Author Archives: Gerry Lynch

Sermon Preached at St James’ Church Alderholt on Sunday 3 May 2015 (Easter 5)

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

Readings – John 15:1-8; Acts 8:26-40. Pruning doesn’t seem like a very pleasant process for whomever is being pruned. It carries connotations of being taken down to size, perhaps of having one’s wings clipped. Christ says in today’s Gospel that … Continue reading →

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A Good Week for Democracy Globally

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

This was originally posted to Slugger O’Toole… There was something discomfiting about the funeral of Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore’s achievements under his rule were extraordinary, but the story presented on his death was a sanitised fable. World leaders queued up … Continue reading →

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Your Guide to Israel’s General Election

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

Originally posted at Slugger O’Toole… Israel goes to the polls on St Patrick’s Day to elect a new parliament, which in turn will either confirm incumbent Binyamin Netanyahu in office or oust him in favour of the centre-left. The St … Continue reading →

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Two Tribes, The Winds of Change and an old man’s death

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

Originally posted at Slugger O’Toole… 30 years ago today a man only moderately old died in an élite Moscow hospital; he had smoked incessantly for six of his seven decades and drank heavily for five, and after years of mounting … Continue reading →

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Lent

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

What am I giving up for Lent? I’m going to try giving up cynicism and unhappiness. Cynicism is worn as a badge of maturity in 2010s Britain. To dare to be optimistic, to dare to hope, is a sign of … Continue reading →

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Flegs and Anthems

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

Originally posted on Slugger O’Toole… I was interested to note the Union Flag carefully positioned immediately beside Belfast PUP Councillor Julie-Anne Corr Johnson for her interview with BBC NI’s The Viewrecently. “On one hand they tell us the British identity of … Continue reading →

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Gay Life in NI if the Conscience Clause Were Enacted

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

Originally posted on Slugger O’Toole… It was a summer Friday in 2008, and we were in a provincial town West of the Bann. Jordin Sparks was Number 1 and Ian Paisley’s tenure as leader of Our Wee Country had ended … Continue reading →

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CONVERSION EXPERIENCE: A poem for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul

Posted on January 25, 2015 by Gerry Lynch

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfT-xUV1Nok] CONVERSION EXPERIENCE Voice and light that left him blinded,      Lashed him like a cattle prod. “That you do for me is evil!      That you thought the devil, God!” ‘Did I really intrigue murder?’ –      Pride that led to such … Continue reading →

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Thoughts on Bishops who won’t Ordain Women

Posted on November 7, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

Today it was announced that Philip North, Vicar of Old St Pancras in London and a prominent member of Traditionalist Anglo-Catholic group Forward in Faith, is to be the new Bishop of Burnley. He is, therefore, someone who will not … Continue reading →

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Sexual and Religious Freedoms: the First Casualties of Russian Crimea?

Posted on November 2, 2014 by Gerry Lynch

The excellent Forum 18 organisation, which supports freedom of religious belief and disbelief in Europe and Asia, reports a recent wave of harrasment of and raids on premises owned by Muslims and Jehovah’s Witnesses in what is now Russian-controlled Crimea. … Continue reading →

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