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Where is the Church’s Prophetic Voice?
“Many of us like to think we would, or even do, speak truth to power, but when we’re actually confronted with it, either in ourselves or our colleagues, we struggle to recognise it for what it is. After twenty-five years of worshipping and, latterly, discerning in the Church of England, I see plenty of power,…
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What is Politics?
There is a sentiment common around election time that if you do not vote, you have no right to criticise. This is an understandable reaction, but whilst it is certainly true that one fairly consistent aspect of living in a ‘liberal democracy’ is a lack of voter turnout, it would be wrong to equate this…
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Navigating Academia as an Undiagnosed Autistic
What is it like to go to university with undiagnosed #autism? How does the diagnostic process affect this? #REDinstead
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Helmets, Museums, and Colonialism: What the Staffordshire Hoard Can Teach Us About Ourselves
Who looks after and displays historical artefacts matters. Britain still flexes its colonial muscles, it just does so by using its cultural and academic influence more than its military influence.
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Truth, Freedom of Speech, and the Poppy
This blog is a sort of semi-sequel to this one. If you have not read it, you may like to. In a recent speech, the actor and comedian Stephen Fry expressed his frustration at the apparent death of the political centre ground. The problem, he feels, is that freedom of speech is under attack from both…
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The Church Can No Longer Be Politically Neutral
I can still picture the moment I discovered that there are Christians who believe that climate change is a good thing because it will speed Christ’s return! Much like the famed ‘rapture hatch’, it can be tempting to laugh at such eschatological clumsiness, but for the seriousness of its implications. A similar story emerges with…
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Stories from the Way: The Camino Donativo
Reaction to the BBC’s ‘Pilgrimage: The Road to Santiago’ has been somewhat mixed amongst those who have completed the journey themselves. Indeed even before it began, more than one friend expressed their concern that such a programme could not possibly do justice to the great and ancient mysteries of the Way. I likewise had concerns, but…
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5 Steps to a Communist Christmas
With Christmas Day imminent, it can be easy to get caught up in the last minute dash to the shops, or the frustration of planning something everyone will enjoy. The whole Christmas season can become overshadowed by things that have no right to take up our time and thoughts, so with that in mind, here…
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The Poppy Appeal: State Militarism in Fancy Dress
I nearly joined the army once. I was a teenager, a young school leaver, with little to show for my years eking out a miserable existence in a place that didn’t want me. I joined a college course, completely unsuitable for me, and eventually left when my anti-authoritarian streak reared its ruinous head. The course…
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The Passage of Time and the Blessing of Hospitality
It is a peculiarity of travel that you can lose sense of the passage of time. Past events can somehow simultaneously seem both recent and distant. So it is with my Camino. I am two thirds of the way through my pilgrimage now, and I can’t seem to work out how or what to feel…
Bread and Rosaries 