Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

We take clean water for granted. After all, when did you last turn on the tap and expect filthy water to come out? But sadly, bad water is still a daily reality for billions of people. The United Nations wants to help them by ensuring that everyone can access clean water by 2030.  It is...

There’s bad news for vicars, priests and other church ministers in the latest results of a long-running research project. British people trust taxi drivers and restaurant staff more than clergy and priests to tell them the truth, according to the latest findings of an annual ‘Veracity Index.’ Just 55 per cent of people aged 16...

Cold water swimming may be popular for its claimed mental and physical health benefits, but it also comes with risks. Some people swim in the cold for longer than their bodies can take, and risk hypothermia. The Parliament Hill Lido in Hampstead has recently posted a warning to its swimmers, saying that some weeks it...

This beautiful event (Luke 1:26-38) took place in Nazareth, when Mary is already betrothed to Joseph. The Archangel Gabriel comes to Mary, greets her as highly favoured, tells her not to be afraid, that she will bear a son Jesus, and that her elderly cousin Elizabeth is already pregnant (with John the Baptist). The church...

– into historic links to transatlantic chattel slavery and announces new funding commitment of £100m in response to findings Back in June 2022 it was reported that the Church Commissioners’ endowment had historic links to transatlantic chattel slavery. The endowment traces its origins partly to Queen Anne’s Bounty, a fund established in 1704. In response to...

It was 300 years ago, on 8th March 1723, that English architect Sir Christopher Wren died at the age of 90. Best known for designing St Paul’s Cathedral, he was also a ground-breaking anatomist, astronomer and physicist. A founder of the Royal Society, Wren served as its president from 1680 to 1682 and was highly...

Spiritual disciplines are practices designed to help us grow as disciples of Jesus. This month we are looking at the practice of fasting. Fasting can be a neglected discipline, but plays an important part in the Christian life, especially during Lent. Jesus began His earthly ministry by fasting in the wilderness for 40 days and...

The daughters of baronets don’t usually choose to work with prostitutes and orphans, but Harriet Monsell was no ordinary woman. She was born in 1811 into one of Ireland’s oldest families. Her father, Sir Edward O’Brien, was 4th Baronet of Dromoland, and represented his county Clare in Parliament. Harriet married Charles Monsell, an Anglican clergyman...

Release International, which serves the Persecuted Church around the world, has named China as a country of particular concern for 2023. Bob Fu, a partner of Release International, warns “The Chinese government has steadily increased the oppression and control of Christians. Techno-authoritarianism in China has begun to reach new extremes under Xi Jinping in his...

The Rectory St James the Least My dear Nephew Darren Those parishioners of yours who won millions on the Lottery and moved into this parish have created quite a stir. It was perhaps a little unwise of them to tell everyone the reason why they had become so wealthy. While most of our parishioners also...

When I was nearly three, I knocked a bucket of tadpoles all over the patio. Those unfortunate creatures must have been collected to educate my brother and I on where frogs came from, but a toddler can’t just stand by and watch. Can I see up close? Or maybe I was ‘helpfully’ moving it to...

The Archbishops’ Commission on Reimaging Care has proposed “a radical and inspiring vision” for adult social care in England. ‘Care and Support Reimagined: a National Care Covenant for England’ calls for a rethinking of attitudes to care and support; a rebalancing of roles and responsibilities; and redesigning the social care system. The National Care Covenant...