Last Saturday was ‘Europe’s’ 76th birthday. You hadn’t noticed? Few European nations make much fuss about “Europe Day”, May 9. But it is great to remember the integration that has helped avoided war among EU's nations. 

Reflections on declining health, falling birth rates, and a 103 year old woman.

The new prime minister brings an end to 16 years of rule by the controversial Viktor Orbán. Many Christians fear “negative changes” promoted by Brussels.

I believe Europe could once again be known as a missionary-sending continent, not to rule, but to serve. Not in isolation, but in deep partnership with churches from the Global South.

A study by the Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary shows that while Catholics and Orthodox Christians have grown by 0.56% and 0.28%, evangelicals are increasing at 1.34% per year.

Hundreds of amendments and a lengthy debate in both houses of parliament, combined with opposition from doctors, pro-life groups and a divided public, have put an end to the bill. Pro-assisted dying parliamentarians will have to start the process from scratch.

Canals in Amsterdam overflow with boats crammed with orange-clad merrymakers. Music fills streets festooned with orange flags. Children sell old toys and homemade cakes. The old story of the Dutch triumph of freedom over Spanish imperial tyranny carries contemporary relevance.

Crises of faith help us to develop a mature understanding of Christianity.

Erudition does not clash with approachability and simplicity. The most effective learning occurs when you “digest” information with others.

150 practitioners and experts serving across Europe discussed topics such as strengthening younger generations, mental health and sexual abuse prevention. The Refugee Highway Partnership organises such gatherings every year.

The evangelical identity must be lived out in a responsible and credible manner, starting with local churches and being part of evangelical networks that deserve the name. A perspective from Rome, Italy.

“This is a deliberate attack on people of faith, those who gathered peacefully to pray”, the embassy of Ukraine in the U.S. said in a public statement.

The president of the Italian Evangelical Alliance calls for the term ‘evangelical’ to be freed from political affiliations and denounces the “blasphemy” of pastors such as Paula White who compare Trump to Jesus Christ.

Our churches should be places of welcome, rather than of denial, coercion and humiliation for those who suffer.

The entity criticises the ruling by the Finnish Supreme Court, which acquitted Räsänen of charges relating to her social media posts of 2019 but convicted her of keeping accessible a text published two decades ago.

Judges consider that prayers or expressions of opinion cannot automatically be regarded as an attack on women seeking to terminate their pregnancies.

You are surrounded by people fighting inner battles.

We may fool ourselves with the veneer we add, but Jesus knows our hearts, and he knows what is best for us.

The Finnish prosecutor would have condemned Jesus when, in John 8:11, he said to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and sin no more”.

The sense that Christianity is losing influence and moral values are eroding creates a fear that can lead to support for strong leaders, aggressive rhetoric and simplistic solutions.

As we remember at Easter, the cross of Christ isn’t the end of the story. After tragedy comes redemption, and after the apparent end comes a new beginning.

Jesus' entry on a donkey raises an uncomfortable yet necessary idea: perhaps true credibility does not lie in the spectacular, but in being faithful to oneself.

A shocking court ruling will cause Christian defenders of Trump to say “See, everything we say about Europe is right”.

The Spanish evangelical body issues a statement analysing the assisted death of the young woman and warns that the right response to suffering is not to hasten death, but to increase care.

In March, more than 350 student leaders gathered in Munich for ‘Revival Connect’. A summary of the event and the dream for Europe.