A man of their time?

Over the past year there’s been much discussion about how we should relate to and view Christians from previous generations, especially those who tend to hold hero status amongst us. This has been provoked by the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the tearing down of statues erected to historical figures often with a reputation for philanthropy but… Continue reading A man of their time?

Social Care – a proposal

On Monday I wrote about the proposals to provide for social care by increasing the National Insurance rate.  I thought I’d sketch out a proposal of my own here to contribute to the debate. My proposal is as follows. First, scrap the current National Insurance system which in reality acts as another form of compulsory… Continue reading Social Care – a proposal

Vaccinating children – a middle road between the scare stories

There’s a strong possibility that the Government, on the advice of the Chief Medical Officers will decide to offer the COVID-19 vaccine to 12-15 year olds. Given that the JCVI have advised not to offer the vaccine on the basis of individual health benefit v risk calculations, this means that if you are a parent,… Continue reading Vaccinating children – a middle road between the scare stories

Some thoughts on social care and the elderly

It was the issue considered by many to have robbed Theresa May of a majority back in 2017 and it may well rob Boris Johnson of his when the next General Election comes (although he is presumably calculating that a short term loss of popularity won’t be sustained). The vexing question is concerning what to… Continue reading Some thoughts on social care and the elderly

Is food poverty real and do food banks help?

If you were to talk to people about the big needs in communities and how churches can help, you’ll find that they quite often settle on the assumption that a primary issue is food poverty.  Furthermore, it tends to be assumed that a major solution to food poverty is the existence of foodbanks (alongside things… Continue reading Is food poverty real and do food banks help?

The next big ethical COVID decision -vaccinating children

The Government and JVCI are currently wrestling with the question about where to go next with our COVID-19 vaccination programme.  The jabs have been offered to all over 18s with close to a 90% take-up and in the summer this was extended to 16-18 year olds.  As of the 1st September 2021 88.5% of the… Continue reading The next big ethical COVID decision -vaccinating children

Facemasks and shielding – can Romans 14-15 help us make decisions about in person church?

Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen churches increasingly returning towards a situation similar to pre-COVID normal. We are a long way from reaching that situation yet for a few reasons. First of all, the summer months meant that many churches had reduced attendance due to holidays anyway. Secondly, many churches have continued with some… Continue reading Facemasks and shielding – can Romans 14-15 help us make decisions about in person church?

Marriage at work (9) Protection and abuse

8.1. The Problem So far, our scenarios have assumed a reasonably positive family situation.  We have considered to some extent the husband’s responsibility when his wife is unwilling to submit to his leadership in decision making, but what happens when the context turns more sinister?