I remember those very early days of breastfeeding my children. I remember the fear that would unwind in me when I could hear my daughter beginning to stir in the night, knowing that I would need to go to her and go through the excruciating process of trying to get her to latch properly. I... Continue Reading →
Moments of redemption at a Balkan table
Last week I was in the Balkans, visiting a Baptist church and participating as part of their celebrations for the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. The pastor of the church had invited my colleague and I to address the question of what role the Anabaptists had in the Reformation. We were staying with Dragan* and... Continue Reading →
New Christmas traditions
This evening was our first Havering Christmas Carol service as part of the Urban Expression team and Church community. Unfortunately, it was also the last time that the Carol service will be happening in the local pub, as it is now owned by a housing developer and will be closing at the end of January 2016. We... Continue Reading →
Saying goodbye
They did not teach me about saying goodbye at theological college. There wasn't a module on "how to hold on to your broken heart" as part of my pastoral training. And so I swing between the anticipation and excitement of new adventures and challenges, and the hollowed out grief at the prospect of moving away.... Continue Reading →
Talking sex…
"Watching porn is a good way to learn new tricks and stuff. Its educational." (16 year old girl from London) DH and I are running a Romance Academy course for our church youth group, and the youth group of another church from south London. Not all of the young people are Christians, and the course is... Continue Reading →
Unexpected good-ness
I really did not want to have church in our house last night. I had been in Birmingham the day before (on a day-course on church and gender post-Christendom - interesting stuff) and I still had Halloween costumes to make (!), so I really could have done without church. But one faithful soldier turned up... Continue Reading →
Multi-body part expression church…*
Catchy, no? Today I was hanging out with the Mennonites and Anabaptists who were co-hosting an event entitled “Multi-voiced Church”, led by Sian and Stuart Murray Williams who co-authored a book with the same name. I have read the book and enjoyed both the style and content, so today seemed like a good opportunity to... Continue Reading →
Doing it wrong…
As I get back into my normal 'working' week after being away in Northern Ireland with our friends visiting DH's family, I read this post from Jamie Wright and it really resonated. The picture of church that Jamie paints of kids running everywhere, people chatting (I mean, really telling you how they feel) and general... Continue Reading →
Diverse people, various beliefs, one country. A reply to Guy Walters.
(I am aware that there is a campaign to discourage people from visiting the Daily Mail website as they can charge more for advertising the more visits they get, but it is hard to engage with the article without reading it. Read as quick as you can, over someone's shoulder.) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2332998/One-country-religions-telling-pictures-The-pews-churches-just-yards-overcrowded-mosque.html This is a guest blog... Continue Reading →
For the love of Prague
I arrived in Prague in the sweaty heat of August 2006. DH and I had been married just over a year and we were here to try to figure out what we should be doing with our lives (obviously that was going to only take a year or so!) I began my Masters in Applied... Continue Reading →
stumbling hopefully in the right direction 