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Jon Timms
Book Review - ‘Praying by Heart: The Lord’s Prayer for Everyone’
Stephen Cotterell. Published by Hodder & Stoughton This is a wonderful short read from the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell, about...


Jo Allen
Lent Book Review - ‘Searched me out and known me - Journeying Lent with the Psalms’
Charlie Bell. Published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd, 2024 Bell’s book is both a provocative and hopeful read; provocative because he...

Simon Mattholie
Lent Book Review - ‘The Little Book of Lent’
Published 2014 by William Collins and compiled by Arthur Howells I often read a devotional book alongside my daily Bible readings and...


Jon Timms
The Slow Growth Crown of Glory
On Father’s Day weekend this year, I shall be raising money for the awesome charity Chapter2 by embarking on their Father’s Day...

Simon Mattholie
Do not resuscitate?
If you are to pose the question “How can you help a dying church?” in an internet search engine, the resources, books, and responses...


Jo Allen
How have we been taught to read the Bible....and where do we need humbling?
A tree with deep roots sinking into the ground, each one representing scripture and how it has rooted my faith. Some of the roots are...


Nick Jones
Rural Hub update
Rural Mission Hubs are an integral part of the calendar for the pioneers, practitioners, and permission givers, as well as those looking...


Simon Mattholie
What is your dream for your community?
When I was studying at Spurgeon’s College back in the late 1990s, one of the lecturers posed two critical questions that he believed any...

Jo Allen
Responding to an uncertain political climate
There’s a pattern in political history of stability and comfort, followed by a time of uncertainty leading to people seeking hope and...

Simon Mattholie
How do I look?
On a recent trip to London, I was struck by the number of people who were glued to their phones or tablets, barely aware of what was...


Simon Mattholie
Lent Book Review: Lent with the beloved disciple
Some people’s plans to give up chocolate may be derailed because the beginning of Lent falls on the same day as Valentine’s Day this...

Guest Author
Faithfulness in a 'day of small things'
Why might words written twenty-five centuries ago resonate so strongly with us today? Reading Zechariah recently, I found the phrase,...


Jo Allen
The prophetic and creativity
Within the church family, ‘the prophetic’ is a term both avoided and leaned into. It’s something that fuels ministry for some, whilst...

Nick Jones
Introducing Jon Timms
Jon Timms, who will be working with us for the next year while Ali Birkett takes some time off after the passing of his wife, has joined...

Nick Jones
The challenge of indifference
The subject of this article is not what you think. It’s not about apathy or a lack of care. Far from it. It’s about discernment,...


Jo Allen
A Welcome Interruption
It’s a warm day and I’m running through a meadow with our dog. There are flowers of every shade and the warm tones of tall summer grass....


Nick Jones
Get Onboard with Open Blue
Imagine a double decker village hall on wheels—with comfy seating, play spaces, cooking area and games consoles. That’s what Open Blue...


Nick Jones
Derbyshire Rural Chaplaincy
Offering spiritual and pastoral support to the agricultural and rural community Derbyshire is a beautiful county of varied landscapes,...

Jo Allen
Introducing.... Jo
If you receive our weekly reflections you will have met our newest member of staff, Jo Allen, when she put together a short video about...

Ben Lucas
What might we do in Liminal Seasons
2016 is what has become jokingly known as the year of no baptisms! Of course there were many across the globe but for the first time in...


Nick Jones
Fresh thinking in Abbeydore Deanery
It was more than six years ago that the Nicholas Lowton, our Rural Dean at the time, suggested that Abbeydore Deanery needed to start...

Nick Jones
The Missional Opportunities of a Missing Cat!
Or, nothing is wasted with God, as Joy Dimond, Missional Listener in Stow on the Wold explains. My cat, Bertie went missing!!! The first...


Nick Jones
Resurrection People: Worshipping the Risen Christ
Sam Hargreaves of Engage Worship Do you ever feel that Easter Day goes by in a blur? You may have been building up steadily for weeks...


