Search results for Donna Jennings
When we come together
The church (ekklesia) is, at its heart, a gathering of people. We are a connected people, a community, the people of God, the body of Christ, a holy nation, a royal priesthood, the flock, the household of God. From first creation to the new creation, scripture is permeated with images of people…
Donna Jennings
The cross is for daily life, not just for Easter
This reflective meditation includes the repeated prayer, "Come Lord Jesus, 'Easter' us anew", inspired by the prayers of theologian Walter Breuggemann. It expresses a longing for the ongoing renewal and restoration of our daily human lives that is possible because of the first Easter event. It's…
Donna Jennings
Community matters
Beneath the surface, responding to urgent demands with limited resources has led to reprioritised needs, categorised people and social divisions in a way that subtly reshapes values and culture. These are community matters. Community matters to God. Community matters for the church. “Christianity…
Donna Jennings
People of prayer in places of pain
Since the shaking started in March, there have been many times due to personal family situations, listening to friends’ experiences, or trying to process the local, national, and global news, when I have only been able to pray as Paul describes in Romans 8:22-27: "We know that the whole creation…
Donna Jennings
The UK church amid the pandemic: a journey of snakes and ladders
We wait to roll a 6. We plod forward, feeling like we’re ahead. We climb another ladder. 100, our desired destination, is in sight… restrictions lifted, new measures in place, the R number dropping, social connections rebuilding. Circumstances looked and felt better, hopeful even. In church,…
Donna Jennings
The incarnation is for life, not just for Christmas
The Christian church desperately needs to breathe, speak and live incarnation life all year round because we are immersed in a culture that’s failing miserably to answer the question: what does it means to be human? If I want to find out, if I want to live the fullest, truest version of the life of…
Donna Jennings
The posture and power of service
Service of this kind addresses the immediate material symptoms but ignores the deprivation of relationship, opportunity and equality that surround those we seek to serve. This form of giving reinforces the social barriers of ‘them and us’, forming Christian service as little more than good people…
Donna Jennings
“Micah doesn’t have the God-stamp”
“Micah can’t create anything, he just destroys it, he can’t figure hard things out and he can’t make friends with anyone – why can’t Micah come to church with us any more, because he doesn’t have the God-stamp?” The following day as I succumbed to the back-to-school social media photo streaming,…
Donna Jennings
Line of Duty: being human between blurred lines
Mercurio’s stroke of genius is how he seamlessly stitches fact into fiction, with closing clips on each character’s future fate and references to real life crime scandals. And, in how we permitted a viral hysteria around the fictional “H” to dominate news headlines and social media over the past…
Donna Jennings
Being human: real image-bearing from rooted imagination
Was your first response to deliver a dictionary definition? What about a scientific, medical explanation? Probably not. These three words evoke an image in your mind, maybe a memory or experience – and then stir up a sensation or emotion. Through these words we can share our experiences of life,…
Donna Jennings
Personhood, place and being present
Said in a Scouse accent, this catchphrase brings me back to my childhood Saturday nights watching Blind Date with Cilla Black. But together, these two inseparable questions – who you are (place), and where you are (identity) – are much deeper than a lighthearted TV icebreaker. Our identity and our…
Donna Jennings
Talking Jesus: None of the above
Freya, like most of my friends, is part of a growing group of people who choose to tick the box ‘none of the above’ when asked to describe their religious identity. While this group don’t feel they belong to any of the main religions, they do not understand themselves as agnostic or atheist.…
Donna Jennings
Speaking with and for the most vulnerable
On Wednesday, the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland appeared at the Northern Ireland Education Committee alongside the National Autistic Society to advocate for some of the most vulnerable people in society. You can watch Donna, head of church and mission, giving evidence here and the BBC…
A Call to Worship?
PERSON: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him” Genesis 1.27 The Genesis passages description of human personhood for their contemporary times was radially counter cultural. In the Ancient Near East, kings and rulers reserved the title ‘god’s image’ for…
Building a better story: abortion, disability and the church
This bill has a tightly defined objective and there remains much work to be done, to restore lost protections for women and unborn children but this could be a small but significant step in the right direction. At www.equallyhuman.org you will find a tool to enable members of the public to easily…
