Well, it's been an interesting 4 years. We've had gentle and not-so-gentle debate on a plethora of subjects ranging from gay marriage to the World Cup. Who could forget the Creationist Museum article that wracked up an impressive 253 comments, or the human rights for apes story that attracted a solitary 1.

But now, dear friends, it's time to say goodbye.
The Interface will remain online as an archive of what riled and excited faith communities from May 2006 to May 2010, but the comments and polls will now be closed for perpetuity.

We aren't leaving you bereft however. Ever at the forefront of technology and consumer demand the Methodist Church has a range of exciting new alternatives for those eager to keep up to date...

For those still eager to join in the odd debate or two, the Methodist bloggers' page is now waiting for your contribution at www.methodist.org.uk/blogs. And, only this week, the Methodist App was launched for the iPhone and iPod touch, featuring daily Bible studies (written and audio), tweets, news, prayer of the day, podcasts and much much more.

So it's goodbye from me and it's goodbye from Dave. And a big thanks to all those who have written articles for us over the years, to those who have voted in the polls, and to those who have kept the debate going.

Your humble editor,

Alison

Confused.com recently published a list of what Britons believe to be the 50 most confusing things in life. The Britons who took part in the survey, anyway.

Among the top 20 were algebra (2), what women see in Russell Brand (3), why Cheryl Cole was still with Ashley (4), the offside rule (11), men (17) and Kerry Katona (20). And interestingly, religion came in at number 12.

No. Read that again. I didn’t say ‘Hands up if you’ve ever prayed for sex.’

I have to confess that I haven’t prayed before sex – well, not since the first time when it was more of a panicky ‘Oh God-dy God’. But the Catholic Truth Society is encouraging couples (married ones, of course) to pray before getting down to any bed dancing, among other things, in their Prayer Book for Spouses. Click here to find out more

We all know sectarianism is wrong. We (especially those of us from Northern Ireland) have all been there and got the tee-shirt as they say. We all know prejudices and intolerances do not a successful community make. So why are some of us still unhappy at the thought of living next door to someone who is gay, a migrant worker or, horror of horrors, an Irish Traveller?

A report, coincidentally published at a time when we are dealing with the racist attacks and subsequent departure from Ireland of around 100 Roma Romanians, from the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland gives me and my compatriots a big shake up.

However you are feeling the effects of the credit crunch, it can be a wearying exercise tuning into the news. Hearing more stories about rising unemployment, the erosion of classic 'British' industries (car manufacturers, farming and so on) and the very real impact of the economic crisis on individuals and families around the country inspires gloom and doom, if not worry and panic.

The thing is, in an economic crisis it is always the poor and disadvantaged who feel the pinch first, most and for longest. These are the communities that often depend on the support and lobbying of charities.

And despite the recent fantastic success of Comic Relief (which raised a record-breaking £58m), charities - both those who work in UK projects and those who work overseas - are reporting that they too are struggling to make ends meet.

A nurse has just been struck off the Nursing Register making it impossible for her to work again in her chosen profession. Her crime was to bring to public attention the abuse of sick and elderly patients in a hospital.

Earlier this year a teacher was struck off by the Teaching Council for a similar reason. Both these individuals had failed to get their superiors interested in examining their complaints so they risked their careers for the sake of the people whom they served, not their employers but their patients and pupils.

Were they right to do so?

Driving up a motorway on the Easter weekend (don't ask which one, they all merge into one giant grey mass of tarmac) I noticed a big advertising siding positioned on the back of a trailer in a field. It was a political party promo for a Christian party who had as their strapline "Britain is a Christian country. Keep it that way" and below they had "Put your X next to the Cross".

It was a bit startling to see such a bald religiously political/politically religious statement hanging about on the side of the road - and that's saying something as I come from a country which specialises in political and religious sloganeering (Northern Ireland). A couple of things struck me.

What do you find yourself doing on a Sunday morning? A lot of people using this site might answer that saying, 'Rushing out the door to get to church'. For other people Sunday mornings might be the perfect (or only) time for a lie-in, to get out to visit friends, spend time with the family, get on with a macramé project or whatever.

For a growing number of people it seems Sunday morning is a great time to watch porn movies online.

A year ago, I had a conversation with an acquaintance about suicide bombers. She told me that she had never understood suicide bombers until she saw the film Paradise Now. I subsequently watched the film myself, partly to see what was so persuasive, but it made me angrier against suicide bombers, not more sympathetic.

When I learned early last week that the government had withdrawn a teaching pack, which encouraged children to put themselves in the position of 7/7 suicide bombers, my immediate reaction was that ministers had made the right decision.

The birth of octuplets to an American woman in January has raised the question of how many children is too many children?

Whilst most of us would balk at the prospect of 14 children (Nadya Suleman, 33-year-old mother of the IVF induced octuplets, already had six similarly produced offspring) many environmentalists argue that having more than two children is selfish.