Life & Ministry

When does help harm?

by

This guest post is a book review by Peter Bates, a friend and member of St Nic’s Church who works in community development. Robert Lupton’s book Toxic Charity (Harper Collins, 2012) is essential reading for anyone who gives time or money to assist the less well off. It’s a remarkably easy read that requires no background … Continue Reading

What is prayer?

by

I recently preached at another local church, and a member of the congregation there is running a project to encourage prayer. He has recorded a range of leaders talking about prayer, and incorporated this into a website which includes a course on prayer making use of Richard Foster’s book Prayer: finding the heart’s true home. Find … Continue Reading

Israel v Gaza: taking sides

by

It is astonishing to find that the level of violent conflict in the world at present has pushed stories about ISIS rape and murder of Christians in Mosul down to third place in the news. Western military intervention in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan was in large part based on a narrative that as countries become … Continue Reading

What are (women) bishops for?

by

I am heading back (on Sunday) from what I can only describe as an inspirational service at Canterbury Cathedral where my friend Rob Innes was ordained as the new Bishop of Gibraltar in Europe. (Yes, formal Anglican services can be inspirational!). The recent debate about women bishops (which might continue, for reasons below) raises the … Continue Reading

Best articles on assisted dying

by

Here are the best articles I have come across making the case against the Assisted Dying Bill. There are some very powerful arguments here; if the Bill is passed, all these will have been set aside. A moving reflection from the Digital Nun: My argument would be that Lord Falconer’s bill is deeply flawed. When … Continue Reading

False steps in the assisted dying debate

by

As we approach the House of Lords’ debate on Lord Falconer’s Assisted Dying Bill, (writes Andrew Goddard) it is clear that there is a concerted attempt to undermine the church’s traditional opposition to laws enabling the killing of the suffering and dying. There have always been some Christians who have supported this, such as Hans Kung … Continue Reading

Carey, death and experience

by

George Carey has waded in on the debate about assisted dying, and the responses to his comments confirm that there really is a time when a former Archbishop needs to stop saying unwise and unhelpful things that make life difficult for his successors.

There is a very moving personal response from the Digital Nun, which concludes with a reflection on the challenge of dying well:

Promoting Christenings

by

The Church of England has just launched a new website for those interesting in having their children baptised, or ‘christened’ as the website mostly calls it. (The language here is a little odd: at one point it says ‘Baptism is the heart of the christening’; I had thought the two words were usually used synonymously.) And very impressive it is too. Or is it?

The Rolf Harris affair

by

With the conviction of Rolf Harris on 12 counts of sexual abuse, it is difficult to know what aspect of the whole affair is most shocking. Is it the length of time that Harris was active as an abuser? Or the age of his victims—one as young as seven? Or the devastating impact of his actions … Continue Reading

Can we pray for the dead?

by

Andrew Goddard writes: To encourage and enable commemoration of the First World War, the Liturgical Commission of the Church of England recently produced a number of resources. They raise an interesting issue for evangelical Anglicans – what do we think about praying for the dead? It is in some ways appropriate that this centenary should bring … Continue Reading

Church investment: unethical? Unbiblical?

by

The historic investments of the Church of England are managed by the Church Commissioners, who are formally independent of Church leadership though report to General Synod. They hit the headlines in the 1980s when they lost a staggering £800 million, largely through unwise property speculation, and though there have been glitches since then, the financial … Continue Reading