Does it matter if Church of England parishes wither on the vine?
At the inaugural meeting of 'Save the Parish' this week at Great St Bartholomew's in Smithfield, London, the Rev'd Marcus Walker was animated and agitated. Time is short, he told…
Modernity
Queen reminds General Synod of its essential mission
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 ago. Absent in body, that is, but certainly not in…
BBC Newsnight: Ian Paisley says “Absolute cobblers to your programme”
The election of Edwin Poots to the DUP leadership has caused a slight ripple in the media, with journalists focusing not so much on his policies or plans for getting…
Justine vs Justin: the ‘not yet’ and ‘never’ of same-sex marriage in the Church of England
In an interview for Sky News last week on same-sex marriage and the Church, Justine Greening (the Education Secretary who also happens to hold the Equalities portfolio) told Sophy Ridge:…
The Church of England should not tear itself apart over homosexuality and same-sex marriage
The General Synod of the Church of England is due to 'take note' (or not) of the Bishops' report ‘Marriage and Same Sex Relationships after the Shared Conversations.’ In the…
Ashers Bakery ‘gay cake’ appeal judgment: 11% of Evangelical Christians haven’t got a clue about religious liberty
It was very tempting to go with the affirmatory '89% of Evangelical Christians support freedom of religion', which would have been the wholesome, encouraging, Christian thing to do, right? But…
The Kingdom of God is within you, but it is also a future promise
Where is the Kingdom of God? Does it matter? How can it be both within you and yet still to come? Or has it already come? And if it…
#PastoralLetter (3): a plea for religious liberty in an era of secularity
Having responded to the Preface of the Pastoral Letter from the House of Bishops “to the people and parishes of the Church of England for the General Election 2015″;…
Prophet, Islamist, cartoon or bear: which Mohammed most offends?
Apparently we now know the identity of the Islamist butcher known as 'Jihadi John', who has an undoubted penchant for making snuff movies involving the decapitation of charitable and…
Andrew Lloyd Webber's vision to drag churches into the 21st century
Seemingly from out of nowhere, Andrew Lloyd Webber, who we might expect to be a little distracted by his 'babe' Nicole Scherzinger performing in the recently revived Cats, has announced that he is…
Lord Carey is wrong to support state-sanctioned assisted suicide
Apparently the UK is "closer than ever" to introducing legislation which will permit the terminally ill to end their lives at a time and place of their choosing. Lord…