connexions

“Male headship” hurts us all

Richard — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:10:58 +0000

Dave Warnock: The forgotten victims of male headship. Not sure the bishop of my previous post would like it.

What the…?

Richard — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:00:21 +0000

Just heard a bishop of the Church of England say that abortion and euthanasia are issues of faith, but things like the Gulf War are not. What a pillock.

Worship thoughts

Richard — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 15:27:22 +0000

Two separate but related posts from the blogosphere. First, there’s David Keen with an important reminder that “dead” worship isn’t always all that it seems. (Actually, it’s this comment from maggi dawn that makes the point, but let’s not split hares) Second, Banksy Boy reveals a conversation with a Christian musician which provides insight into why modern [...]

A little light humour

Richard — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 14:25:38 +0000

Shamelessly lifted from Digging a lot A little girl walks into a pet shop and asks in the sweetest little lisp, “Excuthe me, mithter, do you have any wittle wabbits?” And the shopkeeper bends way down and puts his hands on his knees so he’s on her level, and asks, “Do you want a wittle white wabby [...]

“Without hope we cannot live”

Richard — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:10:27 +0000

Richard Vautrey is in Bethlehem.

Sometimes you just have to state the obvious

Richard — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 08:52:35 +0000

PamBG reminds us that different languages use different words. You would think that needs saying, but some folk still don’t get it.

Hymn of the day

Richard — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:52:16 +0000

What shall I do my God to love? My loving God to praise? The length, and breadth, and height to prove And depth of sovereign grace? Thy sovereign grace to all extends, Immense and unconfined; From age to age it never ends; It reaches all mankind. Throughout the world its breadth is known, Wide as infinity; So wide, it never passed by one, Or it had [...]

Methodist blogging

Richard — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:19:56 +0000

The latest roundup of the Methoblogosphere from Allan Bevere.

The smallest of seeds?

Joel — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:04:59 +0000

In Mathew, Mark and Luke, Jesus shares the parable of the mustard seed, which he describes as the smallest or least of the seeds. In truth, there are several seeds smaller than the mustard seed. I have read in many places that the orchid seed (weighing by some accounts as less than a [...]

Global warming sceptism

Richard — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:21:52 +0000

A survey suggests that Climate scepticism is on the rise in Britain. There has been an increase in the number of British people who are sceptical about climate change, a poll commissioned by BBC News has suggested. It showed that 25% of those questioned did not think global warming was happening, an increase of 10% since a [...]

Theological education

Richard — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:06:55 +0000

Ben Myers asks What is theological education for? What the church really needs is not cleverer or more relevant or more professional ministers, but women and men who know how to pray and how to bear witness. Nothing could be simpler; nothing more demanding. For true prayer and witness spring only from a life that has [...]

Teenagers don’t blog

Richard — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:18:30 +0000

No real surprises for anyone with teenage offspring here, but it is interesting to see some numbers put to it. It seems that teenagers aren’t big bloggers. They’re not much in to tweeting either. What it amount’s to is that teenagers aren’t big content creators Let’s face it: Teenagers haven’t had the time to build up [...]

Missionaries charged with child kidnapping

Richard — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:57:35 +0000

Haiti has charged 10 US missionaries with child abduction and criminal conspiracy for allegedly trying to smuggle 33 children out of the country. I’m sure their hearts were in the right place and they went to Haiti with the best of intentions. But you can’t just take children. You can’t.

Dave Walker hits the iPhone

Richard — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:44:34 +0000

It’s only a day or two since I mentioned Dave Walker’s rise to the dizzy heights of a cartoon in the Guardian. Not content with that, the fine fellow now has his own Dave Walker iPhone app. Any chance of an Android app, Dave?

No profiteering from debts of the poorest

Richard — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:37:22 +0000

As the “Vultures bill” approaches its second reading in parliament, John Cooper is urging us write to our MPs to encourage their support. Do it now.

Men At Work done for plagiarism

Richard — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 09:08:02 +0000

An Australian court has ruled that ripped off the signature flute riff of their 1983 hit ‘Down under’ from a Girl Guide song written in 1934. Seems a bit harsh to me, but what do I know. It’s still a great song.

Debra Dean Murphy: “PowerPointless: video screens in worship”

Kim — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 17:20:32 +0000

Following on from the recent post citing Richard Lischer on “the gospel of technology” … Source: The Christian Century In recent years PowerPoint has become a dominant force in worshiping communities across the theological and liturgical spectrum. In churches smitten with the Microsoft wonder, its power to affect the sensibilities of worshipers and thus to shape congregational [...]

Celtic Christianity

Richard — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:56:18 +0000

The subject of Celtic Christianity is liable to raise strong emotions in some (calm down, Kim!), but if you are interested in Celtic worship, liturgies, saints, prayers or beliefs, you might like to take the questionnaire at Celtic Christianity Today. It is part of an academic project by Professor Leslie J. Francis and Revd Gill [...]

Fair Trade: Green & Blacks 100%

Richard — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 22:58:43 +0000

I’ve been a fan of Green & Blacks chocolate for ages. It’s expensive of course, but the best stuff usually is, and I’d far rather have a small bar of G&B than a larger bar of something less good. Their chocolate bars are organic and Fair Trade, but their drinking chocolate (which is excellent) does [...]

Methodists and Social Media

Richard — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 09:37:56 +0000

Pete Philips reports the outcome of the Methodist Council discussion of social media he Council has accepted the guidelines with a couple of amendments - firstly to remove the phrase ‘after the meeting’ from the citation of the Chatham House Rule. This allows for discussion of public documents prior to the meeting which would otherwise [...]