Sep 28
LAST YEAR, on pilgrimage to Bardsey Island with St Bride’s Church, Liverpool, I led night prayer each evening based on the spiritual practice known as the Examen, created by Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. From this came the request to offer this practice regularly at St Bride’s, in the form of a guided meditation …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2014/09/28/reflect-on-the-week-friday-guided-meditation/
Apr 19
A CALL TO ACTION, a group of Catholics campaigning for greater openness and dialogue in the Roman Catholic Church, is calling for the results of a consultation on sexual ethics to be released. The survey was commissioned by Pope Francis and sent to Catholic bishops around the world last November, with instructions to consult as …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2014/04/19/a-call-to-action/
Apr 06
THE CLOCKS WENT FORWARD in the UK last weekend, in more ways than one. The official start of British Summer Time with daylight saving coincided with the legalisation of same-sex marriages in England and Wales. So began an extraordinary week for LGBT equality. On Saturday March 29th, lesbian and gay couples around the country vied …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2014/04/06/uk-same-sex-marriage-dawns/
Mar 19
RAINBOW SUNDAY came to the Church of England last weekend – Clergy and parishioners across the country wore rainbows to show solidarity with LGBT people in protest against the House of Bishops ‘pastoral guidance’ on same sex marriage, issued last month. The campaign is backed by Inclusive Church, a group committed to working for a church that is welcoming and …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2014/03/19/rainbow-sunday/
Jan 14
LAST WEDNESDAY: former Aston Villa and Everton midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, who resigned from professional football last September, announced he is gay. No other professional footballer currently playing in this country has had the courage to do the same. Hitzlsperger said there is “a long way to go” before there will be an openly gay man playing in …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2014/01/14/youth-chances-survey-lgbt-youth/
Dec 25
THE CHRISTMAS STORY, as it might have been sung by Freddie Mercury and his 70s rock band Queen: Is this the real birth? Is it Nativity? Caught in a census, in the town of His ancestry. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see… He’s just a poor boy, foretold by prophecy. Because …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2013/12/25/bethlehemian-rhapsody/
Dec 10
AS THE GOVERNMENT has announced the date when the first marriages for same sex couples in England and Wales can take place, churches which remain challenged by this social change would do well to follow the lead of Steve Chalke, a high-profile evangelical church leader, who earlier this year called for a radical rethink of Christian …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2013/12/10/a-matter-of-integrity/
Nov 23
I have been silent for the past month due to my father’s final illness. I last wrote while on the train to visit him in hospital. The following week, though his will was strong, his body was weak, and could sustain him no more. Yesterday we celebrated a requiem mass in thanksgiving for his life. …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2013/11/23/and-its-goodnight-from-him-eulogy-for-my-father/
Sep 27
WHAT MAKES the debate over same-sex marriage around the world really interesting is the power of empathy, when ordinary people who are not LGBT begin to see it from our point of view. Spare six minutes to hear this man say why he began to get what it’s like to be judged second-rate for who …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2013/09/27/watch-defriended-over-a-wedding/
Sep 22
LAST WEEKEND the church where my civil partner and I worship together celebrated Inclusive Church Sunday. Despite major building work which unexpectedly revealed the presence of asbestos, and has restricted access to the building during the week, last Sunday the doors opened for three special events to mark the occasion. The day was dedicated to Inclusive …
Permanent link to this article: https://abravefaith.com/2013/09/22/inclusive-church/
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