Photo by S.A. Bond on Pexels.com Among the graves of the great and famous in Westminster Abbey lies buried an ordinary, anonymous soldier who lost his life in the Great War. It is known as the tomb of the Unknown Soldier: a symbol to remember of the sacrifice and courage of ordinary men and women.… Continue reading The Well-Known Soldier – by Olive Kuhrt
Category: Ethics & Christian living
Standing at the Crossroads of a New Year
Photo by u0410u043bu0435u043au0441u0430u043du0434u0440 u041fu0440u043eu043au043eu0444u044cu0435u0432 on Pexels.com The New Year can be a focus for hope and change: a time of decision, to choose certain paths and resist others. In Jeremiah 6:16 it says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and… Continue reading Standing at the Crossroads of a New Year
The Queen gives us a model of how to talk about faith publicly
Over the last 10 years the Queen has been increasingly open about her Christian faith in her Christmas Day message. This quote particularly struck me from her speech this year: "The teachings of Christ have served as my inner light." Whatever your views on the Royal family, I think everyone can learn from the way that the Queen speaks… Continue reading The Queen gives us a model of how to talk about faith publicly
Zuzu’s petals, the pandemic & reminders of what is most important
In the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, the main character George Bailey faces bankruptcy and scandal. After a life of service and sacrifice, someone else’s negligence takes him to the brink of ruin. On Christmas Eve, in the midst of his angst and desperation, George goes home and sees his family. His young daughter, Zuzu,… Continue reading Zuzu’s petals, the pandemic & reminders of what is most important
In Honour of Mary’s Song – by Dave Andrews
At my church this week, I am speaking about Mary's Song from Luke 1. The German pastor and theologian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, wrote: 'This is not the gentle, tender, dreamy Mary whom we sometimes see in paintings… This song has none of the sweet, nostalgic, or even playful tones of some of our Christmas carols. The… Continue reading In Honour of Mary’s Song – by Dave Andrews
Its Christmas-time, there’s no need to be afraid?
The opening line to Band Aid's Do they know its Christmas? are: ‘Its Christmas-time, there’s no need to be afraid’ Many people may find it hard to sing along to these lines this year. This year there is probably a longer list than ever of things that we feel afraid for or worried about: the… Continue reading Its Christmas-time, there’s no need to be afraid?
‘Here Are Your Gods!’ by Christopher Wright [Review] – Greg Smith
This is a short and easily readable book, aimed at a student or educated lay Christian audience. The author is an established Old Testament scholar and missiologist, working for the Langham Partnership. It offers a clear, conservative exposition of key biblical texts about idolatry, with a radical, practical and political application in today’s world. Political idolatry The… Continue reading ‘Here Are Your Gods!’ by Christopher Wright [Review] – Greg Smith
The responsibility of the least segregated place in my community
“I think it is one of the shameful tragedies of our nation that 11 o’clock on a Sunday morning is one of the most segregated hours in Christian America…any church that stands against integration, and which has a segregated body, is standing against the spirit and teachings of Jesus Christ.” Martin Luther King, 1960 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1q881g1L_d8… Continue reading The responsibility of the least segregated place in my community
We rarely know the impact of what we do (for good and bad)
Photo by Simeon Maryska on Pexels.com In the late 1990s, I was the manager of a hostel for young people in central London. One of the residents, I’ll call him Will, had serious mental health problems. These manifested in paranoia and bizarre delusions about religious conspiracies and plots. Sadly, his health declined and the extremity… Continue reading We rarely know the impact of what we do (for good and bad)
‘Hopelessness is the enemy of justice’: personal belief & social change
Bryan Stevenson graduated in law from Harvard University and went to work for men on death row in Alabama. He established the Equal Justice Initiative to provide legal support for those who had not received fair representation and whose convictions were based on weak evidence. Just Mercy is a great film about the story of… Continue reading ‘Hopelessness is the enemy of justice’: personal belief & social change
Grace + Truth 