Facebook just reminded me I posted this 15 years ago. Still trying to type it

“Stick a cone on your head and keep on keeping on.” AMEN, AMEN!

Let me say that again. Good parents do not care whether their children grow up to be gay or straight. It doesn't matter to a good parent because good parents love their children for *who they really are,* not just for how well they conform to what the parent *imagines* their children to be.

Greatly appreciating Peniel Rajkumar’s idea of interreligious engagement as a ‘dialogue of the heels’. A commitment to the liberation of the oppressed by the oppressed, on the terms of the oppressed, for the good of all. A powerful alternative to top-down approaches to justice and peace.

Delighted to share that my review of ⚓ Rowan Williams’s Discovering Christianity is now available in SBET. Open access and available here:

Ridiculously easy; deliriously good: #RecipeOfTheDay is my Ginger Passionfruit Plate Trifle! www.nigella.com/recipes/ging...

I trust Lee. If you want to send food to folks sheltering from racist violence in Belfast, send him money.

The thing is, artists don't actually owe you accessibility. You can just choose to not consume those works. That's fine. That's allowed. You can learn to be fine living as a person who's never read Finnegan's Wake. That's most of us, actually.

James Joyce is gonna read this and come back from the dead so he can publish Finnegan's Wake 2 out of sheer spite.

Made it to Friday but at what cost

I think there is precedent for leeway in some other reporting where a genuine political demonstration has turned to violence, but when the protests were being driven by thugs looking for violence then by continuing to label them as protesters just fuels their legitimacy.

Really, really, really object to any news corporations labelling people setting fire to cars, houses and attacking police as 'protesters'

Belfast last night is the future for the U.K. some people want. The political voices condemning it so far seem to be mild and weak. We need a wall of outrage from people of influence to make it crystal clear that this is not who we are and will not be tolerated.

The Makin Report on historical abuse in the Church of England was important, but what did it not cover? At what point does theology become a problem? Some extracts of Chapter 2 of Ending Abusive Theologies by Adrian Thatcher, out this month and currently £24. scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/978033...

Life goal: Get a plaque this good

I’m very pleased to share the latest issue of “Theology in Scotland” on the theme of mental health. As always it’s open access, so please share widely! @theoscot.bsky.social ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/TI...

Evening all, We are delighted to announce the publication of our latest edition on the theme of Mental Health. As always, our digital edition is open access. Enjoy. Thank you for following and for sharing: ojs.st-andrews.ac.uk/index.php/TI...

Delighted to have a creative piece published in the latest issue of @theoscot.bsky.social. The piece navigates the complexities of being both a survivor of a suicidal crisis and ordained within the ⚓ Anglican tradition. Content notes apply for suicide and mental health themes. You can read it here:

June brings these two wonderful new books out into the world: a second title in our Studies in Trauma Theology series (For Nothing is Hidden) and a new title from Adrian Thatcher in response to hurt and safeguarding failures in the church...

Every year for Pride, I repost Hue. I made him to send love and comfort to those who feel Pride isn’t for them because they aren’t out. You matter, you are valid, and it’s ok if you aren’t ready yet. Coming out is not a requirement for being part of this community. Happy Pride 🌈

My god, Octavia Butler, just miss ONCE

"Solidarity, then, is the concrete recognition that the future of each individual is connected to the future of all;"

The Gifford Lectures with Prof Paula Fredriksen are now finished, but if you missed any, were unable to make it, or would like to watch them again, the good news is that they're all online! All six are linked in this 🧵⬇️ #Giffords2026

I saw this described the other day as installing poisonous asbestos into our sources of knowledge which future generations will have to carefully extract with much cost and effort

Small request for those writing about higher education. Please show the relative position of UK 18 year olds against those from other European countries. I think you'll find other countries are more encouraging of their young people going to university.

Such an awful debate in every respect. We don't want young people with aspirations. University might be bad for you. Was good for us the successful ones but you don't deserve the same. Mostly because governments have made a mess of financing.

Christe eleison.

