Reviews – September 2019

23/08/2019 | Reform

Birth in wartime

For SamaDirected by Waad al-Kateab and Edwards WattsCertificate 18, 96 minutesReleased 13 September

Waad is a spirited young woman studying at the University of Aleppo in Syria, who starts to document events on her own initiative … Read More

Editorial: A small step

23/08/2019 | Reform

In Cole Porter’s wonderful 1934 song You’re the Top, a couple tell each other how terrific they are. Each likens the other to a succession of delightful things and people – a mix of timeless classics and up-to-the-minute sensations, from … Read More

Art in focus: July/August 2019

27/07/2019 | Reform

Self Portrait on the Edge of Loch Linnhe Phill Hopkins, photograph

Here’s a beautiful shot of Loch Linnhe in Scotland. Look more closely. A shadow is cast across the rocks and water. The artist is present. Phill Hopkins employs photography, … Read More

I am… an orphan?

02/07/2019 | Reform

Am I an orphan?

Can you call yourself an orphan as an adult? The word implies child, right? But at what point do you stop being someone’s child? All I know is that, rightly or wrongly, in the lead up … Read More

Do stay for tea and coffee: ‘I’m going to explain the entire Bible…’

01/07/2019 | Reform

The dangers of mistimed sermons

Ah, the mistimed sermon. We’ve all been there. Who hasn’t heard – or possibly even given – one or two of those?

I don’t mean the sermon with inappropriate timing – the wedding sermon citing … Read More

On the pilgrim way: ‘I want to resist conclusions about prayer’

01/07/2019 | Reform

Sheila Maxey tries to describe – and not analyse – prayer

I am very hesitant to speak, let alone write about prayer. It is so easy, as mere mortals, to find ourselves, in our heavy-footed way, analysing, quantifying, drawing conclusions … Read More