The rising cost of energy is the price of Europe’s liberty
The energy regulator Ofgem has hiked the price cap on household bills by 80%, meaning the average bill will rise from £1,971 to £3,549 a year from October. The average…
Mission
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Sermon on the Crown
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 –…
Why is Norwich Cathedral ashamed of Jesus Christ?
The Rev'd Marcus Walker went to Norwich for a short little August break. "Never been before but it seems lovely so far", he tweeted. And then he entered Norwich Cathedral,…
Lambeth Conference 2022 looked outward, sideways and upward, but the world only saw inward
From the four corners of the world the came, to kiss the shrine of Canterbury. Some 660 bishops from 165 countries representing dioceses and Christian communities from the global Anglican…
Welby’s chief regret? His carelessness over other people’s views
There's a rather beautiful interview with Justin Welby in Prospect Magazine, entitled 'Brief Encounter'. It reads like a quick-fire series of questions, giving the Archbishop almost no time to think.…
Church of England commits £3.6billion to ‘making Christ known’
The Archbishop of York, the Rt Rev'd Stephen Cottrell, has told the General Synod of the Church of England that the Church Commissioners will dedicate £3.6bn over the next nine…
Diocese of Oxford puts a green stumbling block into liturgy of baptism
On 15th June, the Bishop of Oxford, Steven Croft, issued an ad clerum to the clergy in his Diocese: Dear xxxxx, In every service of baptism, confirmation and the renewal…
Lucy Allan MP: “Is a Conservative welcome in the Church of England?”
Conservative MP Lucy Allan has challenged the Archbishop of Canterbury directly on his 'robust' intervention in Priti Patel's (presently thwarted) policy to send asylum seekers to Rwanda. "When the Church…
Net Zero.. racial justice.. mental health.. What exactly are cathedrals for?
Cathedrals can light the way to Net Zero, says the Rt Rev'd Graham Usher, Bishop of Norwich and the Church of England's lead Bishop for Environmental Affairs. And he set…
Church of England contributes just 0.5% to the UK’s spiritual and religious narrative
It's a crude headline-grabbing statistic, derived from a distinctly unscientific list of apparently random figures, but by no means without a degree of truth and reliability to it. There is…
The Archbishop Interviews: Justin Welby to host BBC Radio 4 chat show on faith and morality
It would be a great honour indeed to be interviewed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and explore complex contemporary ethical issues and nuanced moral-political dilemmas in the context of the…
Good food, good music, traditional liturgy and sound preaching: a recipe for church growth
Attendance at the monthly Choral Evensong at St Paul's Without the Walls in Canterbury had fallen to just one, while the choir numbered a respectable 18. And when this lone…
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…
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…
Tutufication is not the solution to division and oppression
Canon Mark Oakley wrote to the Times over the weekend with a plea for the Church of England to adopt Tutufication: It is an interesting thesis, not least because quite…
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…
Bramble Welby introduces her human on a BBC Newscast
Bramble Welby upstaged her human on a BBC Newcast this week. "Lie down. Can you lie down. That's a good girl," said the Archbishop of Canterbury. "Nope," thought Bramble. "Not…
Believe in a Marks & Spencer Christmas jumper
Many consumers of social media will have noticed a growing number of women clergy posting photographs of themselves wearing a plain black Marks & Spencer Christmas jumper bearing the simple…
Church of England releases its first ever Christmas single
The Church of England is making a foray into the pop charts, releasing its first ever Christmas single, a new version of that glorious carol 'In the Bleak Midwinter'. It…
Why are schoolchildren selecting Church of England bishops?
Caroline Boddington is barely out the door, and bishops are now being appointed by... schoolchildren called Temisan, Keziah, Honey and Sophia. With the retirement of the Rt Rev'd Pete Broadbent…