So, Justin Welby is back blogging again after half a year. It looks as though a meeting with a survivor of abuse has made a significant impact upon him. He writes: It is well known that one of the issues… Read More ›
Church
Justin Welby and Pope Francis’ mission to transform the Church is just beginning
So here we go again. There is a very real possibility that this will be a momentous few days for the Church of England as the next attempt to make women bishops a reality comes to ahead on Monday at… Read More ›
Poverty Sunday and why foodbanks are not the answer
This Sunday (June 22) has been designated by the Church of England as Poverty Sunday; a day to pray and reflect on issues of poverty in this country and how churches and individual Christians respond. This year, churches are being urged to… Read More ›
Justin Welby’s call to convert this nation is no joke
This Sunday Christians around the world will be celebrating the day the Church was born. At the festival of Pentecost, not long after Jesus had left them, his followers who only numbered about 120 were together when the Holy Spirit… Read More ›
Is the Church of England now the Labour Party at prayer?
As far as whether we see ourselves as a Christian country, it appears beyond doubt that David Cameron has won the argument. Other than a few awkward secularists the vast majority of those who have given their views in public over… Read More ›
Hope into Action: A 21st century model for unleashing the Church’s financial potential
Over the last few months my church has begun working with the charity Hope into Action. It is a relatively new charity having been set up just four years ago by Ed Walker, who previously had worked as a programme director… Read More ›
Why is ‘coming out’ such a big deal for so many Christians?
Over the last week or so, for no particular reason, the Politics has taken a bit of a backseat to the ‘God’ element of this blog’s remit. A few days ago I set out my thoughts on the direction I see the church in… Read More ›
Where will we be in 2024? – Setting out a vision for the future of the Church
It’s now just over a week since the latest annual statistics for the Church of England were released. They were an example of how even the church finds it difficult not to spin out figures to paint the best possible… Read More ›
Gay marriages are here and this is what I’m celebrating
The big day is here. Marriage has become equal marriage and my gay friends now have the chance to join the club, should they choose to do so. It is still quite remarkable that it was less than two and a… Read More ›
It makes perfect sense that vicars are ranked as the happiest people
So the Rev. Adam Smallbone returned last night to BBC2 for what looks to be his final series as the long-suffering vicar of St Saviour-in-the-Marshes. Like so many others who have experienced the day-to-day life of living in a vicarage, I have… Read More ›
Churches can empower communities in ways that government overseas aid never will
This week, three of my fellow bloggers have travelled to Cambodia with Tearfund to visit communities living in poverty being transformed through the local church. They are meeting people who are being given a hand up from poverty thanks to… Read More ›
Discovering the meaning of Lent
Lent is upon us once again and it is good to stop for a moment irrespective of whether we’ve decided to do anything special over the period and reflect on its meaning. It is one of those occasions in the… Read More ›
Are Christians really more hostile to benefit claimants than their bishops?
One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt the hard way about blogging is that the content of an article is not the most important part. What will usually make or break it are the few little words at the top… Read More ›
Unpacking the ‘doublespeak’ of the C of E’s latest statement on same-sex marriage
Having been half-term break, I’ve spent most of this week away from a computer. To my irritation it has coincided with one of the busiest weeks for stories relating to this blog’s chosen theme for several months, so I’m now in a… Read More ›
Is the ongoing rejection of our Christian heritage resulting in a fairer, better society?
Today’s guest post is written by Will Jones. Will holds a PhD in political philosophy from the University of Reading and a diploma in Biblical studies from Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. He works for the Church of England in diocesan administration… Read More ›
Gay marriage, culture wars and a church that needs to return to its roots
As a resident south of the border, I’ve been observing the progress of the same-sex Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill from a distance and not taking in quite the same volume of information as I did with the equivalent… Read More ›
The Church of England mustn’t waste this opportunity to address the ravages of climate change
One word you wouldn’t use to describe the weather in our country at the moment is ‘boring’. Just when we decide that the havoc wreaked by the latest storm is the worst weather of the winter, along comes the next… Read More ›
Building churches fit for the future – 7 lessons that need to be learnt
Most of the time God and Politics focuses on the relationship between the Christian faith, politics and society, but alongside these the future of the Church in this country is a major concern too. Today’s guest post is by Norman… Read More ›
The Church of England still needs to wake up and smell the coffee over church growth
The history of technology companies is littered with casualties and failures. During my childhood, my friends and I played on Atari consoles and began programming on Spectrums, Commodore and BBC home computers. Polaroids were cool cameras and we started renting… Read More ›
God and Politics in the UK 