Why I Joined the Free Church of England

Sep 27, 2019 by

Why I Joined the Free Church of England

Interview with Julian Mann, Virtueonline: Julian, you started training for ordination in the Church of England in 1993 at Oak Hill College in north London and then you were ordained in 1996 in Chester Diocese. What was it that attracted you about ordained ministry in the Church of England at the time? In the early ‘90s when I was in my mid-20s, my wife and I were attending a lively Anglican evangelical church in Sevenoaks, St Nicholas, whilst I was working as a reporter for a retail trade...

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Power and piety: what one of England’s oldest stone churches is telling us about the spread of Christianity

Sep 25, 2019 by

Power and piety: what one of England’s oldest stone churches is telling us about the spread of Christianity

from Christian Today: In the 19th century, the rector of St Mary and St Ethelburga in Lyminge, a small village in Kent, started digging in his churchyard looking for the tomb of Queen Ethelburga, the second wife of King Edwin and one of the most important figures in the early spread of Christianity across England. It was already known from the historical records that Ethelburga established a monastery in Lyminge in 633AD, but the building had disappeared with the passage of time. Curious, the...

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Book review: ‘Michael Green, by his friends’

Sep 24, 2019 by

By Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream. This collection of tributes, just released by IVP, paints a detailed picture of evangelist, pastor, scholar and mission activist Michael Green who died early in 2019. The different but dovetailing perspectives of more than 30 contributors are excellently marshalled and edited by Julia Cameron. This is no detached, merely factual biography, but a series of warm, affectionate reminiscences mixed with a clear overarching account of the life and various...

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ReNew Conference hears call to mission in the light of the future

Sep 17, 2019 by

by Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream: The annual gathering of conservative evangelical English Anglicans addressed the uncertainties of ministry in the present, given the challenges offered by the Church of England and Western culture, and emphasised the certainty of a future under Christ’s just reign promised in Scripture. In an amusing and challenging interview, Archbishop Ben Kwashi spoke of how within ten years of narrowly avoiding death when his house and church were burned by Islamic...

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A Christian light in the Westminster gloom

Sep 9, 2019 by

A Christian light in the Westminster gloom

by Julian Mann, The Conservative Woman: IN a House of Commons dominated by anti-Christian political correctness, it is important to celebrate any attempt, however small, to stand up for countercultural Christian orthodoxy. Conservative MP Sir John Hayes has recently given a reason to thank God for a cheeringly cheeky move to promote traditional Christianity in Parliament. In July, Lincolnshire MP Sir John, a campaigner for British independence from the European Union,  tabled some...

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C of E welcomes American celebrity Pastor’s attack on orthodox sexual ethics

Aug 27, 2019 by

By Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream: A number of clergy in Southwark Diocese have privately expressed concern to the Bishop about an event at the cathedral on London’s south bank which took place on 21st August. Nadia Bolz-Weber, a Lutheran pastor from Denver with a high profile in the secular media, spoke to an enthusiastic audience of around 500, before being one of the headline speakers at the Greenbelt festival the following weekend. Bolz-Weber, a former stand-up comedian and recovering...

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