HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
BISHOP GENE ROBINSON'S INVOCATION
It didn't make it to live television, but Bishop Gene Robinson's powerful invocation on Sunday has been put up on YouTube by the evangelical magazine Christianity Today - to its credit, since many of its readers probably do not share its strong convictions (full text here). It appears to be a 'home video'. Some of the comments underneath are abusive and unpleasant, you should be warned.
It didn't make it to live television, but Bishop Gene Robinson's powerful invocation on Sunday has been put up on YouTube by the evangelical magazine Christianity Today - to its credit, since many of its readers probably do not share its strong convictions (full text here). It appears to be a 'home video'. Some of the comments underneath are abusive and unpleasant, you should be warned.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
ON THE TELLY
If you are in Britain and near a television on Sunday 18 January you can catch my Ekklesia co-director Jonathan Bartley on BBC1's Big Questions at 10.00am discussing, among other things the inauguration of Barack Obama, and on Michael Portillo's Christianity: A History on Channel 4 at 7.00pm, looking at the impact of Constantine. To support Ekklesia's work with the media you can donate through PayPal here, by the way.
If you are in Britain and near a television on Sunday 18 January you can catch my Ekklesia co-director Jonathan Bartley on BBC1's Big Questions at 10.00am discussing, among other things the inauguration of Barack Obama, and on Michael Portillo's Christianity: A History on Channel 4 at 7.00pm, looking at the impact of Constantine. To support Ekklesia's work with the media you can donate through PayPal here, by the way. Tuesday, January 13, 2009
GIVING PEACE A HEARING
A leading advocate of practical non-violence begins a two-week, 20 meeting tour of Britain from Friday 16 January through to 1 February 2009, offering case studies of achieving peace without guns in the Middle East and elsewhere.
A leading advocate of practical non-violence begins a two-week, 20 meeting tour of Britain from Friday 16 January through to 1 February 2009, offering case studies of achieving peace without guns in the Middle East and elsewhere. Gene Stoltzfus, US founder and director emeritus of the Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), will be on tour in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland to share his field experience in global peacemaking.
The visit is organised by Christian Peacemakers Teams UK and is backed by the religion and society think-tank Ekklesia. CPT came to global prominence in 2006 during the Iraq hostage crisis. More information here and here.Tuesday, January 06, 2009
EYELESS IN GAZA
I have now listened to many, many media interviews about the Gaza tragedy in which dropping bombs, sending in tanks (Israel) or launching rockets (Hamas) has been justified "as a legitimate response" to "what the other side is doing". On some occasions the "eye for an eye" aphorism has been directly used - or, rather, abused. One should not forget the key questions about occupation, dispossession and disproportion, of course. The futile politics of what is going on is frightening - and rather well summarised by Peter Beaumont. But the issues of the destructiveness inherent in endemic revenge go deep into the human psyche and point us toward a root sickness. This is an issue I have tackled in a short Ekklesia piece, On not being left eyeless in Gaza. It also provides an opportunity to begin to plug the forthcoming Gene Stolzfus visit.
I have now listened to many, many media interviews about the Gaza tragedy in which dropping bombs, sending in tanks (Israel) or launching rockets (Hamas) has been justified "as a legitimate response" to "what the other side is doing". On some occasions the "eye for an eye" aphorism has been directly used - or, rather, abused. One should not forget the key questions about occupation, dispossession and disproportion, of course. The futile politics of what is going on is frightening - and rather well summarised by Peter Beaumont. But the issues of the destructiveness inherent in endemic revenge go deep into the human psyche and point us toward a root sickness. This is an issue I have tackled in a short Ekklesia piece, On not being left eyeless in Gaza. It also provides an opportunity to begin to plug the forthcoming Gene Stolzfus visit.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
STARTING OUT AGAIN
It may be hard to feel a great sense of natural optimism about 2009 given the war in Gaza, the global economic crunch, environmental degradation and much more. But... we can still celebrate human community and possibility, wage peace, and resolve to encourage and transform. New Year greetings to one and all, with the assistance of the fireworks from central London!
