Helen Locke
Helen joined the Evangelical Alliance in October 2020. Prior to this, she trained in ministry for a year in Birmingham where she worked with students and was immersed in church life, in between summers working for the charity Open Doors. Helen studied English literature with creative writing modules, and loves writing, painting and walks with friends in all weathers.
Being human in an AI world
20 April 2023Every week, I hear more stories about the rapidly accelerating capability and applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI). There are some good news stories – from helping to diagnose health problems in sick patients, to ongoing efforts to analyse wildlife and poacher data and predict their behaviour to aid conservation. But, for every good news story, it feels like there are 10 more that cause concern. Here’s just a few you may have seen recently… Goldman Sachs warned AI could replace 300…
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Heart Behind the Art: an interview with Emily Feltham
31 March 2023Emily, 33, has a huge sense of FOMO and wants to join in every interesting conversation she overhears around her. Friends might even joke that she has an opinion on everything, and that those opinions are liable to change, but Emily says she just loves other people and is curious about exploring their point of view. Born and raised in Bristol, she lives with husband Joseph, and says she loves the town’s “friendly, creative feel – scruffy and authentic.” As a child, Emily’s mum took her to…
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Ukraine, one year on: how the UK church can keep doing its part
24 February 2023"Everything has changed for us... It was a nightmare we couldn’t wake up from.” That’s how the Orlov family, from Kherson Oblast, remember the early months of the invasion when they were forced to leave. When they returned, they found their home and village destroyed - but they’re determined to rebuild. “It will become our personal victory,” they say. Mission Without Borders (MWB) has been working to supply families in Ukraine and Moldova with what they need to survive. Working with local…
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Eight ways to shine bright this Halloween
18 October 2022Halloween is a time of year when some of our neighbours, friends and colleagues become more aware of the thin line between this world and a spiritual realm, a topic the Bible has much to say about. So, we can speak bravely, knowing that we contend with real spiritual forces (Ephesians 3:16). Yet, hand in hand with this, we can shine out with the kind and wonderful love of Jesus in good deeds, showing kindness and generosity to our neighbours (Matthew 5:16). An opportunity for the church to…
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Christian GP: how I live out my faith in a time of NHS crisis
13 October 2022I sit down for a Zoom call with Dr Debisi Olunloyo to find out. Born and raised in Nigeria, she became a Christian aged 13 at school, and trained to become a doctor. She moved to the UK in 2000, where she joined one of our member churches, Jesus House in London, and continued her postgraduate medical training before becoming a GP. She puts in long hours on her clinical days, so I’m chatting with her on a day when she’s at home, but doing administrative work. We kick off the interview by praying…
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What I've learnt from Jordan Peterson
4 August 2022Truth and the limits of the postmodern lens To do that, I need to take you back to my university experience. One of the first modules on my literature course was about “ways of reading”, the different ideas and lenses through which we can read a book. Some are helpful as we try to understand the world around us (others less so). My favourite “-isms” were Post-colonialism and New Historicism. Looking through these “lenses” helped me learn a bit about the historical and colonial baggage that…
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Dance Fever and the freedom fallacy
23 June 2022The meanings of Florence’s songs on the album are hard to pin down, allowing her to explore freedom and death without being pinned down to one meaning. But there is a popular and enduring cultural idea underpinning her body of work: freedom is living your fullest life of self-expression, exuberance, and pleasure here and now – since we all have to die in the end anyway. ‘Free’, a new track on the album, explores Florence’s anxiety and momentary freedom in music. Her voice is incredible, but dig…
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Why the Jubilee is a great opportunity for your church
10 May 2022Some people in our communities might perceive the church as a bit joyless. Might this year’s Jubilee be an opportunity to change a few perceptions? Yes! It’s a time to celebrate and lead in street and community parties, to lend our resources of tables, chairs and other things, and serve our communities in throwing a party! Why are churches uniquely placed to get involved in the Jubilee? We are in the centre of communities and can help to galvanise people together to celebrate. We have the…
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Courage to be kingdom-bringers
11 April 2022How did you meet Jesus? I was debating and arguing against Christianity but became aware that I didn’t know what the Bible said so promised I’d read a gospel in 2006. Its realness and relevance blew me away. On a visit to church, the Holy Spirit convicted me, but I didn’t want to be a stereotypical Christian – I wasn’t that polite! I met an ex-drug-dealing-rugby-playing-Christian along the way and it was like God saying: “There – not a stereotype!” In time, I got stuck into the Bible and…
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#AltogetherDifferent: There's nothing "normal" about the gospel
25 March 2022The differences highlighted range from silly to profound, everyday to taboo: dating habits, being a goth, being Northern, having a disability, fears, fantasies and more. It’s a long but strategic list which points to TV shows demanding to be watched. Of course, there’s a limit to the range of differences and “weirdness” among us the media is willing to embrace and celebrate. After all, society wants different, it can handle different… but don’t be too different. As Christians, we have…
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Being Jesus' feet on the street
6 January 2022We’re one of the oldest Pentecostal churches around. Being right on Northumberland Park, near Tottenham Hotspur football stadium, we get heavy footfall, so we try to engage with the community in practical ways and let people know we’re here. The local community is diverse, made up of a range of nationalities and cultures. Sadly, many in the community face great challenges. There are high levels of homelessness, single-parent households, low-income families, gangs (one of which is active in our…
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