George Osborne has said that he wants to cut benefits by a further £10bn in the next five years on top of the £18bn already announced. He singled out Housing Benefit for special treatment, slamming people claiming it for having an easy life compared to people working. What Osborne chose to ignore in his rhetoric… Continue reading George! No more benefit cuts before we get a living wage
The best thing I did last summer – Lee Abbey Camp 2012
It was a great summer: the Jubilee, the London Olympics and my 40th birthday. The weather was not great but our family holiday in Costa Del Kent coincided with the hottest week of the year and my birthday picnic was only slightly dampened by a torrential downpour… But for me, the best week of the year… Continue reading The best thing I did last summer – Lee Abbey Camp 2012
The Power of CBeebies
CBeebies the hugely successful channel aimed at 0-6 year olds, is ten this year. Although not directly a New Labour Project it still perfectly reflects the government’s cultural agenda of the time. Culture not economy At the height of the Blarite Years in the early 2000s a conservative commentator perceptively wrote that: ‘all the lefties… Continue reading The Power of CBeebies
Graham Jakeman – Rest In Joy
My church leader, Graham Jakeman, died suddenly earlier in the summer aged 44. His vision, faith and unique leadership helped start and sustain Jubilee Church since it began in September 2003. Stubborn Graham was stubborn. I am used to being able to convince and influence people through my words and arguments, but I don't think… Continue reading Graham Jakeman – Rest In Joy
Left behind: Why the Christian Socialist Movement needs a new name
I remember someone saying to me years ago that Christian Socialist Movement (CSM) had three main problems. Firstly, it wasn’t Christian. Secondly, it wasn’t Socialist. And thirdly, it definitely wasn’t a Movement. And five years ago CSM was struggling. The average age of the membership was the on the rise, numbers were in decline, finances… Continue reading Left behind: Why the Christian Socialist Movement needs a new name
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas [review]
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian and Pastor, who was killed in a Nazi concentration camp, is undoubtedly a Christian hero. But in a Church plagued by theological tribalism, the legacy of such heroes can become a sharply contested. Different tribes claim the legacy of such heroes as their own as lives are analysed and attributes… Continue reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas [review]
‘The Lion’s World: A journey into the heart of Narnia’ by Rowan Williams [Review]
The Narnia books had a very significant role in shaping my Christian faith. I read them as a young teenager and then around the time I decided to be a Christian at 16, I re-read them. No books, before or since, have given me the experience of entering another world like these did. Yet it… Continue reading ‘The Lion’s World: A journey into the heart of Narnia’ by Rowan Williams [Review]
Speak the truth about staffing problems
This is an expanded version of a previous R&R post Why churches manage people badly which was published in The Church Times last week: Managing people decently is an essential part of Christian work - not a bureaucratic luxury, argues Jon Kuhrt Photo by Brett Jordan on Pexels.com The organisational dysfunction exposed by the Archbishop… Continue reading Speak the truth about staffing problems
Our Olympic positivity can last – but we’re going to need practice
Photo by Donald Tong on Pexels.com One of the best things about the Olympics was the regular positivity it bought to every day conversations. I first realised quite how far this had filtered through the nation’s psyche when I read the comments after this Charlie Brooker article in the Guardian. The space ‘below the line’… Continue reading Our Olympic positivity can last – but we’re going to need practice
Three days to stop the bookies’ take-over of our high streets
One of the most depressing sights in many communities is the huge number of betting shops that seem to spring up everywhere. In the poorest communities, shops are closing, businesses are struggling...but the numbers of bookies is ever on the rise. A key factor in this development is that planning law means that local councils don't… Continue reading Three days to stop the bookies’ take-over of our high streets
Grace + Truth 