It may be hard to feel a great sense of natural optimism about 2009 given the war in Gaza, the global economic crunch, environmental degradation and much more. But... we can still celebrate human community and possibility, wage peace, and resolve to encourage and transform. New Year greetings to one and all, with the assistance of the fireworks from central London!
Friday, December 26, 2008
NOT BY MIGHT
A short Christmastide reflection on the God who defies our expectations of 'godness' in the vulnerability of the Christ child.
A short Christmastide reflection on the God who defies our expectations of 'godness' in the vulnerability of the Christ child.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
A DIFFERENT REGIME
A very happy Christmas to one and all. I hope I'll be able to get up to speed with FaithInSociety by the New Year. In the meantime, here's an Advent/Christmastide reflection ('Which Jesus are we expecting?') and an excerpt from a poem...
"In the days of Caesar, when his subjects went to be reckoned,
there was a poem made, too dark for him (naive with power) to read.
It was a bunch of shepherds who discovered
in Bethlehem of Judah, the great music beyond reason and reckoning:
shepherds, the sort of folk who leave the ninety-nine behind
so as to bring the stray back home, they heard it clear..."
From 'In the Days of Caesar', The Poems of Rowan Williams (The Perpetua Press, Oxford, 2002)
A very happy Christmas to one and all. I hope I'll be able to get up to speed with FaithInSociety by the New Year. In the meantime, here's an Advent/Christmastide reflection ('Which Jesus are we expecting?') and an excerpt from a poem...
"In the days of Caesar, when his subjects went to be reckoned,
there was a poem made, too dark for him (naive with power) to read.
It was a bunch of shepherds who discovered
in Bethlehem of Judah, the great music beyond reason and reckoning:
shepherds, the sort of folk who leave the ninety-nine behind
so as to bring the stray back home, they heard it clear..."
From 'In the Days of Caesar', The Poems of Rowan Williams (The Perpetua Press, Oxford, 2002)
Friday, November 28, 2008
THE DIFFICULTY OF ADVENT
“We’ve lost the ability to hold our breath. Everything is instantly available, regardless of longer-term costs, and the damage we do to ourselves and our planet is immense. So we get into debt, we produce more emissions and become unhappy if we are not immediately gratified.” - Ann Pettifor
“We’ve lost the ability to hold our breath. Everything is instantly available, regardless of longer-term costs, and the damage we do to ourselves and our planet is immense. So we get into debt, we produce more emissions and become unhappy if we are not immediately gratified.” - Ann Pettifor
Thursday, November 27, 2008
WHAT LIES BEHIND THE MUMBAI TRAGEDY?
The carnage in Bombay (officially known as Mumbai), in which gunmen have killed over a hundred people, injured many more and taken hostages, has shocked the world. It has thrown a spotlight on religious extremism of various kinds. Savitri Hensman has written a very useful piece looking behind the headlines and asking deeper questions about who and what might be 'responsible' for this carnage.
The carnage in Bombay (officially known as Mumbai), in which gunmen have killed over a hundred people, injured many more and taken hostages, has shocked the world. It has thrown a spotlight on religious extremism of various kinds. Savitri Hensman has written a very useful piece looking behind the headlines and asking deeper questions about who and what might be 'responsible' for this carnage.
Monday, November 24, 2008
INVESTING IN HOPE
Oikocredit shows that microfinance, fairer finance and small scale investment in impoverished communities and ground-up creativity can make a difference way beyond its size on paper. More so when big capital is turning sour.
Oikocredit shows that microfinance, fairer finance and small scale investment in impoverished communities and ground-up creativity can make a difference way beyond its size on paper. More so when big capital is turning sour.
WELCOME TO THE CULTURE CLUB
My column in this month's Third Way magazine (Political capital out of culture spats?) heads for the weird and makes-you-wonder way politicians get caught up in public moral panics about celebs, when they're not trying to bask in the reflected glory of Barack Obama. There's a theological twist at the end. And a work-in for John Sargeant and 'Strictly Come Dancing'. What more could you want on a dark winter's evening? Russell Brand Live, maybe...?
My column in this month's Third Way magazine (Political capital out of culture spats?) heads for the weird and makes-you-wonder way politicians get caught up in public moral panics about celebs, when they're not trying to bask in the reflected glory of Barack Obama. There's a theological twist at the end. And a work-in for John Sargeant and 'Strictly Come Dancing'. What more could you want on a dark winter's evening? Russell Brand Live, maybe...?
