Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Do you expect to like all the presents you will receive this year?  Not if last year was anything to go by! In fact, it seems that more than two-thirds of us expect that we will unwrap at least one item that we do not like this Christmas. What do you do with those weird...

The Church of England is to work with a youth charity to equip parishes to reach more young people with the Christian message. A £1.29 million grant from the Archbishops’ Council will fund work led by Youthscape to help parishes connect with young people and recruit and train church volunteers for youth work. The Launchpad...

Everyone knows that it was on the feast of Stephen that ‘good king Wenceslas looked on’.  After all, it’s in a Christmas carol – but why? There’s nothing about Christmas in it: a splendid young page who rustled up some flesh, wine and logs, an old man out in the snow (’deep and crisp and...

The Lion First Bible, 2nd edition Talking to Children about Mental Health Everything a Child Should Know About God The Message of the Second Coming Christian Essentials – 9 characteristics of every follower of Jesus Hope in the Face of Suffering – 20 devotions for Tough Times New Celtic Monasticism for Everyday People ** The...

‘For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people… while we wait for the blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ’ (Titus 2:11,13-14). Advent is the time when we focus on the first and second coming of Jesus. He first came as a...

The Church of England’s Social Impact Investment Programme has committed £2m towards the second Social and Sustainable Housing Fund (SASH II) managed by Social and Sustainable Capital. SASH II seeks to enable charities and social sector organisations to acquire portfolios of property that provide a combination of high quality housing and targeted support  to vulnerable...

Mistletoe has long been used as part of our Christmas decorations. It is not your usual kind of plant. Instead, it is hemiparasitic, meaning that although its leaves enable it to feed itself through photosynthesis, its roots invade the host tree or shrub to extract water and other nutrients. Mistletoe loves living in apple, lime,...

The amount of sleep you get each night can have a huge impact on your health. A recent study has found that middle-aged people need at least seven hours a night. This reduces their risk of developing various serious health conditions including cancer, diabetes, and arthritis. This contrasts with the effect of having only five...

A Baptist minister, the Revd Sue Whalley, has recently delivered the first ever known sermon in British Sign Language (BSL) at St Paul’s Cathedral. The invitation grew out of a meeting in London between Deaf Church Leaders and Church of England Clergy. Building on the momentum of the BSL Act last April (when British Sign Language...

The Christmas Star The Christmas Bible Storybook (board book) The Hoity-Toity Angel – a Christmas story The Money Mentor – getting to grips with your finances Bethlehem Bound – journeying with the characters of Christmas Companions on the Bethlehem Road Act Justly – practices to reshape the world Invest Your Disappointments – going for growth...

This Christmas why not give the birds in your garden a Christmas present by joining the RSPB?  More and more of our wild birds are disappearing, making the RSPB’s work vital, to make sure that the birds we have grown up with and love remain a familiar sight for our children and future generations.   More...

The President of the Methodist Conference, the Revd Canon Graham Thompson, has joined a call for the Government to affirm its commitment to ensuring benefits rise in line with inflation.  Along with the Revd Fiona Bennett, Moderator of General Assembly, United Reformed Church, and the Revd Lynn Green, General Secretary, Baptist Union of Great Britain,...