This is the third in a little series of articles reflecting on the controversy surrounding Dominic Cumming’s trip to Durham. I guess it also relates to the issues that came up with Professor Neil Ferguson and Catherine Calderwood, the former Scottish Chief Medical Officer I am more concerned with the lessons we learn for our… Continue reading The Shaming of the Shrew
Category: Opinion
Cummings and Goings
As promised, here is part two of my thoughts on the Dominic Cummings case. I want to focus here on the question of how we interact with rules. The key question for DC’s future is whether or not he did break any rules. If he broke lockdown rules, then this is serious because he has… Continue reading Cummings and Goings
Should we sympathise with Dominic Cummings?
On Saturday May 23rd news broke that Dominic Cummings (Boris Johnson’s chief of staff) had allegedly broke the lockdown rules to visit his parents in Durham. Over the day, the story changed several times. The explanation was given that he went because he and his wife were beginning o show symptoms of COVID-19 and that… Continue reading Should we sympathise with Dominic Cummings?
Coronavirus and the battle of three fridges
Here is the latest Government ad campaign in the battle of Coronavirus. You get the message don’t you. We are meant to keep our distance when out and about. We should be around about two metres apart from each other, that’s obviously not meant to be a precise measurement. It’s a rough distance. There are… Continue reading Coronavirus and the battle of three fridges
Becoming like our idols “When we make free speech an idol”
This morning the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party tweeted a claim that SAGE had produced new models showing that it would be safer for schools to return a fortnight later than suggested. As it turned out, the tweet was false. SAGE had not said this at all. I hope that the miscommunication was an… Continue reading Becoming like our idols “When we make free speech an idol”
The crucial difference between “at the earliest” and “at the latest”
“Don’t build up expectations, don’t get hopes up” “You will do better to air on the side of caution and pessimism” “Be realistic” These are the key messages that have been coming through from national church leaders involved in consultation with the Government over the past few weeks. It can be very frustrating if you… Continue reading The crucial difference between “at the earliest” and “at the latest”
Why I changed my mind about diversity and church
A few days ago, I republished an article I wrote sometime back about whether or not our churches should focus on reaching specific cultural groups based on things like ethnicity nd class. In the article, I argue that we should aim to grow churches which are culturally diverse. I argue against the Homogenous Unit Principle… Continue reading Why I changed my mind about diversity and church
Assumptions, Lockdown and the urban church
A lot of the assumptions I hear made about Coronavirus, the lockdown and life ahead assume a middle-class, suburban perspective on things. Those might sound like provocative words but let me explain why I am saying this. First of all, there is a tendency to talk about the virus not discriminating. I understand the sentiments… Continue reading Assumptions, Lockdown and the urban church
Coronavirus in our care homes – why does sorry seem to be the hardest word?
Special Agent Gibbs is the hero of NCIS. A man of few words with his own traumatic past, he leads a team of agents with a passionate commitment to justice. One of the unique things about Gibbs is that he has a rule for everything, a code to live by. One of his best known… Continue reading Coronavirus in our care homes – why does sorry seem to be the hardest word?
The Care home scandal we cannot ignore
For a little while, I have been arguing that the one true scandal of the Coronavirus pandemic is that we allowed the virus to get into our care homes. The one place where you did not want the virus to run riot was also the one place we could have protected. I think that in… Continue reading The Care home scandal we cannot ignore
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