Dear Ms. Elphicke, I was shocked and alarmed to see your recent tweets and accompanying video regarding “illegal entrants” at St. Margaret's Bay yesterday. I understand that this is a cause célèbre for you as MP of Dover and Deal, perhaps as a result of some voters in the constituency feeling that there may be... Continue Reading →
Has the Church Abandoned the Poor?
In April 2018, Philip North, Bishop of Burnley expressed the opinion that there was “a widespread perception among northern DDOs [diocesan directors of ordinands] that candidates from working-class backgrounds with northern accents are victims of prejudice” in the selection process for ordination training. Bishop North has, in recent years, become one of the sharpest critics... Continue Reading →
The Church Can No Longer Be Politically Neutral
I can still picture the moment I discovered that there are Christians who believe that climate change is a good thing because it will speed Christ’s return! Much like the famed ‘rapture hatch’, it can be tempting to laugh at such eschatological clumsiness, but for the seriousness of its implications. A similar story emerges with... Continue Reading →
The Problem With Policing
Expressing your aversion to the police as an institution immediately elicits some variation of the same question each time: “what if someone’s breaking into my house?” or “what if someone attacks me?”. People worry about being the victim of, or witness to a crime, and this is completely understandable. Problems soon come though, when such... Continue Reading →
The Passage of Time and the Blessing of Hospitality
It is a peculiarity of travel that you can lose sense of the passage of time. Past events can somehow simultaneously seem both recent and distant. So it is with my Camino. I am two thirds of the way through my pilgrimage now, and I can't seem to work out how or what to feel... Continue Reading →