Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

 The Rectory St James the Least My dear Nephew Darren So, you are excited about being invited to plan your first Carol Service. The dangers involved are only slightly less than being invited to judge the best cake made by the Ladies’ Group. You seem to have no idea of the lifelong offence you will...

In response to almost 5,500 deaths in England and Wales in 2023 due to drug poisoning The Salvation Army is calling for the roll-out of life-saving overdose reversal drug Naloxone in England and Wales. New annual figures recently released by ONS (Office For National Statistics) show that during 2023 in England and Wales there were:...

Sundays of the Month Editor:  Continuing our new feature, as we thought you might find it helpful to know what the Sundays of each month are called… 3rd November              Fourth Sunday before Advent 10th November            Third Sunday before Advent – REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 17th November            Second Sunday before Advent 24th November            Christ the King –...

All Saints, or All Hallows, is the feast of all the redeemed, known and unknown, who are now in heaven. When the English Reformation took place, the number of saints in the calendar was drastically reduced, with the result that All Saints’ Day stood out with a prominence that it had never had before. This...

The first martyrs of Rome are recorded in the old Roman Martyrology, which states that: ‘At Rome, the birthday is celebrated of very many martyrs, who under the Emperor Nero were falsely charged with the burning of the city and by him were ordered to be slain by various kinds of cruel death; some were...

The early Church was slow to dedicate a liturgical day to offering prayers and masses to commemorate the faithful departed.  But in time prayers were offered on behalf of dead monks, that they might attain ‘the Beatific Vision’ through purification, which the Church later described as Purgatory.  Odilo, the powerful abbot of Cluny, (d 1049)...

Richard Hooker lived at a critical time for the Church of England. He became one of the most important English theologians of the 16th century. He provided the Church of England with a theological method which combined the claims of revelation, reason, and tradition. Traditionally, he has been credited as the originator of the Anglican...

The morality of hunting has made the headlines in recent years, but here at least was one man who was converted while hunting.  Hubert (bishop, d 727 AD) was out on Good Friday hunting stag when he came across a stag with a crucifix between its antlers.  This so shook him that he converted to...

Martin of Porres is the saint for anyone who has let God transform their bad, painful experiences into making them stronger and better, sensitive to the pain of others, and able to bring healing and kindness. Martin was born in Lima, in 1570. The son of a Spanish officer and a freed slave woman from...

Why should being a ‘lay’ person stop you from as full a ministry as being ordained?  Here is a saint for all lay people who suspect they can do as good a job…. Charles Borromeo was an Italian who lived in Milan from 1538 to 1584.   His uncle, Pope Pius IV, made him Archbishop of...

Back in 1605 Guy Fawkes managed to stow a good few barrels of gunpowder under the House of Lords without anybody noticing.  He was part of a Roman Catholic plot to murder James 1 of England and his parliament at the state opening.  Fortunately, Guy Fawkes was found – and stopped – in time.

Stories of answered prayer during World War II Our Royal Army Chaplains What issues most concern us? Black History Month marked in cathedrals and churches Church in Wales to invest nearly £10m in new schemes to promote growth Herod’s Secret Policeman When poverty pushes people into dark places New Chaplain to the Speaker of the...