Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Preparing the way for the Messiah John the Baptist is famous for baptising Jesus, and for losing his head to a woman. He was born to Zechariah, a Temple priest, and Elizabeth, who was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. John was born when his mother was advanced in years, and after the...

If you love the sound of church bells, and have at least some ‘sense of timing’, why not consider becoming a bell-ringer? Church bells are incredibly heavy – ranging from six hundredweight to more than 28 hundredweight per bell – but anyone is strong enough to ring them.  Ringers range from schoolchildren to teenagers, from...

‘Surprised by Joy’ is the title C S Lewis gave to his spiritual autobiography. To him, joy meant not just the name of the woman he eventually married, but also an awareness of God’s glory and goodness. It was something that, like Wordsworth, he experienced in childhood, and later in his thirties when his faith...

One hundred years ago, on 8th June 1924, the British mountaineer George Mallory disappeared on Mount Everest.  His body was found in 1999. The man who may have been the first to climb Everest went missing with his fellow climber Andrew (Sandy) Irvine after setting off for the summit and encountering deep snow and high...

Hundreds of farms across the UK are preparing to open their gates to the public. Open Farm Sunday is back for its 18th year and offers the public a chance to see how farmers can produce food sustainably, while also caring for the environment and wildlife. It is organised by the glob­al sus­tain­able farm­ing char­i­ty LEAF (Link­ing...

When many of us think of a ‘Maximus’, we remember the popular film Gladiator and Russell Crowe starring as a Roman general who ends up as a slave successfully defying the Emperor. But Maximus of Turin, the first Bishop of Turin, also led a tumultuous life in fighting evil. He had seen violence and suffering...

Of all the remarkable engineering projects in the world, one is surely the Channel Tunnel. This undersea railway subway is the longest in the world and connects Kent, England with Calais, France. It is over 31 miles (50.46 km) long and was opened just over 30 years ago, in May 1994. After six years of...

Editor:  Here are some observations on our Christian pilgrimage… God has given us two hands – one to receive with and the other to give with. We are not cisterns made for hoarding; we are channels made for sharing. – Billy Graham  God knows what He is going to make of us. – James Montgomery...

What are some of the societal trends likely to happen this summer? Should we bear them in mind when planning our own church outreach programme? Eventbrite has highlighted some trends for those in their 20s and 30s. These could provide ideas for how we might also engage with our community. 1) The importance of self-care....

Techie trouble The vicar at our local church experienced some technical problems with the sound system one Sunday. Instead of starting the service as usual with ‘The Lord be with you’, he said: “There’s something wrong with the microphone.” Not hearing this, the congregation responded: “And also with you.” ** With Petertide ordinations in mind…...

 Do you ever look at other Christians and wonder: “Do they REALLY believe this Christian stuff?  That Jesus really was the Son of God who rose again, and is alive today?” Doubt is an honest place to be, and it is not the opposite of Christian faith. To believe is to be in one mind. To disbelieve is...

Some 125 years ago, on 19th June 1899, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was established. It was granted independence in 1956 as the Republic of Sudan, and South Sudan gained its independence in 2011. On 15th April 2023, violent clashes erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, resulting in...