Friday, November 21, 2008
DETACHMENT AND AFFECTION
“We do not detach ourselves from things in order to attach ourselves to God, but rather we become detached from ourselves in order to see and use all things in and for God.” – Thomas Merton (Catholic religious and mystic)
“The lack of a caring community that incarnates the Word makes us more and more incapable of being heard.” – Melba Maggay (Filipina evangelical theologian)
“We do not detach ourselves from things in order to attach ourselves to God, but rather we become detached from ourselves in order to see and use all things in and for God.” – Thomas Merton (Catholic religious and mystic)
“The lack of a caring community that incarnates the Word makes us more and more incapable of being heard.” – Melba Maggay (Filipina evangelical theologian)
Thursday, November 20, 2008
MIGRATING FROM REALITY
I've been involved in the mini-debate provoked by Phil Woolas' inept comments about asylum, the law and the work of charities and human rights organisations. Ekklesia's response was 'Immigration Minister has wrong target on asylum'. My other press comments are collated here. That a Minister of the Crown should make it publicly plain that he will not accept the verdict of the law in this area is quite stunning. These days there are often calls for resignations when politicians make gaffes. Mostly they are driven by partisan advantage. That there are no such calls in this instance is a significant commentary on warped priorities and the depressing consensus between government and main opposition that exists around this issue. The statement by the Free Churches moves in the right direction, and at least one senior Anglican figure has been working very well behind the scenes in relation to those seeking refuge from Zimbabwe. I also wrote about 'Migration's real meaning' for Guardian CIF some time back. Caroline Slocock of the Refugee Legal Centre has made an excellent response to Woolas here.
I've been involved in the mini-debate provoked by Phil Woolas' inept comments about asylum, the law and the work of charities and human rights organisations. Ekklesia's response was 'Immigration Minister has wrong target on asylum'. My other press comments are collated here. That a Minister of the Crown should make it publicly plain that he will not accept the verdict of the law in this area is quite stunning. These days there are often calls for resignations when politicians make gaffes. Mostly they are driven by partisan advantage. That there are no such calls in this instance is a significant commentary on warped priorities and the depressing consensus between government and main opposition that exists around this issue. The statement by the Free Churches moves in the right direction, and at least one senior Anglican figure has been working very well behind the scenes in relation to those seeking refuge from Zimbabwe. I also wrote about 'Migration's real meaning' for Guardian CIF some time back. Caroline Slocock of the Refugee Legal Centre has made an excellent response to Woolas here.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
CREDIT WHERE IT IS DUE?
The New Statesman asked me to write something about faith and economy in the context of the present situation. I penned The Church in the crunch, published today... Following huge losses during the financial crisis, can the Church of England and other churches return to the Christian principles and practices of using material wealth for the common good, and especially in favour of the most vulnerable? (Yes it can, to coin a phrase. Whether it and we are willing for the tough decisions and actions involved is another matter.)
The New Statesman asked me to write something about faith and economy in the context of the present situation. I penned The Church in the crunch, published today... Following huge losses during the financial crisis, can the Church of England and other churches return to the Christian principles and practices of using material wealth for the common good, and especially in favour of the most vulnerable? (Yes it can, to coin a phrase. Whether it and we are willing for the tough decisions and actions involved is another matter.)
Monday, November 17, 2008
A MATTER OF JUDGEMENT
I prefaced my remarks in this sermon at St Stephen's, Exeter (Coming under liberating judgement) yesterday with the observation that, in addition to not working with animals and children, you shouldn't give 'texts of terror' to visiting preachers, lest they try a "hit and run" sermon. I don't think that's what this is, and I'm not a visitor - though I'm much less regular at the Central Parish of Exeter than I would like, due in large measure to the strange kind of geographical limbo created by existing between Devon, Birmingham, London and various other places... most notably Manchester, for the World Christian Student Federation Europe region theology conference on faith and pluralism, this week. [Icon of the Last Judgement provided by ΕΚΔΟΣΗ και ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ , ΓΑΛΑΚΤΙΩΝΟΣ ΓΚΑΜΙΛΗ ΤΗΛ. 4971 882, ΕΚΤΥΠΟΣΗ Μ. ΤΟΥΜΠΗΣ Α.Ε.]
