Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at your Church

The Mothers’ Union has made a very practical response to the coronavirus. As their website explains, “We know that our work and experience in re-building communities and supporting family life is going to be more important than ever once the threat of COVID-19 subsides. Our members will be some of the first in line to...

CPAS, the Anglican agency that helps local churches do mission, has refused to be shut down this summer by coronavirus. Although it has had to cancel its entire summer programme of youth holidays and training events – at a cost of more than £250,000, it is still determined to do what it can. General Director...

Bible Society is urging people to make good use of their enforced time at home by using their creativity to read the Bible with better appreciation. To help with this, Bible Society is offering a range of creative Bible-based resources to help people learn new skills, such as journaling, colouring or doing crafts that are...

As you pray or simply spend time quietly at home, have you ever thought of using a rosary? Holding something can be very comforting. A rosary has beads in groups of ten, a separation and then a single bead.  This is repeated five times in a circle and then there’s a different set of beads...

Priest who gave his respirator away Easter egg donations break records The environment – we can still do great things to help Funerals during the coronavirus restrictions Streaming services from home Visit the C of E online page Reflected Faith: the Gathered Church From ‘live’ in the pulpit to virtual and streaming ** Editor:  This...

Sky News recently reported on the poignant story of an Italian priest who contracted coronavirus. Friar Don Giuseppe Berardelli, 72, was the priest for the parish of Casnigo, a small village just 40 miles north east of Milan. According to the hospital, a parishioner quickly bought him a respirator, but the priest refused to use...

This Spring a record breaking 3,000 Real Easter Eggs were bought and donated to food banks through a usually ‘quiet’ online scheme. The ‘Donate an egg to a food bank scheme’ is run by the Meaningful Chocolate Company which, for the past ten years, has been making The Real Easter Egg. David Marshall CEO said:...

Before coronavirus, 2020 was to have been the year when the Church really made the environment central to its plans and actions. For although caring for the planet has been raised regularly at previous Lambeth Conferences, this year, Lambeth 2020 was to have brought the issues to the forefront of its agenda. Whilst the virus has shut things...

Funerals have changed almost beyond recognition under the strict new rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Church of England funerals may now take place only at crematoria or at gravesides. Only immediate family may attend, and they must keep their two-metre distance. To help those who are grieving-at-a-distance at this difficult time, the Church...

The recent guidance preventing clergy from entering their own churches, even to just livestream an act of worship, has prompted a series of imaginative alternatives. “Not being able to use our church buildings is, of course, a huge loss to us all,” one says, but on the other hand, “streaming worship from home shows that...

There is now a range of digital resources for to you connect with God at this difficult time.  These include: Time to Pray app (https://www.chpublishing.co.uk/apps/time-to-pray) which is free and has an accompanying daily audio offering on SoundCloud and iTunes. Mental health reflections (https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-action/mental-health-resources/supporting-good-mental-health) Tips to tackle isolation (https://www.churchofengland.org/faith-action/mental-health-resources/dealing-loneliness-and-isolation-five-top-tips) Finally, there are the Church’s smart speaker apps,...

Doesn’t the simple pleasure of going to church and exchanging the peace at Sunday worship seem long ago now? These days, we are not even allowed into our churches! But we can take comfort when we think back to the Apostles who were commissioned to build God’s Church. After the first Pentecost, what did they...