How can we develop resilient faith?

From 15th to 19th May I am speaking at Lee Abbey in Devon on ‘Resilient Faith: coping with doubts, difficulties and disappointments’. You can find full details and book here. We are sometimes given the impression that a Christian faith will protect us from all the doubts and difficulties in the world. So when challenges … Continue Reading

How do we sustain faith in the long term?

Jon Kuhrt writes: In 1996 I started attending an inner city church which had been planted by the Church of England into a former pub. The congregation consisted mainly of people at a similar stage of life, and the church had a vibrancy and authenticity I really appreciated. I attended the evening services each week … Continue Reading

Is it time to scrap the ‘curacy’?

For many years (how many?) the Church of England has had a standard pattern for ordination training, that starts with two or three years residential (or now, three years part-time course-based or two or three years contextual training), followed by a three- or four-year curacy. This is so standard that initial training is always considered … Continue Reading

How do the lives of earlier saints illuminate our path?

Richard Briggs, Director of Biblical Studies and Lecturer in Old Testament at Cranmer Hall, Durham, reviews Rowan Williams’ Luminaries: Twenty Lives that Illuminate the Christian Way (London: SPCK, 2019). In a little under 150 modest pages (small page size, large font), Rowan Williams takes us on a guided tour of 20 people whose lives have something to say to us. … Continue Reading

Why we need Silence

When I started my ordination training, like many others I had come from a busy and noisy culture (in my case, in business) and the idea of silence as a spiritual discipline was strange to me. Encouraged by the weekly quiet hour as part of the spirituality programme, for several years I adopted the habit … Continue Reading