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On Wednesday 26th July, the army in Niger announced a coup and removed the country’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, from power. The West African country’s borders were closed, a nationwide curfew imposed, and all government institutions were suspended. General Abdourahmane Tchiani has since declared himself the new leader of Niger. This military takeover marks the ninth...

The General Synod has backed a call for churches to join partnerships working to help resettle and rehabilitate people leaving prison. The Probation Service is already working with churches, bishops and Diocesan Safeguarding Panels to help support people leaving prison. Yet even so, many ex-prisoners are currently unable to find a welcoming faith community in which...

Sundays of the Month 6th August        The Transfiguration of our Lord 13th August     Tenth Sunday after Trinity 20st August      Eleventh Sunday after Trinity 27th August     Twelfth Sunday after Trinity   Editor:   Kings and mystics, writers and martyrs – August does well with its feast days that remember outstanding Christians. 1          Ethelwold – Saint of Wessex...

St Ethelwold (c.912 – 84) did great things for the church at Winchester, which in those days was the principle town of Wessex.   He began as a simple monk, eager to restore the Rule of Benedictine in England, a major reform for the church of the time.  So, after serving at the abbey in Glastonbury,...

You know how some men find some women’s interest in romance and clothes hard to cope with?   Well, Sithney (or Sezni) should be the patron saint of all such men. According to a Breton folk legend, Sithney was a hermit of long ago, minding his own business, when one day God told him that he...

Jean-Baptiste Vianney is the saint for those whose passion is to help people find peace with God. Vianney was born near Lyons in 1786, the son of a peasant farmer. With no money for schooling, he first became a shepherd. But, like David in the Bible, his deep personal faith and zeal soon drew him...

Many Christians have dreamed of doing something spectacular for God, which would be remembered for centuries afterwards. Oswald, who lived from 605 to 642AD, was in a position to do so. He was a King, whose father, Aethelfrith, was a great warrior who laid the foundations of the great kingdom of Northumbria. But Aethelfrith was...

The story is told in Matthew (17:1-9), Mark (9:1-9) and Luke (9:28-36). It was a time when Jesus’ ministry was popular, when people were seeking Him out.  But on this day, He made time to take Peter, James and John, His closest disciples, up a high mountain.  In the fourth century, Cyrillic of Jerusalem identified...

It’s an unusual story. One day, Jesus is with three disciples on a high mountain in Galilee, when His appearance dramatically changes. Also, Moses and Elijah suddenly appear, and from a cloud comes the voice of God. What is this all about? This event was witnessed by James, Peter, and John. They were close friends...

If you enjoy reading the Bible and in encouraging others to have faith in God, then Dominic is the patron saint for you. His passion for helping Christians to learn and proclaim their faith led him to found the Order of Preachers, or Black Friars, because of the black cape they wore over white habits....

The Mothers’ Union is now more than 140 years old. It has accomplished a staggering amount in that time, and nowadays numbers more than four million members, doing good work in 83 countries.  That is a far cry from the modest circle of prayer for mothers who cared about family life, which is how it...

Laurence was a deacon of the Church in Rome who was martyred in 258.  His story is found in the very ancient Depositio Martyrum, which tells us that he was closely associated with Pope Sixtus II, who was martyred just a few days before him during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian.   We also know...