Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

John Henry Newman was a great Victorian churchman, an inspired Anglican preacher and teacher who became a Roman Catholic in 1845. Newman was also a poet and wrote hymns that have remained perennial favourites – among them, ‘Lead, kindly Light ‘and ‘Praise to the Holiest.’ The first hymn was written when, as an Anglican, Newman...

Spoken, Written, Living Word Prayer for October 2024 The Dance Celebrating the Writers of Hymns What colour is that? He is Always There ** Spoken, Written, Living Word (Ps 119:105, Isaiah 40:8, 55:11, Jn1:1) God has spoken. His word created everything In the beginning. God saw all That He had spoken into being, And it...

 Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of harvest home! All is safely gathered in, Ere the winter storms begin;< God, our maker, doth provide For our wants to be supplied; Come to God’s own temple, come; Raise the song of harvest home! We ourselves are God’s own field, Fruit unto his praise to...

-for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill The Church has submitted written evidence to a group of MSPs who are investigating the case for legalising assisted dying in Scotland. The purpose of the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is to introduce a lawful form of assisted dying for people over the age of...

It is feared that there may be just one million hedgehogs left in Britain. This compares to about 36 million during the 1960s. About 150,000 hedgehogs are killed on our roads every year. With this in mind, England’s first ‘hedgehog crossing’ road signs have recently been launched in several Borough Councils around the country. The...

If you have done your best to live ‘right’, and still had nothing but trouble and heartache in your life, Alphonsus is the saint for you.   He was born in 1533, the son of a wool merchant in Segovia.  He followed his father into the profession, married, and had two children.   He was a responsible...

Reflections on the Christian life… Worship is no longer worship when it reflects the culture around us more than the Christ within us. – Tozer Never undertake more Christian service that you can cover by believing prayer. – Alan Redpath We do the works, but God works in us the doing of the works. –...

** Halloween costumes My six-year-old son was excited about choosing his Halloween costume. “I’m going to be the Pope,” he announced proudly. “But Ian, you can’t be the Pope. You’re not Catholic,” I explained. “You’re Church of England.” My son was silent for a few moments, while he considered his alternatives. “Well, is Dracula Church...

 Every person was once a sperm and an egg. Those two unique germ cells fused together, and in nine months they turned into a living, breathing, human being. One of the most important stages of this process is when each section of the body, from head to rump, takes on its identity. In this context,...

Modern Halloween celebrations have their roots with the Celtic peoples of pre-Christian times. In those long-ago days, on the last night of October, the Celts celebrated the Festival of Samhain, or ‘Summer’s End’.  The priests, or Druids, performed ceremonies to thank and honour the sun.  For there was a very dark side to all this:...

– as part of 900th anniversary St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh is hosting an immersive art installation exploring community and commissioned, as part of the historic site’s 900th anniversary. It will run until November. 900 Voices, which was also part of this year’s International Festival, currently features around 220 hours of interviews with residents of...

 ‘My future is in Your hands…’ In her helpful book, When, God, When?  Joyce Meyer writes: “God has taught me to keep living the life I now have, while I am waiting for the things that are in my heart to come to pass. We can become so intent on trying to birth the next...