poverty

How can we minister in deprived areas?

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John Root offers this review of Jonathan Macy Sowing Seeds with Songs of Joy: Growing God’s Garden in Forgotten Places. Jonathan Macy’s book began as a 13,000 word position paper for the Church of England Evangelical Council on Privilege, Class and Poverty, which he has extended into the present book looking at the response to … Continue Reading

Making sense of the Beatitudes in Luke 6

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The Sunday lectionary reading for the Third Sunday before Lent in Year C is Luke 6.17–26, this gospel’s version of the Beatitudes. The epistle is 1 Cor 11.11–22, and you can watch the video discussion of that passage here. One of the most obvious questions arising from the gospel reading is how they relate to … Continue Reading

What is Jesus’ challenge to the ‘rich’ ‘young’ ‘ruler’ in Mark 10?

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The gospel lectionary reading for Trinity 20 in this year B is Mark 10.17–31, the story of the so-called ‘rich’ ‘young’ ‘ruler’. But two of these terms are supplied by Matthew and Luke, and Mark has some significant unique elements to the way he tells the story. We continue to read sequentially through this section … Continue Reading

Challenging Christmas myths on shepherds, swaddling, and support for the holy family

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Christmas is a time for celebration, for feasting and for relationships. But it is also a time for a mild engagement in iconoclasm, as we peel back the layers of accreted tradition and recover the origins of the Christmas gospel—something which needs to happen every year, it seems. In that spirit (and Spirit) I offer … Continue Reading