Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

After St Paul, who was the most influential Christian writer ever?  St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), whose feast-day is on 28th August.  He lived and wrote in a time of social and spiritual chaos.  The Roman Empire was collapsing, the world was about to slide into the dark ages and the Church was...

Last month I wrote about the 612 newly built churches in towns around 1818 – 1830 that cost a total of one and a half million pounds, following the huge population move from the countryside to living in towns. This month I wanted to think about the highest part of the church building – the...

We like allotments. In fact, as a nation, more than 250,000 of us have one, and reckon that it enriches our lives. This year the theme of National Allotments Week (NAW) is biodiversity. The NAW will encourage allotment holders with tips of how to increase pollinators and wildlife, how to do ecofriendly pest control, companion...

Some 125 years ago, on 13th August 1899, Alfred Hitchcock was born. This British-born American film director, producer and screenwriter was known as the Master of Suspense.  He was known for his films The 39 Steps, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, Vertigo, Psycho, The Birds and many more – over 50 in all. Born...

Tearfund has warned that now 70% of the people in South Sudan, the world’s newest nation, are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The church in South Sudan is responding to this ‘forgotten’ humanitarian crisis with support from Tearfund’s match funded summer appeal. A staggering one in three people in South Sudan have had to...

More than £1.3 million has been awarded by the Church of England for research and pilot projects aimed at widening the pool of people training for ministry in the Church of England.  The projects range from work on neuro divergency to new courses in youth and children’s ministry. Grants have been made for innovation in...

Spare a thought for John the Baptist: however rough your local sandwich bar may be, it probably doesn’t serve you locusts with a honey dip; you won’t be imprisoned for saying derogatory things about the local MP’s wife, and even the boss from hell is unlikely to have a daughter who wants to hip-hop about...

Summertime outdoor living reminds us just how close we live to our neighbours. How well you live beside them can make a huge impact on your life. If you are happy with your neighbours, it is hugely beneficial. One behavioural psychologist says: “Even just sharing a kind smile and eye contact with a neighbour is...

Psalm 23 is well loved, and its paraphrased words are often sung in the popular hymn The Lord’s My Shepherd. At the time of Jesus, these labourers were everywhere, as sheep were a common commodity. So when Jesus described a shepherd, He was referring to someone the people all knew about. Our Lord’s description of...

Newly appointed Church Buildings Support Officers have been speaking about their roles in providing practical advice and expertise to Church of England parishes. £3.2 million was awarded last year for CBSOs in 33 dioceses, and three partner organisations, providing parishes with advice on the management, conservation, repair and development of church buildings, including community use...

Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) is partnering with an unusual programme which reaches out to traumatised refugees in Bidibidi, in northern Uganda, the world’s second largest refugee settlement. ‘Brass for Africa’ is a music programme that visits the settlement twice a week, bringing joy to hundreds of stranded people who have barely survived the horrors of...

It was 250 years ago, on 1st August 1774, that oxygen was discovered by British chemist Joseph Priestley. He was the first scientist to publish his findings on the discovery. Born in Yorkshire, Priestley was the eldest son of a strongly Calvinist textile maker, but after his mother’s early death he spent much of his...