“Stratospheric” costs of “ugly” new Lambeth Palace Library need explanation

Apr 2, 2020 by

“Stratospheric” costs of “ugly” new Lambeth Palace Library need explanation

Anglican Mainstream report: Satirical magazine Private Eye claims in its latest edition (issue 1519) that the final costs of the new building to house the priceless collection of old books in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s residence will cost £40 million. The article, in the magazine’s architecture section ‘Nooks and Corners’, begins by questioning the building’s architectural merits – “a strong contender for the ugliest building of the year”. The accompanying photo shows an ‘eastern...

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Anger, boredom, fear – and their antidote

Mar 25, 2020 by

By Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream: “It’s absolutely disgraceful. The government should have ordered a much more draconian lockdown two weeks ago. And why is there no toilet paper in the shops? Someone is to blame for this.” “I’ve been self-isolating for two days and I’m already bored. There’s only so much you can take of scrolling through darkly comic memes about self isolation and toilet paper, and watching reruns of Netflix box sets and old FA Cup semi final classics.” “Well it’s alright...

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The J Curve: the gospel message lived out

Mar 10, 2020 by

By Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream: Christians wanting to remain faithful to the apostolic gospel and the teachings of Scripture in the context of an uncomprehending and sometimes hostile world and increasingly secularised church, need wise guides to help navigate the future. In the face of discouragement and complexity, leaders can capture imaginations by articulating vision with optimism, simplicity and clarity – for example: “our mission is to plant churches, our message is the...

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All these disasters – how can we respond?

Feb 25, 2020 by

By Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream: Just yesterday I received three emails from different Christian organisations, each describing a tragic situation and asking for my support for the suffering and those risking life to help them. They were: an Indian evangelical group monitoring the persecution of Christians, mostly in small towns, by Hindu nationalist mobs. A large NGO working in northern Syria, where “…more than 900,000 people, including at least 600,000 children, have fled their...

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Bishop offers orthodox Anglicans hope of retaining protected minority status as Diocese takes progressive route

Feb 11, 2020 by

By Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream: The acting Bishop of Oxford Diocese has released an ‘Ad Clerum’ letter to all clergy and licensed Lay Ministers, setting out his “reflections on how we may go forward” following the House of Bishops’ Statement on Civil Partnerships, and the subsequent apologies and distancing from this Statement. Colin Fletcher, Bishop of Dorchester, signs the letter in the absence of Steven Croft who is on sabbatical. Bishop Colin has appeared in these pages in previous...

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Kenny’s stages of rebellion, and the church’s response

Jan 28, 2020 by

by Andrew Symes, Anglican Mainstream: We’ll start with an everyman. Let’s call him Kenny. He’s not unusual, in that while he is married to Lizzie, he finds other women attractive. He has a heterosexual orientation. Kenny lets his attention focus on a work colleague, Ellie, who’s married to Ollie. Our Ken desires, covets another man’s wife. Kenny makes his move at an office social, and Ellie reciprocates. They have sex, although both feel guilty afterwards and promise each other that it...

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