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.
Food and soil – reconnecting with our food
The earth is running out of harvests, there may be only about 60 years left according to some experts[1]. There are many detractors from this view but, as with climate change and Covid vaccinations, the reasons for concern are many and varied. Let us look at how...
Harming Free Speech?
As Christians we instinctively want to defend the human right to free speech, because it encapsulates our right to worship God, proclaim the Gospel and explain the practice of our faith. Fortunately in the UK the legal framework and the political consensus is to...
We don’t know ourselves!
One of my Christmas presents in 2021 was Fintan O’Toole’s new book, “We don't know ourselves, a personal history of Ireland since 1958”. Being quarantined in the house for a week, I confess I devoured the book quicker than the Christmas cake. O’Toole, born in 1958, is...
Who is my neighbour?
Following the St. Patrick’s Day joint statement by the Church Leaders’ Group (Ireland) last year, in which they personally lamented their lack of leadership in building a better quality of peace, I did some academic research as a Christian to explore how the Churches...
Praying beyond ourselves and our shores
After retiring in 2017 from ministry in Presbyterian churches in the Republic, we moved north and engaged in a bit of “church tasting”. Although there was a friendly welcome everywhere and faithful biblical preaching, I was dissatisfied with the prayers for others,...
Reflections on Epiphany 2022
The Christmas trees have gone for recycling, decorations are down and Christmas messages perused again. One e-card caused me both to smile and frown – showing Jesus in the manger, watched over by Mary and Joseph, shepherds adoring, oxen standing by and the angel...
Do I really love my (foreign) neighbour?
“The Missionaries accompanied the Colonialists, bringing Bibles and guns!” So stated my lecturer as he explained the background to postcolonial fiction. I was horrified. His lecture on the socio-political aspects of the colonial period highlighted that, although...
MATTERS OF PRINCIPLE AND MATTERS OF THE HEART
Allegations of sleaze are making headline news. The response to the proposed sanction of Conservative MP Owen Paterson led to his resignation from the House of Commons, and now in Westminster, moves are afoot to change the regulations on what jobs MPs can have...
A STORY NEEDING TO BE TOLD…
Amongst the many daily demands on time, I am struggling to fulfil a task, which I see as my chief calling at present. For the last twelve years, I have been writing a biography of someone whose life is the best illustration I know of deep human love and committed...
Reflections on a World at Work
The world of work and our experience of it is changing. Office workers wish to work from home and cafes and bars want them back in the office because city centre trade is falling. Doctors are finding that telephone appointments are giving greater efficiency and an...
Candour: the quality of being open and honest
“You shouldn’t need to say ‘I swear’. If you’re a truthful person, then it’s enough to say what you mean and leave it at that. It’s better to be honest and careful with the words you choose, and then people will know they can trust what you say.” As I said these...
This Earth Belongs To God
Growing up in the rural heartland of County Derry in the 1950s has had a profound impact on me. I have always loved the countryside and appreciated the beauty of the landscape. Our home in Bovevagh did not have had many mod cons! What we lacked in amenities was...