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Misogyny in the spotlight: how can Christians respond?
Since Sunday it has been encouraging to see the cross-party condemnation of the news article about Angela Rayner, including from the prime minister himself. However, the issue goes much deeper than this one incident. At the heart of the problem is the way that media outlets all too often portray…
Nicola Martin
Beauty in difference
In our world, our differences are often used as a means to create distance between us. But God intends His people to come together in “complete unity” (John 17:23), and I want to suggest that we flourish as humans when we are united with those who are different to us because it is then that we…
Jo Evans
Neither apocalypse nor silver bullet
Context and culture war Fifty years ago, the US supreme court in Roe v Wade interpreted the constitution so as to introduce a right to abortion. Yesterday, a political site published a leaked early draft of a supreme court ruling expected this summer. The leak was unprecedented and is being…
Dawn McAvoy
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
Why the Jubilee is a great opportunity for your church
Some 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…
Helen Locke
How ambitious was the Queen’s Speech?
Levelling up One key piece of legislation that will shortly be introduced to parliament is the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. This will pass into law some of the measures the government has already committed to, and will likely also include proposals to reform the planning system and give…
Danny Webster
Brothers united in prayer
In the 1970s, there were just a handful of known evangelical believers in Algeria. Today, there are tens of thousands gathered in dozens of churches. Around 50 churches form the Protestant Church of Algeria, or Eglise Protestante d’Algérie (EPA), a national alliance of churches that became a member…
Wissam al-Saliby
Persecution survivors deserve to see progress at religious freedom summit
So much has changed in three years. A global pandemic, Brexit and now war breaking out in Eastern Europe. And yet for millions of Christians around the world, little has changed; in fact life is getting worse. Open Doors note that in 2021 more than 360 million Christians around the world suffered…
Alicia Edmund
The hidden persecution of Christian women and girls
Recently, Open Doors published a parliamentary report exploring the impact that gender has on the persecution of Christians across the world. The report noted that Christian women and girls experience a greater breadth of persecution than their male counterparts because the persecution that they…
Nicola Martin
Talking Jesus: Four things we can do to help more people become Christians
Discovering how people get somewhere is of great value. It means you invest your time and resources more wisely. There are reasons why the paths most trodden offer the least resistance. And my favourite pathway is the one that leads to Jesus. I am desperate to know how He finds people. That’s why…
Phil Knox
“Five years in an Iranian prison… it was worth it”
My parents were angry. My mum felt she had lost her sons. My Dad worried how he would look our relatives in the eye. They also knew the risks of converting in Iran and were scared. Leading my sister to Christ was the last straw. My parents disowned me: Mum said she wouldn’t open the door to me…
Farshid Fathi
Stories of Hope: addiction recovery report presented at Scottish parliament
Our research highlights the extraordinary efforts that have been made by Christians in Scotland to assist and care for those in addiction, bringing to light the scope of Christian services across Scotland. With the Scottish government introducing new policy and funding initiatives to tackle the…
James Loney
How to be human in a cost of living crisis
Today, with yet another crisis flooding our newsfeeds, as inflation soars and the cost of living ever-increases, we are once again seeing the poor disproportionately affected. Many of us are feeling the squeeze, reigning in our spending, forgoing luxuries and thinking twice about a longer car…
Jo Frost
“I didn’t expect to survive”: the terrifying reality of being a Christian in northern Nigeria
In that time, thousands of Christians have been killed and many more displaced – the latter frequently ending up in what are referred to as Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Churches, homes and other properties have been destroyed. Christian leaders in Nigeria have repeatedly spoken of…
Kenneth Harrod