Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

It was 150 years ago, on 18th May 1872, that Bertrand Russell, the Welsh philosopher, mathematician, historian, and writer, was born. He won the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature for championing “humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought”. A member of a prominent aristocratic family, the 3rd Earl Russell was a very public figure who lived...

The national debt help charity, Christians Against Poverty (CAP), is busy responding to people hit by the recent energy price cap rise, which will see households paying around 50% more for their energy bills Low-income households, says CAP, “are already struggling to afford the basics they need to live with dignity.” In just the first...

John and Charles Wesley were the founders of Methodism. Two of 19 children born to Samuel and Susannah Wesley of Epworth Rectory in Lincolnshire in 1703 and 1707, their father was the local rector, while their mother was a spiritual inspiration to her many children. Both John and Charles went to Christ Church, Oxford (1720...

Later this month the Church calendar celebrates the lives of John and Charles Wesley.  John’s great gift to the Christian cause was the little matter of founding the world-wide movement known as Methodism. His brother Charles had an equally profound impact through his hymns. He actually wrote over 6,000, most of which aren’t sung nowadays,...

This month at Ascension Day, we remember Jesus ascending to ‘God’s right hand’ (1 Peter 3:22). It’s a somewhat neglected Christian festival, taking place on a Thursday, 40 days after Easter. However, this phrase is used in three different contexts in the New Testament. Sitting at God’s right hand Jesus occupies a position of power...

If you value cathedrals, please visit them!  This will assist their recovery in the aftermath of Covid-19. The Dean of Leicester, David Monteith, who Chairs the Church of England’s College of Cathedral Deans, has responded to recent data showing an expected fall in visitors and on-site worshippers during Covid-19. “The simple message for everyone is...

Many of our older people are lonely.  They lost touch with their families during the pandemic, and it seems that they have still not caught up again. A recent survey by Age UK found that as many as 27 percent of people aged 60 and over admit that they speak less to their families now,...

Sixty years ago, on 25th May 1962, the new Coventry Cathedral was consecrated. The previous one had been destroyed by German bombing during World War Two. The Queen had laid the foundation stone in 1956, and she was present for the consecration. On the night of 14th November 1940, the old Cathedral – together with...

Augustine, a 6th century Italian prior, holds a unique place in British history. He became the ‘apostle to the English,’ although it was with great reluctance. In 596 Augustine was chosen by Pope Gregory to head a mission of monks whom he wanted to send to evangelise the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine was not a bold man,...

Thousands of people across the country are buying in light brown and white wool just now, in order to knit up a corgi in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. It is a fun way in which anyone with knitting needles can get involved in the coming celebrations. If you google ‘knitting patterns for corgis’,...

Mothers are getting older. More than half of women in the UK are now still childless by the age of 30, according to recent official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The data provides a picture of changes in our national fertility. The vice-president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists says:...

The Bible is a popular book, with five billion copies sold worldwide every year, as well as a uniquely precious book. At her coronation the Queen was given a Bible, ‘the most precious thing this world affords’. The Bible isn’t simply one book, but a library of 66 books, composed by some 44 writers over...