What will you discover today?

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  Friday 18 June

  Freedom Frustrated

  Next Monday was supposed to be ‘freedom day’ – the glorious moment when social restrictions were finally and completely lifted. After more than a year of lockdown we were looking forward to enjoying one another’s close company again at events and hospitality venues. But recent infection trends have forced the Government into another frustrating delay and now ‘hope deferred makes the heart sick.’ (Proverbs 13:12) Psychologists describe a pattern of emotional reaction to change with something called the Kubler Ross curve – shock, de...

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  Friday 7 May

  Remembering Sarah

  Is Sarah Everard already forgotten?   Sarah’s murder last month made headlines for days, as did demonstrations and proposed legal changes to better protect women. Yet a few weeks on, news has moved on, and I wonder whether anything is really going to change. ...

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  Friday 30 April

  A Pregnant Pause

  Last April I sat in our garden, soaking up the sun, while the world held its breath.  There were no cars, no children’s cries of delight, no diggers, or dustbin lorries. All was still. And then a bird sang. I heard it, as if for the first time, breaking the silence of our stilled world. Over the past year our social silences have swelled. We are used to the silence of Remembrance Day, two minutes at 11am on the 11th of the 11th....

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  Thursday 22 April

  The Super League vs Upside-Down Power

  We find out what we hold sacred when it’s threatened. And the world of football, a religion to its most devoted fans, has certainly felt threatened this week. On Monday, news broke of a proposed European Super League, which would see six of the UK’s biggest teams join a mid-week competition with other heavy hitters from the continent. The idea quickly drew widespread condemnation. Everyone from players to pundits to politicians poured out their wrath. ...

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  Friday 16 April

  Death, Resurrection, and Renewing Creation

  Tomorrow afternoon at 3pm, a national minute’s silence will be observed as The Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral begins. The service will be viewed by millions around the world, but, for all the ceremony, it cannot possibly do justice to the fact that an extraordinary life spanning our turbulent 20th Century has ended. In one sense the death of a ninety-nine year old, however distinguished, is unspectacular. It is not a tragedy in the way that, for example, the death of a child is. In another sense, however, death, whenever it calls, is always...

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  Friday 9 April

  Woke Capitalism

  Spiritual alertness is a recurrent theme in the Psalms. The language often used is of being ‘awake’ to God. Even though David was hiding from King Saul in a cave, he wrote these rousing lyrics: ‘Awake, my soul! Awake harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn!’ (Psalm 57:8). This theme is echoed throughout the rest of scripture, especially in the gospels and epistles. And historical outpourings of the Holy Spirit are often called ‘awakenings’....

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  Friday 2 April

  When I Convey the Wondrous Cross

  It’s a reflective time for the UK. ...

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  Friday 26 March

  Why Counting Counts – Praying the Census

  Last week, my husband and I sat down and completed the census together. As someone who loves filling in forms, this was incredibly fun for me. For my husband, who fears admin like Labradors fear you forgetting to feed them, it was significantly less so. ...

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  Friday 19 March

  Not Just Another Angry Woman

  The past few weeks have been a difficult time to be a woman. ...

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  Friday 12 March

  Happy Families?

  Following Oprah’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, much of this week’s news has revolved around discussions of rejection, rivalry, and rocky royal relationships. ...

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