Category: Church life

Forgiveness, reconciliation, trust and what you choose to remember

Forgiveness does not always lead to reconciliation. It is possible to say “I forgive you” but rebuilding broken trust is difficult, takes time and may not be possible.  This may leave us feeling hopeless, helpless and despairing.  What hope is there for the married couple where there has been a breakdown in the relationship, they’ve… Continue reading Forgiveness, reconciliation, trust and what you choose to remember

As we re-open church buildings we need to be transparent about risk

It is important that as we begin taking those baby steps to re-opening our church buildings that we are open and honest with each other about what the risks are. We should not be gung-ho, rushing in and saying “It is back to normal. There are no risks.” There are always risks involved with organising… Continue reading As we re-open church buildings we need to be transparent about risk

Why I won’t be joining Christian Concern in taking the Government to court

A number of Christian leaders have joined with Christian Concern For Our Nation in taking legal action against the government for pursuing lockdown and the closing of church buildings during Coronavirus. I want to explain here why I disagree with the action and won’t be supporting it. First of all, on one level, I respect… Continue reading Why I won’t be joining Christian Concern in taking the Government to court

Returning to the building – our story

This morning, we opened our church building for public worship for the first time since lockdown began. I thought you might like to hear about how we got on. My own church day started around about 8pm. I recorded a message of encouragement for the church family which you can watch back here. We then… Continue reading Returning to the building – our story

#SummerIsHere

I started lockdown with a twitter hashtag #SummerIsComing. It was my way of reminding myself and perhaps others that although we were entering a dark period like winter when we would be locked away, huddled at home, these dark times would eventually pass.  We could look forward to summer coming. I said at the time… Continue reading #SummerIsHere

Could come to church … should come to church – thoughts on leaving lockdown

UK churches are beginning to leave lockdown. We have finally been granted permission to re-open our buildings for public worship. Now, at this stage, we are going to face some collective challenges together.  In many respects, it won’t be easy for us. I am reminded of the incident in Ezra where the rebuilt temple is… Continue reading Could come to church … should come to church – thoughts on leaving lockdown

Body ministry is best (lessons in lockdown)

As lockdown started, we sat down to a zoom call with a big spreadsheet in front of us. A plan kicked into place to ensure that someone was in contact with each and every attendee throughout lockdown to ensure that people will practically cared for, connected and spiritually okay. As I’m sure was said at… Continue reading Body ministry is best (lessons in lockdown)

Talking behind closed doors – Genevan Commons and Aimee Byrd

Part three of this engagement is less about the specific theology and practice up for debate in Byrd’s book. Here instead I want to tackle one of the spin off issues. The other week, Aimee Byrd posted a link to a new website on her blog. The website provides screenshots from a Facebook group called… Continue reading Talking behind closed doors – Genevan Commons and Aimee Byrd