Well done to Marcus Rashford, his campaign seems to have encouraged the government to extend provision of free school meal vouchers through the official 6 weeks holiday. If that means the result is that a number of children are properly fed over the summer then that is a good thing. However, this is not going… Continue reading Free School Meal vouchers over the summer will not deal with the problem of poverty
Category: Opinion
Some things take priority over the fear of Coronavirus
What would you have broken lockdown for? Is there anything that would have pushed you to move beyond the 2 metre distancing rules? We were told that these rules were essential, that we should not under any circumstances break them or risk spreading the virus, getting ill of even dying ourselves. People have expressed their… Continue reading Some things take priority over the fear of Coronavirus
Leaders set the tone -sometimes it is about us
In a previous article I said that we set the tone by recognising that things are not always about us. However, sometimes they are. One of the things that concerned me about early comments during coronavirus was the speed with which some church leaders and prominent speakers and writers were quick to suggest that the… Continue reading Leaders set the tone -sometimes it is about us
Meaningful traditions and empty rituals
On Saturday, it was the Queen’s official birthday. Her actual birthday is in April and so it has been the custom for her to have an official celebration in June enabling the pageantry of the Trooping of the Colour with less risk of bad weather. It makes sense and has become part of our customs… Continue reading Meaningful traditions and empty rituals
Leaders set the tone – it isn’t always about us
If you live in a multi-ethnic context then over time you get to hear the thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears of people from different ethnic backgrounds to your own. I have the privilege of living in a community and being part of a church where people come from so many different backgrounds, Afro Caribbean, Nigerian,… Continue reading Leaders set the tone – it isn’t always about us
The fear of being forgotten (our obsession with statues)
The debate about tearing down statues that has dominated our news headlines this week has been a proxy for a deeper debate about what we value. Behind it has been questions about who we remember and who we forget and what that says about the things we value. So, one of the key arguments for… Continue reading The fear of being forgotten (our obsession with statues)
How (not) to let extremists win
Here is how it plays out if we are not careful. A statue of a slave owning city father is taken down in Bristol. People then begin to talk about the unsavoury aspects of other people’s lives who have had statues put up to them, their ownership of slaves, their reference to other people in… Continue reading How (not) to let extremists win
Pride, Prejudice and Privilege in The Church
Yesterday, we talked about pride, prejudice and privilege in society. Today, I want to think more about it in the context of the church. One church that particularly struggled with division, rivalry and pride was the church at Corinth. Right at the start of 1 Corinthians, Paul has to rebuke the church because of this. … Continue reading Pride, Prejudice and Privilege in The Church
Protest
Here’s our #AfternoonTea discussion on protests. Key points include There is a long tradition of marching and demonstrating as a means of making our voices heard. There are democratic freedoms allowing us to do this and benefits include that it gives a sense of action and participation beyond simply marking a cross at the ballot… Continue reading Protest
We need to talk about privilege, pride and prejudice
I want to reflect a little further on the issues of prejudice, racism and classism and why these matter to the church. In so doing, I want to interact with an article that Garry Williams wrote on the matter for the Pastors Academy. I want to highlight four things he raised The problem of racism… Continue reading We need to talk about privilege, pride and prejudice
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