Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

It was 70 years ago, on 6th October 1952, that the world premiere of Agatha Christie’s play, The Mousetrap, opened in Nottingham. It then opened in London on 25th November, and is still going, making it the world’s longest-running play. Originally a short radio play written as a birthday present for Queen Mary, it was broadcast...

Do you value your Bible?  If so, Felix of Thibiuca (247 – 303) is a good patron saint for you.  The year was 303, and Diocletian was emperor in Rome.  In February of that year he decided that Christians were NOT a good thing. So he issued an edict:  all copies of the Christian Scriptures...

Everyone is feeling a bit poorer this autumn, as the cost-of-living spirals upwards at an alarming rate. For people who are already in financial difficulties, the cost of living will probably be at crisis point already. And so, Christians Against Poverty (CAP) says: “It’s more vital than ever that the Church shines God’s love brightly...

Writing to the saintly Bishop Edward King in 1861, his predecessor as Principal of Cuddesdon, H.H. Swinny wrote this on the importance of meditation – “We all try to do too much and don’t give enough time to earnest quiet thought… Somehow even my prayer, and Divine Service within God’s congregation, lose much of their...

Can you think of a politician who deserves to be called a saint?  If no one currently living politician comes to mind, never mind – there is always King Alfred of Wessex (871-899). This remarkable and best known of all the Anglo-Saxon rulers may have dozed off and let some cakes burn while a peasant...

Odran is a suitable saint to remember as Halloween approaches, for his story involves the spirit world. British by birth, Odran (died c. 563) was one of Columba’s first companions on Iona.  Sadly, he died not long after his arrival on the island.  But Columba found comfort, for in a vision he saw Odran’s soul...

What is a good way to ‘celebrate’ this annual day of appreciation for our Bibles? One way might be to send a Bible to someone in prison. Certainly, Bibles seem to be wanted there just now. Bible Society reports that: “Prison chaplains are telling us that more and more prisoners urgently want to read God’s...

One hundred years ago, on 24th October 1922, George Cadbury died. He had transformed his father’s failing chocolate and cocoa business into one of the world’s most successful companies and provided low-cost housing and improved working conditions for his employees. George was the third son of John Cadbury, a Quaker who founded Cadbury’s cocoa and...

As churches do not qualify to the cap on energy bills, they have seen prices soar to hitherto unimaginable heights in recent months. Some examples: a church in Andover whose bill went from £70 a month to £1,000 a month – and could rise to £4,000 a month during the coming winter months. a church...

Church House Westminster has produced guidance for churches seeking to improve their building’s resilience, amid increasing climate change. A spokesman as Church House said: “Church buildings are often solidly built and, when maintained well, have withstood the weather over the centuries. However, as the climate changes, and weather events become more extreme, they can become...

That big car in your driveway may be contributing to flash flooding. So warns Sir John Armitt, chair of the National Infrastructure Commission. He points out that the popular trend for buying bigger and bigger cars means that more and more owners need to pave over their gardens, in order to accommodate them. “The roads...

I recently read a web article which was wondering if Christians actually need a ‘cross’ in our church buildings; or indeed if they were unhelpful in our worship. The major argument against having one, it seems, was that it could become the focus of our worship, and it is not okay to worship idols. To...