Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Some 1400 years ago, on 16th July 622, the Islamic calendar began, when Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina to escape religious persecution (an event known as the Hejira) and established the first Muslim community. The new religion spread quickly: Mohammad’s men attacked trading caravans and in 630 an army of 10,000...

Jesus, fresh from His baptism and fired with His new calling, bursts into Galilee. Coming upon four fishermen working on the shore of the lake, He says to them, ‘Follow me’. Without further ado or even a second thought, they abandon what they’re doing (and in the case of two of them, James and John,...

Wearing my own dressing gown over the hospital regulation smock and with my belongings in a bag by my side, I was waiting my turn for a four-hour operation, to be preceded by a general anaesthetic. If all went well, I would be discharged and allowed home that day. Time went by. Gazing round the anteroom I...

It can be easier to notice things away from home, when we are relaxed and surrounded by unfamiliar sights in an exotic location. But sometimes the same wonders are there in our own back yard. GK Chesterton was a great advocate of intensive observation, and he invited his readers to take a fresh look at...

Church Mission Society has unveiled its recently “refreshed vision and purpose” for this generation, which is to make disciples of Jesus ‘at the edges of society’: the ‘edges of Church’ and the ‘edges of people’s comfort zones’. It will thus prioritise mission “at the margins and cultural fringes.” Alastair Bateman, CEO of Church Mission Society,...

Somebody once defined a football match as ‘22 people on the field desperately in need of rest, watched by 50 thousand people in the stands, desperately in need of exercise! It reminds us that church is not a spectator sport! The Holy Spirit equips us to serve God in the Church and daily life through...

Up to £3 million to boost diocesan discretionary funds More clergy from UK Minority Ethnic backgrounds join House of Bishops Church Commissioners reports strong financial returns in 2021 of 13.3%  Church of England national funding to increase 30% Cathedrals can ‘light the way’ to Net Zero Cathedrals have a mission to show the ‘heart of...

The Church of England is to make extra funding available to dioceses for grants to help clergy and lay workers struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. Up to £3 million will be distributed to diocesan boards of finance or nominated local discretionary funds. The grants are aimed, in particular, towards helping those with rising energy bills....

The legend goes that St Christopher was a Canaanite who lived in the 3rd century.  He was a giant of a man, of fearsome appearance.  At first he decided to serve the devil, but when he discovered that the devil was afraid of Christ and His Cross, Christopher decided to serve Christ instead.  A nearby...

Two hundred years ago, on 20th July 1822, Gregor Mendel was born. The Austrian/Czech friar and botanist discovered the laws of heredity and created what eventually became the science of genetics. Born to a relatively poor but devoutly Roman Catholic farming family in what was then Moravia, in the Austrian empire, Johann Mendel (he became...

We are never fully prepared for the death of someone really close to us. Even if they have been thoughtful enough to leave a Will and instructions for their funeral, and although we may have anticipated the outcome of a long period of terminal illness, death itself is raw and affects us in unexpected ways. It takes...

At this time of the year we are planning and looking forward to holidays: to that welcome break away from the pressures and responsibilities of daily life and work. The book of Genesis opens with a glorious account of God’s work of creation and tells us that even God rested on the 7th day. We...