• An open letter to Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover and Deal

    An open letter to Natalie Elphicke, MP for Dover and Deal

    Dear Ms. Elphicke, I was shocked and alarmed to see your recent tweets and accompanying video regarding “illegal entrants” at St. Margaret’s Bay yesterday.  I understand that this is a cause célèbre for you as MP of Dover and Deal, perhaps as a result of some voters in the constituency feeling that there may be…

  • Has the Church Abandoned the Poor?

    Has the Church Abandoned the Poor?

    In April 2018, Philip North, Bishop of Burnley expressed the opinion that there was “a widespread perception among northern DDOs [diocesan directors of ordinands] that candidates from working-class backgrounds with northern accents are victims of prejudice” in the selection process for ordination training.  Bishop North has, in recent years, become one of the sharpest critics…

  • The Church Can No Longer Be Politically Neutral

    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…

  • The Problem With Policing

    The Problem With Policing

    Expressing your aversion to the police as an institution immediately elicits some variation of the same question each time: “what if someone’s breaking into my house?” or “what if someone attacks me?”.  People worry about being the victim of, or witness to a crime, and this is completely understandable.  Problems soon come though, when such…

  • 5 Steps to a Communist Christmas

    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…

  • The Passage of Time and the Blessing of Hospitality

    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…