Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at your Church

Christian Aid has been working around the clock to help those who have fled Myanmar to the camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, to prepare for the coming cyclone and monsoon season. Flooding, landslides and cyclones are expected which will destroy many of the temporary shelters set up since the mass movement of people started when...

On Sunday, 4th August 1918 King George V and Queen Mary joined members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords for a special service at the Church of Saint Margaret, Westminster. The King had asked that 4th August 1918, the fourth anniversary of the declaration of war, should be observed as a...

Myth four: Mission is for extraordinary people By Naomi Rose Steinberg, Church Mission Society During summer 2017, Church Mission Society asked over 2,000 Christians a question: “Who should be involved in mission?” There were four answer choices: 1) my church, 2) very spiritual people, 3) professionals or 4) everyone. A whopping 91 per cent of...

A scheme offering young people experience of ministry in Church of England parishes is attracting an increasing number of participants, according to new figures released today. The Ministry Experience Scheme, which offers year-long placements in churches across the country for young adults aged between 18 and 30 years old, is on course to have attracted...

A detailed research report by the American Pew Research Centre was published in November 2017.   It stated that the Muslim population of Europe had risen from 19.5 million in 2010 to just under 26 million by 2016, especially driven by the mass immigration of 2014-2016, of which it reckoned 53% were Muslim. Between mid-2010 and...

Could you help the Conservation Foundation investigate the state of our elms? Are you someone who believes that all our elms have disappeared?   That may be a popular opinion, but there could be more healthy elms in parks, gardens and our countryside than we think. The Conservation Foundation, which has been working with elm trees...

On May 30th the Church of England honoured Josephine Butler in its Calendar of great Christians of the past. It seems appropriate in this particular year to recognise the contribution of a woman who came decades before the suffragettes but fought many of the same battles. Josephine Butler’s was an often-lonely Victorian voice, challenging injustice,...

I’ve noticed a sudden increase in the number of banns of marriage being read in our church. I suspect that a few couples reckon it would be a nice idea to get married in the same month as Prince Harry and his bride Meghan – at least you’ll be regularly reminded of the date! But...

By Naomi Steinberg, Church Mission Society “Mission is helping people.” “Mission is spreading the love of God in places which maybe are a bit more disadvantaged and they might need a little more help.” These are a couple of the responses we received when we asked the question, “What is mission?” at festivals during the...

This year, we all have the chance to mark the centenary of the end of World War 1. On Sunday, 11th November 2018, people around the country will observe Remembrance Sunday and Armistice Day. As well as reflecting on loss, this year also gives us the chance to look forward as we mark the end...

Our church always welcomes people who want to use our building for their wedding.  But should we ‘charge’ brides who are late to weddings at our church?  What do you think? Most of us will remember the story about the rector in Kent that made the headlines a few months ago:  he charges brides £100...

In parts of the UK, there is a kind of poverty more profound than in Uganda. This is the view of Rev Jenny Green, a missionary working with Church Mission Society on the Faxfleet estate in Bradford. Prior to being community chaplain in Bradford, Jenny Green spent 20 years with CMS in Kisoro, south west...