Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

In July 1776, there were roughly 2.5 million Americans in the Thirteen Colonies. Those who went to church worshipped in about 3,228 Christian congregations, made up of about 14 various denominations. These included: Anglicans, Baptists, Congregationalists, Dutch Reformed, Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics. Today, there are about 342.5 million Americans. Those who go to...

Are you sure you would even know? There is a growing trend for young teenage boys to set up ‘AI girlfriends’, realistic-looking artificial intelligence ‘bots’ which have been created by using ‘companion apps’. These services are widely advertised on the online games which many children use, and on the platforms which they watch, such as...

Do you tend to avoid conflict?  When you feel stressed, do you crave sleep?  Then the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus would be good patron saints for you.  But – you may find it hard to copy their successful method of avoiding trouble! Legend has it that The Seven Sleepers were third century Christians who lived...

Thirty years ago, on 5th July 1996, Dolly the sheep was born at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh. She was the first cloned mammal. Dolly had three mothers: one provided the egg, another the DNA, and a third carried the cloned embryo to term. Her existence was announced the following February, resulting in much media...

Middling – what Jesus Said About Perspective, Being Between Things Fantastically Faithful Leaders Who Gave Their All for God Bruised Reeds and Mustard Seeds When the Music Fades Stepping Up Dementia, God and the Church Pilgrim Places, Holy Lives A Summer Lent ** Middling – what Jesus Said About Perspective, Being Between Things and Not...

The Church Commissioners’ recent report on 2025 announced its 17th consecutive year of positive returns, and also delivered a return of eight per cent for last year. Of their largest 20 equity holdings, 14 are now in technology companies, including Amazon, Apple, Alphabet (the parent company of Google), and Meta. The report warns, however, that...

In the church year, we’ve now come to that long season- it seems to go on forever- variously called ‘Trinity’ or ‘Ordinary time’. Each of those labels tells us something about the approximately six months between Pentecost and Advent Sunday. ‘Trinity’ reminds us that with Pentecost, God has made himself known to us in all...

The Church of Scotland has been invited to take a strategic look at how it cares for churches and other buildings, and to ask whether it needs to take a new approach to the challenge. The Rev Dr Scott Rennie, convener of the General Trustees, warned that “The Church of Scotland faces challenges common to...

Since the cost-of-living crisis in 2021/22, Food Banks have become a necessity for many desperate families. When they are given food, people reveal a variety of emotions: from relief, happiness and hope, through to quiet sadness, resignation, and desperation. Most often they display a mixture of several of these feelings at the same time. I...

If you led a wild life before your conversion, then Olaf is the saint for you. Indeed, anything you have done could hardly match him, for he was a brigand and pirate who roamed the Baltic and Normandy around 1015 AD, maiming and killing, stealing and destroying, feared by all. Then on one particular raid...

Poorly paved roads, unsafe crossings and poor public toilets are slowing people down.  Especially older people. Rather than getting out and about in their communities, they tend to feel safer staying inside. But the lack of regular, positive exercise is a danger for them. Such is the verdict of a recent report from MPs serving...

If the summer heat is getting to you, you might consider the following:  Close your curtains and blinds during the day. Block out the sunlight. That may be hard to do in a country where we don’t see the sun as often as we’d like, but sadly that sunlight pouring through your windows will not...