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Mental Health Awareness Week: what can your church do?
But what about in our churches? We may know the famous one in four statistic which tells us how many people might be affected by mental illness, but how can we talk about mental health in our churches in a way which elevates understanding, eradicates stigma and encourages compassion? The first…
Rachael Newham
Religious freedom: enforcing, empowering or reclaiming?
We’ve noted a few times now that 2018 is the 70th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). So far there’s been a fair amount of reflection about where we are with human rights in this country and what still needs to be done. Here I take a look at three different…
John Coleby
Ten ways to keep your church focused on evangelism
Evangelism is summarised by Robert Warren as “the processes whereby people become disciples of Jesus Christ.” Those processes are helpfully described by missiologist David Bosch: “evangelism is the core, heart and centre of missions; it consists in the proclamation of salvation in Christ to…
Holyrood's response to the coronavirus pandemic
On Wednesday, 1 April, the Scottish Parliament unanimously passed the emergency Coronavirus (Scotland) Bill. Its purpose was primarily to make changes within Holyrood’s devolved powers of housing and justice, and it was introduced, amended and passed within a single day. These are the key…
Chris Ringland
New report reveals Scottish churches and Christian groups helped over 2,000 individuals recover from drug addiction
Today, the Evangelical Alliance and Serve Scotland present their new report Stories of Hope addiction recovery at the Scottish Parliament to highlight the magnitude of activity by Christians and churches to tackle addiction across Scotland. The research highlights the extraordinary efforts that…
VAT increases on private schools’ fees spark legal challenges
The pledge to remove the VAT exemption and eligibility for business rates and charitable rates relief for private schools was outlined in the Labour Party Manifesto. In the chancellor’s budget she stated that 94% of children in the UK are attending a state school, and therefore the government’s…
Abbey Furmedge
Defining "Islamophobia" could restrict gospel freedom
Religion, politics, ethnicity and free speech are difficult conversations to have in a public forum without fear and are also a policy weakness for politicians who are either faith illiterate or struggle to appreciate the interaction between religions. However, there is no excuse to tolerate the…
Alicia Edmund
Opportunity amid uncertainty
I don't know about you, but for me the early months of 2018 have revealed a UK society living with extraordinary uncertainty and increasing fragmentation. The ongoing Brexit debate has exposed significant differences between young and old, metropolitan centres (particularly London) and the rest of…
Steve Clifford
Book review: Catching Contentment: How to be holy satisfied
If, as a casual browser, I had persevered, however, I would have discovered that the book comes with commendations from several well-known Christians including author Jennifer Rees Larcombe, who describes it as “the best book I have read in years”. So, what is it about this book that inspires such…
Graham Hedges
A moral voice
A philosopher, theologian, author and politician, Lord Sacks of Aldgate, London, served as Chief Rabbi for the Jewish community in the UK from 1991 to 2013. Knighted by the Queen in 2005, he became a Crossbench Peer in the House of Lords in 2009. Born in London, Lord Sacks attended a Christian…
Dr David Landrum
"My grace is sufficient for you"
After an hour-long conversation, where we laughed, shared and brought each other close to tears, he left me with an experience that genuinely humbled me and a story that truly took my breath away. But let’s start at the beginning. Pastor Paul was brought up in a Christian family, in a little…
Nicola Morrison
Dave Cave, first co-ordinator of ACUTE, passes away
Dave Cave, the first co-ordinator of the Alliance's theology commission, has passed away. Dave's influence as the first co-ordinator, in 1993, of the newly founded Alliance Commission on Unity and Truth among Evangelicals (ACUTE) was considerable. ACUTE was established to provide a theological…
Alexandra Davis
Created for relationship
There was a joke doing the rounds on social media a few weeks ago: "Why does no one talk about the miracle of Jesus having 12 close friends in his 30s?" We live in a fast-paced, rapidly changing, hyperconnected world, yet loneliness is becoming a national epidemic. I visited a church last week…
Jo Frost
Being human: How performance culture affects our mental health
I have. I remember being at university, lying in bed and feeling this heavy weight on me. I couldn’t seem to find the strength to make it through another moment, let alone another day. I had just found out that my house in London was about to be repossessed, while I was at university all the way in…
Kheri-Ann Wiggins
Back to school: finding a new rhythm and pace
As parents we breathe a heady sigh of relief as the weight of trying to balance work with childcare over the seemingly never-ending summer break is lifted. Yet this promise of greater peace and simplicity is often tinged with sadness. It’s the end of our time together. Summer is over and the season…
