Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Last month we began our Lenten journey with ashes on Ash Wednesday, reminding us of our beginning and our ending; and this month we will conclude that time with Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday. Such a relatively short time for so great a distance. I’m reminded of this by the opening words used in Church...

It was 75 years ago, on 1st April 1947, that the school leaving age in the UK was raised to 15. This had been planned in 1939 but was delayed because of the outbreak of war. The Education Act of 1944 put it on the Statute Book, and it was brought into effect in 1947....

China has tightened its online crackdown against Christians – attempting to control every word and image of religious content on the internet. Tough new measures were introduced on 1st March. This means that China’s unregistered house churches, aided by online content to survive the pandemic and persecution, have had that support stripped away, according to...

The Bishop of Kensington, Dr Graham Tomlin, will lead the new Centre for Cultural Witness, a project to underpin the Church’s work of being a Christian presence in every community. The Centre will be rooted in the Anglican Church, but fully ecumenical and international. It will embrace a wide range of Christian voices to seek...

– fierce firebrand of the Early Church Tertullian was born in Carthage, North Africa, about 155 AD. He had pagan parents and his father may have been a centurion. Carthage was a prestigious Roman colony and Tertullian was given a good education in Greek, Latin, literature, history and philosophy. On arrival in Rome, Tertullian probably...

The Church of England’s General Synod has approved new legislation to help churches meet carbon reduction targets. Most of the changes will make it easier for churches to make adaptations such as insulating pipes, draft-proofing doors and windows, fitting new non fossil fuel boilers, electric pew heaters, electric car charging points and soft furnishings to...

Nearly half of all dog owners would not continue to date somebody if their dog did not like that person. And two in five dog owners prefer to date someone who also has a dog. For those people who go online to look for dates, one in ten dog owners choose potential partners by looking...

Dating is not what it used to be. Instead of making an effort to dress up and meet somewhere special for the first time, nowadays singletons are increasingly staying at home, and vetting potential partners on Zoom first. What started during the pandemic seems to be having a lasting impact, with various dating apps reporting...

Editor:  5th April is end of the tax year. So, your readers may want to reflect that… A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well. A few more deductions, and your take-home pay isn’t going to be enough to get you there. A penny saved is a...

-the long-suffering servant girl of Lucca If you have ever been in trouble for simply doing good, then Zita is the saint for you.  Born in 1218 to poor but devout parents in Monsagrati, Zita was sent at the age of 12 to work as a servant for the rich Fatinelli family in nearby Lucca....

Some 125 years ago, on 3rd April 1897, Johannes Brahms, the German composer, piano virtuoso and conductor, died – of either pancreatic or liver cancer. He had been something of a child prodigy: his father was poor and worked as a jobbing musician, mainly on double bass and French horn, but later his prospects improved. It...

“When you die, that’s it. Nothing. Out like a light.” That’s what the man in the pub said, and his mates all nodded, though the one whose mother had died the week before wasn’t really quite so certain. Still, it seemed to make sense. After all, we know what ‘dead’ means: dead leaves, dead batteries,...