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…
Salvation
The Pope, the Patriarch and the Archbishop unite for Earth’s sake
Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew and the Archbishop of Canterbury have united for the first time in history to issue an urgent appeal for the future of the planet. Never before have the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern…
Radical progressive activism and the Church of England
Civitas have published a new report: Rotting from the Head: Radical progressive activism and the Church of England. 'Radical progressive activism' is a slippery concept, not least because not all…
Three Lions — a Psalm of England
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…
If ‘contested’ monuments, statues and memorials must fall, who shall stand?
The guidance issued by the Church of England in respect of its 'contested heritage' (specifically monuments, statues and monuments relating to the slave trade and/or colonialism) is confusing (to put…
Nicola Sturgeon broke the law in banning Christians from church
Thank God for Christian Concern, the Christian Legal Centre, and the intrepid Andrea Minichiello Williams. No-one else seemed to care about the SNP's ban on church worship – at least…
Archbishops call the nation to prayer as Covid deaths reach 100,000
As the number of deaths caused by Covid-19 passes 100,000, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have written an Epistle to the Nation calling everyone to prayer. And if you…
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…
Communal worship banned in England
From 5th November, it will be illegal to gather for communal worship in England. The Government has decreed that church buildings may open for private prayer, but not for praying…
Hate Crime Bill: SNP seeks to regulate dinner table conversation in the home
There is something nasty in the SNP's woodshed; very nasty indeed. It isn't clear if it's a creepy person or a sinister political impulse, but it's nasty. Very nasty. Not…
Wales lockdown isn’t only absurd; it denies freedom of religion
Tomorrow is your birthday. You've received a card from your Mum every single year of your life, without fail, even when you were abroad, and even when she was very…
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…
Vicar: ‘If you don’t worship in the CofE (or only come at Christmas), don’t complain about what we do’
The Rev'd Miranda Threlfall-Holmes had a premonition that her tweet would be unpopular, but still she shared her ecclesiology with the world: "People are only allowed to complain about the…
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…
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…
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. …
‘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…
“Death is a natural part of life” (Yoda)
The fourth contribution to His Grace’s emergency team ministry during the coronavirus pestilence comes from the Rev'd Ian Chidlow, Curate at St Mary’s Parish Church, Cheadle. Since Adam brought…