The COVID pandemic brought many of us into closer contact with mortality than we were used to. With a high proportion of the population being at least significantly ill and high numbers going on to be hospitalised, intubated and even dying, it meant that lots of people knew at least of someone who had been… Continue reading Lessons from COVID: Fear and Control.
Tag: pandemic
Divine Interruptions
Jonathan Thomas’ book “Intentional Interruptions” focuses on those smaller interruptions of day to day life and how God can use them. However, this got me thinking of the ways in which God can use the bigger events in life to force us to hit pause on our own plans and agendas and pay attention to… Continue reading Divine Interruptions
Resignation offers, integrity and grace
#Partygate and #Beergate continue to rumble on. In latest developments, Labour leader Keir Starmer has said that he will resign if he is issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice fine for breeching covid regulations. His supporters have suggested that this shows integrity and compares unfavourably with the way that the Prime Minister has refused to… Continue reading Resignation offers, integrity and grace
COVID -a very occasional update
Being confined to quarters with a dose of COVID-19 means I’ve had a bit of time on my hands. So, I thought I’d have a quick look at what the current data is on the virus in the UK. As you may recall, there’s been significant changes to regulations and guidance in the last month.… Continue reading COVID -a very occasional update
Is it burnout?
I’ve seen a few articles talking about burnout among those in church leadership over the past few weeks. These seem to be particularly in response to the experience of leaders through the COVID-19 pandemic which has in many ways amplified many of the challenges of Gospel ministry. One helpful contribution to the discussion was this… Continue reading Is it burnout?
Should I give up on seeing people coming back to church?
It varies from church to church but most churches even if they’ve experienced growth through new people joining appear to have lost some people from in person attendance during COVID. I was arguing back in the Autumn that those who had not begun to re-join your gatherings or at least make active preparation probably would… Continue reading Should I give up on seeing people coming back to church?
Post pandemic pastoral conversations – those who haven’t come back
As we return increasingly to normality following the pandemic, I suspect that the vast majority of people who are intending to return to in person church attendance will have done so by now. If the majority of your church are not yet back in person then you may have to have some searching conversations together… Continue reading Post pandemic pastoral conversations – those who haven’t come back
COVID update
Here’s a quick update on where we are on UK COVID data as England prepares for the final lifting of all restrictions. Note that there will still be guidance in place and that Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different regulations and guidance in place. I’ve stopped providing regular reporting of case data but as… Continue reading COVID update
COVID-19: The next step to normality or a reckless risk
Boris Johnson has indicated that plans to end all COVID-19 regulations will be brought forward from the end of March to early March with further announcements expected after the school half term holidays. In practice, for England (Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will continue to have their own regulations and guidance) this means that there… Continue reading COVID-19: The next step to normality or a reckless risk
Blest is the one whose bowels move
My friend Andrew Price drew our attention to an old Isaac Watts’ hymn recently. You will be relieved (pun not intended) to hear that it has nothing to do with bodily functions or IBS. Traditionally, when people referred to the emotions they talked not of the heart which was seen rather as the seat of… Continue reading Blest is the one whose bowels move
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