I prefaced my remarks in this sermon at St Stephen's, Exeter (Coming under liberating judgement) yesterday with the observation that, in addition to not working with animals and children, you shouldn't give 'texts of terror' to visiting preachers, lest they try a "hit and run" sermon. I don't think that's what this is, and I'm not a visitor - though I'm much less regular at the Central Parish of Exeter than I would like, due in large measure to the strange kind of geographical limbo created by existing between Devon, Birmingham, London and various other places... most notably Manchester, for the World Christian Student Federation Europe region theology conference on faith and pluralism, this week. [Icon of the Last Judgement provided by ΕΚΔΟΣΗ και ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ , ΓΑΛΑΚΤΙΩΝΟΣ ΓΚΑΜΙΛΗ ΤΗΛ. 4971 882, ΕΚΤΥΠΟΣΗ Μ. ΤΟΥΜΠΗΣ Α.Ε.]
Friday, November 14, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
REMEMBERING... HOPEFULLY
Today is Remembrance Day. But what is ‘remembering’ in human and Christian terms? How can we probe beneath the emotion and ceremony associated with this poignant public occasion in order to discover (and practice) something life-affirming as we recall the tragedy of war? This article has been excerpted and adapted from a considerably longer chapter ('Remembrance as radical anticipation') in my forthcoming book, Threatened With Resurrection: The difficult peace of Christ, which will be published in December 2008. A day seminar on its themes is due to be held on 26 November 2008 at the London Mennonite Centre. Meanwhile, my colleague Jonathan is taking some stick after the BBC reported his own article as an "attack" on the churches. Rather than as a suggestion that they might expand, revise and develop their practice in terms of a fuller memory and a more concertedly Christian practice. Some of the emails we are getting are not pretty, but they kind of illustrate the point we are trying to make. (Actually, Ekklesia hadn't done anything to publicise this, other than some very low-key blogging, but since the 2006 furore it seems we are now on the 'events' calendar as the source of a nice media bust up. [image courtesy and (c) of Taringa]
Today is Remembrance Day. But what is ‘remembering’ in human and Christian terms? How can we probe beneath the emotion and ceremony associated with this poignant public occasion in order to discover (and practice) something life-affirming as we recall the tragedy of war? This article has been excerpted and adapted from a considerably longer chapter ('Remembrance as radical anticipation') in my forthcoming book, Threatened With Resurrection: The difficult peace of Christ, which will be published in December 2008. A day seminar on its themes is due to be held on 26 November 2008 at the London Mennonite Centre. Meanwhile, my colleague Jonathan is taking some stick after the BBC reported his own article as an "attack" on the churches. Rather than as a suggestion that they might expand, revise and develop their practice in terms of a fuller memory and a more concertedly Christian practice. Some of the emails we are getting are not pretty, but they kind of illustrate the point we are trying to make. (Actually, Ekklesia hadn't done anything to publicise this, other than some very low-key blogging, but since the 2006 furore it seems we are now on the 'events' calendar as the source of a nice media bust up. [image courtesy and (c) of Taringa]
Monday, November 10, 2008
TAKING THE POSITIVES
On his own blog, Jonathan Bartley reflects positively on recent Remembrance developments. He is due to be in discussion with the Anglican Bishop of Manchester, Nigel McCulloch, chaplain to the British Legion, at 08.45am on the BBC R4 'Today' programme tomorrow, by the way. Also worth watching tonight will be Channel Four's documentary on conscientious objection in World War one, presented by Private Eye editor Ian Hislop.
On his own blog, Jonathan Bartley reflects positively on recent Remembrance developments. He is due to be in discussion with the Anglican Bishop of Manchester, Nigel McCulloch, chaplain to the British Legion, at 08.45am on the BBC R4 'Today' programme tomorrow, by the way. Also worth watching tonight will be Channel Four's documentary on conscientious objection in World War one, presented by Private Eye editor Ian Hislop.
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