The blog of Richard Hall, a Methodist Minister in Wales.
From the monthly archives:
Blogging is a bit obsessive at times.
And we can get a bit carried away.
It is so interesting and it is fun.
There are lots of media articles that snark at blogs. That’s fine, some points are well taken.
However, this one had me howling with laughter. I thought it was a joke.
But it isn’t. [...]
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The Gutless Pacifist links to Orcinus: the Architecture of fascism.
Fascism continues to live on because it derives from the meeting of human traits as ancient as Cain and the relatively recent rise of mass politics. It is, moreover, a phenomenon specifically associated with crises of democracy; so as long as there are democratic states — [...]
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This is the latest big news from the Methodists of Swansea & Gower. I’m the one on the right in the small blurry photograph.
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Even though most British people never (or rarely) darken the doors of a church, most still opt for a Christian funeral when the time comes. Most, but not all. Some are turning their backs on convention and using completely new rituals. An article in The Times yesterday listed some of the options.
I’d heard of [...]
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Following on from my piece last night, this morning I read on the BBC that “Too many schools do not take children on outdoor activities because they fear they would be sued if there was an accident, says schools watchdog Ofsted.”
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My friend Ivan reports in from Florida:
Jeanne is gone (actually, now visiting in Georgia and other southern states as a wet, tropical depression) and now we go back to recovering from Frances, Charley and, in some other parts of the state, Ivan. There are also many, many who got hit by Jeanne that had already [...]
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There was a disturbing article in The Independent last week about the way that British children are being deprived in the name of keeping them safe.
A typical eight-year-old’s “home habitat” - the area that children are allowed to travel around on their own - has shrunk by 90% over the past 30 years. … Parents [...]
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The other day, my friend Bene Diction wrote a review of Blog on the Lillypad, a site which offers “A critique of Christianity, Christian fiction, Right wing Christian pretension (from an insider), everyday life, and big fat whopping adventures in time and space.” Woo hoo indeed!
Jeri introduces herself in a comment to an earlier post [...]
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“The British Churchman goes to church in much the same way as he goes to the toilet: with as little announcement and explanation as possible”
Source: Revd Wil Morrey, President of the Methodist Conference
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Happy Blog Birthday to the Gutless Pacifist! I’m raising a virtual glass to you Pen. Surely one of the best
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I’m kicking myself. They’ve been filming for the new Dr Who series in Swansea this week — and I missed it. I know the fellow making the models for the series (his mother is a member of my church) and I’m a bit peeved he didn’t “tip me the wink” so that I could go [...]
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The BBC reports that the Church of England in Manchester is launching a pilot scheme to attract people back to church - by offering a bar of chocolate to every worshipper.
I hate to seem like a curmudgeon, but really…
Mind you, if it catches on it could turn out to be a way of bypassing [...]
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Blest be the dear uniting love,
That will not let us part!
Our bodies may far off remove,
We still are one in heart.
Joined in one spirit to our Head,
Where He appoints we go;
And still in Jesus’ footsteps tread,
And show His praise below.
O may we ever walk in Him,
And nothing know beside;
Nothing desire, nothing esteem,
But Jesus crucified.
Closer and [...]
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Florida is waiting for the arrival of yet another hurricane. I’ve just had this message from my friend Ivan in Volusia County
Right now, we’re awaiting the arrival of Jeanne late tonight, although none of us are sure who will get the full visit and who will get only the tropical force winds. None of us [...]
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The BBC reports that at least eight people have been killed in US strikes on the volatile Iraqi city of Falluja, and a further 15 have been injured. The military have targeted what was believed to have been a meeting place for terrorists, but local doctors are saying that the dead include civilians. Several buildings [...]
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One of my favourite songs in Sunday School when I was very small was “Climb Climb up Sunshine Mountain”. I strongly doubt whether anyone sings it now, and that is probably just as well. But it came to mind as I was reading a parable in “The Final Boundary by Adrian Plass.
The story concerns a [...]
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Not all Christians are conservative or “right wing”, but you knew that. Unfortunately, not everyone does. As a tiny challenge to the notion that “Christian=conservative” I’ve set up a little aggregator at Server.com. Originally it was for my own benefit, but I don’t see any harm in inflicting it on the world. It isn’t pretty, [...]
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