline Beckett is the vicar at All Saints Church & St James Church in Brightlingsea, Essex. She serves her flock diligently and is clearly dedicated to mission. "Everyone…
Poverty
Child sponsorship: giving children the power to choose their sponsor is nearer the kingdom of heaven
"It's a new thing a missionary priest started last term. You send five bob to some nuns in Africa and they christen a baby and name her after you. I've got six black Cordelias already. Isn't it lovely?" Evelyn Waugh…
Man shall not live by broadband alone
Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party has pledged to deliver free fibre broadband to every home and business in the country by 2030. "What was once a luxury is now an essential…
Legal Aid: why is the Government riding roughshod over the rights of the poor?
It is a well established part of the life of General Synod that the clergy and laity can submit motions for debate to the Business Committee. Synod time is both…
A ‘climate emergency’ demands a Green manifesto more useful that Joanna Southcott’s box
Former US President George W Bush revealed in his book Decision Points that he often broke the conversational ice with visiting heads of state by asking the question: 'What keeps…
Brexit and the ‘moral failure’ of ‘no deal’
In his speech to the House of Lords last week on Brexit, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke eloquently about the moral responsibility that comes with parliamentary sovereignty, and of the…
Channel migrants: the greatest kindness we can show is to send them straight back to France
The Bishop of Dover the Rt Rev'd Trevor Willmott has called for a kind and compassionate response to the Channel migrants – those from Iran or Iraq who are desperately…
Four-day week: mandatory indolence or an interfaith ‘sacred weekend’?
When Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell mooted imposing a four-day week on the British economy (that is, a four-day working week; Labour has no plans to re-calibrate or 'modernise' the solar…
Would bishops ‘especially’ welcome the Conservative Party Conference to their diocese?
The Bishop of Liverpool Paul Bayes exhorted his Twitter followers to pray for the party conference season, but he reserved an especial welcome for the Labour Party, whose conference is…
The G7 Summit: a Renaissance oil painting of the sacred and profane
The G7 Summit brings together the mighty economies of the USA, Canada, the UK, France, Italy, Japan and Germany, which together represent 62% of global net worth. That's $280 trillion,…
‘Hatred is not needed to stamp out evil’: Martin Luther King (Jr and Snr) remembered 50 years on
Today is the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King, one of the greatest figures of 20th-century America. Inevitably there will be much discussion of his legacy…
Banning beggars and fining the homeless: why do clergy only condemn Tory-run councils?
Three women have been given a community protection warning (CPW), prohibiting them from begging outside the Hounslow Jamia Masjid & Islamic Centre. Cllr Hanif Khan said: "These individuals were specifically…
By supporting a post-Brexit customs union with the EU, Corbyn betrays the poor
Labour's post-Brexit economic policy (this week) is to join a new customs union with the EU, which would apparently retain all the benefits of the present customs union, and ensure…
Welby is right: the UK economy is “broken”, but England’s church is limping
It was an unfortunate coincidence that on the day the British Social Attitudes survey was released which announced that more than half (53%) of the British public now describe themselves…
The knives are out for Labour Leave and Socialist Brexiteers
Giles Fraser sends out a tweet: 'Poorest will gain most under Brexit, says Labour report'. And the derision poured forth: ...report by rabid Brexit supporters. As rabid a Brexiteer as…
Charlottesville: white supremacists are fundamentally anti-American and anti-Christian
Charlottesville has gone downhill a bit since The Waltons: the town where John Boy negotiated his first bank loan, Jim-Bob learned about his dead twin brother, and grandma and grandpa…
Bishop Philip North is good news for the poor – what a shame he’s sidelined
It is #GoodNewsFriday – space and time to tell of God's love, miracles, joy, hope and peace – and Bishop Philip North provides today's subject matter. Here are a few…
Grenfell Tower tragedy becomes an anti-Tory hate-fest
Perhaps only those who have lost everything can even begin to understand the trauma of the Grenfell Tower inferno. And even then, the loss that comes with abandonment or flood…
For millennials, Corbyn came as Father Christmas; May as the Wicked Witch of the West
"What do the millennials want from policy makers?" asked a group called Common Vision (CoVi) in their 'Manifesto for Millennials'. Millennials are 'young people', who appear to have (uncharacteristically) turned…
Bishop(-elect) of Sheffield: “Don’t vote Tory, or the poor will pay”
When Tom Freeman pointed out in a tweet that the tedious Tory mantra 'strong and stable leadership' fits the tune of 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', the urge to add…