A response to recent events by Daniel Singleton Our hearts go out to the victims of the original tragedy in Southport. Words are inadequate when people are faced with such loss and tragedy, and our prayers are with the victims’ families. I am very concerned by the rise of tension and disturbance across the UK. […]
Election reflection—are we entering a new era of government and politics?
Change is in the air. Could this be due to the change of personnel in the Commons? Perhaps because England is actually winning football matches these days? (The men at least; the women are already champions!) Or is it because summer seems to have come to a premature end and the heating is already back […]
#I’llridewithyou is a better way
I wrote a blog in 2015 at the time of the Paris attacks, when extremists attacked the offices of a magazine called Charlie Hebdo. As a means of standing in solidarity with those in Paris, many people took up the #JeSuisCharlie hashtag. But there was an issue with this. There was always a sharp edge […]
‘Under the wire’ requests
It seems that we increasingly lurk from one crisis to another. The horrors of the last week in the Middle East can stir our emotions in many ways and it is right that we should be attentive to the suffering of others wherever they are. Of course, this conflict creates ripples through religious communities here […]
Leading from a different direction
As we move away from the COVID crisis and lockdown seems an ever distant memory, we can find ourselves looking back at what we had to do with a certain bemusement. Did we really huddle outside around fires in our gardens with friends, or on doorsteps, while a perfectly warm house was behind us? Did […]
Birthdays matter
It was my birthday recently and, strangely, I was looking forward to the day. Growing up, birthdays were not a big thing. The Singletons made more of Christmas, which of course is a birthday of sorts but at Christmas everybody gets to exchange gifts. Christmas was, as it is for many people, an important festival […]
Faith and Levelling Up
Restoring community is a nebulous ambition. As is the language of “levelling up”. What is clear, however, is that local communities (perhaps faith communities in particular) have a level of assets or social capital which would be hard to replicate through mere financial investment or a redeployment of existing institutions. Faith provides a network of […]
No one left behind with the Cost of Living
Much of the narrative around the cost-of-living crisis has focused on how we will all feel the effects of this season. There is no doubt that the poorest will be affected the worst, but the expectation is that those who would normally consider themselves ‘comfortable’ or even ‘well off’ are aware that they will likely […]
Welcoming Rishi Sunak as Britain’s First Hindu Prime Minister
On Tuesday morning, Rishi Sunak was appointed as Prime Minister. In doing so, he becomes both the first person of Asian origin and the first person of faith from a non-Christian tradition to do so.1 As many have pointed out over the last few days, this is an exceptional example of the diversity we have […]
On the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
As tributes and commemorations pour in, to mark the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, we have an important opportunity to pause and reflect. Indeed, the British weather seems to have set the tone of sober greyness, with rain showers lingering on the horizon, just as grief and tears seem to for many of us. When […]