Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

In India, attacks against Christians have been rising, and more states are imposing anti-conversion laws. This comes as growing numbers of the Indian underclass, the Dalits, are turning to Christianity, and as right-wing Hindu nationalism is on the rise. As yet another state, Karnataka, is poised to impose anti-conversion legislation, there have been challenges in...

A community choir, a church in a working men’s club and ministry with children and young people are among projects to receive funding as part of a drive by the Church of England to spread the Christian message to younger and more diverse groups. Coventry Diocese is to receive £1.25 million in Strategic Development Funding...

– and poet If we were to name someone prominent from the 17th century, we might mention Rembrandt or Shakespeare. It is unlikely we would remember George Herbert. However, he was a prolific writer, a gifted speaker and musician. His hymns are still sung today. Herbert was born into a wealthy family in Mid-Wales on...

The American actor Denzel Washington, 66, mentioned his Christian faith in a recent interview with the New York Times. Washington described himself as God-fearing and warned against the dangers of the digital age. He said: “The Bible says in the last days … we’ll be lovers of ourselves. The No. 1 photograph today is a...

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren I am glad you enjoyed your conference, but please do not be deluded into thinking that conferences are there to teach you anything. Conferences exist to provide another entry on your CV, to give you time off while flattering yourself that you are...

(Micah 7:19) The Bible is very expressive when it comes to speaking about how God can forgive our sins. It uses many descriptions to tell us how our sins are both forgiven and forgotten. Here is a sample of these great promises. Our sins are  ‘forgiven,’ (Ps. 32:5); ‘washed thoroughly’ and ‘blotted out’ (Ps. 51:2,...

Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester from 1062 to 1095, occupies a unique place in British church history. He was the last surviving pre-Conquest bishop, the first bishop to pay homage to William the Conqueror after the battle of Hastings, and one of the few Saxons to keep high office to the end of William’s reign. On...

1          The naming of Jesus 1          Have you ever wondered where the name ‘Jesus’ comes from? 2          Basil the Great – champion of the Church 2          Basil and Gregory – lives of costly discipleship 5          Simeon Stylites – one of the weirder saints! 6          Epiphany 6          Where did the Wise Men come from?...

Matthew and Luke tell how the angel instructed that Mary’s baby was to be named Jesus – a common name meaning ‘saviour’. The Church recalls the naming of Jesus on 1st January – eight days after 25th December (by the Jewish way of reckoning days).  In Jewish tradition, the male babies were circumcised and named...

The name Jesus is a transliteration of a name that occurs in several languages. It is of Hebrew origin, ‘Yehosua’, or Joshua. There is also the Hebrew-Aramaic form, ‘Yesua’. In Greek, it became ‘ Ἰησοῦς’ (Iēsoûs), and in Latin it became ‘Iesus’. The meaning of the name is ‘Yahweh delivers’ or ‘Yahweh rescues’, or ‘Yahweh...

Basil was most people’s idea of the perfect diocesan bishop. He was a theologian of distinction, who as a monk devoted himself to much prayer and teaching. He leapt to the defence of the Church from the persecution of the Arian emperor Valens, but also appreciated great secular literature of the time, gave away his...

‘Discipline’ is now virtually a banned word, along with ‘risk’, ‘problem’ and ‘failure’. They seem to have been replaced respectively by ‘focus’, ‘safety’, ‘challenge’ and ‘opportunity’. On the occasions when we do recognise and applaud the virtue of discipline, it’s usually in the lives and activities of soldiers, police officers, dressage horses and the dog....