Madeleine Pennington

The Guardian view on Christianity and the UK far right: churches must stand up to the false prophets of division | Editorial Editorial: Symbols of Christian nationalism were prominent at last Saturday’s ‘unite the kingdom’ march. Their deployment had little to do with religious faith

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The image includes the quotation shared in the main post, along with a picture of Edith Stein (a young white woman wearing a black nun's headcovering).

God is love, and Love is goodness giving itself away. It is a fullness of being that does not want to remain enclosed in itself, but rather to share itself with others, to give itself to them, and to make them happy.

Edith Stein

What’s better than a cafe, wilderness retreat or spa? A silent cafe, wilderness retreat or spa | Emma Beddington Imagine going somewhere and not having to hear all about a stranger’s toxic boyfriend, pitch deck or hernia op, writes Emma Beddington

Significant that the author credits her 6 years attending Quaker school for an appreciation of silence here. They are under-acknowledged as modes of Quaker outreach:

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The new pope is the internet’s biggest meme. What does that say about us? | Tayo Bero Social media has been fun for the first time in years. But the joy of this moment is about more than just jokes

“But the way we’ve responded to it – the return to our collective ideals that moments like this inspire – gives some meaning to all the pomp and circumstance.”

Is this piece really arguing that the papal conclave was given meaning only by… the meme response? 😑

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Motherhood vs The Machine Podcast · Theos · Motherhood offers a unique insight into what it is to be human: interdependence, sacrifice, love, care, hope and vulnerability (all of which are key to a Christian understanding of p...

You can listen to all episodes here (and btw, I’m posting this with a new baby asleep on my shoulder, finally peaceful for us both now breastfeeding has settled down 3 months in…): open.spotify.com/show/32torta...

Glad to see @theguardian.com again drawing attention to the (social, physical, emotional) challenges of infant feeding, which place such a heavy burden on new mothers - as @chinemcdonald.bsky.social and I explore in episode 3 of Motherhood vs the Machine…

Two things can be true at once.
1. Overall levels of religiosity are declining.
2. But religious people are actually *more* religious now.

Look at the top left graph - that's the share of 18-35 years old Christians who attend church weekly.

It's up 7 points since 2008.

YouTube video by Churches Together in England CTE Forum 2025 - Session 2 - Reflecting on Synodality

Elaine Green reflects on what "synodality" means for Quakers. This may sound boring, but our Local Meeting watched it this morning, and we all agreed it was worth the time. Thank you, Elaine @bsequakers.bsky.social

Elaine starts speaking at 28:15
www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9oQ...

Doctor Manhattan on Mars, being ponderous about the repetitive, cyclical nature of time and society.

The year is 1650 and the Quakers are being unruly.
The year is 1848 and the Quakers are being unruly.
The year is 2025 and the Quakers are being unruly.

Death: Is grief an inevitable part of motherhood? Motherhood vs The Machine · Episode

TW: stillbirths, pregnancy loss, miscarriage and death.

The final episode of #MotherhoodvsTheMachine is out now.
@chinemcdonald.bsky.social and @mlpennington.bsky.social
explore what motherhood teaches us about loss, grief, change and death.
open.spotify.com/episode/698k...

Quakers condemn police raid on Westminster Meeting House Police broke into a Quaker Meeting House last night (27 March) and arrested six young people holding a meeting over concerns for the climate and Gaza.

🚨 Outrage as 20 police officers break into Westminster Quaker Meeting House and arrest six. 🚨
This shocking violation of a place of worship is a direct result of crackdowns on protest and dissent - freedom of speech, assembly and democracy are at risk.🕊️
👉 www.quaker.org.uk/news-and-eve...

“The kind of biblical worldview Jesus wants you to have is inseparable from the kind of heart Jesus wants you to have.”
—Michael Wear, The Spirit of Our Politics

People in decision-making / -influencing roles tend to underestimate how many of us are struggling to make ends meet*

1 in 8 of us are skipping meals

1 in 5 are spending our savings

(*availability heuristic: people in their circles tend to be doing OK, & humans overestimate our normality)

No one wants bland cheerleading. But headlines could be a bit more factual ("The government today announced...") with the follow-up doing the analysis.

Instead, the headline is almost always opinion-led ("Fury at...").

So the "story" becomes the anger, rather than the thing that prompted it.

Feat. my daughter’s podcast debut, at 32 weeks gestation.

Enjoy!

Our beautiful home planet, teeming with life ❤️

Last month I did a little experiment.

I wanted to see how the exact same post would perform on both X (Twitter) and Bluesky.

The results were...interesting...

[Thread]

Your timeline cleanse for the day

What is 'work'? What's the relationship between paid employment & mothering? What skills does it demand of us? Why isn't it valued more highly? Where does it cross into love?

So proud of this project, which taught me so much along the way. Do give our new podcast a listen - episode 1 out now. 👇

Various indicators point to a deterioration in population mental health – likely contributing to rising disability benefit caseloads | Institute for Fiscal Studies Mental health has worsened since the pandemic. This is consistent with rising disability benefit claims for mental health.

Good lord. A 24% increase in working age 'deaths of despair' (attributed to alcohol, drugs,suicide) comparing pre- and post-pandemic. h/t @cjayanetti.bsky.social ifs.org.uk/news/various...

New research from
@theosthinktank.bsky.social
ahead of the launch of the Motherhood Vs The Machine podcast next week!
@chinemcdonald.bsky.social
@mlpennington.bsky.social

Could headlines please not just take for granted that Trump “is doing” stuff he has no legal authority to do just because he said so? Because the implication to the reader is that he can in fact legitimately do these things.

YouTube video by Theos Think Tank Dying for Beginners | Dr Kathryn Mannix

And if you want to learn the signs that death is close, you could also watch this wonderful animation created by the very talented Emily Downe, with @drkathrynmannix.bsky.social explaining the process of “ordinary” dying:

youtu.be/ayMhA1pRLeY?...

Love, Grief, and Hope: Emotional responses to death and dying in the UK Madeleine Pennington and Nathan Mladin’s report examining emotional responses to death and dying in the UK. 27/11/2023

e.g. Across the population, 90% of us have lost someone close but only 36% have been with someone at the moment of death - rising only to 54% even among those aged 55+.

You can read more about our findings in the full report here:
www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/202...

“And there was one piece of information that allowed us to recognise what was happening at a crucial moment: a sign that death was close.”

Great piece on the importance of death literacy here, chiming with what we found in @theosthinktank.bsky.social research on a lack of exposure to death/dying.

As ever, @hopenothate.org.uk do fantastic & important work

Sunday - Synod & Safeguarding; Religion & Gen Z; USAID - BBC Sounds A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week

What does social prescribing actually look like?

Catch Dr Marianne Rozario on BBC Radio 4 Sunday unpacking our latest research on social prescribing.

🎙️Tune in from 31:40 to hear more.
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

And Quakers!

Love that we are spending all our time discussing Reform and ignoring the Lib Dems and then you see this…