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Ronald Blythe considers a young map maker who recorded country houses
CHECK the minute details before proceeding. I have often quoted a carpenters’ saying: “Measure twice, cut once.”
TIME for a liturgical rant: my beef this week is with themed Sundays. There are many, and they are no doubt a godsend to those ministers who have abandoned the calendar, along with the liturgy, and need an endless supply of new “resources” to keep worship going week by week
The debate needs Christians to get involved in the tough questions, says Paul Vallely
MOTHER TERESA of Calcutta wanted the letters destroyed that charted the desolation of her spiritual life. They were not; they were published in 2007. They revealed that, at the same time as her work for the poorest of the poor was turning her into a world celebrity, her inner life was a private hell...
The Archers’ domestic-abuse story has spread sympathy, says Paul Vallely
Ronald Blythe attempts to get some work done, in spite of the sunshine
Ronald Blythe recalls feeling cold as a youth, on a visit to Aldeburgh
THE Children’s Society’s Good Childhood Report, published last week, telling of a growing gap between the happiness levels of girls and boys, provides new evidence of the fragility of young people’s mental health
Many of the poorest people voted to be even worse off, says Paul Vallely
Marvellous words can emanate from prison, says Ronald Blythe
The Nun is the newest swift canonisation in a Vatican craze, says Paul Vallely
Ronald Blythe considers Prayers Written at Vailima and Wormingford
Cultural vandalism should not take priority over human rights, says Paul Vallely
Your architect is paid by you to do what you want. He or she is not some minor deity who must be obeyed at all costs. I knew a churchwarden who asked for a new external oak door to be finished with oil of some sort, but the architect insisted that it had to be varnished. Eight years after it was do...
WE HEAR much of lay leadership today. Often it chiefly means lay people’s participating in the Church’s decision-making processes and helping to implement its policies. This is all very important, no doubt, and the Church is, of course, deeply dependent on the mostly voluntary work of th...
The disciples were afraid of drowning, says Ronald Blythe
Paul Vallely celebrates the heroism of the runners-up to the runners-up
IT ALWAYS seemed a bit strange to me that the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse appointed a judge from New Zealand, Dame Lowell Goddard, to chair its investigations, after her two predecessors had stepped down. She was, of course, appointed precisely because
Ronald Blythe travels to Aldeburgh and joins the suntanned crowd
Paul Vallely probes the links between the playwright and the European Union
Ronald Blythe reflects on the country silence and gifts of creation
Christians and Muslims can work together for gender justice, says Elaine Storkey
There is more to the personality vicar than meets the eye, however. The word “parson”, after all, comes from “person”. The vicar was, traditionally, a “person” who filled a role, the one reliable sign of the presence of God with his people
Trevor Barnes considers the prevalence of rage in contemporary life
I ALWAYS try to do a bit of theology in the summer, and have been looking at the writings of Donald MacKinnon, the philosopher and theologian who so influenced Rowan Williams in his student years.
MacKinnon was a huge, brooding presence in the Divinity Faculty at Cambridge, an Anglo-Cathol...
The July heat reminds Ronald Blythe of family visits in the past
On a cool evening, Ronald Blythe sits with Mary, Martha, and Alice
Angela Tilby longs for a dash of humility among those seeking high office
Maggie Durran on permissions needed to carry out works
Before submitting reordering plans to the DAC, make sure that you are in agreement with all the content. You will not be able to make substantive changes afterwards without a resubmission, which will cause delay. Do not be afraid to question apparent errors and omissions. The tender documents (draw...
George Herbert’s poems make Ronald Blythe think of St Luke’s Acts
PUBLIC inquiries into events that go wrong have become fashionable in recent years. The Chilcot inquiry is the third such investigation into the Iraq war, and the first to attempt to apportion blame to politicians.
The instinct to learn from mistakes is understandable. The public demand for scapego...
Maggie Durran explains how the tendering process works
There are good ways of responding to ‘sexified’ adverts, says Peter Graystone