The Prime Minister partied while clergy lamented
"Could the Minister advise those of us on these benches," ventured Nick Baines, Bishop of Leeds, "how we should respond to clergy who took an enormous personal toll in having…
Coronavirus
The dutiful Queen
The image of Her Majesty the Queen seated alone at the funeral of her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, was one of the most arresting and abiding images of 2021. Those who saw it originally remember it well, but for…
The Church cannot indefinitely sidestep its self-inflicted Covid damage
There was an excellent letter to the Church Times just before Christmas from the Archdeacon of Hastings, the Rev'd Dr Edward Dowler. It was subtitled 'Deeper questions that Covid measures…
Rev’d Will Pearson-Gee: “I am not going to close our services”
As 2021 draws to a close, with Covid mutations multiplying, millions isolating, thousands dying, gas prices soaring, inflation pressing, poverty increasing, Putin and Xi agitating, and the Church of England…
You can’t be compelled to love your neighbour
The Archbishop of Canterbury was interviewed on Times Radio by John Pienaar, who asked: "Is it the moral thing to do, Archbishop, getting your vaccination?" "Yes," the Archbishop replied, succinctly.…
The Downing Street party and the spirit of the law
Perhaps a gathering of a dozen or so people with cheese and wine doesn't constitute a party. Perhaps a gathering of a couple of dozen people at a place of…
Durham Cathedral demands Covid passports for Christmas worship
Durham Cathedral is dividing its flock into sheep and goats for Christmas. The Dean is setting the Covid-vaccinated sheep on his right hand, but the goats who lack an NHS…
Should you need a Covid vaccination certificate to attend church?
It was a question posed by the Rt Rev'd Peter Carrell, Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. Seeking the corporate wisdom and discernment…
Flood, fire, famine and pestilence: the end is nigh (maybe)
Wildfires blaze across the western states: California and Oregon burn day and night. Death Valley hit a blistering 54.4°C, which might be the highest recorded ambient temperature on Earth. Across…
Why does the Government still not allow hymn-singing in Church?
"My Lords, regardless of matters of hindsight, does the Minister agree that prolonging the restrictions might be justified for certain reasons?" asked the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Rev'd Nick…
When the police enter a church, storm the altar and shut down worship, a line has been crossed
How hard is it to remain socially-distanced in a large church building? How hard is it to sit in pews in 'support bubbles' and leave enough space in front and…
Nicola Sturgeon broke the law in banning Christians from church
Thank God for Christian Concern, the Christian Legal Centre, and the intrepid Andrea Minichiello Williams. No-one else seemed to care about the SNP's ban on church worship – at least…
Michael Gove: “The Church has.. a critical, central and important role in building back better”
It seems somewhat counterintuitive, in an age of increasing secularity, and with an incessant stream of triumphant tweets from the National Secular Society, that the world's perception of the Church…
Curate says clapping Captain Tom is “a cult of White British Nationalism”
The Rev'd Jarel Robinson-Brown is a curate in London. He sets out his biography (and presumably mission priorities ["Black Prophetic Fire"]) on his Twitter account: "Human | Cleric | Writer…
Welby slams EU’s anti-Christian action in implementing Article 16
Yesterday the EU unilaterally implemented Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol in order to prevent Covid vaccines leaving the EU for the UK. They did this because the UK…
Archbishops call the nation to prayer as Covid deaths reach 100,000
As the number of deaths caused by Covid-19 passes 100,000, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written an Epistle to the Nation calling everyone to prayer. And if you…
Lockdown UK: only in Scotland is public worship prohibited (except for the rich)
Epiphany 2021. The Wise Men have arrived in the guise of SAGE – the wisest of the wise. If we follow the star of science and heed their advice, coronavirus…
Freedom revisited: perhaps we need a new revelation
"If Boris Johnson has a political philosophy it is that he will not restrict our liberties unless there is an overwhelming reason to do so", tweeted BBC's Robert Peston after…
2021: a new year of change and the promise of hope
As seasons go, 2020 was a year to cast away. It was a time die, a time to break down, a time to weep and a time to mourn. Its…
Holy Innocents: why are we putting 12-year-olds in solitary confinement for 23½ hours a day?
Herod then with fear was filled: "A prince," he said, "in Jewry!" And all the little boys he killed At Bethl'hem in his fury. Childermas – the Feast of the…