Hope

Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury sermon on the crown funeral queen westminister abbey

The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Sermon on the Crown

September 20, 2022
Archbishop Cranmer
0 Comments

The funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was always going to be a major televised event, and whoever preached the sermon at Westminster Abbey was always going to be gifted with the most awesome mission – quite literally –…

maundy thursday foot washing dean christ church bishop oxford martyn percy steven croft

Maundy Thursday: there needs to be some foot-washing in Oxford

April 14, 2022
0 Comments

You can't spread hope without truth, and you can't possess truth without humility, transcendence, and reconciliation in the heart. There is an earthly concept of justice which affords a proximate…

RIP Desmond Tutu – prophet, priest and archbishop to the world

December 26, 2021
0 Comments

Desmond Tutu was known throughout the world as a man of peace and passion; of faith and politics; of moral conscience and fiery wit. He was honoured and lauded on…

Queen reminds General Synod of its essential mission

November 17, 2021
0 Comments

The 11th General Synod of the Church of England was opened yesterday, and the Supreme Governor was absent for the first time since Synod was created more than 50 years…

New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference euthanasia assisted dying

Euthanasia: New Zealand Catholic Bishops make priests complicit

November 7, 2021
0 Comments

Euthanasia (/Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide) is now legal in New Zealand. If you want to die there today, there is now someone to help you along your way with all the…

Little Amal puppet Westminster Cathedral

Little Amal blesses Cardinal Nichols in Westminster Cathedral

October 28, 2021
0 Comments

What's this about? Little Amal is a very big puppet, making the journey from Gaziantep near the Turkey-Syria border to Manchester, where "she will shine an urgent light on the…

three lions gareth southgate harry kane hug

Three Lions — a Psalm of England

July 11, 2021
0 Comments

Three Lions — a Psalm of England It's coming home It's coming home It's coming Football's coming home (we'll go getting bad results) It's coming home It's coming home It's…

2021: a new year of change and the promise of hope

December 31, 2020
0 Comments

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…

Revealed, reclaimed, restored

March 22, 2020
0 Comments

This is the fifth contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. The author has a 30-year itinerant preaching and teaching ministry. He leads a large public…

heath eec boris withdrawal agreement sign brexit day

Brexit Day – at last, a wide and liberal global future

January 31, 2020
0 Comments

When the majority of UK voters determined to leave the European Union on 23rd June 2016, it was met with much relief and rejoicing by many millions of people: The…

Brexit postponed (again): tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope

October 20, 2019
0 Comments

It is tempting to move to the rivers of Babylon, sit down and weep. Boris Johnson said he would rather "be dead in a ditch" than request another extension to…

CofE brexit prayer together peoples vote

Bemused by Brexit? Come to church for tea and prayer – unless your vicar is a Remainer

March 25, 2019
0 Comments

At this moment of national crisis and international humiliation (which it is), the Church of England is encouraging people to come to church to be 'Together' for a cup of…

Pessimism, realism and confusion: Ecclesiastes shines a light on Brexit

March 18, 2019
0 Comments

Theresa May has said that a vote for her Withdrawal Agreement (aka 'deal') would be an act of patriotism. Writing in the Telegraph she exhorts all MPs, whether they voted…

Project apocalypse: Welby calls the nation to prayer over Brexit

February 27, 2019
0 Comments

In his 'State of the Nation' address to the General Synod of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury is calling the nation to prayer because "social divisions feel…

Charles, Defender of the Faithful persecuted for Jesus’ sake

December 5, 2018
0 Comments

Yesterday, from the pulpit of Westminster Abbey, the Prince of Wales made a plea for peace; and not only peace, but for reconciliation. And not only did he make a…

sentamu brexit withdrawal agreement deal

Sentamu: ‘pure’ (‘real’/ ‘hard’) Brexit is “a childish dream”

December 3, 2018
0 Comments

On the BBC's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, the Archbishop of Canterbury was asked about the disparity (/gulf) between the laity and clergy in the Church of England regarding the…

No, Ruth Davidson: the burqa is a world away from a crucifix

August 10, 2018
0 Comments

Scottish Tory Leader Ruth Davidson is of the view that a Muslim wearing a burqa is no different from a Christian who wears a crucifix. She said: "If you use…

nick baines bishop eu speech british hopelessness

Bishop Nick Baines derides Brexit British hopelessness

July 25, 2018
0 Comments

There's a lot of anxiety about. The torch which once lit our path is being extinguished. Our institutions and communities are beset with moral problems, dilemmas and quandaries. Our politics…

Synod and the Nuclear Ban Treaty: the CofE would rather have sent Britons to Treblinka than annihilate Germany

July 17, 2018
0 Comments

The Church of England’s General Synod had to talk about something, I guess. It couldn’t talk about the pressing problems of the CofE lest it cause its nascent civil war…

Iftar in the Cathedral is exactly what the Queen (and Jesus) would want

June 11, 2018
0 Comments

If it had been called 'Tea & Chapatis' no-one would have batted an eyelid. But the meal had an upper-case Islamic name – Iftar – and it involved Arabic food:…