January 2012 Blog Posts (20)

Relationships change everything.

The media often have a perception of the church that allows through their filter only anything that has to do with sex or conflict. The 2008 Lambeth Conference involved a load of relationship building that didn’t press the…

One of the challenges of listening through the ears of a different culture is trying to work out (a) what is being said, (b) how is it being said, (c) to whom is it being said, (d) why is it being said, and (e) what is being heard from what is being said.

Listening to a keynote speaker at…

The great thing about spending a week in Southwestern Virginia before the annual Council is that we got to meet a shed load of people and arrived at the Council already knowing many new friends. It also means that people trust me enough not to be perturbed when they come across something that…

One of the things I learned as a vicar (and something I keep reminding clergy who move from one parish to another) is that you can learn the history, but you can’t share the memory. The problem, however, is that people in any community usually act and react from the unarticulated memory,…

On 6th December 2011, a delegation of Jains from England met for discussions about Catholic-Jain relations with Holy See specialists - find a full account, and some lovely pictures, here: http://www.jainology.org/1514/jain-delegation-vatican/.

Jesus makes a difference http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFOjUchIuoY i need a volunteer event organiser in London, can anyone help?

The Diocese of Salford is organising a "relay of prayer", where participating schools are assigned one of the countries participating in the Olympics. Students pass the torch from school to school by different (and interesting!) means of transport, and explore the culture and religion of 'their' chosen country, keeping it in their prayers - an enriching experience, and an encouragement to learn about other religions, and to realise that prayer is a gift that connects us all. For more…

This morning I was preaching in Altavista. Until I arrived in the USA on Friday I thought Altavista was just a search engine. But, it isn’t – it’s a real place in Virginia.

We (our wonderful hosts, Bishop Neff Powell and his wife Dorothy) drove an hour and a half to get there and everyone…

I am preaching on Jonah in Altavista, Virginia, tomorrow morning. This afternoon we went out to the cinema in Roanoke to see…

I am writing this on a flight from Manchester to Atlanta, Georgia, where I will connect to Roanoke, Virginia, and spend a week visiting the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia which is linked with the Diocese of Bradford.

The only interesting bit of the flight so far was hearing two stewards…

I was driving over to a primary school in Ilkley this morning (dribbly rain and mist over the wild moors) and listening to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was being…

A one day conference organised by the Christian Muslim Forum on 31st January which covers the how and why of engagement with Muslims, with a focus on local engagement. For more information and to register, go to http://christianmuslimforum.org/index.php/events/event-listing/649/

Many churches in Glasgow and the surrounding area are opening their doors to visitors as well as holding traditional services during this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which runs from January 18 to 25. We have details from Airdrie, Alexandria, Cumbernauld, Glasgow City Centre (six churches), East End and Pollokshaws.

http://glasgowchurches.org.uk/unityweek

Is it possible any longer to live without electronic media? I write this on my laptop with my mobile phone next to me on my desk (I am expecting a call) and a load of tweets telling me to watch Sherlock on iPlayer.

The Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland (EKD), as part of its ten-year…

In the margins of the last couple of weeks I have been following on the Internet the progress of boats in the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge. The reason – given that I know as much about boats and rowing as…

Meeting God in

Friend and Stranger

Fostering respect and mutual understanding between the religions

A series of discussions based on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales document

Third Wednesday of the month 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Hinsley Room, Morpeth Terrace

Westminster Cathedral interfaith group

January…

If you want to turn your white sheet red, make sure you only put red dye in the water.

If you want to ensure that the evidence you collect fits the conclusions with which you started, select for your committee those who begin with the same assumptions and conclusions as…

Two days in and three books down.

I haven’t the first idea what an algorithm looks like or what it does or how it does it. It’s something mathematical and that finishes it for me. But Robert Harris‘s The Fear Index takes an interesting look at the sort of thing that went wrong in the…

What a wonderful start to 2012.

Manchester Utd lose at home to bottom-of-the-table Blackburn Rovers. Then Manchester City lose to a last-gasp goal by Sunderland. Add to that the return of Steven Gerrard to Liverpool’s growing-in-confidence team and the sun is already shining though the…

Its wonderful to find a Connect site for Churches Together!! I'm a Christian who is attached to no church - my relationship with God has grown deeper since my husband and I decided to be "free" Christians. I am continuing to learn in living and loving by doing this.

In our town, Unitarians are excluded from all ecumenical activities and on approaching the various priests, I was told by one that this is in line with the guidelines set out by Churches Together UK. I would be…