In which I show up anyway
Each winter, I help out at the Forest Churches Emergency Night Shelter. This is an ecumenical project, open the five coldest months of the year. Guests (or “clients”) visit different local churches on...
View ArticleYes, I want the Welfare Budget Reduced
There has been a bit of a palaver in the church-y corner of the news recently, with articles saying that most Christians, or at least most Anglicans, “think the welfare budget should be reduced”, see...
View ArticleThere is just one flesh we can wound
I am discouraged that it seems necessary to say “don’t kill Palestinians” or “don’t kill Christians in Iraq” or that there is outcry over the plight of the Yazidi. How about “Don’t kill people”? It...
View ArticleWLP1: joined-up housing help
This is the first letter of the Weekly Letter Project. This week I am writing to Rev Canon Paul Hackwood, chair of the board of trustees of the Church Urban Fund, about an idea for helping churches...
View ArticleWLP2: Workfare and church investments
This is the second letter of the Weekly Letter Project. This week (yes, I’m late) I am writing to James Featherby of the Church of England’s Ethical Investment Advisory Group. Dear Mr Featherby, I was...
View ArticleThe Angel : a poem for Stephanie Bottrill
by Trish Burns Joey slips behind me, mewing as, unthinking, I replace the cups and pens, the writing pad in the box marked “Kitchen.” He purrs against my legs – I touch him - grumbles as the front door...
View ArticleCopyright, Creativity and Culture
I got up this morning to see much hand-wringing on Twitter over Green policy on copyright. The policy in question states: EC1011 On cultural products (literature, music, film, paintings etc), our...
View ArticleBicycles Change Lives
I’m increasing my cycling to 80 miles per week to improve my fitness. As a way of staying motivated I have signed up for a charity sponsorship thing. Qhubeka is the African programme of World Bicycle...
View Article#1daywithoutus
Today was the One Day Without Us National Day of Action to celebrate the contributions migrants make to the UK. For me, it was more a day of inaction; the past week has been very busy, and I have been...
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Immigrant Jesus
I’m not an American citizen. I don’t have a lot of spare money at the moment. What I can do is write hymn tunes. So I’ve written one to this text by Gary Alderson: 1. You ran from oppression, Crossed...
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