scholarship. serving. ministry.
Andrew Goddard writes: The Lambeth Conferences opens on July 26th, just over a month away. In recent days there has been quite a flurry of activity—including two announcements from the Archbishop of Canterbury—which has highlighted some of the challenges that it will face. The first communication was the text of a letter sent on 27th May … Continue Reading
The bishops of the Church of England have hit the headlines by writing to The Times in protest at the Government’s plan to fly asylum seekers to Rwanda for treatment. Whether or not the first deportation flight leaves Britain today for Rwanda, this policy should shame us as a nation. Rwanda is a brave country … Continue Reading
The Church of England finds itself in a very odd situation. On the one hand, it is facing continued decline in attendance, and I think in influence and reputation in our culture. The decline in attendance has been calculated with mathematical precision at John Hayward’s Church Model website; if nothing changes, then he calculates that … Continue Reading
Lee Proudlove writes: Deborah Samuel, a Christian teenager in Sokoto state in north western Nigeria, was brutally killed last week. Following a discussion on WhatsApp, Deborah was accused of blasphemy; she was dragged into the midst of a mob, stoned, and then her body was set on fire. The Guardian, reporting Deborah’s death, commented that in Nigeria … Continue Reading
A service was held on Sunday 8th May to mark the 800th anniversary (one day early) of the Synod of Oxford of 9th May 1222 which introduced the first measures against Jews in England, and led to more harsh measures and the eventual expulsion of Jews from England in 1290. This appeared to have encouraged … Continue Reading
Dear Richard I really enjoyed your honest reflections in The Times on Sunday April 17th in the light of your retirement this week. I felt as though I ought to respond in the second person, writing to you rather than writing about you, for several reasons. First, we are fellow clergy in the Church; we … Continue Reading
Stephen Kuhrt writes: For a number of years, I have written a Children’s Carol Service for use the Sunday before Christmas at Christ Church, New Malden. Both children and adults come in biblical costumes. The aim has been to combine something of the fun of Christmas Panto with conveying biblical theology that draws out the significance … Continue Reading
As I write the title for this piece, I feel rather hesitant. Why is it worth talking about discontent? Isn’t it best left, so that we can focus on things that are positive? Sometimes that is true—but the difficulty with ignoring the discontent, or other negative feelings, is that they then fester, and become worse. … Continue Reading
There continues to be some heated debate in the C of E about the respective roles of clergy and laity. On the one hand, research shows that the deployment of stipendiary ministry and leadership is a key to church growth, and so cutting clergy numbers runs counter to current stated strategy. On the other hand, … Continue Reading
At the beginning of Lent, it is traditional to consider taking up a spiritual discipline for the season—or perhaps giving something up. I have just read a number of posts telling me of friends who are giving up on social media until Easter! In the past, a key discipline has been that of fasting, but … Continue Reading
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Lent Book this year is Embracing Justice by Dr Isabelle Hamley. Here, Alianore Smith explores why the arguments of the book are so important in practice, and introduces us to the work of International Justice Mission. Alianore Smith writes: I want introduce you to Thaiyamma. Thaiyamma was in her early 20s when she and … Continue Reading
Ian Paul: theologian, author, speaker, academic consultant. Associate Senior Research Fellow, Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology; Associate Minister, St Nic's, Nottingham; Managing Editor, Grove Books; member of General Synod and Archbishops' Council. Mac user; chocoholic. Tweets at @psephizo
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Gospel commentary index Lectionary Year A
Andrew Goddard Bible biblical interpretation Biblical literacy biblical theology Christmas Church of England culture discipleship discussion doctrine eschatology evangelism gay General Synod Grove guest Hermeneutics History hope interpretation James Blandford Baker Jesus John's gospel Justin Welby leadership lectionary Luke Luke's gospel Matthew ministry mission New Testament Paul politics preaching Revelation same sex marriage same sex unions sexuality theology video Year A Year B Year C
