Hi Simon

We agree that there's no problem if both patient and carer are of the same faith and the patient requests prayer. But I suspect that NHS rules prohibit the wearing of jewellery on health grounds (so no crosses or anything like that): how would the patient know to ask? Is this an argument for allowing lapel badges, a la British Airways post-Eweida? (I'd support this).

Also, you talk about an 'imbalance of power' between patient and nurse which resembles (?) the one between teacher and pupils. Could you flesh this out a little?

Sadly we didn't do rugby at my school. It was football or nothing, more's the pity.

Toby

Hi Simon

I think the present case isn't about Mrs P evangelising her patients (although the earlier case was). It's about whether she should offer to pray with or for them, which is different and - it seems to me - unexceptionable.

Also, isn't the example of schools, which you raise, a red herring? Whatever the rights and wrongs of evangelisation and/or offering prayer, doesn't it make rather a difference whether it's done with adults or children?

Mind you, having said that, members of the CU at my school tried to get me to come to events occasionally - was that wrong of them? Not that I ever went.

Toby

Hi Graham

In our church a few weeks ago we thanked God that Obama had won the US election.

I'm completely not a fan of George Bush or John McCain (or David Cameron for that matter). I celebrate the overcoming of prejudice and discrimination.

But I'm uncomfortable with the feeling that, for much of the church (in this country at least), 'their' man won in November.

It excludes those who wouldn't have voted for Obama (but would have done for another candidate). It excludes those who couldn't care less about American politics (probably the majority in the UK, outside the chattering classes). It excludes those who see all politicians as self-serving graspers.

Remember the excitement of 1997? Perhaps we should wait and see what he does in office before we tie ourselves too much to his coat-tails.

Love from Toby

Hi Clare

> Nersen appears to believe in a God-shaped Christ while I believe in a        > Christ-shaped God

If 'anyone who has seen [Jesus] has seen the Father' (Jn 14.9) and if 'the Son is the image of the invisible God' (Col 1.15), then aren't these two things the same? Christ is Father-shaped and the Father Christ-shaped.