The Sunday Refill (4/5/25) - 7 Links for Your Weekend

Seven up...

1) Prom Praise 2025: Wonder - This was livestreamed on Saturday and looks like a special performance from the Royal Albert Hall - 'delighting in God’s fingerprints in every musical note and every natural marvel'. With Artemis II currently due to launch in late 2025, All Souls Orchestra, Prom Praise Massed Chorus and guest artists reveal more than just the Planets, revelling in musical masterpieces which reflect and celebrate the magnificence of Creation. Featuring special guests artists including Andrew Peterson, Elle Limebear, StreetHymns, Jamie & Ellie Sperling, Anando Mukerjee and speaker Glen Scrivener!

2) A Parent’s Guide To Having Difficult Conversations with Teens - Lots of helpful stuff here for all parents!

3) Could it be revival? The surprising UK youth culture shift towards Jesus - Vodcaster Dominic Steele interviews his fellow Aussie but resident Brit, Glen Scrivener, on what's happening in the UK, not least after Bible Society's Quiet Revival report. Whilst we're here, you might also be drawn to this Guardian news article about how Roman Catholic numbers seem to be growing in the UK. I loved this quote: “People are giving church a try, or something has drawn them back again... people are coming with whatever their question is … What will take it over the line for many people is how God breaks into their life.” But as well as this piece, The Independent also ran 'Make Christianity cool again: Why Gen Z is flocking to church' and Vogue ran an article by Lamorna Ash - 'On Finding God The Gen Z Way', whose Guardian article I included two weeks ago.

4) Living in Love and Faith: Discerning the Mind of the Church - Bishop of Guildford, Andrew Watson, has just published this free-to-download important contribution that reflects on the state of play in the Church of England regarding Living in Love & Faith/Prayers of Love & Faith. He crucially addresses the strain LLF has placed on relationships within the global Anglican Communion and with other denominations, and urges the LLF process to be placed “on a proper theological and canonical footing", suggesting that the Church should follow the full Canon B2 legislative route if it is to move forward with such significant liturgical changes.

5) Rend Collective - Blessed Are the Ones - We stumbled over this new release from Rend as we were seeking to wrap up our Beatitudes teaching series. I think it captures the way Jesus' teaching both exposes our neediness and invites us to find 'blessing' in Him: "When you’re splitting at the seams / Cracks are spreading and you just can mend them / You’ve got nothing much to bring / It’s the humble hearted who are welcome".

6) When You Walk Through a Storm - Loved this reflection on grief, fatherhood and faith from Liverpool FC goalkeeper and newly crowned Premier League winner, Alisson Becker.

7) Milton Jones: 'The closest I've come to death? Being offered a lift by James Acaster' - For something a bit different, here's some classic Milton Jones light relief.

Don't forget you can subscribe to this blog, either as a free sign-up or you can contribute to the running costs of the site for the price of a coffee per month!