Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

The Church of England’s General Synod has committed to “stand in solidarity” with Palestinian Christians and “hear” their experiences while opposing antisemitism and anti-Muslim hatred. In a long debate, Synod discussed a wide-ranging motion brought by the Diocese of Carlisle which laments the loss of Palestinian and Israeli lives and seeks peace and security for...

Last time we reflected on the time of ‘Intercessions’ within our service. This month, we consider what comes next. In a Common Worship Communion service, the ‘Peace’ comes straight after the Intercessions. There is no such thing with a Book of Common Prayer (BCP) service. A time of sharing ‘The Peace’ is not restricted to...

Two hundred years ago, on 5th September 1826, British cricketer John Wisden was born. He was the founder of Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack. Launched with 112 pages in 1864, it now runs to 1500 pages and is the bible of cricket. Wisden was a builder’s son, born in Brighton. He moved to London after his father died, and...

Ninety years ago, on 7th September 1936, Buddy Holly, the American rock and roll singer, was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas. His career was cut short when he was killed in a plane crash in 1959 – an event remembered as “the day the music died”. Holly was raised by a devout Southern...

Free football clubs for children will be launched in churches as part of a new outreach programme. Thirty churches across the country will be supported to start free football sessions for children as community outreach, with a focus on those in low-income areas and estates. The Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board (SMMIB) will invest...

‘Summoned by Bells’ is the title of John Betjeman’s poetic autobiography, where he describes how bells summoned him to school and to church. Bells announcing the joy of weddings and Sunday services; and also marking out times of sadness and the death of loved ones. One of the strangest bell-towers is at St Augustine’s Church,...

Royal Mail has converted about 3,500 of the old trusty red post-boxes into digital affairs, out of the 115,000 post-boxes in the country. The new solar-powered digital post-boxes feature a solar panel roof, a built-in barcode scanner, and an extra-large drawer that accepts parcels up to shoebox size. The idea is that the solar panels...

Wilson Carlile was born in Brixton in 1847, and did not set out to become an evangelist. Instead, he was brilliant at both languages and music, and excelled as a businessman. That is, until an economic recession and serious illness brought him crashing down and finished his career, aged only 31. Not surprisingly, a serious...

Ever wonder that? When the question was put to various sleep coaches and sheet manufacturers, they came up with a variety of things to consider. Once a week is thought to be good practise by many, but no more than twice a week, or you risk putting unnecessary wear and tear on your bedlinen. Do...

The Church of England will have an annual commemoration for a group of Christians murdered by Daesh terrorists as a vivid reminder of the persecution of the worldwide Christian Church. General Synod has approved plans to introduce an annual commemoration for the ‘21 Martyrs of Libya’ – a group of Christian men martyred in 2015...

Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness My beauty are, my glorious dress; Midst flaming worlds, in these arrayed, With joy shall I lift up my head. Bold shall I stand in that great day, Cleansed and redeemed, no debt to pay;  Fully absolved through these I am From sin and fear, from guilt and shame… Jesus,...

On what clergy should wear on their feet The Rectory St James the Least My dear Nephew Darren Thank you for sending me the photograph of you having your face painted at your parish’s ‘Fun Day’ – although I can’t help feeling that to label an event ‘fun’ is the most effective way of draining...