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The month of January is named after the Roman god Janus, who is depicted as having two faces. As we look back on a difficult year dominated by the pandemic, how should we look forward to 2022 with fresh hope? The apostle Paul writes: ‘But one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining...

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed from the 18th to 25th January – the octave of St Peter and St Paul. This year, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been prepared by the churches of the Middle East. The Christians of the Middle East say that they offer these...

Church carbon footprint tool data update Synod calls on politicians to reduce wealth gap between the rich and the poor General Synod backs moves to allow dioceses more freedom to share historic wealth Nearly 400 ordinands on course to take up stipendiary curacy posts in 2022 What the Archbishops say about the C of E...

Did you ever wonder how our churches first acquired pews? Dr Nicholas Orme, Emeritus Professor of History at Exeter University, has written a book, Going to Church in Medieval England (Yale University Press), in which he points out that “no medieval church pronouncement ordered the provision of seating in churches other than for the clergy....

Happy New Year! January is, of course, the time to take down the decorations and put them away for next year. In many churches however, the Crib scene is left up until the beginning of February – the Feast of Candlemas.  That celebrates the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. It’s yet another moment of ‘illumination,’...

If you have nothing much going for you, Antony Pucci (1819-92) should be your patron saint. He came from nowhere – a peasant family in Tuscany. He went nowhere – he spent his life as a parish priest in the Tuscan city of Viareggio. He was unattractive to look at.  He wasn’t good with words...

More than half of adults (51 per cent) who are aged under 35 pray at least once a month, while almost as many (49 per cent) make a monthly visit to some place of worship. In contrast, of adults aged over 55, only a quarter (24 per cent) pray, and only one fifth (16 per...

Heroes are not always men or women of action. Sometimes the fight for right over wrong can be even more powerful when done through words and argument. Hilary was such a champion of the Christian faith. Born into a wealthy pagan family in Poitiers in 315, he first became an orator of Neo-Platonism. Here he...

One in 14 Church of England churches are now reporting ‘net zero’ carbon emissions, according to the latest data from the Energy Footprint Toolkit (EFT). The number of churches edged upwards from four per cent to seven per cent between 2019 and 2020. General Synod has committed the Church to achieving net zero carbon emissions by...

A New Year’s Resolution from Micah Don’t cover over your garden First time buyers You are never more than 166 metres from a stray cat How to hug somebody Open your window Help your garden, help your planet Money and children The music you love best – and when you love it ** Editor: David...

What do you do when you find a large spider web in your house? If you ever feel some sympathy for the spider who went to all that trouble, then Felix is a good patron saint for you. He was saved by such a spider, spinning such a web. Felix had been born to a...

All in the month of January Remembering Sir Ernest Shackleton Remembering Ralph Vaughan Williams 80 years of Desert Island Discs David Bowie and God Animals vanishing from literature as well as nature Covid hits life expectancy levels Name a heatwave No more dog poo at the National Trust What is happening to our public loos?...