First, go check out Matt’s post on churches and businesses as there are some interesting and thoughtful comments there.
Second, I am going to steal two excerpts from his comments thread to start a new conversation here that has occasionally been hinted at. Lionfish says this:
I would agree that in some circumstances that skilled, high […]

This article highlights some stories of rudeness in churches in response to a request by the UK newsletter Church Times:
A wheelchair user was advised to go home instead of attending a service, a vicar was told by a church warden that new families attending a service “weren’t really our type”, and a visiting vicar told […]

I am doing some research on access to daily readings and prayers via the internet. We are contemplating implementing a missional order at Northern Community and as a part of the commitment will be a daily office of prayers and readings.
The best I have found so far is Universalis that offers morning prayers, evening prayers, […]

I sat down to Christmas lunch with people I had never met before. The guy next to me smelled of spray paint. His hands were covered with splashes of paint and they shook so much that he couldn’t hold the cup steady as soft drink was poured into it. I gathered that […]

Merry Christmas to all - we have a pretty special Christmas planned and I am looking forward to the day more than I have in years. We will let you know details after it has been. Posting will be light or non-existent over the coming days, because, as someone told Phil yesterday “If […]

Once a year I receive a letter which invites me (as a congregational and missional team leader) to contribute submissions to our annual report. This letter always amuses me no end, but the writer of the letter always gets just a little grumpy that I am amused by this. It reads in part:
[…]

Paul at Prodigal Kiwi has posted about his reflection on the movie Osama. In his reflection, Paul quotes Archbishop Rowan William’s and I thought I would post it here as well. It has made it into my Christmas day reflection for our morning service at Northern.

“Christmas is the Christian’s Christmas present to everybody else.

Christmas, […]

Geoff Bullock emailed this story to me this week. It is written by a friend of his - who has travelled through a journey of pain and hurt in his experience involved in worship ministry.
Illumination
You waited in the wings, cradling the heavy spotlight in your hands. You weren’t feeling at home there and […]

This article by Muriel Porter reflects on the wonder that is Christmas, and its representation of the God who pitched his tent amongst us:
Christmas does more than celebrate the birth of a baby in a stable in Bethlehem. At its heart, Christmas commemorates the incarnation - the coming of God among human beings as a […]

“Don’t take any notice of them, be sensible, enjoy the sun, it’s Christmas and have a good time and, for heaven’s sake, remember you don’t achieve any advances in this world through the use of violence, thank you,” Mr Howard said
You know I kinda remember when we invaded Iraq, Howard sayingthe exact opposite. But, I […]