In this article, Rhoda explains what it was like for her to come to terms with her enduring same-sex attractions, having been born just after the war. She reviews her struggle with singleness, in particular the feelings of loss once she realised that she would not have biological children of her own.

New Monasticism seeks to take the positive aspects of the monastic tradition from the past and apply them to life today. Richard explains his experience of getting involved in this movement and what it taught him about meaningful community – lessons that have stuck with him even after returning to ‘regular church’.

We all bring baggage with us when we approach Scripture. It might be personality quirks like introversion and self-reliance, or culturally conditioned philosophical concepts like individualism. These things act as static that we must try and tune out. When we do, we are better placed to hear what Scripture teaches on community.

In this book, Becket Cook tells the reader what it was like to be immersed in the gay lifestyle on the US West Coast, and how the world looks from that perspective: “I wanted everyone to be free to be who they were with wild abandon and without shame, completely comfortable in their own skin.”

It is often quite strange to look back over my life and see where God has brought me, sometimes with my full awareness, at other times organising events in the background. It would be great to say that my journey has been straight forward and pain-free, but that wouldn’t be honest or accurate.

Our so-called “connected lifestyles” have often failed to help us encounter other people in truly satisfying ways: being a virtual friend or subscribing to a newsfeed is no guarantee of closeness to another human being. We need to find meaningful community that is realistic in today’s world.