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No time like now
Firstly, there is a clear change in spiritual temperature of our country. The coronavirus pandemic is the ultimate bittersweet moment. The amount of people suffering, struggling and dying is absolutely tragic, and this is making this season so challenging. At the same time this crisis is presenting…
Gavin Calver
Hope in the face of death
We are only just seeing the beginning of this. I believe that we haven’t recognised the heavy burdens placed on healthcare staff during this time, and there will be many challenging conversations over the coming years as we fully process this season. My role as a spiritual care coordinator and the…
Christine Uhlig
Values or praxis?
Everything on the list sounded great, and some were extremely important to us as a faith community. However, we soon realised that many of us could not remember why certain programmes and activities had started. This didn’t mean they were bad things, just that we had been doing them for so long…
Why and how we do justice
The pandemic has exposed inequalities here in the UK with the coronavirus disproportionately affecting people from BAME communities, families being pushed into food poverty, and many struggling with mental health issues. The global picture is stark too: The World Bank defines extreme poverty as…
Catherine De Souza
Hope Spaces
A new website has been launched to help people to pray – maybe for the first time. www.hopespaces.com is a multimedia, interactive site for anyone who wants to try praying, the spiritually curious and anyone looking for hope. It includes a specially-made film to help people call out to God and a…
Christian servant-leaders in society – a call to prayer
Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount is often viewed as a call to be salt and light. But Matthew’s Greek rendering of Jesus’ words is in a present tense: “You already are,” not “You should become.” The presence of God’s Kingdom, of people filled with God’s Spirit, among the nations of the…
Gordon Matheson
Prayer walking on campus
God made us in His image (Genesis 1:27), then put humans in the Garden of Eden, which He planted for them so they could steward that land (Genesis 2:8-15). As a child of God, a core part of our identity is to partner and be co-rulers with Him over creation, to nourish the place we have been given…
Ed Earnshaw
Living the prayer
In the famous Morecambe and Wise sketch with Andre Previn, Morecambe utters the brilliant line, “I’m playing all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order.” So it is with those Isaiah challenges: they are doing a lot of the right things but not necessarily with the right motive.…
A struggle to stay afloat amid the pandemic
Few of us would think that people living on boats need support, whether it is during the pandemic or not. Most of us, when thinking about them, might picture an older but vigorous couple who has finally got the time to fulfil their dreams to live a peaceful life on a comfortable narrow boat. Or, we…
Joanna Sopylo-Firrisa
Our songs of praise in our private place
Due to the potential increased risk of coronavirus transmission from airborne droplets, the Government has issued restrictions and guidance concerning communal singing in churches. While we know that such measures are necessary to help keep ourselves and others safe, many will find it a great…
Ruthie Thomas
Emerging from lockdown in Scotland – August update
However, there have also been a number of recent announcements that are of relevance to churches in relation to face coverings, Sunday schools, recovery meetings, advice services and youth work as restrictions continue to lift. This article should be read in conjunction with relevant Scottish…
Kieran Turner
A missional opening for the taking
Such was the finding of the Talking Toddlers research released in May. It showed that almost two-thirds of non-Christian parents with children under five have taken their children to a church-based activity such as a toddler group or Messy Church in the past year. “There’s a huge opening here,”…
Naomi Osinnowo
God's multi-ethnic kingdom
These social inequalities are present on both sides of the Atlantic. Here, in the UK, the disproportionate representation of Black Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) people in frontline services reveals that, for far too long, BAME people have been at the bottom of the social-economic scale. Take a look…
Rev Dr Israel Oluwole Olofinjana
There's a school near our church
There’s a school near our church. There are kind, hardworking teachers inside. These days some of them look a little careworn. It’s hardly surprising. They have navigated countless changes over recent months, learnt new skills and had their ingenuity tested to the limit. The school year ended in…
Megan Patterson
Reimagining church and mission
However, despite initial alarm bells ringing, no consensus on how to respond was agreed. By the end of January more than 7,800 cases in China and close to 100 in a further 18 countries were reported. The Chinese New Year compounded the problem as it heralded a time of travel as many returned to…
Dr Sheryl Haw
