Confidence, initiative, teachability and tenacity. These words may sound like clues to a crossword puzzle, but in fact they are the goals of a ground-breaking youth employment scheme taking shape in Sheffield.
Read More
I turned the corner at the top of my road this week, to be greeted by a blazing message that cheered my heart. A local house has joined the Streets of Light initiative, shining a message from their windows that brought a flash of good news into my otherwise troubled heart.
Read More
I wonder if you know that the Christians in our city region are always praying for you? It is their speciality.
Read More
For many in our nation, Her Majesty the Queen was rather like everybody’s favourite granny, a constant figure of wisdom, kindness and good humour, in an age of uncertainty.
Read More
Sheffield boomed and bounced to the sounds of Tramlines two weekends ago. We are rightly proud of our home-grown festival. This week I waved off about 25 chirpy teenagers to another kind of festival.
Read More
There is a groundswell insisting that our public figures should better uphold our nation’s values, such as truthfulness and looking beyond one’s own interest to seek the mutual flourishing of each other and our communities.
Read More
A bible Proverb implores God’s people to “speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.” That’s easier said than done, isn’t it? Most of us are passionate about a fairer society, but we probably take very little action towards building one.
Read More
Whatever you make of the Royal Family, last weekend’s Jubilee was much more than a celebration of a 70-year reign. In many ways, it was a celebration of service. In fact, the whole of our society hangs on service.
Read More
I work alongside several qualified youth workers. They tell me stories of what everyday life can be like in our city’s big secondary schools. It is easy to moan, opt-out or worry about the state of the world. It’s better to ask what we can do positively to improve it.
Read More
Do you fancy a new neighbour? Or a road trip to Poland to collect an unlikely cargo? This week I chatted to a local friend from my church who is preparing to receive a Ukrainian refugee family to live with them, for however long or short it may be necessary.
Read More
One thing lockdown showed us was the loneliness in our cities. It proved that living disconnected lives comes at a cost. A national initiative is launched to form Britain’s biggest ever street party over the bank holiday weekend to connect together and to serve their neighbourhoods.
Read More
If you visit Sheffield city centre this weekend you will most likely see a huge cross outside the Townhall. On Easter Saturday the cross will simply hang there - like an awkward party guest, as shoppers bustle by and children shout. That empty awkwardness is like a prophetic voice to us all.
Read More
Anything else lasting? A cultural change means a new kind of behaviour becomes normal.
Read More
Updates from the Baptist Church regarding Ukraine
Read More
What am I supposed to do about it? No doubt many of us feel this way about the present crisis in Ukraine. It affects all Europeans, it challenges our safety, our economy, our future. Yet, it is easy to feel powerless, merely observers not participants, as we watch a few very powerful players on the world stage.
Perhaps, like me, you are struggling to find an adequate local response to an international issue.
Read More
Do you ever feel powerless, like a boat without a rudder, when you hear the international news headlines? This week there has been much talk around my family dinner table of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Read More
I have a water bottle on my desk with the slogan ‘half full / half empty’. It helps me to keep perspective and choose to count my blessings, rather than get stuck in every day’s woes. The prophet Isaiah in the Bible paints a picture of the effect of God’s good news coming into apparently baren places and people.
Read More
I’ve been thinking about the simple, salt-of-the-earth local life. Let’s go grassroots. There’s something very special about the longevity of local sports and children’s teams.
Read More
Novak Djokovic made headlines this week in an immigration row, provoking a mix of opinions. We love to point the finger, don’t we? If anything is guaranteed to inflame our passions it is hypocrisy in public life.
Read More
Chocolate and Christmas. What a great combo. Last week my family thought about chocolate differently.
Read More