Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Ten years ago, on 14th April 2014, the Boko Haram Islamic terrorist group kidnapped 276 female students from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Nigeria. Some of the girls escaped, some were rescued, or have been reported dead. But over 100 are still missing, fate unknown. The girls, who lived in surrounding areas, were...

The Church of England has awarded £2.4 million to fund a series of measures aimed at boosting the participation of Deaf, disabled,and neurodivergent people in parish life. This ranges from encouraging vocations to the priesthood, to grants for improved access to buildings. Under plans over the next three years, the funds will back projects including...

Prayer walking is just what it sounds. You pray as you walk. What is the point? Think of it as stepping out as God’s children, to intercede for those who are living in your community. Be intentional about praying for God’s blessings on what you see and feel. Simply praying: “Your Kingdom come, your will...

– disciple, apostle, writer of the second gospel  Mark, whose home in Jerusalem became a place of rest for Jesus and His 12 apostles, is considered the traditional author of the second gospel. He is also usually identified as the young man, described in Mark 14:51, who followed Christ after his arrest and then escaped...

Nearly five per cent of young boys and girls took diet pills or laxatives in the past year.  When considering just girls alone, the figure leaps to ten per cent. Researchers found that young girls were also more likely than boys to use over-the-counter drugs, which “do not work, are dangerous, associated with unhealthful weight...

The General Synod has heard that more work needs to be done for the full inclusion of Global Majority Heritage (GMH) people in the Church of England. Synod members commended the outcomes in From Lament to Action, the report from the Archbishops’ Racial Justice Taskforce. It sets out a series of recommendations for the Church...

Fifty years ago, on 6th April 1974, the Swedish pop group ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest with their song Waterloo. It was the first time that Sweden won the contest. ABBA went on to be one of the most successful groups in music history. The victory, in Brighton, was just the first step on...

The fourth set of findings from long-term research into how Church of England clergy can flourish in ministry has been published by the Church of England. Holding Things Together, Church of England Clergy in Changing Times builds on three previous waves of the Living Ministry research programme. The latest analysis assesses changes in clergy wellbeing since...

Science tells us how the world works, and technology offers applications of that knowledge, but neither can tell us what we ought to do. All scientific discoveries or new technologies can be used to either help or harm others. For example, a smartphone can be used to stay in touch but also enables bullying. It...

General Synod has asked for legislative proposals to allow lay officers found guilty of bullying to be disqualified from holding office. The motion was brought by the Ven Mark Ireland, Archdeacon of Blackburn. It wanted to address an imbalance of accountability in relationships, where lay volunteers currently face no significant consequences if found to have...

More than £250,000 was distributed by the Church of England last year to support conservation projects in parishes, including work to preserve wall paintings, baptismal fonts, stained glass windows and rood screens. A total of £255,585 has been awarded for 123 projects in 34 dioceses – with the number of grants up 20% on the...

Have you ever sat and watched the clouds drift by?  Some of them are vast, towering up and up into the sky. There can be clouds of discouragement and suffering in our lives as well, circumstances that temporarily blot out the sunlight of God’s love for us.  You may have such a cloud hanging over...