BRIEFING
15 million people likely to use Buy Now Pay Later at Christmas
NEW research by Citizens Advice finds more than one in four UK adults (28 per cent, the equivalent of 15.1 million people) say they are likely to use Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) to help with Christmas spending. This rises to 56 per cent of parents with primary...
Carol Service to be led by Deaf Christians in British Sign Language
IN an unprecedented collaboration, five of the United Kingdom's major Christian denominations are set to broadcast a special Christmas Carol Service on Sunday 10 December 2023. The event will be hosted on their respective Facebook Pages and YouTube Channels, uniting...
Quakers support Ramallah Friends School after former pupils shot in US
QUAKERS in Britain have offered their support to Ramallah Friends School in the wake of the shooting of three former students in Vermont. Hisham Awartani, Tahseen Ahmed and Kinnan Abdalhamid, all aged 20, attended the 150-year-old Quaker institution in Palestine from...
COP28 talks open with breakthrough deal on loss and damage fund
DELEGATES meeting at the COP28 talks in Dubai have agreed on the operationalisation of a fund that would help compensate vulnerable countries coping with loss and damage caused by climate change: a major breakthrough on the first day of this year’s UN climate...
US official’s visit to RAF Lakenheath ‘further proof’ of nuclear plans
THE Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) says the recent visit of US Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks to RAF Lakenheath is further proof that Washington is preparing the Suffolk airbase to host new US nuclear weapons in Britain. Hicks' tour included an...
COMMENTARY
‘Slow dusk’: remembering with integrity
REMEMBRANCE-TIDE is over and now, the space for further reflection. A time to stand back from the division and anger engendered by the former Home Secretary and to consider what it may mean in these harrowing, divisive and contentious times to remember the dead of so...
Work, health, and the questions we should be asking
IT IS the Conservative way to frame structural and economic problems as a failure of individuals. This allows the rich and powerful to abdicate responsibility, whilst all the pressure and blame is placed on people who have neither money nor power, and very little...
David Cameron and the collapse of (the big) society
AS David Cameron returned to government, political commentators were almost unanimous in the view that the most notable policy or event with which he was associated was Brexit. That seems to me to be a rather privileged view. Without underestimating the very damaging...
Israel, Palestine and the West: international law and human worth
AMIDST an alarming escalation of violence in the Middle East, the legality and morality of actions by governments or quasi-governmental bodies has been a key issue. This includes Western states, especially the USA but also the UK. With deepening tragedy and...
Justice, mercy, humility: a timeless response to the horror of modern war
MICAH the prophet: “Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly.” A focus for this time of renewed war and suffering. It may seem far too inward-looking in such terrible days to be dwelling on the challenge which the situation in Gaza poses to the pacifist/non-violent...
MEDIA
UPDATES
From lockdown to musical strength
INTERNATIONALLY renowned virtuoso South Indian violinist Jyotsna Srikanth stops by in Edinburgh on her 2023-24 tour on Friday 17th November, showcasing an extraordinary blend of ragas presented in contemporary style and blended with keyboards, electronics and...
Simone Weil: The spiritual vision in her life and work
OUR director, Simon Barrow, will be chairing an online forum looking at the spiritual vision of the compelling early twentieth century French philosopher, mystic and political activist Simone Weil. This will take place from 19:00 to 21:00 (UK time) on Wednesday 27th...
Solas Festival focuses on ‘Kindling Hope’
KINDLING HOPE is the broad theme of the Solas Festival 2023, which gathers in Errol Park, Perthshire, Scotland, this weekend, running from 4pm on Friday 16 June through to 6pm on Sunday 18 June. Once again, Ekklesia is delighted to be a sponsor of this exciting and...