Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Have you noticed that people tend to be either givers or takers? John the Almsgiver was a giver – on a grand scale. Born into a wealthy family in Cyprus about 560 AD John was married with children when disaster struck: both his wife and children all died. In his grief, John decided to go...

In response to the Government’s recent Curriculum and Assessment Review, the Church of England has welcomed the scrapping of the EBacc (English Baccalaureate). The CofE believes this will have positive implications for Religious Education, making it easier for pupils to study Religious Education at GCSE as part of a broad and balanced curriculum. The Church’s...

January is a month of the beginning of great things! As well as the naming of the Son of God, we celebrate the conversion of the greatest ever apostle of the Christian faith.  Many books have been written on Paul, and here is the briefest of introductions. He was a Jew, born as ‘Saul’ at...

Wardrobes and Rings – Through Lenten Lands with the Inklings Dappled Beauty – Through Lent with Gerard Manley Hopkins Notes on an Execution – Lenten Reflections on the Last Days of Jesus Meeting God in John – A Companion for Lent, Holy Week, Easter and Beyond Reflections for Lent, Holy Week and Easter 2026 –...

The Bishop of Tewkesbury, Robert Springett, is to be the Church of England’s new Lead Safeguarding Bishop, taking over from Bishop Joanne Grenfell who leaves the role at the end of March 2026, when her three-year term ends. Bishop Robert will work closely with the National Director of Safeguarding and other members of the National...

The Chancellor has been urged to retain a tax scheme for listed places of worship, as a survey, recently published, showed the majority of the UK population backs government support to help churches pay for repairs to their buildings. A poll shows that two in five people, or 43 per cent of all adults, report...

London’s first coffee house opened in 1652, using beans imported from modern-day Yemen. Although many in Cromwell’s Britain had doubts about this new drink, others welcomed its reviving effects – and asked for another cup. Nearly 400 years on, coffee drinking in Britain is a vast industry. We drink 98 million cups of it every...

We read about leprosy in the Bible and assume it is a disease of the past. But leprosy is very much a disease of today, with more than 200,000 newly diagnosed cases every year. That means that every two minutes of every day, someone hears the words ‘you have leprosy’.  Three short words, but they...

The situation in Sudan is “so dire that ‘urgent’ does not do justice to the need for action,” the Bishop of Leeds, Nick Baines, has warned in his final speech in the House of Lords. Bishop Nick, who is retiring, used his last appearance in the House after more than a decade to secure a debate...

Our new series looks at the 7 Deadly Sins, a list compiled by Pope Gregory 1 in AD 590 to describe the nature of sin. This month we consider pride, ‘the beginning of all sin’ (Augustine). Pride is preoccupied with self and denies the need for others or God. We see it present in the...

This month, on 25th January, the Church celebrates probably the most famous conversion of all. At least, what happened to a young man called Saul on the road to Damascus has become a byword for all instant conversions – what is known as a ‘damascene’ moment. Saul was a devout Jew, a Pharisee, a student...

Each year, Burns Night takes place on 25th January to celebrate the life and legacy of Scotland’s National Bard, Robert Burns. (1759 to 1796) Burns Night is usually a combination of haggis, neeps, tatties, and warming ‘drams’, accompanied by recitals of some of Robert Burns’ famous work. Robert Burns was born in 1759 and died...