The Virtual Vicar

The UK Conservative party MP and deputy chief whip quit after allegedly groping two men while drunk. In his resignation letter, Chris Pincher admitted he had “embarrassed myself and other people” after a boozy session on Wednesday night. Was he right to resign? Should something harsher be done?

Cancelled flights, proposed rail strikes and record-breaking petrol prices have thrown people's plans into disarray. These strikes strike us as very 1970's, and that's not good!

Joe Biden has fallen off his bike while cycling near his holiday home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The 79-year-old president tumbled after his foot got stuck in the pedal toe cage as he tried to dismount in order to chat to the waiting crowd of around 30 people. Is this emblematic of his international diplomacy?

Whether it's more nurses, frozen tax promises, free broadband internet or more social housing in the UK; or tax cuts and green energy investments in America, public spending is usually promised to rise. What do you do when the government can't afford it anymore?

Dozens of companies with connections to a tiny fundamentalist Christian sect were awarded as much as £2.2 billion in government coronavirus contracts. Is this right? Can God give us insights on where and how much to invest?

Today's scripture reading: Matthew 23:27-28. New International Version 27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. Matthew 23:27:28

Elvis - who would now be 84 - has assumed the identity of Bob Joyce.The Arkansas pastor is a talented musician and Elvis fan whose singing voice bears an uncanny resemblance to the King’s. How do we respond to this extraordinary claim? Is it true? Is it important?

A PRIVATE member’s motion submitted to the General Synod asks the Archbishops’ Council to prohibit through legislation the display of the Pride rainbow flag on church buildings, because “what [the flag] represents . . . is contrary to the word of God”. Beryl and Pete analyse what this means for the church and the gospel

The constitutional right to an abortion has been struck down in the United States. The US Supreme Court announced on 24 June that it would overturn the 1973 landmark decision Roe v. Wade, which had protected abortion access up until the point that a fetus could live outside the womb - should abortions now be made illegal?

Kim Kardashian paid tribute to one of the all-time greats of Hollywood and stardom at the 2022 Met Gala, but it’s got people talking over who wore it better: Kim Kardashian or Marilyn Monroe? And was it a good idea?

Willow Creek Community Church, a Chicago megachurch that was one of the largest and most highly regarded congregations in the nation, will lay off 30% of its staff due to post-COVID-19 declines in attendance and giving. “Willow is about half of the size we were before COVID, which is right in line with churches across the country". This model of church was a much copied, but what about their church growth model going forward?

Justin Bieber continues to recuperate following his diagnosis of Ramsay Hunt syndrome last week, which left half of his face completely paralysed, and has announced that he will be postponing his remaining US tour dates. What caused this paralylis. We pray forJustin

Five years on from the Grenfell Tower fire in which 72 people died, survivors and campaigners say they are still seeking a form of justice. The blaze happened on 14 June 2017 and while a criminal investigation into the disaster is under way, the Met Police has said no prosecutions will be brought until the public inquiry is finished and its findings are published. The BBC has been told that could take at least another year. So far, fewer than half of the recommendations from the inquiry have been adopted into law, according to the Home Office. The process has left survivors and bereaved families feeling unable to move on.

A BBC presenter says it’s ‘unfortunate’ the Queen is Defender of the Faith. Beryl and Pete tease out what this means to the current state of Christianity in Britain and the media.

The US President is required to annually review the status of religious freedom in every country in the world and designate each country the government of which has engaged in or tolerated “particularly severe violations of religious freedom” as a Country of Particular Concern. There have been some strange changes lately which call into question how impartial the decision on including in this watch list actually is. But is persecution really so bad?