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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...

You may worry that your letter will be lost in the post, but you probably don’t worry that your letter may be eaten by snails. But perhaps it is time to start. Especially if your letter is being posted in rural Northumberland. It seems some hungry snails there have developed a taste for eating the...

The Rectory St James the Least My dear Nephew Darren I was interested to hear that from this academic year, your vicar has asked you to take his place as a school governor. A whole new world of exciting meetings is about to open up to you. Naturally, you will have been told that the...

 The Church Commissioners and Durham County Council are hoping to build 1435 new homes on jointly owned agricultural land. The land is near Newton Aycliffe, and the development would run to 97.1 hectares. The result would be a series of ‘interlinked neighbourhoods’ around a central ‘spine’ road, and would include a primary school and a...

At the end of his life in 1924, Gabriel Fauré, the French composer, said to his sons, “When I am no longer here, you will hear it said of my works, ‘After all, that was nothing much to write home about!’ You must not let that hurt or depress you. It is the way of...

Sundays of the Month Editor:  Continuing our new feature, as we thought you might find it helpful to know what the Sundays of each month are called… 1st September              14th Sunday after Trinity 8th September             15th Sunday after Trinity / Education Sunday 15th September           16th Sunday after Trinity 22nd September          17th Sunday after...

St Drithelm is the saint for you if you have ever wondered what lies beyond death, or have had a near-death experience.    He was married and living in Cunningham (now Ayrshire, then Northumbria) in the 7th century when he fell ill and apparently died.  When he revived a few hours later he caused panic among...