Scholarship • Serving • Ministry – Ian Paul
The questions around an ageing population and retirement are perhaps the biggest social and financial challenges to Western democracies. To realise this you just need to know some basic statistics on UK Government spending in the current year. Defence £46.6 bn 6% Education £49.5 bn …
I have reproduced here the baptism liturgy from the Alternative Service Book (1980). It is not currently authorised for use without specific permission. It is not without its problems, and there were questions asked when it was introduced. But it is interesting to note its directness and simplicity compared with Common Worship, and its extensive …
The Church of England has just published ‘additional’ texts in accessible language as an alternative to the current text of Common Worship Initiation Services. These have been produced in response to a motion brought by Liverpool Diocesan Synod to General Synod in 2011. But the new texts have not, so far, gone down very well. …
Is it possible to challenge tradition in a positive way, and tell the Christmas story in a way faithful to the text of Scripture? Stephen Kuhrt at Christchurch New Malden thinks so. CHILDREN’S CAROL SERVICE AT CHRIST CHURCH NEW MALDEN 2013: ‘IT AIN’T NECESSARILY SO!’ Stephen writes: Each year at Christ Church, New Malden, we have …
There’s been a lot of nonsense recently on the radio about what people are ‘really’ doing when they celebrate Christmas. There was a programme on Radio 4 exploring the origins of the tunes of carols. For example, the tune for Good King Wenceslas was originally a spring carol celebrating the fertility of nature. It is …
It has been fascinating and moving to listen to the testimonies and tributes about the life of Nelson Mandela last night and this morning. By all accounts his death marks the passing of a truly great man. But whenever I hear tributes to a great contemporary figure, I am also struck by how hard we …
One of the puzzles about the ending of some of the letters in the New Testament is knowing how to read the ‘household management codes’ in Ephesians 5:21-6:9, Colossians 3:12-4:6 and 1 Peter 2:11-3:22. Most of Paul’s letters, once the theological argument is done, have specific instructions on practical living (‘the indicative followed by the imperative’), but in these …
This is a guest post by my friend Dr Andrew Goddard, who is Associate Director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics (KLICE), Cambridge and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Anglican Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. With speculation growing about the contents of the Pilling Report, to be considered by the House of Bishops next month and …
In September, I commented from my own experience in business and others’ experience in other sectors on Michael Gove’s proposal to introduce performance related pay in teaching. It is particularly pertinent for me practically, since I am on the appraisal group for the head of the school of which I am a governor. Apart from …
You really would have to have a heart of stone not to be distressed by the scenes of suffering caused by the Philippines typhoon. So began Jeremy Paxman’s broadcast on Newsnight yesterday evening. He wanted to explore how people in Britain turn this sense of distress into giving. But Christians are also faced with another …
In 2013, Trinity College Bristol were looking for a new Principal, and for some reason several people drew this to my attention. So I looked at the ad, and this is what I found they were looking for: a person of integrity, humility and wisdom a leader of leaders, who thrives on the sharing and multiplying of leadership …
