Reflections and Stories

Elijah's Berlin Adventures Part Two: Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church

30 Aug 2023

One thing that I loved and truly valued about the Berlin trip is the diversity of perspectives and interpretations shared amongst the group. It is easy to forget that not everyone sees the same way as you do, nor do they perceive, experience, appreciate and understand in a standardised way. So,...

Elijah's Berlin Adventure Part One: The walls we encounter, maintain, and resist.

22 Aug 2023

On the first day of our time in Berlin, we were taken on a tour of the Berlin Wall Memorial. It was poignant to be able to physically stand in the chasm – the no man’s land – between what was once West and East Berlin. I couldn’t help but be truly thankful for the physical ease and safety with...

Blessed Are The Queer, Doubtful, Anxious People of Faith: Beatitudes for the SCM National Gathering

12 Jul 2023

After a weekend of discussing what it means to walk ‘humbly’, Ashwin Thyssen, our keynote speaker, left us with a reading of Nadia Bolz Weber’s version of the Beatitudes. Nadia wonders if, instead of being a list of...

Vocation, Vocation, Vocation: Christianity and Careers

28 Jun 2023

Almost three years on from finishing university, I find myself working for a university careers service. I certainly didn’t imagine that I would be in this position back when I graduated – in fact, I never used the careers services at either of the universities I attended (don’t tell my boss...

Tips for SCM Group Outreach!

2 May 2023

Words like 'outreach' and 'evangelism' can be taboo words in the progressive Christian world (and for good reason!) We don't want to be seen to be manipulative or coercive, so we can feel a bit wary or unsure of how to go about attracting new people to our SCM groups. As part of this year's...

Frustrated Vocations: Why We Need an Honest Church on Women's Ministry

18 Apr 2023

Twenty years ago I had a strong sense of God calling me to ordained ministry in the Church of England and to become a vicar. This was nearly ten years since women had been permitted to become priests and, although I genuinely wondered whether I had all the gifts necessary for priestly ministry...