Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Some people like surprises. The pleasant ones, anyway! When we look at the Christmas story, it is full of surprises. Mary didn’t expect to be chosen by God to give birth to His Son. Joseph was surprised and shocked that his fiancée was pregnant. The couple thought they would start married life together in Nazareth,...

Try to be kind to each other this Christmas: many of us could do with some gentle encouragement. Depression and anxiety have risen by more than a quarter since the pandemic, according to the first global estimate of Covid’s impact on mental health last year.  The reduced interaction of people, the increase in isolation, coupled...

‘In that region there were shepherds keeping watch over their flock’ In the Old Testament shepherds were greatly valued and treated with respect. Patriarchs, prophets and kings had all tended sheep. Job, a rich man, owned 14,000 sheep. David was tending sheep when he was called by God and anointed by Samuel. But as the...

If you are thinking of doing any wild swimming dips over the Christmas break, bear this in mind: more than half of England’s major rivers are polluted with raw or partially treated sewage. This is partly because water companies have been allowed to release raw sewage into rivers and seas as part of a ‘combined...

Christian churches and organisations across Scotland have recently co-signed a letter calling for people to pray.  The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Wallace, said: “In this pandemic, our responsibility is to come together and offer our prayers for all the many diverse expressions of our Christian faith that enrich...

Most of us probably know that on December 26th (the Feast of Stephen) ‘Good king Wenceslas’ looked out, writes David Winter. We probably also know that the snow lay round about, ‘deep and crisp and even’. Beyond that, he’s just someone in a carol that’s not often sung nowadays. However, Wenceslas was a real person,...

In partnership with Youth for Christ and several other family-focussed organisations, the Bible Society has created an edition of the Bible specifically designed for families. The Good News Bible – Family Edition has plenty of features to help each member of the family engage with the Bible at their own pace. The Bible Society says:...

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren After all these years, I now understand why the non-conformist denominations sit down, rather than kneel, to say their prayers. That way, no decisions have to be taken over the number, size, shape, colour, material and design of kneelers in church. Our present...

Have you noticed that, in the Christmas story, singing is featured on three occasions? Firstly, after Mary was given a message from the angel Gabriel, and was visiting her elderly and pregnant relative, Elizabeth. Mary was so overwhelmed with happiness at the forthcoming miraculous births, she started to sing. Over the years, her words, known...

Christmas Activities God Gave Us Christmas Held in Your Bottle Spiritual Detox Be Still – a simple guide to Quiet Times WOW!  Christmas A Pirate Christmas Activity Book It Begins in Bethlehem Nativity Activities Adorning the Dark ** Christmas Activities By Bethan James, Authentic, £2.50 All the events of the first Christmas are retold and...

After the bright beam of annunciation fused heaven with dark earth His searing sharply-focused light went out for a while eclipsed in amniotic gloom: His cool immensity of splendour His universal grace small-folded in a warm dim female space This extract from Luci Shaw’s poem Made Flesh captures something of the wonder of the moment when...

Walking 7,000 steps a day, or the equivalent of a three-mile stroll, is enough to reduce the likelihood of death in middle age by 72 per cent. The study was done by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Their findings also suggest that there is negligible, if any, benefit to walking 10,000 steps a...