Edinburgh will be awash with military symbolism and celebration today (25 June 2011), as the city hosts the national event for Armed Forces Day - which David Cameron last year said should be “an explosion of red white and blue all over the country.” That thought may cause SNP First Minister Alex Salmond at least a moment's hiccup as he stands next to the PM on the podium!

In a frankly inept example of a newspaper with a huge axe to grind engineering the story it then reports, the Daily Mail yesterday (9 June 2011) attempted to create a 'holy war' between the leaders of England's Anglican and Catholic communities over David Cameron's 'Big Society' - presumably with the aim of defending the latter.

For many people these days, much 'religion' has become synonymous with division, bigotry and violence. Sadly, there is plenty of good evidence that this is so. But it is not the whole picture. There are very strong faith traditions that point in exactly the opposite direction.

Today, while I play in a fundraising match at Dumbarton FC, representatives of Supporters Trust across the country are gathering at a conference entitled 'The Future of Scottish Football' at Hampden Park, Glasgow.

BBC One is hosting a live debate tonight about poverty and other social issues arising from its lively 'observational documentary' series, The Scheme, which looks at "the dramatic and often emotional highs and lows of daily life for six families living in a large housing scheme in Kilmarnock."

There has been some uncertainty as to what the Church of Scotland General Assembly actually voted for, and against, on the issue of coupled same-sex ministers and related issues. on Monday 23 May 2011.

Christian Aid Week focuses on vital fundraising for the global work of the UK-based churches' international development agency, and its many indigenous partners across several continents.

But there are also significant opportunities for raising awareness of key concerns - such as food, commodities, population and poverty.

All too often 'peace' becomes merely the absence of war, an aspiration beyond present circumstances, a limited discourse controlled by assumptions about the normality of conflict, or a moral choice alongside 'just war'. All these lazy or restrictive assumptions need challenging - and they are being, at the first global churches' and faith-conveyed peace gathering of its kind.

The difficulties negotiated and the sacrifices made by many disabled and ill people in getting to London to join the Hardest Hit march against government cuts has been inspiring.

Today (11 May 2011) Ekklesia is highlighting the contents of a research paper which maps out the contours of the government's revolution in Britain’s benefits and welfare system - one that hits the mo