frangelarayner.bsky.social - Profile | ThreadSky | a Reddit-style client for Bluesky

World politics are frightening. Naked power without the veneer of diplomacy especially so. But #Lent has us acknowledge these wounds by confronting what frightens us. If you’re in #London, come to @holytrinitytooting.bsky.social to begin the fast with joy, and anticipate the feast with ashes.

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

I also rate stories where the “results” are far from spectacular, and sometimes wonder why we don’t share them more? If we’re committed to faithfulness to Christ, and standing firm, examples that sound like failure to others ought to be more standard.

submitted 3 days ago • 0 comments

“Churches such as HTB are better at connecting on social media. I would much rather repost HTB’s beautifully curated content, with thought-provoking questions & soothing low-fi beats than C of E reels about Anglican history or what has been going on in Synod.” t.co/kbMEWEYAmv

submitted 8 days ago • 2 comments

This work of caring for - curing - souls, it is I think /the/ work of the church, around which all else revolves. If we are not reconciled to God, then we cannot bring others into relationship with God. A poignant piece from Bex Chapman in @churchtimes.bsky.social, thank you!

submitted 8 days ago • 1 comment

Spring is on the way!

submitted 11 days ago • 0 comments

“The work of ministry is the work of faith deeply inhabited… We must be prepare priests for the “patient endurance” to which Christian in exile in a hostile world are called—perhaps to be the Church more in the tradition of suffering East than triumphant West.” www.markclavier.com/well-tempere...

submitted 12 days ago • 0 comments

Both churches @staugustinetooting.bsky.social and @holytrinitytooting.bsky.social have an exciting new role for the right candidate! We're seeking a contractor for the role of Print and Digital Content Creator and Publisher! More info here: www.augustinetooting.co.uk/_files/ugd/e...

submitted 19 days ago • 0 comments

Reading this essay by Bp Saju Muthalaly in “An intercultural church for a multicultural world”, and was really quite struck by this idea of replacing plans by feeding people, and especially that many…

submitted 21 days ago • 0 comments

‘Improvements in handling safeguarding complaints have revealed other shortcomings. When the complaint doesn’t meet the safeguarding threshold, have we processes which nevertheless address the misconduct which may have occurred? I’m not confident we do.’ www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

submitted 21 days ago • 1 comment

“Whatever we’ve done, or failed to do, or had done to us, we are in it together, with those we’ve harmed and those who’ve harmed us. They may be way over there, with their backs to us, but they’re there. We cannot eject them, throw them out, discard them.” www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

submitted 22 days ago • 0 comments

“Love God, and your neighbour in, for, and unto God. Honour your parents and your homeland—especially your heavenly homeland, and its embodiment on earth: Mother Church, into which, by the Holy Spirit, you are born, and by which you are continually fed…” adfontesjournal.com/commonwealth...

submitted 28 days ago • 0 comments

In the wake of the resignation of another Church of England Bishop, is it possible to ask (and how?) at diocesan & general synods, whether there are other matters (even with low level detail) that it wd be helpful for us to learn about before they appear as exposés on Channel 4?

submitted 33 days ago • 2 comments

The Bitesize EL Society @ecclj videos are excellent. I really enjoyed “what is an incumbent”? Canon C24 (largely describing what incumbents & priests in charge do) does not mention: - Buildings & Faculties - Fundraising - Practical & Administrative tasks - Safeguarding youtu.be/EW_BNBCyhXM

submitted 39 days ago • 2 comments

In reality, we are here due to a series of decisions across dioceses (not one Archbishop) but this is true: “The Church Commissioners’ interest is piqued by attractive-sounding proposals.” and it can undermine good investment at parish level. unherd.com/2025/01/just...

