The blog of Richard Hall, a Methodist Minister in Wales.
From the monthly archives:
Mark Driscoll is a Seattle mega church leader in the US who started in 1996, now his church has around 2 thousand members and 40 thousand square feet of church space. He has gotten some attention for rudeness in an online debate at the Christianity Today Leadership blog (he apologized) then scurrilous remarks about women [...]
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Rebranded: “Occasionally a truth comes your way by the back door, and then smacks you in the face.” Good stuff.
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Faith and Theology asks What’s wrong with Biblical inerrancy? And gives a good answer.
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WHAT shall we offer our good Lord,
Poor nothings, for his boundless grace?
Fain would we his great name record,
And worthily set forth his praise.
Dear object of our growing love,
To whom our more than all we owe,
Open the fountain from above,
And let it our full soul o’erflow.
So shall our lives thy power proclaim,
Thy grace for every sinner [...]
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Wales goes to the polls on May 3rd to elect members to the National Assembly. A range of material has been arriving through my letter box from various candidates seeking my vote, but none has been more interesting than that from the British National Party. I won’t link them - Google will turn up their [...]
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When I was in the scouts in the mid-1970’s we went on camp, as scout troops do. This particular summer, we’d more or less finished pitching our tents when we discovered that the troop nearest to us on the camping ground was German. There was a real ‘edge’ to that. Though Britain was in the [...]
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Some while ago I had a bizarre experience on a school trip. We visited the village of Port Eynon on Gower, I was there as an extra pair of adult hands, helping out the teachers. The weather wasn’t fit to start the day on the beach, so we spent the morning doing a geography project, [...]
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A few weeks ago, Channel 4 aired the ‘documentary’ The Great Global Warming Swindle. At the time it caused quite caused quite a stir. Now it is about due for release on DVD, and a number of scientists (including one who was featured in the film) are calling on the filmmakers to edit some of [...]
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The ever splendid Dave Walker brings the news that the Church of England is to offer blog training.
I’m not sure what to say, so I’d best say nowt…
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While I was doing my ministerial training I spent some time “on attachment” to a Sikh Gurdwara (temple) in Birmingham. When I made my first visit I have to admit to feeling very uncomfortable. Everything was strange and, though I didn’t want to cause offence I didn’t want to compromise myself either.
Strangely, what helped me [...]
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Faith and Theology wants your nominations for the worst theological inventions. Front runners so far appear to the Rapture, double predestination, and scriptural infallibility.
So no cause for controversy, then.
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Road traffic, I mean, not blog traffic. Everyone agrees that there are too many cars on Britain’s roads. Other people’s cars, of course. What we don’t agree about is what to do about it. Some say, “Build more roads.” Others, “Make driving more expensive.” I’m sure that there’s a case to be made for shifting [...]
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O for a thousand tongues to sing
My dear Redeemer’s praise,
The glories of my God and King,
The triumphs of his grace!
My gracious Master and my God,
Assist me to proclaim,
To spread through all the earth abroad
The honours of Thy name.
Jesus! The name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
‘Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
‘Tis life, and [...]
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And did those feet in ancient times
Walk upon England’s mountain’s green?
Blake’s Jerusalem is sung with patriotic fervour, despite the fact that William Blake did not intend his original poem that way would be horrified at this appropriation of it. But the combination of a stirring tune by Parry and the words about England’s green [...]
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A meditation, given from the perspective of the apostle Peter…
Strange, the things you remember best.
Not the storm - though it was a humdinger, and the boat wastaking on water. I’d battled big storms before.
It wasn’t even seeing Jesus walking on water. He’d just done that thing of his with bread & fish. Scarcely believable isn’t [...]
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The British company Biwater has started legal proceedings against the government of Tanzania in a dispute over the supply of water to Dar-es-Salaam. The andmark hearing at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) may bring into sharp focus how current international dispute settlement mechanisms favour powerful transnationals at the expense of [...]
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They say that if you want to start a “successful” blog, you should look for a niche. Here’s a Welsh blog that has found one: Camper Van Confessional.
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What do you wear to church? Are you a suit and tie, a blazer and slacks, or a jumper and Levis man? Are you a smart dress, a casual skirt, or a nice trousers woman? Shoes or trainers? Heels or flats? Hats used to be de rigueur for women in [...]
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I couldn’t resist this story. It seems that Britain’s crematoria are struggling to cope with the rising number of the obese.
Expanding waistlines are forcing many councils to spend thousands widening their furnaces, the Local Government Association has warned.
In some cases grieving relatives have to travel hundreds of miles to find crematoria that can accommodate over-sized [...]
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