The unexpected joy of involuntary singleness
Date: Sept 9
By Teresa Morgan

When it comes to relationships, Western Christianity has never been further from the spirit of the New Testament and Early Church. I’m not talking about what we do – in some ways, our social and sexual practises are closer to those of the early Roman Empire than they’ve ever been. I’m talking about our attitudes. Because in recent years, the Church has leapt on the secular bandwagon and become obsessed with not just the social but the psychological and theological virtues of sex, marriage and relationships. For St Paul, and for several hundred years after him, Christian attitudes to relationships were fairly straightforward. The rest

Learning to love the Single Consecrated Life
Date: Sept 9

“No Sex Please, We’re Teenagers,” so BBC2 advertises a new series about 12 teenagers (aged between 15 and 17) who are challenged to remain celibate for five months. What about those who decide to remain celibate for the rest of their lives? The Anglican Religious Communities Year Book 2006-7 states that in the Anglican Church there are estimated to be 2,415 people living under a vow of celibacy (995 men and 1,420 women). In Europe the figure is 705, made up of 180 men and 525 women. The majority of whom will be living in a monastery or convent, but there are those who live their consecrated life in the community where they live and work. The rest