The primary assumption with rolling out vaccines is that you want to make sure that the highly vulnerable get the vaccine first, so you start with the over 80s and then the over 70s and those with medical conditions. There is a lot of wisdom in that. However, a comment by our local Public Health… Continue reading Prioritising the non-vulnerable may help protect the vulnerable
Tag: Coronavirus
Why I started preaching longer sermons again
At the start of Coronavirus when we all moved church services online, the majority view was that we needed to preach shorter sermons (in fact our services overall were shorter). I agreed with this approach and followed it. I believe it was the right thing to do. You see, all the evidence seemed to point… Continue reading Why I started preaching longer sermons again
Isolation is a form of death
Early in the pandemic, I wrote an article called “There is more than one way to die.” I was concerned then and remain so today that in their desperation to prevent physical deaths from the virus, authorities would miss other deadly dangers. There are two strands to the point that there is more than one… Continue reading Isolation is a form of death
Between scaremongering and complacency
Reading newspaper articles and social media comments this morning, once again I am torn between panic and complacency. Panic induced by continuing reports and discussion about a super new, fast spreading mutant variant of the COVID-19 virus. Complacency risked by those insisting this is all some conspiracy. Some even claiming that the mutation has bene… Continue reading Between scaremongering and complacency
Winding back the hyperbole
Between the 4th and 6th Century AD a controversy boke out particularly among the churches in North Africa concerning a group called the Donatists. They believed that priests in the church had to be perfect in order to serve effectively. The root cause of this was to do with persecution. Some Christians had found ways… Continue reading Winding back the hyperbole
Christmas is not cancelled
Many people are frustrated and upset at the sudden U-Turn on Christmas arrangements. Those measures had offered some small reprieve but arrangements for festivities were still going to be minimal and restricted. Now, however, the hashtag #ChristmasIsCancelled is gaining currency. So, it is important to say that Christmas is not cancelled. Now, by this I… Continue reading Christmas is not cancelled
Pantomime Farce
Yesterday I wrote defending the Christmas easing of lockdown. I demonstrated awful timing. By the end of the day, the 5 day period for seeing family was reduced down to Christmas Day itself and only for those who could travel locally Meanwhile, in the south of England a new tier 4 was introduced banning family… Continue reading Pantomime Farce
The year we were given
2020 was not the year we asked for and not the year we expected. A lot of people had focused on the big number year and its association with vision as a significant milestone to aim for. We all had 2020 visions. Others also because of the symmetry of the year had planned big wedding… Continue reading The year we were given
Our vulnerable Heroes
There has been a lot of talk about how we protect the most vulnerable in our society through a lockdown. On the one hand, some people have argued that the strict lockdown measures and shielding guidance is in the best interests of the most vulnerable. On the other hand, others have suggested that we simply… Continue reading Our vulnerable Heroes
The vaccine and abortion (3) Doing ethics from three perspectives
There are three general approaches to how we make ethical decisions. Sometimes in history they have functioned as competing schools of thought but some contemporary thinkers (particularly John Frame) suggest that in fact we need all three perspectives to make decisions. I’m going to outline them here – probably a little (a lot?) simplified for… Continue reading The vaccine and abortion (3) Doing ethics from three perspectives
Faithroots 