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by Stewart Murray Williams

The church in Britain (and much of western culture) is in exile, according to many commentators, aliens in a strange new world. What spiritual resources, patterns of community and ways of living do we need to sustain faith, inspire discipleship and energise mission?

We hear many stories of ‘emerging churches’ and ‘fresh expressions of church’, but Christians in many places are also rediscovering older forms of spirituality and discipleship. Some are drawing on the monastic traditions to find resources for a post-Christendom culture...

by Sue Haslehurst

Autumn is a season of endings, flowers fading, leaves dying and falling to the ground, annual plants rotting down, the warmth of the summer giving way to chill and to winds. It can be a time to think about pain and loss.

And yet it is also a season of endings that are right, a season of completion and completeness. The summer’s flowers have paved the way for the autumn’s fruit, for berries, seedpods, nuts, fluffy seeds flying through the air and all sorts of food to be eaten or stored away. Even the richly coloured leaves that are simply ending as they dry out and fall to the ground, even they light up the autumn with an intense last glow of beauty.

So at this time of year we can also look back with gratitude over the summer and be thankful for the fruit brought to ripeness in the autumn. We may dwell on the themes of harvest festival, giving thanks for God’s silent miracles of growth and fruitfulness and for the stores of goodness and nourishment laid up for the coming winter...

Meet 10am, Sunday 7 October
Saint Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace, 78 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4AG (tubes: Bank, Liverpool St)

"They destroyed my family, my home, my life. I have nothing left"
- Agah Lalai, whose wife, father, grandfather, grandmother, three brothers, and four sisters were killed by a US airstrike on 8 May.

by Jonathan Bartley

Last month, the US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke held an unusual and urgent meeting with top economic
policy-makers, to discuss the fallout from the recent volatility in the financial markets.

On the agenda was the regulation of those who, some say, have recklessly leant money to vulnerable homeowners.

The turmoil in the financial markets which still continues and has been seen most recently in the run on the Northern Rock bank in the UK, began over fears surrounding sub-prime mortgages, made to those who find it hard to get credit. The loans are less than 'prime' because of the degree of risk. A potentially dangerous investment, they carry higher rates of interest to reward the lenders for their entrepreneurial daring.

Many would condemn as 'loan sharks', those who charge higher rates to the vulnerable. But the institutional usury of the sub-prime sector has become a virtue. Adam Smith's invisible hand lifts the poor onto the first rung of the housing ladder. It then gives a large pat on the back, or a golden handshake, to those who have taken the investment risks. Everyone appears to win.

But when higher rates of interest mean the poorest default on their loans, it seems, from the recent stock market plunges at least, we all have the potential to lose...

by Vic Thiessen

“This book doesn’t have any answers!” exclaims Homer Simpson in frustration as he pages through the Bible early in the The Simpsons Movie, one of the hit films of this past summer. The reason for Homer’s search for answers is Grampa, who is ‘speaking in tongues’ while writhing in the aisle of the Springfield church. Poking fun at Christianity is a prominent feature of The Simpsons TV show, so this irreverent scene does not come as a shock. But is it an example of a generally negative attitude toward Christianity or is it merely critiquing what the writers (including Matt Groening, who has Mennonite roots) see as excesses of the Christian faith?...

Forgiveness: A Legacy of the West Nickel Mines Amish School

by John L Ruth

This meditation on the horrific events of October 2, 2006, reflects on the response of the Amish community of Nickel Mines in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where a gunman killed himself, five school children, and wounded five others. The tragedy evoked worldwide expressions of shock and sympathy. But the world was stunned when the Amish community, in the midst of its grieving, offered words of forgiveness toward the dead killer and his family. While many wondered where God was in the little country school house, the Amish recognized a biblical calling to minister to the killer's family and extend Christ's healing. John L Ruth considers that the extraordinary Christian forgiveness shown by the victims remains the legacy of that heart-breaking day.

Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy

by Donald B Kraybill, Steven M Nolt et al

‘Amish Grace’ explores the many questions the story the Amish response to Nickel Mines shootings raises about the religious beliefs and habits that led the community to forgive so quickly. It looks at the ties between forgiveness and membership in a cloistered communal society and ask if Amish practices parallel or diverge from other religious and secular notions of forgiveness. It will also address the matter of why forgiveness became news. "All the religions teach it," mused an observer, "but no one does it like the Amish." Regardless of the cultural seedbed that nourished this story, the surprising act of Amish forgiveness begs for a deeper exploration. How could the Amish do this? What did this act mean to them? And how might their witness prove useful to the rest of us?

by Tim Foley

I have, now and again, thought about the effect of words in a conflict. In mediation work I have noticed that the right form of words can sometimes cause a positive change in the mood of a conflict and a corresponding change of direction in the process (and unfortunately the wrong words have the opposite effect).

In her book Peaceful Persuasion: The Geopolitics of Nonviolent Rhetoric (New York: State University of New York Press 2004), Ellen Gorsevski explores the use of rhetoric in contexts of conflict and violence and identifies, through qualitative research and case studies, the essence and characteristics of non-violent rhetoric. She notes that Western culture tends to promote violent rhetoric while overlooking the potential of ‘peaceful persuasion’ for addressing the conflicts and evils that torment our world. The point is that the way we talk, no matter what the speaking situation, can help to nurture and sustain non-violent modes of behavior into everyday lives...

by Joanna Frew

At long last DESO is to be closed! We were extremely happy to hear the Prime Minister announce that he will shut the Defence Export Services Organisation (DESO), the arms marketing unit funded by public money.

SPEAK have been praying and calling for DESO's closure since 2003. On our Day of Action in February 2004 more than 250 members of the network gathered to pray and repent outside the DESO offices in central London. Our action was followed by other actions organized by Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT) and Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR) in October 2006, when campaigners held a peaceful vigil encircling DESO. At last year’s summer festivals we encouraged people to join in making what was to be DESO's final birthday card - a creative and ultimately prophetic statement that the 40 year old department is truly over the hill. On 7th March 2007 the Treasury received a petition signed by over 10,000 people...

by Sarah Warburton

Sarah and Phil Warburton (Stepney, East London) have been in North America for the summer on sabbatical visiting Mennonites who are involved with urban mission. Here are a few reflections...