The media has been full of the reports from General Synod recently as women bishops took another step towards a (potential) successful conclusion. I don’t want to reflect on the decision particularly or, indeed, the process as it continues or, indeed, how uninformed and wrong the media managed to look throughout the whole thing. What [...]
On a personal level, I am about to embark on my once-every-four-years month-long trial of both tortuous nervousness, mixed with moments of sheer joy and hope, culminating in bleak disappointment and despair. Yes, the FIFA World Cup is here again. As regular readers will know, I’m a football fan. In fact, for once, I have [...]
David Keen has been highlighting the activities of the UK Border Agency today and, in particular, a story written by Paul Vallely writing in the Independent about the detention of children by that agency and the impact on their mental health. 1300 children were held in immigration centres in 2008-9 here in the UK. Moreover, [...]
I saw this image the other day, taken from NORAD satellite imagery, of the United Kingdom in its current frosty condition – submerged below heavy snow. I honestly can’t remember a period like this where one heavy snowfall has followed another and another in such quick succession. The usual deal with snow here is that [...]
If you aren’t one of the cognoscenti in the UK Christian publishing industry, you may not have thought much of the announcement last month that IBS-STL is up for sale. IBS-STL (International Bible Society and Send the Light who merged a few years ago) are not immediately apparent to the average Christian buyer of books. [...]
The building in this photograph may not look like much. In fact, as something to look at this building really isn’t much. It’s the ‘Arts Tower’ at the University of Sheffield and for three years between 1993 and 1996, I used to enter it daily and travel in the ludicrously dangerous paternoster system to the [...]
Yesterday evening I took my lovely wife, somewhat under duress (hers not mine), to see the World Premiere of Ben Hur Live at the 02 Arena. I’ve always loved the Charlton Heston movie version of Ben Hur and ultimately, it’s a fantastic little novel by Lew Wallace from the 19th Century that sets a tale [...]
I apologise for the recent stuttering nature of posts. The joys of running a Children’s Holiday Club here in my parish took up a great deal of my time in late July, but here I am post-gunge-tank and slowly but surely coming up for breath as church life does quieten (a little) during August and [...]
I remember when I got married that suddenly I started noticing wedding fairs. I remember that when I started having children, I suddenly started noticing baby services and childbirth classes and Mothercare. So I’m going to hesitate to say that maybe God is saying something… it may just be my ears are more attuned to [...]
I’ve just been enjoying a delicious weekend away with my good lady wife to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary. While I’ve been away, two different threads have been circulating around my brain. Firstly, I notice that my bishop (at least for another month or so), Michael Nazir-Ali, has been at it again with more pronouncements [...]
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