Author: The Meeting Place

In September the UK Evangelical Alliance issued a comment on the “Unite the Kingdom” rally in London, and its misuse of Christian faith and symbols (see the other attachment). The notion of a Britain economically and culturally under threat from immigration sets an agenda to which others feel they must respond (always a futile task),…

9.30 am- “WE REFUSE TO BE ENEMIES”, led by Daoud Nassar, of the “Tent of Nations”, West Bank, and Sally Azar, Pastor of the Lutheran Church in Jerusalem.  “Tent of Nations” is a farm at Nahalin, south-west of Bethlehem, owned by the Nassar family since 1916, but now threatened by Israeli settlers, who have built…

The memory (or anticipation) of family weddings is usually one of the most joyful events in our lives, though far fewer of these are celebrated today in churches- less than a quarter, compared to about half in the 1970s, and 85 percent in 1900. Perhaps another sign that Britain is no longer a “Christian” country…

  Edmund Newell[i] According to Godwin’s Law, as an online argument grows longer and more heated, the probability that someone will make a comparison involving Hitler or the Nazis increases to 1, at which point that person loses the argument. The recent surge in populism in many parts of the world has put Godwin’s Law…

The world (or part of it, at least) waits to see what President Trump will do next.  Gerrymandering* Texas constituencies to ensure a Republican majority in the mid-term Congressional elections only the latest escapade (*from Elbridge Gerry, Governor of Massachusetts in 1812, and the new ward boundaries, described by the “Boston Gazette” as resembling a…

The Catholic Bishop of San Bernadino in California gave dispensation from Sunday Mass, because of fears of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) picking up “undocumented” people who attend (see the link below).  “Immigration” is high on many people’s “agenda”, and rational discussion increasingly difficult against the flood of anger and resentment fuelled by politicians blaming…

Hannover Evangelischer Kirchentag, April 30th to May 4th 2025 On the train from Brussels and Cologne, which arrived 45 minutes late in Hannover on Tuesday evening, April 29th (IMG_9867.jpg), passengers had complained that poor time-keeping and infrastructure maintenance had become a noticeable feature of German trains in recent years. The first post-war Protestant Church Congress…