submitted 54 days ago • 1 comment

Read the end! ‘I warn them if they show up to church, they’ll find it annoying. People will rub them up the wrong way. The leader will say something that makes them wince. The institution will disappoint and, if they stand still for 5 seconds, they’ll end up on a rota.’ www.churchtimes.co.uk/252768

submitted 66 days ago • 2 comments

Merry Christmas with grateful thanks to all who love the Church on earth as it is in heaven. “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” #ClergyMaltClub #MyChurchOfEngland

submitted 69 days ago • 1 comment

Tooting is very quiet this morning; the shops are nearly empty. There’s very little traffic. A hush has descended. The preparations to welcome the baby are complete; for now it remains #Advent.

submitted 70 days ago • 0 comments

‘Sooner or later someone has to blow up the insatiable shark. The Church of England cannot be run by Twitter storms & petitions… Time, effort & money are all limited resources for a bishop, and to govern is to choose.’ Andrew Brown’s writing is careful, measured, and superb. t.co/YbvEjgoyHl

submitted 74 days ago • 0 comments

Reminder from @benjamindcrosby that this is one of the Advent Ember Days, and so to pray for all preparing for ordination. A helpful reflection on the language used around church discipline also. bencrosby.substack.com/p/on-the-wei...

submitted 76 days ago • 0 comments

Trying to finish a simple reflection on Radix Jesse, and I’ve got my roots and shoots in a pickle. Do you reckon Jesus is the root of Jesse or, alternatively, the shoot of Jesse, or theologically both?

submitted 76 days ago • 2 comments

Gaudete! Once every three years, you get a chance to tell the vipers to rejoice! This morning was it! Rejoice, you vipers!! #gaudete #weirdchurchstuff

submitted 79 days ago • 0 comments

Enough snark: a heartfelt, sad, and lovely letter about Christmas and grief. God bless Brian (and his friends at work, in the choir, and in the drama group, too).

submitted 80 days ago • 3 comments

“Overworked and unsupported clergy do not make for a safer Church. They are more likely to make mistakes, miss things, take short cuts, snap, burn out. If we want safety, we also need to provide accessible support to frontline ministers.” www.churchtimes.co.uk/252664

submitted 81 days ago • 1 comment

@bsky.app Could you make it easier (with fewer clicks) to switch between Bluesky accounts?

submitted 81 days ago • 1 comment

A good time was had by all at @holytrinitytooting! Thank you for being a terrific host. Lovely Christmas meal @TheBedfordPub, lovely staff, and a lovely time 🥰

submitted 84 days ago • 0 comments

Step from the waiting of #Advent to the wonder of #Christmas at a Christingle Service at 3pm on Sunday 8th December at Holy Trinity. We've sticky oranges, sweets and fire! Children of all ages very welcome. Book now to avoid disappointment: bit.ly/BookEventHT

submitted 87 days ago • 0 comments

Fleming Rutledge here is just… brilliant. I’m grateful for this help (as though we could forget) to name our need for an unflinching inventory of darkness. #Advent 💜

submitted 87 days ago • 2 comments

Wisdom from St Ambrose! From three books on the duties of the clergy, bk 1, ch 2 “I know that most persons speak because they do not know how to keep silent.”

submitted 87 days ago • 1 comment

Happy Feast of St Ambrose everyone! I asked ChatGPT to write a rap for him; here’s a bit of it: Saint Ambrose, the voice of the divine, Droppin’ sacred rhymes, let the Scriptures shine. Preacher, poet, teacher, a spiritual boss, Guiding the faithful to the foot of the cross.

submitted 87 days ago • 1 comment

A little bit of good news. Each parish perhaps putting on another service or doing a work of mercy or finding a way to reach somebody forgotten. 🥰🥰 “Weekly attendance rose to 693,000 in 2023, an increase of 4.5 per cent compared with the figures for 2022.” www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/202...

submitted 88 days ago • 1 comment

“to begin again, we must return to the local church. Not to laud it like some faithful retainer, before turning attention and resources elsewhere, but to let ourselves be chastened and transformed by it, and regrow Anglican polity from the ground up.” andrewrumsey.wordpress.com/2024/11/29/w...

submitted 91 days ago • 0 comments