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…
Postmodernity
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…
Anglican spinach – a primary challenge for the Church’s mission
There was a subtitle fail in the Zoom service from Guildford Cathedral on Advent Sunday. It caused a bit of amusement on Twitter, but it presents an opportunity to explore…
Sheffield Cathedral sacks choir – because God told them to
The Dean and Chapter if Sheffield Cathedral have sacked their choir, and this has caused a bit of a stir in the media and consternation on Twitter. They explain: For…
Bishop endorses Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion say billions of people will die in the next decade or so due to climate change, so they are blockading parts of London for a fortnight, preventing people…
When did traditional morality become ‘fundamentalist’?
It was a question posed by Professor John Milbank on Twitter a few days ago. Or, rather, it wasn't posed as a question, such as the 'when' inquiry into conceptual…
Synod and the Nuclear Ban Treaty: the CofE would rather have sent Britons to Treblinka than annihilate Germany
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…
Diocese of Bath and Wells to sell its 12th-century Grade I listed Old Deanery – in favour of ‘modern’, ‘welcoming’ and ‘spacious’ purpose-built offices
The Old Deanery in Wells sits on the north side of Cathedral Green. It dates back to the 12th century, and comes with its own gatehouse and venerable boundary walls.…
Do we need a new public theology?
"There's such a need for good public theology," tweeted Fr Gregory Platten, Vicar of All Saints Church, London, N20. "Increasingly struck by how much theology is written for theologians alone:…
Tory MP hates social media: “It gives a voice to people who don’t deserve one”
Gary Streeter is the Conservative MP for South West Devon. He is a committed Christian who helped found the Conservative Christian Fellowship. He now chairs the cross-party group Christians in…
For millennials, Corbyn came as Father Christmas; May as the Wicked Witch of the West
"What do the millennials want from policy makers?" asked a group called Common Vision (CoVi) in their 'Manifesto for Millennials'. Millennials are 'young people', who appear to have (uncharacteristically) turned…
BlessU-2: a robot priest and the parable of technological emptiness
"Bless me, Robot, for I have sinned." "Do you want to receive absolution in a male voice or a female voice?" The penitent presses a button on a touchscreen torso,…
If Philip North can’t be Bishop of Sheffield, the Church of England ceases to be catholic
The Dean of Christ Church, Professor Martyn Percy, has issued an ultimatum circumspectly entitled 'Questions of Ambiguity and Integrity'. It's quite long, but essentially it boils down to a choice:…
“Is Justin Welby not showing the world Jesus?”
Here follows Adrian Hilton's response to Martyn Percy's first letter: Dear Martyn, Thank you for your letter. I appreciated the account of your conversation with the “senior commentator on religious…
Donald Trump: the triumph of political incorrectness over incorrect politicalness
Unless the GOP does something silly – like steal the nomination in a contested convention by engineering a last-minute coup – it looks as though Donald Trump will be…
Pentecost evangelism? What is the gospel in an age of religious relativism?
The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written to every clergyman and woman in England (all 11,300 of them, which is a lot of stamps), urging them to pray…
Elizabeth II becomes our longest-reigning monarch – God Save The Queen!
Today, 9th September 2015, sometime around 5.30pm, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II becomes the longest-reigning monarch in British history, beating the record previously set by her great-great grandmother Queen…
Tweeting the truth in love: Justin Welby affirms an unpalatable article of faith
We have a blogging, vlogging and tweeting Archbishop of Canterbury. He's on Flickr, too. Justin Welby has fathomed that the medium is the message: the social network is the…
Against heresy: if Jesus called God 'Father', who are we to conflate Him with Mary?
'For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist' (2Jn 1:7). The…
To preach Leviticus 20:13 now constitutes a public order offence
There is much to be mocked about street preachers. The world has become intolerant of compact megaphones in the market place, boorishly denouncing sin and declaring the coming judgment…