Nick Jones
Time and Space: Going Deep
‘I will never forget the time people gave to me, no matter what I did, or how I was, they didn’t give up on me’. When the phrase...

Nick Jones
Raising awareness of safeguarding in church
Most people will be familiar with Criminal Record checks if they work with people in their church or community groups. They may have been...


Simon Mattholie
Messy Church Goes Wild
RM's Simon Mattholie caught up with the new Messy Church Ministry Lead, Aike Kennett-Brown. Aike has been involved with Messy Church...


Alistair Birkett
The church of today, not tomorrow
Alistair Birkett shares how rural churches are engaging with young people As he was nearing the end of his ministry, the evangelist...


Alison Griffiths
Book Review; ‘Failure - What Jesus said about sin, mistakes and messing stuff up’ Emma Ineson
Alison Griffiths reviews The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Book for Lent 2023 "Sometimes you feel you get it right, and it is glorious....

Alistair Birkett
The role of a Pioneer Minister: Prophet or Pastor?
An interview with Julie Bryan, Pioneer Minister, West Craven Baptist Church and Alistair Birkett, RM Director for Scotland and Northern...

Simon Mattholie
A Boomer apocalypse?
"Baby boomer" or "Boomers" is a term used to describe a person born between 1946 and 1964, when birth rates worldwide spiked. The baby...


Alison Griffiths
Remembrance
I came from a church tradition that didn’t pay too much attention to Remembrance Day or Remembrance Sunday but I have grown in my...


Nick Jones
How village churches thrive
- an interview with Robert Atwell, Bishop of Exeter Over the summer, a new book will be released by Church House Publishing, called ‘How...


Simon Mattholie
Quality not quantity? An interview with Declan Flanagan, former RM CEO
Simon Mattholie, CEO I recently caught up with Declan Flanagan, the previous CEO of RM, and asked him some questions looking back on his...


Simon Mattholie
Keeping church relevant - an interview with former RM General Secretary Eddie Vass
Simon Mattholie, CEO Eddie Vass was the General Secretary of Rural Ministries from 1990 to 2005 and now lives just outside Ipswich. Still...

Nick Jones
The story behind the two-fold vision of Rural Ministries
Nick Jones Although, 2022 marks 60 years since the official founding of Datchet Evangelical Fellowship, our true origins go back over...


Nick Jones
Village Church - a vision for rural Aberdeenshire
RM's Alistair Birkett visited one of the latest joiners to our Network in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire - this is what he found.


Nick Jones
‘Open the doors and love people’
Sutton St James Baptist Church Sue Hensby, Pastor ‘Open the doors and love people’ – this was the call that God laid on the hearts of Sue...


Nick Jones
Salt, Light and a Wild Heart.
Discovery Church, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland If you were to visit Dunbar in the beautiful East Lothian region of Scotland, you’re...


Nick Jones
Missional listening
Ben Lucas, Missional Listener, Charlton Down, Dorset It was April 2017 when Ben and Emma Lucas and their four children moved to Dorset to...


Nick Jones
Love It or List It!
Alnwick Baptist Church, Alnwick, Northumbria Chris Friend Chris & Caroline Friend, co-pastors at Alnwick Baptist Church, have been taking...


Nick Jones
Jesus & Emotions
Sara Hargreaves from engageworship talks about their ‘Jesus & Emotions’ creative journal for families, featuring stories of Jesus that...


Nick Jones
Renew Wellbeing
Small rural villages such as Sutton St James always look so idyllic when the sun is shining and the days are long – however, behind the...


Nick Jones
Mission ‘with’
In May 2018, Barney and Sara Barron moved as a family to Looe in Cornwall, having previously served as pioneer ministers on a council...


Nick Jones
The Story of Bardney
Our Mission Partner, the Open Door in Bardney has its roots in the Threshold Community there. Learn how this community, and the Open...

Nick Jones
Learning to listen
Sam and Suzie Abramian have lived on the North West Norfolk coast for the last seven years. They initially moved to the area for Sam to...
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