HeyJaredThe Critical Friend
A weekly newsletter about the church - what it's doing right, what's going wrong, and what might happen next - from a churchgoing journalist
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 10
- Latest publication
- Sep 25, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 10, 2026
Latest issues
Full-fat faith (opens the original)
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Hello! Our first story today is about a new report from the Church of England about why 20-somethings without any Christian background are finding themselves drawn to church, which tells us some interesting things about the role of social media, New Atheism and more. Then we get up to date with why the Bishop of Lincoln has resigned amid an investigation and police probe. Lastly, why has a gong given by the Archbishop of Canterbury to an imam brought her brickbats from almost everyone?There’s al
Sticking our heads in the sand (opens the original)
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Hello! Our first story is inspired by a debate within the Church in Wales, which is considering scrapping its Church Growth Fund and instead giving that money to its dioceses to subsidise clergy salaries and manage its crumbling buildings. It may be tempting to draw down historic assets to keep the show on the road, but is this a long-term solution?Then we look at what critical task our new Catholic prime minister cannot carry out, and why Andy Burnham’s first piece of legislation is fixing a hi
Suffer the little children (opens the original)
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Hello! Can a county council in Wales strip a number of primary schools of their historic church affiliation? The councillors say yes, but the Church in Wales says over their dead body, and are prepared to go to court to prove the point. Then we find out which Church of England bishop is facing not one but two different disciplinary proceedings over alleged financial and safeguarding misconduct. James Orr, the supposed intellectual lodestar of the British Religious Right is scrambling to save his
Who, then, is my neighbour? (opens the original)
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Hello! Does the church have anything helpful to say about Jason Arday, the black Cambridge professor accused of plagiarism who killed himself after a torrent of negative press coverage? Is there a Christian balance to be struck between compassion and care for the vulnerable while defending robust public interest journalism?Then, we move on to a decision announced over the Church of England’s proposals to rip up the traditional parish network in a rural Cornish peninsula which has aroused the fur
The Unpacking Friend (opens the original)
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Hello! Regrettably, moving and unpacking and fixing up the old place before the new tenants arrive has dragged on, and once again I’ve not had enough time this week to write a proper newsletter. Please accept my apologies. Here’s some links to interesting church news stories to keep you going until next time…<a class="image-link image2 is-viewable-img" href="https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!kroD!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2F
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