Transgender aged seven; puberty blockers aged 11; detrans aged 18
There is an evil here which needs to be addressed. O, some will hurl 'transphobe', others 'bigot', and still others 'homophobe' or 'hater', but it still needs to be addressed,…
Jesus
Bishop of Reading: ‘Evolution is God incarnate; the whole earth is God’s body’
The Rt Rev'd Olivia Graham, Bishop of Reading, has been reading a book. Perhaps she has been reading two or three. Her subject is Creation and Incarnation; her passion is global warming and biodiversity; her theological exposition is... interesting. Perhaps…
If the SNP’s ‘Hate’ Bill becomes law, Scots’ freedom of religion will end
The SNP's Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill is currently wending its way through the committees and procedures of the Scottish Parliament. It provides for the modernising, consolidating and…
Catholic school sacks teacher for saying Mohammed was a false prophet
There is something very odd about this. Perhaps we haven't got the whole story, so it's necessary to tread carefully. But on the face of it Joshua Sutcliffe, a Maths…
Church covers ‘offensive’ gravestone of GH Elliott, ‘The Chocolate Covered C____’
GH Elliott was a musical hall singer and dancer who died in 1962. So full of gaiety and laughter was his act that he was invited to appear in the…
Enforced Sabbatical: Rest and Be Thankful
This is the 17th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. The author wishes to be known that he is a feckless waster saved by grace.…
Sheep(dog) Sunday
Today is not liturgically designated as “Sheep Sunday”, but our lectionary readings effectively render it so, as up and down the country preachers dust off their ovine metaphors and try…
The Supper at Emmaus
Today’s Gospel reading gives me the opportunity to share with you one of my favourite paintings, that of The Supper at Emmaus, by the Italian Renaissance genius Caravaggio. It hangs…
Adam was patient zero: he passed his virus on to all of us
This is the 16th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. It comes again from the Rev’d Ian Chidlow, Curate at St Mary’s Parish Church, Cheadle. …
The mission of the Church is not ‘right ethics’
This is the 15th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. The author wishes to be known as The Snail @. He has a background in…
‘I am the resurrection and the life’
No matter how many times this day comes and goes; no matter how many years of how many decades and centuries Easter Sunday passes with a myriad of sorrows or…
Holy Saturday: the Harrowing of Hell
Each Easter, those charged with preaching sermons have the opportunity to refresh their understanding of the story. Being human, not all of us do so each and every year. Life,…
Good Friday is good enough
The crucifixion of Christ remains the event of salvation-history: it is the defining pivotal moment of creation, redemption and reconciliation. It is the nexus of the realm of eschatology, without…
Maundy Thursday: the invisible and the distant
This 13th contribution comes courtesy of Alison Bailey Castellina MA (Oxon), who founded the forerunner of The Tymes Trust national charity for children with ME, and led the national Christian…
Nobody claps for Jesus
This is the 12th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. It comes from Mike Stallard, who has been in education all his life, and is…
A nation unites to pray for Boris Johnson (well, almost)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been stricken with coronavirus and now lies in intensive care in St Thomas' Hospital, London. He is manifestly quite frail and on oxygen support. Ostensibly,…
Coronavirus and the Kingdom of God: we reap what we sow
This is the 10th contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. It comes from Graham Wood, an ex-police local government officer, now retired, and author of…
The Human Touch
This is the eighth contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. The author is a Christian and key-worker, who has had a busy week. Were…
The real presence of Christ in the community of the virtual Church
This morning I want to depart from our Lectionary readings to offer a text which inspired a first-class sermon which I once heard at Rochester Cathedral. A few years ago,…
The Tower of Babel
This is the sixth contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence. It comes from the Rev'd Robert Jackson, a sector chaplain. Over 3,000 years ago,…