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    theatreset
    • Jun 30, 2020
    • 7 min

    A Bounded Freedom

    It seems that these endless weeks of bounded freedom, the only name I can think to give to this period of lockdown, are drawing to a close – for the time being at least. There will have been days which literally defy description and there will be have been others which have passed like a dream, with day and night merging into a single colourless continuum. We have been thrown back on ourselves and on our own emotional resources. For many people, these resources are now at a v
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    theatreset
    • Jun 11, 2020
    • 3 min

    Life’s Purpose

    With lockdown now into its eleventh week (longer if, like some of us, you went into self-isolation the minute the alarm bells sounded) I’m beginning to wonder if this is what the ‘new normal’ really looks like. For those whose businesses have folded, who have no familiar routine to return to, or who find themselves prematurely retired, getting out of bed in the morning may be the biggest challenge they will face in the ‘new normal’ day. Despite the long weeks of lockdown, nob
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    theatreset
    • Jul 11, 2018
    • 4 min

    Liberal Values In An Illiberal Age

    Liberals have something very valuable at the heart of their political conviction for which they often pay a price. The word ‘liberal’ embodies both freedom and generosity so that, theologically, it is bound up with the very nature of God, with God’s love and mercy. I am a liberal in the context of both Church and society because I believe that the liberal vision for a just society and a just Church is closely bound to these two essentially divine attributes. This liberal conv
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    theatreset
    • Mar 20, 2018
    • 4 min

    The Emperor Has No Clothes

    The ‘nones’ (those who, when responding to surveys, tick ‘none’ in the box marked ‘religion’ but who might possibly tick C of E if pressed) need look no further for a home. Bishop David Jenkins, that prophet of our time, once was heard to declare that God is not interested in the Church. God is all about the Kingdom. It follows that if and when we stumble upon the Kingdom in the context of the Church, we do not need to look further to find God. The problem lies in defining th
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    Antony Pickthall
    • Jul 26
    • 3 min

    Salvation

    We’re not particularly geared for extreme temperatures here in Wales, where I live. We literally grind to a halt. The cattle in the field...
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    Lorraine Cavanagh
    • May 19
    • 3 min

    Mikhail Khodarenok – The ‘What If?’ Question

    It is reported by the BBC[1] that a senior Russian military figure, Mikhail Khodarenok, a military analyst and retired colonel has, on a...
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    Antony Pickthall
    • May 6
    • 3 min

    Roe V. Wade - What Would Jesus Do?

    Back in the 70’s and 80’s there were Christians who wore a wrist band with the letters WWJD, standing for ‘What would Jesus Do?’ I never...
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    Lorraine Cavanagh
    • Apr 20
    • 3 min

    Nuclear Sunday

    LISTEN: Nuclear weapons don't prevent war. What they do is create risks that any conflict can escalate into a nuclear one — by mistake
    1 view0 comments
    Lorraine Cavanagh
    • Apr 15
    • 2 min

    Holy Week: Good Friday

    There are flowers along the way, yellow celandines, and the small insects of early Spring. These leave him, but the flies stay. They...
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    Lorraine Cavanagh
    • Apr 14
    • 2 min

    Holy Week: Maundy Thursday

    The last meal. It ends with a ritual which by its very strangeness is key to our understanding of what Holy Week is about. Jesus washes...
    2 views0 comments
    Lorraine Cavanagh
    • Apr 14
    • 3 min

    Holy Week: Christ Before Pilate

    Authority and power are often conflated and confused. Before beginning to write this, I checked back on the story of Jesus before Pilate,...
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    Lorraine Cavanagh
    • Apr 2
    • 4 min

    The Church Must Die To Itself

    In the current edition of the Church Times, we are given a stark portrayal of bullying as it is experienced in the Church today.
    1 view0 comments
    theatreset
    • Mar 13
    • 2 min

    Magnificat

    We tend to think of Lent as a time for keeping to the rules, which makes it a rather miserable season. Right now, I’m looking out of the...
    1 view0 comments
    Lorraine Cavanagh
    • Jan 25
    • 19 min

    Fear and the Church

    My child, when you come to serve the Lord, prepare yourself for testing. Set your heart right and be steadfast, and do not be impetuous...
    4 views0 comments