Photo by Taufiq Klinkenborg on Pexels.com Earlier this week, I participated in a conference organised by Westminster City Council at Bloomsbury Baptist Church which focused on the growing problem of people from Eastern Europe sleeping rough in London. It is one of the most pressing issues in homelessness at the moment as almost all day centres… Continue reading In the eye of the storm: churches are still at the forefront of addressing homelessness
When good people do nothing
"All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to do nothing" Edmund Burke Photo by Guilherme Christmann on Pexels.com ‘This city desert makes you feel so cold, it’s got so many people but it’s got no soul’ Jerry Rafferty, Baker Street Last Friday I was getting the tube home from work and… Continue reading When good people do nothing
Busyness: the enemy of spirituality
Photo by Mauru00edcio Mascaro on Pexels.com How often do you hear people make comments like: 'I’m so busy' or ‘It’s been a crazy week’ or ‘I just don’t know how I am going to get everything done’. Being honest, I find myself saying things like this all the time. I've been thinking - why do I say… Continue reading Busyness: the enemy of spirituality
Lent: the best time for a bit of R&R
Today is Shrove Tuesday so tomorrow Lent will begin. At a church we visited on Sunday, the minister spoke about Lent as ‘a time of preparation for Easter, the most important Christian festival’. My 7 year old son Tom turned to me aghast and said (a bit too loudly) "Easter? More important than Christmas? I think Christmas is loads… Continue reading Lent: the best time for a bit of R&R
Every Little Helps, but Tesco’s use of the Workfare scheme is exploitation for profit
We need work experience schemes for some welfare claimants, but the workfare scheme is being used by Tesco and others as exploitation for profit pure and simple. Workfare forces some job seekers to take unpaid work for months at a time in order to receive Job Seekers’ Allowance (JSA) of under £70 per week. Rumblings of… Continue reading Every Little Helps, but Tesco’s use of the Workfare scheme is exploitation for profit
In the mixer…or just mixed up? Why Baroness Warsi is wrong about secularism – by Ronnie Stockton
This is a guest post written by Ronnie Stockton I’m not averse to the odd footy cliche, so obviously the ‘in the mixer’ tagline of yesterday's R&R post caught my eye. As an atheist, I do find that faith is a 'funny old game' and I was intrigued by the passionate debates created by Baroness Warsi's article about … Continue reading In the mixer…or just mixed up? Why Baroness Warsi is wrong about secularism – by Ronnie Stockton
Baroness Warsi, secularism and putting faith ‘in the mixer’
Photo by RODOLPHE ASENSI on Pexels.com Baroness Warsi's article on faith and secularism in the Daily Telegraph this morning has created an Almighty debate. After the controversies over the banning of prayers at Bideford Council meetings, it's yet another example of how issues of faith are increasingly right at the heart of public debate. In… Continue reading Baroness Warsi, secularism and putting faith ‘in the mixer’
The Bideford prayer ruling: not so much anti-faith as undemocratic
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com My concern about the Bideford Town Council ruling which bans prayer from meetings is not because it is anti-faith. It is more because it is undemocratic. Undemocratic The judge ruled that the Local Government Act 1972 didn’t give the Council power to have prayers. But surely in a democratic… Continue reading The Bideford prayer ruling: not so much anti-faith as undemocratic
We should be anti-bad business not anti-big business
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels.com George Osborne says that he is worried that the UK is becoming ‘anti-business’. What he means is anti-big business. I mean, if failing mega corporations can’t hide their profits away to avoid tax and CEOs can’t claim obscene bonuses in peace why would they want to come to theUK?… Continue reading We should be anti-bad business not anti-big business
Welfare Reform Bill is on the right track, but it won’t get the job done
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels.com There’s been an awful lot of handwringing over the Welfare Reform Bill and the ‘benefits cap’ in particular. However, most of the bill is on the right track, although it’s only one part of the bigger picture. The Benefits Cap The benefits cap is clearly illogical and wrong (see… Continue reading Welfare Reform Bill is on the right track, but it won’t get the job done
Grace + Truth 