September 7, 2020
COVID-19 may be a necessary slap in the face to re-awaken the church to her mission and calling. Rather than the death-blow to an already-ailing institution, church leaders from around the world engaged in developing online congregations see more opportunity than threat in the current pandemic. Researcher in digital religion, Heidi Campbell, created a network […]
August 31, 2020
Almost six months after the start of lockdown in Europe, we still have no clear answer to the psalmist’s question, ‘How long, Lord?’ (Ps. 13). A matter of weeks, we first thought; then conceded that it could take months before ‘normality’ would return. Now we hear it could be years before we return to our […]
August 17, 2020
For many thousands of Christians in south Asia, the name “Bart” is a household concept with a double association. The first is the ministry of ‘power evangelism’, modelled by Dutchman Bart Doornweerd, as originally inspired by the work of John Wimber in the 1980’s. The second is the support of countless south Asian YWAMers in […]
August 10, 2020
As ‘virtual pilgrims’ this past week, our summer school students and online participants – from Finland on the Arctic Circle to the Hawaii in the Pacific – traced the story of transformation in Ireland and Britain during the first millennium through the planting of communities fleshing out the life of Jesus. Communities, rather than churches, […]
August 3, 2020
How would you spend a day in London? This week, with 30 or so virtual pilgrims around the world, we are travelling through Ireland and Britain on our first online Celtic Heritage Tour, part of our Summer School for European Studies in Amsterdam. The five-day series traces the spread and transforming influence of the Gospel through […]
July 27, 2020
Shortly after crossing the border between Scotland and England on the east coast, you can catch the first glimpse of the tiny island called Holy Island, or Lindisfarne, which profoundly influenced the culture and worldview of a fledgling England late in the first millennium. The silhouette of castle ruins on the island’s rocky bluff is […]
July 20, 2020
Britain and Western Europe owe a great deal to a movement that germinated in Ireland on the fringe of the world for its conversion to Christianity. This is the story we will explore for five days through our first online Celtic Heritage Tour, August 3-7, 7.30-9.30 CET each evening: ten one-hour sessions. While the first […]
July 13, 2020
Restaurants and cafes resorting to offering take-aways due to corona restrictions in recent weeks are now welcoming customers back to their tables to enjoy the full menu. Our annual Heritage Tour–in search of faithful minorities who shaped Europe’s story–was also restricted by the global circumstances to a virtual tour. Yet our two weeks together ‘on […]
July 6, 2020
Today, exactly 605 years ago, the Czech reformer Jan Hus was burned alive outside of Constance in Germany for standing for truth. Czechs enjoy a national holiday today in remembrance of their national hero whose bronze image has dominated the Old Town Square in the centre of Prague since 1915. Despite the hardships of the […]
June 22, 2020
As we take tentative steps out of lockdown towards some sort of new-normality, we’re confronted with the reality that old routines will not quickly be restored. Rhythms of work, study, recreation, vacations, family gatherings, festivals, conferences and church will all be affected. Our Schuman Centre summer plans have been impacted in different ways. In spite […]
June 15, 2020
How do you change peoples’ attitudes? The outcry concerning racism over the past weeks in western countries with colonial pasts has certainly resonated with millions and triggered public debate. Sober journalism has produced various analyses of endemic racism long overdue for exposure, reflective dialogue, institutional reform and changed attitudes: in employment, housing, medical services, police […]
June 8, 2020
Global outrage against racism triggered by the public murder of George Floyd reveals a broad- and deep-seated frustration concerning systemic injustice. Protests in Australia and New Zealand, Britain and France, the Netherlands and Germany, Italy and Ireland, Canada and Brazil, not only expressed solidarity with Black America but highlighted tensions in their own multi-cultural societies. […]
