Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Kea was an early Christian and a monk from a good family who left Glastonbury to work in Devon and Cornwall, where Landkey (Devon) and Kea (Cornwall) bear his name.  He founded several Christian centres in the area before going on to Brittany to become the saint known there as ‘Saint-Quay’.  It seems that Kea...

During the Second World War, Winston Churchill was Britain’s Prime Minister. At the same time, William Temple was Archbishop of Canterbury. While Churchill led the country against Germany, Temple encouraged the British people to trust the Lord for their deliverance and strength. Like Churchill, Temple was a great leader, a gifted orator and a prolific...

Not many people have heard of Illtud, but perhaps we should make him the patron saint of all Christian NGOs (Non-Government Organisations) who work in emergency and famine relief. Illtud did not set out to be an action hero – he was a gentle and learned abbot heading up a monastery in Glamorgan.  Illtud spent...

“The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”   The early Church Father Tertullian wrote that in the second century, but he could have been writing about Vietnam from 1745 onwards.  For, during the first 200 years of Christianity in Vietnam/Indo-China, a staggering 100,000 Christians are believed to have been martyred for their...

Did you know that the Netherlands first learned Christianity from a Yorkshireman?  Willibrord (658 – 739) was born to devout parents, and joined the Benedictines.  In 678 he went Ireland to study at the Abbey of Rathmelsigi (a centre of European learning in the 7th century).  12 years later, in 690, Willibrord felt God had...

War and Peace From the Vicar What’s the Big Idea? – An Introduction to the gospel of Luke Reflecting Faith: Wall paintings Whole Life Discipleship:  ‘Growing Up Together’ Should Christians go to war? HYMN:  The story behind ‘To God be the Glory!’ Choose your god ** Editor:  Canon Paul Hardingham considers the reality of warfare...

Has your boss ever tried to get you to do something that is against your Christian faith?  If so, here are some saints for you.   They chose to make a Christian ‘stand’ at work, even though it really irritated their boss. Claudius, Nicostratus, Simpronian and Castorius were simple stonemasons in early 4th century Rome.  They...

Premier has produced a series of podcasts on extraordinary stories from World War II. When we prayed: Miracles of World War II, is in seven podcasts, hosted by Pam Rhodes. Premier says: “Join us on a journey back in time to witness how God answered the nation’s prayers during one of history’s most tumultuous periods.”...

In late 1914, WW1 erupted across Northern France and Flanders. Great swathes of previously green fields and forests were blasted and bombed, leaving them bleak and barren, with seemingly every living thing destroyed. But then in the Spring of 1915, something beautiful began to come out of all the destruction. Tens of thousands of bright...

How do you think of Jesus? As the Lord of lords in glory? Or as a human baby soon to be born in Bethlehem? November brings the glorious climax of the church year with the Sunday of Christ the King at the end of November – only to begin a new ‘year’ a week later,...

John Lennon wrote: ‘Imagine there’s no countries, It isn’t hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion too. Imagine all the people living life in peace.’  But on Remembrance Sunday, we should reflect on war past and present, and consider the real way to peace. The way of war: ‘What causes...

For centuries, armies worldwide have taken their clergy to war with them. And while over the years the roles of chaplains may have changed, still their presence among the troops has remained as important as ever. For the British, it was in 1796 that the Army Chaplain’s Department was founded by the Revd John Gamble,...