WHEN I came to the UK in 2002, I spotted one distinctive feature in the Christianity of this country and across Europe: a tendency to be as politically “neutral” as possible. This is right, and makes sense, given that our belief in Christ is to be open to all and to embrace all. Such “neutrality” should not, however, be used as an excuse to tame the Church’s prophetic voice against the injustices of society.

Thomas Jay Oord, who PCN Britain is hosting later this year, has been charged with Oord has been charged with teaching doctrines contrary to the Church of the Nazarene And conduct unbecoming of a minister. In this video he responds to those charges.

The Revd Tim Yeager died on 2nd April 2024. Tim was well known to many of our members through his Galilee Course and group.

Hugh was one of the founders of PCN Britain, the first Chair of the organisation and also the editor of Progressive Voices. More than that though, to many within PCN Britain he was a friend and mentor. Hugh died peacefully on the 7th February after a short illness, his wife Jill was with him.

We at PCN offer our condolences to Jill and all those who loved Hugh as they grieve, and offer our thanks for his life and many acheivements.

There are many volunteering roles at Greenbelt, whether it is helping to set up the festival or working during it. There is more information on the sorts of roles available here.

While the national denominations and traditions continue to argue over their stance on the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people, the Student Christian Movement (SCM) and OneBodyOneFaith have joined together to publish a resource for churches who want to take a step further along the journey, and who want to grow not only as allies to LGBTQ+ people but also in their own faith too.

The 2024 Church Times Green Church Awards are organised jointly with the Church of England’s environment programme, the Methodist Church, the Salvation Army, and Eco Congregation Scotland. They are open to church groups and church schools of any denomination.

The Galilee Course is an introduction to Christianity created by the Rev Tim Yeager, an Anglican priest and PCN member, as a progressive alternative to Alpha.

The Open Table network has organised two events to celebrate, the More Than Equal conference in Cambridge and a communion service at St. Bride's Liverpool.

The United Reformed Church (URC), which agreed in 2016 to allow local churches to vote on performing marriages of couples of the same gender, has committed to supporting the Open Table Network (OTN), a growing partnership of communities across England and Wales run by and for LGBT+ people, their families and friends.

The grant, for £50,000 over the next three years, is the first donation OTN has received from any national church in the 15 years since it began with a group of six LGBT+ people at St Bride’s Anglican Church in Liverpool in 2008.

The news of the death of Prof Tom McLeish FRS, theoretical physicist, interdisciplinary academic, Church of England Reader and widely respected writer came as something of a shock, when it was announced, to many of his friends and admirers – among them plenty of PCN members. In fact, though, Prof McLeish had revealed last summer that he had been diagnosed with inoperable Pancreatic cancer, and knew that his days were limited.

The eight points, or core values, set out by ProgressiveChristianity.org formed the basis for PCN Britain's own eight points. Periodically ProgressiveChristianity.org review their core values and the most recent version now contains fewer points.

Some churches are largely affirming but don’t feel they are doing enough to warrant putting a rainbow on their website, so they might get overlooked. LGBTQ+ people and their staunch allies exist in churches of all kinds, but everyone needs to be able to find the right place to worship and grow as a Christian in safety. Honesty is the beginning of being able to do that.

On Thursday 8^th September the death was announced of Queen Elizabeth II who passed away peacefully at Balmoral Castle.

The sixth film in the Made of Stories series is now available to view.

At its General Assembly, held from 8-11 July at The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick, the URC passed two resolutions pertaining to the topic.

In addition to the apology, the Church made a commitment to undertake practical actions to address “the continuing negative impacts of the legacies of transatlantic slavery on black communities in the UK, the Caribbean and Africa”.

As Christians are we not challenged to be just as concerned for our Muslim neighbours as we are for Roman and Orthodox Christians in then Ukraine? Why the discrepancy between our concerns for the suffering in Yemen and the suffering in the Ukraine?

Amid all the bombs and suffering Medicins san Frontiers and Unicef among others strive to bring food and medical care to a forgotten people. The shame is that the bombs and missiles used against Yemen come from the nominally Christian countries of the U.S.A & the U.K.

“It is a part of wider changes in ecclesiology: the elevation of the diocese over the parish, the loss of local connection, the attempts to turn bishops into enforcers of top-down polity, and the subsequent current moves to coerce parishes into diocesan schemes that will rid them of their agency and reduce the clergy to puppets."