Great to have this write-up of an interview with the Shiloh Project on my edited book (out next month) and why it’s important at a time like this! Read it here: shilohproject.blog/new-book-an-...

"So you expect every author to check every citation is real and accurate?" YES, in fact, we do. The very *best* explanation for having a fake or inaccurate citation is that you were misleading your readers by dishonestly padding your citations! That's unacceptable!

Ideally, you not only check your citations but you’ve read the source material, and have the book on your desk full of varicolored post-it notes.

I've hit 100 responses to my survey on personal tutoring - half way there! If you're an academic in UK HE who's had pastoral responsibility for students in the last five years, whatever that's called, I'd love to hear your thoughts - it shouldn't take more than ten minutes. Do share if you can.

🧵Prayer helps us perceive the wonders of God! Come to @sarumcollege.bsky.social on 23rd June and discover a wider range of creative resources from global and diverse voices to enrich private and shared prayer with Beth Dodd and @scholarpriest.bsky.social: www.sarum.ac.uk/short-course...

It was a genuine joy to convene alongside these two wonderful people at this year’s #SSCE postgraduate conference at Christ Church, Oxford!

I was delighted to engage in a conversation about lived experience in qualitative approaches to practical theology with my good friend Giorgio Maria Millesimi, who is doing such vital work at Leuven.

Not in Edinburgh? No problem. You can sign up to attend the Gifford Lectures with Prof Paula Fredriksen online! 🔗 cahss.ed.ac.uk/20252026-pro... *Please note that the @RoyalSocEd seminar on 12 May has a different booking portal*

An important issue of ”Theology in Scotland” is coming soon… Articles, reviews, and creative works on the theme of mental health and theology. All open access. Follow @theoscot.bsky.social for updates!

'believe survivors' doesn't mean 'believe the victims only when they're women' or 'why would they want money for damages' or 'his music was really good though' or 'but he had a hard life too' or or or or

Delighted to have been asked to contribute the reading notes for this brilliant project, Preaching for God’s World, for those who might be preparing sermons for this Sunday ⚓

Not uncommon, so its got a name. We have a lot of types of rain. 😁 From "Ninety-Nine Words for Rain (and One for Sun) by Manchán Magan.

Get yourself a bargain in the @scmpress.bsky.social sale! 📚

@modernchurch.bsky.social reviews A Heavy Yoke: 'The book is very easy to read and will ring true for victims and ex-evangelicals. [Stone's] concentration on abusive theology is timely and appropriate. Readers will find her faithfulness exemplary' Order here: scmpress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/978033...

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." - Thomas Merton

continues to be the best Tower of Babel interpretation I've ever encountered: "Had they, the heaven they imagined might have been found at their feet. Complicated, demanding, yes, but a view of heaven as life; not heaven as post-life."

An afternoon of reading some unnecessarily complex papers has left me convinced that the best advice essayists should follow is this: let each paragraph do one clear piece of work.

🧵Hot off the press! @sarumcollege.bsky.social Summer and Autumn Brochure 2026 is out now. Look inside for ever-popular favourites, such as ‘Reading Scripture Together, ‘Modern Mystics, Theology Catch-Ups and Tom Clammer’s days on prayer and worship. www.sarum.ac.uk/wp-content/u...

Thinking about this from Esther McIntosh, particularly given the week that it is: “when did we become so enamoured of the neo-liberal turn to individualism that we stopped theologising about the issues that do not affect us personally, issues on which speaking out might bring a personal cost?”

'You ask a hundred sonnets of me – you That put pain not poetry upon my soul.' Iris Murdoch was a restless writer, never standing still, mining her past for inspiration. In a unique lecture by Miles Leeson we will explore her undiscovered poetry. 31 May. www.literaturecambridge.co.uk/murdoch-poems

Have you had personal tutoring responsibilities in a UK HEI in the last five years? I'd love to hear from you! I'm running a short survey on interpersonal relationships & care within personal tutoring, which takes ~10 minutes to complete. Please do share: I'm keen to get a wide range of responses!