Even from the back of the class you can see the assignment is covered in red pen. The teacher holds it disdainfully by the corner and then lets it fall fluttering to the floor. She scans the room with a baleful glance before focusing on the offending student: "You know who you are". If I …
Category: Church of England
The Past, Present and Future of Christian Marriage.
This is my panel contribution to the Open Conversation in Chester Cathedral on Saturday 22nd October 2016 as part of the Sexuality and Anglican Identities project of the University of Chester: We are in 1988. In Zaire. It is Sunday morning. It is very hot and there is no air-con. Church is full - there …
Continue reading The Past, Present and Future of Christian Marriage.
Hope and her daughters
On the Changing Attitude Facebook page, a recent post has pointed to a Guardian article about the guidance given to Synod members in their forthcoming Shared Conversations. Comments on this have revealed quite a sharp disagreement between those who are feeling optimistic about change coming in the church, and those who suspect the whole exercise …
Shared Conversations come to an end
Apart from the attenuated version which General Synod members are going to be put through in July, the Shared Conversations are over. This £300K exercise has brought together groups of dioceses and their representatives for three-day residential meetings to allow people from all sides of the church to talk, and more importantly to listen to …
Shared Conversations – Talking in Circles
Getting together with fifty or so other people, only a few of whom you already know, to talk about sex and religion for three days is, frankly, not something that any sane person would really want to do. We did it because the Church of England has decided the way forward over the issue of …
Culture Wars and Christmas
I leaf through the blogs and websites most days, and I today I notice how women bishops and "gay marriage" are still stirring comment. I don't think there is going to be a ceasefire over Christmas. After what has been a dreadful year for the Church of England, with the census telling us of a …
From The Quire 