For whom the Bell tolls

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. The Church of England’s Evangelical [sic] Council has actually outdone itself.   It’s hard to imagine a more hackneyed, unimpressive, self-indulgent act of dissembling on the topic of Living in Love and Faith. This is meant to be an opportunity for members of the Church of England to listen to each other – yet it appears that the CEEC, including members of the bishops’ steering group for LLF itself, have decided that a bare-faced political assault is in order instead.   It’s hard to overstate how tired the arguments made in this shiny yet vacuous presentation are. However, it’s pro

Some friendly advice for churches on coronavirus Since this blog was published, the advice has changed. The content has been mostly taken down so as not to provide a confusing account. The following section remains, however, relevant: ·       It is absolutely possible that there will be 100,000 deaths from this virus. What do we practically need to do for this? ·       We may have to suspend services or close churches. What are our priorities? o    This includes ordinations coming up in June – the peak may well be between June and August o    This also includes the Lambeth Conference, which absolutely *must* be cancelled, surely ·       This may go on until September at least – what is our strategy at a national and local level? ·       Our churches need to be hospitable but safe: o    How do we keep in touch with our elderly members? o    How do we witness to the love of God in difficult times? o    How do we ensure we are not alarmist? o    How do we talk