Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Some people are pushy and a bit grasping.  They get on your nerves.  Pray that they go on to find God’s will for their lives, for then all that pushiness is put to good use. Take Jeanne Delanoue.  She was born at Saumur in 1666, and grew up small, authoritarian, and quite frankly, a bit...

It was 65 years ago, on 26th August 1958, that the British composer Ralph Vaughan Williams died. Among his most famous compositions are The Lark Ascending, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis and A Sea Symphony. Despite increasing deafness, brought on by exposure to gunfire when he served in the Second World War, Vaughan...

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have recently met with Gypsy, Roma and Traveller people advocating for a new initiative aimed at reaching out to people within these communities. The Gypsy, Roma Traveller (GRT) Friendly Churches will encourage and signpost churches to do more to welcome people into worshipping communities. Archbishop Justin said: “The Gospel...

How will you become a better person than you are now?   Have you ever denied yourself in order to try and please God?  No matter what your dedication, it is unlikely that your efforts will ever have outshone those of Rose of Lima (1586 – 1617), who in 1671 became the first saint of America,...

The Church Commissioners and the Church of England Pensions Board have announced that they will independently disinvest from fossil fuels. The Church Commissioners and Church of England Pensions Board have recently each announced they will independently disinvest from fossil fuels this year. The announcement came as the Church of England’s National Investing Bodies (NIBs) reported...

On consecutive days this month (27th and 28th) the Christian Church celebrates, a mother and her son. The mother is Monica, and her son is Augustine. The story of their relationship and how, after a long process, they both came to share the same Christian faith is a moving one, and perhaps has a message...

Is the C of E paying its clergy enough? The amount of the stipend is determined by dioceses, but they use national stipend benchmarks which are set by the Archbishops’ Council each year. A guiding principle in setting these benchmarks is that “clergy should be paid at a level that gives them a standard of...

Four hundred years ago this month, on 6th August 1623, Anne Hathaway died. She was the wife of William Shakespeare. Born in 1556, she was eight years older than her husband, who was only 18 when they married. The eldest of eight children of a well-off yeoman farmer living at Shottery, only a mile from...

The Bishop of Durham believes that people should take local government more seriously. Speaking recently in the House of Lords, he said that too few people appreciate the important role that local government can play in addressing the issues that they most care about. Bishop Paul Butler said: “There is a feeling among the public,...

The Church Commissioners for England, which manages the Church of England’s £10.3bn endowment fund, has decided to exclude all remaining oil and gas majors from its portfolio, and will exclude all other companies primarily engaged in the exploration, production and refining of oil or gas, unless they are in genuine alignment with a 1.5°C pathway, by...

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...

“Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10 Have you ever thought of taking some time out of daily life, to simply ‘be still’ with God? To hear His voice, enjoy His presence, and perhaps receive His direction for your future?  When one lady was told that her friend was “taking some time...