The Shame of ‘It’ and the Power of God in a Woman
Content Warning: This story contains descriptions of sexual abuse and gendered violence. This is a
Reflections
The Work of Love’s Creation
A sermon by Bishop John Roundhill for the commissioning of Deb Bird with Kenmore-Brookfield parish
Seeking Resonance
The this Church Times podcast the Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani speaks of the weariness in the church and in society at large and her discomfort with the relentless call to numerical growth. Well worth 30 minutes of your time. (See an excerpt below:)
Being Peacemakers Along the Battlefront of Life
There was my daughter Makayla dancing in the darkness – just spinning around, saying, ‘Look at me, Daddy’. I said, ‘Makayla, you need to go to bed, its 3 am. You need to go to bed.’ But she said, ‘No, look at me, Daddy. Look at me.’ And she was spinning, barrettes going back and forth, pigtails going back and forth. I was getting huffy and puffy wanting her to go to bed, then God spoke to me. ‘Look at your daughter! She’s dancing in the dark. The darkness is all around her but it is not in her!’ Makayla reminded me that weeping may endure for a night, but if you dance long enough joy will come in the morning. It is the job of preachers….to [send] this word to us in the hardest of times: do not let the darkness find its way in you. (Brous 2024:130)
Weapons, Peace and Gaza
Empathy is painful. As we watch what is happening in Palestine and don t turn away, we deeply mourn, and the mourning goes on and on. In the midst of this mourning we realise that we are not alone in our mourning. This mourning reaches across cultures, and languages and ethnicities. It goes deep, into the fabric of life itself. It is deep calling to deep. And there is a flame that burns, which both destroys and creates. And out of this mourning comes a renewed commitment to justice.
Neither Last Supper or Olympics are Politically Neutral
Having drag performers centre stage at the Olympics, on one of the biggest stages in world theatre, is not a politically neutral act. Being able to have that act understood as referring to Jesus and the twelve apostles is not a politically neutral act. Doing this in France, with the ascendancy of the Far Right and its alliance with conservative Christianity, is not a politically neutral act. It is about taking sides. The side of broadening the boundaries of inclusion.
Why do we assume religion and science are in conflict?
Misunderstandings as to the true nature of Galileo’s battle with the church, for example, along with beliefs such as the church banning the number zero, the excommunication of Halley’s comet, or that the church believed for centuries that the earth was flat, are urban myths peddled, in the main, by Draper and White’s writings.
Inclusion for Change: How dare you meet without us!
Choosing not to include those who are seeking to change the demons of inequality, exclusion, abuse, oppression, tyranny and power, means no change will occur. Such change will always require all parties to be involved and everyone to cede changes for which everyone can become invested and it must be worked through together with a shared vision. Otherwise, we will go on repeating what we’ve always done, with violence, and will get what we’ve always got, with violence, momentary peace that never lasts.
Grief as a Response to History
Many of us have been taught that grief and sadness are something to repress, deny or avoid…the experience of grief is different than the fixing, explaining, or controlling mode. It is the experience of feeling the tragedy of things, the sadness of things.
Religious Freedoms: Faith Invites, Not Excludes
It is estimated that more than 70,000 students in non-government schools are LGBTIQA+, and there is a convincing body of evidence that discriminatory policies and practices in schools impact the well-being of these students. A survey of over one thousand LGBTIQA+ students in Australia found that those who attended religious schools were more likely to feel shunned, unaccepted, unsupported, and punished compared to students attending government schools. These feelings have long-term impacts on a young person’s mental health and sense of self-worth.
Beautiful ideas, not ideology
People who understand themselves to be transexual, asexual, non-binary, bisexual, gay or lesbian are not making an ideological statement but seeking simply to express who they understand themselves to be. They have not made a choice driven by an ideological principle. They are simply honoring the fact that they are part of the beautiful crying forth of the ideas of God…
Death of Peace – Standing at the Crossroads
Paul talks about the body of Christ as a communion of different gifts. But it is also a communion of differing politics, strong options and perceptions for things about which people care deeply, and diverse cultural backgrounds and assumptions about race, sexualities and genders, about faiths and nationalities. Rabbi Johathan Sacks reminds us God has gifted us with the dignity of difference.