From the very beginning of City Life Church's existence, we’ve had the rhythm of breaking from organised Sunday gatherings at particular times of the year, normally in-line with school holidays simply because those tend to be times when people are visiting family or away on holidays.

Over the years we’ve not always done a very good job of explaining why we do this. So we’d like to try and unpack some of the thinking behind this as it is a deliberate choice to have these breaks.

In June, Monday 10th to Sunday 16th, the Exeter churches will be running Joyfest, a week-long initiative to practice spreading joy across the city. The idea is that thousands of small acts of kindness and joy will have a big impact on the city and reflect something of God’s love for the city and the people that live here.

Generosity is an important word in our community. It’s our hope that we look at the decisions we make through the lens of generosity.

In my last blog post on Sin, I talked about the danger of single stories. My understanding of the cross has been formed in a similar way, and it's been the discovery of different stories about the cross that have opened me up to the richness and depth of what it meant for Jesus to die on the cross. I don't want to talk about it too much here, but suggest a few resources where you can hear a mix of stories which might expand things for you.

I recently came across an amazing talk by novelist Chimamanda Adichie. She tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice — and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.