Confined as I am to the pews these days I have to listen to a lot of sermons. What I can’t do is what I am called and trained to do, which is preach myself. My estimate of most preaching I hear is that it is of a very poor quality indeed. When I was …
Continue reading The Bible and the Newspaper – Thoughts on Preaching
This is a reply to Neil Patterson's blog on Via Media News: https://viamedia.news/2018/09/14/sex-lies-voting-records/ Dear Neil, Thank you for your Via Media contribution. You rightly identify some dishonesties amongst gay men that greatly hinder a grown-up discussion about sex and sexuality. But it is not a gay male problem only, as you rightly hint. I want …
James Alison: http://jamesalison.co.uk/texts/were-in-for-a-rough-ride/ Richard Peers: https://educationpriest.wordpress.com/2018/09/04/sex-lies-and-honesty-in-the-church-an-anglican-response-to-james-alison/ I don't think that a single day goes by when I am not genuinely thankful for the way God has led, guided and kept me in my life. Being very much on the downward slope I hope that I can continue to offer myself as I am for God's …
Continue reading Honest to God: responding to James Alison and Richard Peers
When I was a young man, some forty plus years ago now, the evangelicals of the Church of England were, as a tribe, rather abstemious when it came to alcohol. My training incumbent was teetotal. He wasn't unusual. Lots of evangelicals might have had a half pint of shandy on a very hot day, or …
There have been a variety of reactions to the letter from the bishops of Lichfield diocese to all clergy and licensed lay ministers entitled Welcoming and Honouring LGBT+ people. The letter can be read here. It is clearly intended to be a strongly positive statement affirming the place and role of LGBT+ people in the …
Moving to Zaïre in 1987, among many cultural shocks encountered was the fact that a visa to travel there was a one-way ticket. There was no automatic freedom of movement out of the country once you had entered. You had to apply for an exit/re-entry visa when in situ. For someone used to their passport …
Continue reading Indivisible Freedom and a Homophobic Church
From The Quire 