P.S.
PS is an email and web-based blog format issued regularly by Contemporary Christianity. The format provides an online space for writers toexplore issues relating to church, culture and life in Northern Ireland, seeking to understand the times through insights from Scripture, theology, reason and the observations that flow from lived experience.
PS will never claim to have all the answers, but we hope to prompt questions that leave our readers a little closer to the answer at the end of the piece than they were at the beginning.
Our writers range from well-known names in academia and full-time ministry, to professionals with particular subject matter expertise, to lay people with passion for a subject and a gift for writing.
You can get involved in conversations by posting comments in the threads below the blogs, and if you’re interested in writing for us, you can get in touch by emailing info@contemporarychristianity.net.
Shiny and German
A handful of years ago, I attended a Saturday morning event run by none other than Contemporary Christianity.
Not in a Hurry
Last year on a short visit to Barcelona we as a family had opportunity to visit the iconic Sagreda Família, the largest unfinished church building in the world.
Our Christian Responsibility to Promote Racial Justice at All Levels of Society and within our Churches
Racial hate crime in Northern Ireland – according to PSNI statistics, the incidence is now greater than sectarian hate crime.
Not Just Being a Bystander
Last week I had the most surreal experience of my life. A musical, based on the memoir of my student days in the 1980s, has been playing at the Lyric Theatre.
Finding Elpis
As I mentioned in my last blog, in retirement I have been writing the history of my previous congregation, First Presbyterian Church, Armagh.
4th July 2024 – Election Day in the UK
With Election Day imminent, you and I will have to assess the promises that have been made, the manifestos published and the interviews given.
It is time to say HELLO!
It is interesting how unusual or exceptional circumstances can make one acutely aware of things previously taken for granted. The Covid pandemic made us all much more aware of the importance of relationships, or, as we now refer to them, social connections.
Remembering Aleksei Navalny
I spent some time looking at the BBC coverage of events surrounding the service in the Church of the Icon of Our Lady Quench My Sorrow, and then his burial in Borisovskoye Cemetery.
Cultural Violence: A tribute to Johan Galtung
The recent passing of Johan Galtung* leaves the field of Peace Studies without one of its founding giants. His work was about understanding violence and building positive peace; a society in which all people can flourish. This is in contrast to negative peace, which is simply the absence of direct violence.
I felt privileged to have been a witness
For those seeking to find a path of understanding through the burgeoning body of literature exploring our troubled past Mallie offers both a reliable and trustworthy guide. He writes as one who was there. “I felt privileged” he writes, “to have been a witness.”
Our First Love
The gospel injunction to “love our enemies” and “pray for those who persecute us” sits uneasily with modern sensibilities.
Earbuds, air pods or the sound of silence?
Ask most people what the most significant technical innovation has been in the history of Christendom, and I would confidently guess that most would say it is the printing press… Another technical innovation that is shaping God’s people, is much more recent: podcasting.