Three ways in Oxford
Ruth Moore
Date posted: 1 Mar 2014
Oxford can seem to be a place that meanders
along at snail’s pace; dreaming spires, etc.
But dig a little deeper, and you find that
Oxford life is hurtling along at a bewildering
speed: corners of land morphing overnight
into student accommodation, ever-growing
pockets of social deprivation, and waves of
new arrivals from all over the globe.
Shaping up!
Mike Wildsmith
Date posted: 1 Mar 2014
Book Review
GOD REDEEMING HIS BRIDE
A handbook for church discipline
Read review
Harrowing!
Mary Stolarski
Date posted: 1 Mar 2014
Book Review
THIS IMMORAL TRADE
Slavery in the 21st century
Read review
Bishops: double-speak on Pilling
Wallace Benn
Date posted: 1 Mar 2014
Wallace Benn comments on the recent consultation
‘No church can live in integrity if it proclaims loyalty to Scripture, but then ignores Scripture when faced with new proposals for her life.’ (Bishop Keith Sinclair)
Small churches
Priscilla Seidler
Date posted: 1 Mar 2014
Dear Sir,
In
‘Growing
a
rural
church’
in
the
February issue of EN (an interesting article),
Chris Sinkinson talks about ‘critical mass’
and needing a certain number within a
church to be able to do useful gospel work.
He says: ‘Less than [in the region of 30 people] and we may lack the critical mass to
really be an effective church’.
news in brief
Mixed views
In a report published in mid-November, two thirds of GPs were shown to be in favour of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) dropping its opposition to assisted dying.
The survey found that 38% of 689 GP respondents favoured the adoption of a neutral stance on assisted dying by the RCGP, while 31% said the college should go even further and support a change in the law to allow doctors to help terminally ill patients to die in the UK. The article notes that the RCGP is currently opposed to a change in the law on assisted dying.
GFA: the Great Omission
Gospel For Asia
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
Most Christians are familiar with Jesus’ command, the Great Commission, to make disciples of all nations.
But with the average Christian giving less to mission than the cost of a coffee, once a month, it appears that the church is omitting the commission, it was concluded in December by Gospel for Asia.
news in brief
Algeria: repeated attacks
The pastor of a church in southern Algeria
reported on November 12 a fresh attack on
his church – the third of its kind – which he
says proves that some Algerians are against
the presence of churches in their country
The attackers
threw a
tyre
inside
the
building and then tried to smash the gate
into the building. They dispersed when the
police arrived, but none were arrested.
Guy Longley 1924 – 2013 Barbara Longley 1924 – 2013
Ray Porter
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
‘In life they were loved and gracious and in death they were not parted’ (2 Samuel 1.23) could be applied to Guy and Barbara Longley, who died within 24 hours of each other on November 7 and 8.
They met as members of the last group of CIM missionaries to go into China in 1949. Guy was from Broadstairs in Kent and his three brothers also served as missionaries. Barbara (née Beck) was a nurse from Ontario, Canada. They married in Hong Kong in 1951.
Moment or movement?
Susie Leafe
Date posted: 1 Feb 2014
In my youth we enjoyed the old game of seeing how many people we could squeeze into a Mini.
Little did I know how useful those skills would be when trying to organise ReNew, a new conference for conservative evangelical Anglican leaders that took place last November.
4 million hits
www.easyenglish.info
Date posted: 1 Feb 2014
A website which offers the Bible in easy-to-read English clocked up 4 million visitors
from more than 200 countries during 2013.
The EasyEnglish version and commentaries use a vocabulary of just 1,200 words
and are for those who have learned English as
a second language. For those who have a
greater knowledge of English there is another level using 2,800 words. Both levels follow simple forms of grammar.
A remarkable Chinese leader
Tony Lambert
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
Tony Lambert reflects on the life of Pastor Samuel Lamb who went to be with the Lord in recent months
Pastor Samuel Lamb died in Guangzhou (Canton) in south China in early August 2013.
Young historians
Mary Stolarski
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
Book Review
ANSELM OF CANTERBURY:
Christian biographies for young readers
Read review
CAR: contingency plan
World Watch Monitor
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
Consensus is emerging to begin
‘contingency planning’ to send a UN peacekeeping
force
to
the
lawless Central African
Republic (CAR), the UN’s No.2 official said
in mid-November.
‘The country
in the heart of Africa
is
descending into complete chaos before our
eyes and requires a capable security force on
the ground’, UN Deputy Secretary General
Jan Eliasson told the UN Security Council.
The occupation: ‘must be robust and prevent
what has
the high potential
to result
in
widespread atrocities’.
India: strategies to face persecution
Vinay Samuel & Chris Sugden
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
Thirty
lawyers, media personnel, pastors
and agency workers from Christian denominations across India met at the Centre for
Religious Freedom in Delhi from November
25–29
to prepare
resources
to enable
Christians of all churches in India to meet
the
likelihood of
further persecution
in
months to come.
Persecution may be stepped up because
Hindu nationalist politicians may win power
in the current local and upcoming national
elections and even form the Government if
only in coalition with others.
A hard pill to swallow
Lee Gatiss
Date posted: 1 Jan 2014
The Church of England has now entered
another turbulent period of debate over
sexuality, which threatens to tear it apart
from the inside.
The Pilling Report on Human Sexuality
came out at the end of November and will
be discussed by the House of Bishops in
January. It contains worrying evidence and
worrying recommendations.
