Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Proposing marriage to someone these days needs more preparation than you might expect. Forget about just going down on bended knee and hoping for the best. Instead, you need to think location, location, location. A recent survey found that a fifth of Gen Z and Millennial young people say they would be far more likely...

If you have ever been late in returning a library book, take heart:  the 1704 copy of The Faith and Practice of a Church of England Man was recently handed back to Sheffield Cathedral. A handwritten inscription inside reads: “This Book belongs to ye Lending Library in Sheffield Church 1709.” It left the library just...

In Salvador Dali’s picture of Jesus’ ascension all you can see are his feet! As we celebrate the event this month, it prompts the question ‘where did Jesus go?’ Peter says Jesus ‘has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand’ (1 Peter 3:22). However, the New Testament tells us three things about what...

There was no mourning when Christ’s resurrection appearances came to an end. After the final occasion we are told the disciples ‘worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy’. They had already experienced the onset of grief caused by His death, intensified because of the dreadful manner of it and the consequent crushing of their...

Fyodor Dostoevsky once wrote of the “pleasure of despair”, and it seems that many pessimistic modern readers agree with him. Whatever the reason, sales of the Russian author’s brand of ‘gloom and nihilism’ has become the fastest growing market for Penguin Classics, with sales of Crime and Punishment and Notes from the Underground quadrupling. Dostoevsky...

What is the quality of the air like in your home? That is the concern of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). It urges that anyone with breathing or cardiovascular conditions who has “repeated or worsening respiratory conditions” should be asked about their housing conditions. Nice warns that exposure to poor indoor...

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,...

Celtic Prayer – Caught Up in Love 101 Great Big Questions about God and Science Together in Mission – from All Nations to All Nations The White Stone – the art of letting go Mere Discipleship – on growing in wisdom and hope End of the Road? ** Celtic Prayer – Caught Up in Love...

When we gather with other Christians to celebrate the Eucharist and to make our communion, we are remembering that special meal Jesus shared with His disciples on the eve of His arrest and death. But do we always appreciate what we are doing? Sometimes the monotony of repetition and distractions will get in the way....

These days, it is unthinkable to leave your dog’s waste on the pavement when in town. But in the countryside, too many of us still think it is okay to let our pets foul an area of natural countryside.  Now a recent study has found that this can be especially harmful to nature reserves. The...

** Not expecting this The young minister took his wife to the Maternity Hospital and was told it would be a long labour. So, he agreed to ring at lunchtime for news. But when he phoned, he dialled the wrong number and got the County Cricket Ground. He said: “I brought my wife to your...

This saying is attributed to John Bradford (1510-1555), who was one of the Protestant Reformers. When he saw criminals on their way to execution, Bradford would utter, “But for the grace of God, there goes John Bradford.” It was his way of acknowledging that he depended every day on the mercy of God, despite his sins, which...