Greg Smith

Expert Comment: Church-to-mosque conversions grab headlines, but is Reverend Canon Professor William Whyte, Professor of Social and Architectural History in the Faculty of History, reacts to Reform UK's announcement that it would ‘end the incendiary practice of

Expert Comment: Church-to-mosque conversions grab headlines, but is funding the real crisis? | University of Oxford share.google/h7BuAjLihrHI...

Bonhoeffer's Warning, Unheeded: The Moral Collapse of White Evangelicalism Why the Most Devout White American Evangelicals Are the Most Captured

processthis.substack.com/p/bonhoeffer...?

A long read but full of insights and lament

Incidentally it occurs to me that one thing that’s daft about Matt Goodwin’s line that “Britain will be unrecognisable by the end of this century” is that… yeah, it probably will be. Britain was very different in 2000 to 1926. 1900 was quite different to 1826, for that matter.

How rightwing rhetoric has risen sharply in the UK parliament – an exclusive visual analysis In the past five years, MPs’ attitudes in the House of Commons towards immigration have swung harder to the right than at almost any other time in the last century

We are in a dreadful time compared with earlier decades of politics

www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-...?

Record number of adults to be received into Catholic Church in Southwark | ICN At the Rite of Election ceremony at St George's Cathedral yesterday, Archbishop John Wilson welcomed over 590 adults, including catechumens (those not yet baptised) and candidates (those from other Ch...

Source: Independent Catholic News
search.app/Lt8kP

Faithful Presence in a Fractured World A Church toolkit for resisting the Far Right by Helen Paynter - Paperback / softback - 9781786227386 Buy Faithful Presence in a Fractured World A Church toolkit for resisting the Far Right by Helen Paynter Paperback / softback from Canterbury Press - ISBN: 9781786227386

You can now pre-order Helen Paynter's new book, "Faithful Presence in a Fractured World: A Church toolkit for resisting the Far Right" from Canterbury Press. Read the description on their webpage and check out the fantastic lineup of authors/topics.

canterburypress.hymnsam.co.uk/books/978178...

Reform would create ICE-style agency and end leave to remain, Zia Yusuf to say Nigel Farage’s party plans to deport up to 288,000 people a year on five flights a day and expand stop and search

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...?

If we don't defeat DeForm fascism will win.

Is there really a 'quiet revival' of religion among Gen Z? A fierce debate is taking place about whether there really has been a revival in Christianity.

BBC News - Is there really a 'quiet revival' of religion among Gen Z? - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Generalizing isn't healthy. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Jesus Christ's New Testament church Restored.

#langsky
"Everyone should have the right to learn and grow through their mother tongue, and also to acquire regional, national, and international languages. Through multilingualism, wisely used, every individual can participate, talk and be heard."

Happy International Mother Language Day! 🌻

Celebrate linguistic diversity by browsing multilingual books in Open Library’s digital archive. tinyurl.com/bdj24acn

What another sorry mess surrounding a Bishop. It seems many people are not surprised. This is so depressing, so damaging. Pray justice is served, and the church gets it's tawdry house in order!

Why fake AI videos of UK urban decline are taking over social media Deepfakes showing grim taxpayer-funded waterparks have gone viral and drawn some racist responses.

Sick lies clearly wanting to promote a false far right narrative. Heading to the destruction of urban civilisation.

BBC News - Why fake AI videos of UK urban decline are taking over social media - BBC News
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, i...

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

This could happen in the UK if the far right gets to power.

Enough politics. The Church needs to offer a theological view on immigration As public opinion hardens and political rhetoric intensifies, many Christians are absorbing the same political narratives about immigration as everyone else. But the Evangelical Alliance's Israel Olof...

www.premierchristianity.com/opinion/enou...? Good article by my friend Israel.. Pity about the photo of For Rage

The Guardian exposing the racism and stupidity of Reform Councilors in Lancashire.

Slurs by teachers and gang attacks: Racism trauma revealed in report Jasmine said an elderly man shouted abuse at her for wearing a headscarf as she approached her place of work.

Racism is spreading like a cancer, and it is right wing politicians and media who are promoting it.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...?

What does it mean to seek renewal in neighbourhoods shaped by loss, resilience, and hope?

Sarah Small's Temple Urban Tract reflects on place, faithfulness, and long-term presence in urban contexts

Read here: williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/temple-tract...

Eden Network: www.facebook.com/EdenNetwork

All of Lancashire County Council’s libraries withdrawn from Library of Sanctuary scheme – Blog Preston <p>The news came as a surprise to councillors – who said they did not receive any communication that the change had happened. </p>

Read the article for our statement on this

www.blogpreston.co.uk/2026/02/all-...

Leighton Moss 14 Feb 2026 · Saturday, Feb 14 📸 Shared album · Tap to view!

Pleasant morning yesterday at RSPB Leighton Moss

photos.app.goo.gl/Exr62gocnQyB...

Britain’s care system promotes modern slavery. A genuinely humane government would reform it | Andrea Egan New proposals that would force poorly paid migrant workers to wait longer for earned settlement are nothing more than an assault on working-class people, says Unison’s general secretary Andrea Egan

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Three cheers for Unison and the Grauniad... zero for the government.

Blue box containing the words "Submitting a response to the Government's earned settlement public consultation" with the logo "Praxis, for migrants and refugees"

🚨 Just THREE days left to tell the Government what you think of making refugees wait 20 years for safety 🚨

We cannot let these appalling plans go unchallenged.

Follow this guide from Praxis to make sure your voice is heard.
www.praxis.org.uk/consultation

300,000 children face 10-year wait for settled status under UK plans, says IPPR Thinktank analysis says proposed ‘earned settlement’ changes could trap families in prolonged insecurity

This policy is vile and cruel.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

From Westminster to the Streets of Birmingham: The Secret Architecture of UK’s Christian Nationalism A far-right 'Walk with Jesus' is planned for Birmingham. From UKIP's street theatre to Reform UK's intellectual veneer, CAFR unmasks the movement weaponising our faith.

christiansagainstthefarright.substack.com/p/from-westm...?

Fun in church?

How can we take a practical and prophetic role to challenging poverty in our neighbourhoods? - CUF Deprivation data for St Matthew the Apostle, Burnley

cuf.org.uk/news/local_p...?

Review of 'Life on the Breadline: Theology, Poverty and Politics in an Age of Austerity' by Chris Shannahan - William Temple Foundation Life on the Breadline: Theology, Poverty and Politics in an Age of Austerity Chris Shannahan SCM Press, 2025, 226 pp., pbk, £26.00. Review by Dr Joseph Forde, Honorary Research Fellow […]

Chris Shannahan should be pleased with this. Others should read the book.

williamtemplefoundation.org.uk/review-of-li...

I am getting good at wordle.

mailchi.mp/eb5aefe35959...

Uniform Churches and Diverse Christians In a guest post, Carolyn Whitnall demonstrates the problem of uniformity in the church and explores the radical Biblical preference for diversity.

open.substack.com/pub/johnheat...