City forefather who dared to tangle with the BATCHELOR Butes. Some City folk know that I have been writing the story of City URC – that goes back some 400 years! – for a history journal. Then while the journal was in production, David Meek, who kept me straight on the financial side, told me […]
Zimbabwe is a country that seems to live with serious challenges – challenges that are political, economic and social. But an additional threat over the last year has been on the extreme weather front. Severe drought has affected much of the country and a cyclone left a wake of destruction. Learning to live with the […]
Recently Martha reminded us that there are some parts in the Bible that we are all perhaps even a bit too familiar with, as they get revisited all the time. On the other hand we have sections like today that, when opening the lectionary to put together a service, can be a bit discomfiting. What […]
‘Our God is God not of the dead, but of the living’ (Mk. 12:27.) The other day I was reading an act passed by Parliament in January 1645: “An Ordinance for taking away the Book of Common Prayer, and for establishing and putting in execution of the Directory for the publique worship of God.” When […]
The government has announced tougher plans to tackle climate change by pledging to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the UK to almost zero by, the year 2050. Under the 2008 Climate Change Act, MPs agreed to reduce emissions by 80% by 2050, but this will now change under the terms of the new law. The […]
Our FAN (Friends and Neighbours) group is open to anyone friendly from around the corner or around the world. If you are feeling a little lonely, are new to the area or learning English you will be especially welcome. We are a friendly group of men and women who gather each Saturday ready for 11 […]
Crowds looked on in shock as flames swept through the Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame ‘the Soul of Paris’ said one report. Some wept, other knelt in prayer, while rich men searched for their cheque books. Grenfell Tower stands alone, embalmed, in Central London. Coventry Cathedral, bombed during the Second World War. In the debris […]
More than 2 million people have been affected by Cyclone Idai in Malawi, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. An estimated 80,000 people have been displaced and at least 240 people have been killed. The death toll is rising fast, with over 1,000 predicted lost. Christian Aid is already on the ground in Malawi and Zimbabwe. In Malawi, […]
As we approach Easter and chocolate sales boom spare a minute for the cocoa farmers, many of whom earn less than they need to survive. Fairtrade Fortnight took place in March and brought many of these issues into sharp focus, but it’s important to remember that we can make a difference year-round by supporting Fairtrade […]
I’ve just finished reading David Nott’s recently published book War Doctor. It has left me profoundly moved by his accounts of trauma surgery in some of the worst conflict zones in the world. His humanitarian stories entailing accounts of putting bodies back together again after horrendous injuries caused by, for example barrel bombs in Syria, […]
