Sixty years ago on Sunday 2nd June, the coronation of Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor took place at Westminster Abbey. During the Service for the Coronation, the Queen made this oath: Archbishop of Canterbury: Will you to the utmost of your power maintain the… Read More ›
This blog has been following the story of four Christians who have taken freedom of religion cases to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for most of the last year. You can read a the background details on each applicant’s case here. These… Read More ›
Just over a week ago I ended up appearing on Question Time. As the May 16th broadcast was coming from my local town of Ipswich it seemed like a good idea to apply in the hope that I might be able to… Read More ›
It’s not the first time that someone has been murdered in London this year, but it’s entirely understandable that yesterday’s brutal and horrific killing in Woolwich has gained so much attention. There is still an underlying nervousness in our society… Read More ›
The Church is often accused of being obsessed with sex (or at least a dislike of it under certain circumstances) and it’s not too hard to see why. Yesterday’s news was filled with the gay marriage bill and surprise, surprise… Read More ›
Whatever you think about gay marriage and the current legislation passing through parliament, it is most definitely not boring. perhaps one a day a film will be made based on all that is happening with its complex plot and plentiful… Read More ›
Christmas and Easter rightly have prominent places in the Church calendar. Jesus’ birth, death and Resurrection are should be properly celebrated, but the place of Pentecost is equally as important. Without that point in time when the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus’… Read More ›
The declining proportion of the population who identify themselves as ‘Christian’ along with church attendance is in the news yet again today and the numbers don’t look great. When the Church of England’s latest attendance figures were published earlier this month, there… Read More ›
Today Lord Falconer will present his assisted dying bill to the House of Lords. He’s been careful to label it ‘assisted dying’ rather than ‘assisted suicide’ although in practice there is very little between the two definitions. According to reports,… Read More ›
Given that we are now well into Christian Aid Week, it seems only right that I give Christian Aid’s new report released today a plug. Who pays the price? Hunger: the hidden cost of tax injustice is another reminder that we have the power… Read More ›
Do not be content to live a mediocre Christian life: walk with determination along the path of holiness. — Pope Francis (@Pontifex) May 7, 2013 Since we were introduced to Pope Francis on March 13, he has gained a huge number of… Read More ›
I was very disappointed not to be able to attend the Faith + Justice conference in Oxford hosted jointly by Jubilee+ and Nexus two weeks ago. Jubilee+ is a team set up by UK Newfrontiers with the aim of equipping churches to engage more… Read More ›
Christian Aid Week is nearly here once again and a new TV advert has been launched screening at prime time on all the UK’s major commercial channels to coincide with it. The Christian Aid website tells the story of the… Read More ›
Back in February I wrote an article on the value of voluntary work provided by churches for the benefit of their communities. The National Church Social Action Survey for 2012 by Jubilee+ referred to valued it at over £2.5 billion. One of… Read More ›
Yesterday the Church of England published its attendance statistics for 2011. The accompanying press release has done it’s best to put a positive gloss on the figures talking in particular about a 14.5% increase from the previous year in attendance at… Read More ›
Last week’s local election results produced some curious reactions from those speaking on behalf of the main three parties in response to UKIP’s meteoric performance. There was an underlying confusion that I’ve rarely seen before. The usual game where at… Read More ›
Back in February of last year, Richard Dawkins decided he was going to have a public rant about the number of people who call themselves Christians but don’t go to church. Ipsos MORI had carried out a survey the week after… Read More ›
The G8 – 10 days, 3 summits, 1 cause. In June, the world’s most powerful leaders meet in the UK at the G8 summit. Global hunger is on the agenda. The 170+ charities and organisations who have come together… Read More ›
The whole gay/equal/same-sex marriage circus has fortunately died down a bit recently, although on Monday there was a vote at the Northern Ireland Assembly calling on the Northern Ireland Executive to legislate for same-sex marriage. It was defeated. Also published the… Read More ›
God and Politics in the UK 