Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Crisis in Gaza With much of Gaza in ruins, a number of Christian charities are running appeals this Christmas. These include: Church of England: The Diocese in Europe’s Bishop’s Advent Appeal. The Bishop in Europe, the Rt Revd Robert Innes, writes: “The headlines may be fading, but the suffering in Gaza is far from over....

This letter was written to Christians in the Macedonian city of Philippi when Paul was in prison, probably in Rome (60-62 AD). His primary purpose in writing was to thank them for the gift they had sent him upon learning of his imprisonment. However, he also uses the letter as an opportunity to report on...

 CAP (Christians Against Poverty) has launched its 2025 Christmas Appeal, to provide emergency aid and support to UK families in financial hardship this winter. The appeal aims to raise funds to provide essential assistance such as: emergency food parcels, fuel top-ups, free professional debt advice, and Christmas hampers or gifts, given in partnership with local churches and...

Even before the time of Christ, evergreen trees were seen in winter as a symbol of fertility. It was the 16th century monk, Martin Luther, who is credited with the idea of having lights on Christmas trees. He added candles to his tree, to look like stars in a forest. Windsor Castle got its first...

O Come Emmanuel – Reflections on the Advent Antiphons Women of the Nativity – an Advent and Christmas Journey in Nine Stories All You Want for Christmas Are you ready for Christmas? The Four Emotions of Christmas The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas The Lion Handbook to the Bible – 6th edition Giving...

If you want your tree to last as long as possible this year, the following should help: Cut off about half an inch from the bottom of the trunk. This opens the pores of the tree. Then place it outside in a cool shaded place, standing in water until required. Once you have brought it...

Have you ever stopped to consider that the very first martyr of the Christian Church (Stephen died c 35 AD) was a deacon?  (But no, he wasn’t worked to death by his church.)  It was Stephen, one of the first seven deacons of the Christian Church.  He’d been appointed by the apostles to look after...

Churches bring people together in a world that can become ‘too easily’ polarised, the Archbishop of York has told a major conference highlighting the value of church buildings. Archbishop Stephen spoke of the contribution that churches make to social cohesion, and called on the Government to make the Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme –...

At the opening of Bach’s Cantata No, 82 a solo bass voice begins to sing the aria ‘Ich habe genug’- (I have enough) – a paraphrase of Simeon’s Song ‘Now Lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace… for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.’. Simeon – the bass voice – realises that he is...

This month Christians worldwide welcome the Baby whose life and death and resurrection bring us eternal life. But meanwhile, it seems that Putin and Xi Jinping are wondering if they might achieve a bit of immortality without divine help. In a recent meeting to attend the Beijing military parade, the dictators of Russia and China...

Church Mission Society (CMS) has recently announced its backing for the UK Government’s Global Charter on Children’s Care Reform. The Charter calls for the rights of each child to be in a family, and for the progressive ending of the institutionalisation of children, in favour of family-based care models like fostering. Church Mission Society joins...

 Attendance at Church of England churches grew for the fourth year in a row last year, statistics have confirmed. The overall number of regular worshippers across the Church of England’s congregations rose to 1.009 million in 2024, a rise of 0.6 per cent, according to the annual Statistics for Mission findings. It was the second year in a row in which the Church...