Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Have you seen the film ‘Saving Private Ryan’? The first 20 minutes of the film is a powerful account of war, portraying the first landing crafts arriving at the Normandy beaches on D Day. The film successfully brings to life the events of that day, as a vivid act of remembrance. From a biblical perspective,...

I was no more than three or four when we visited a church on holiday. It was a different sort of church, and I didn’t know anyone, and I didn’t know what was going on. And I remember scowling, hanging on to my mum’s leg, as she chatted with people after the service. I probably...

Access to cash is still an ‘essential piece of infrastructure’ for elderly people. Cutting them off from cash and banking services is tantamount to excluding them from society. So warns Age UK, which has been pointing to recent figures from the Financial Conduct Authority that show that about 2.4million people aged 65 and over still...

The Church of England has published a ‘toolkit’ of resources for parishes seeking to help refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan in the wake of the Taliban takeover of the country. The material, available online, brings together links and information on how churches can welcome people arriving from Afghanistan through giving, longer-term practical support such...

If you drink a cup of coffee a day, you could reduce your risk of having a stroke by a fifth. A recent study, by researchers at Semmelweis University in Budapest, found that people who drink a moderate amount of coffee (from half a cup to three cups a day) are 21 per cent less...

The Bible Society is appealing for support to train Chinese pastors, and also equip lay preachers to serve the growing Church in China. As a spokesman explains, “It’s so encouraging to hear of a million people in China becoming Christians each year. But explosive growth has meant leaders are stretched to the limit. A single...

The Eritrean authorities have recently arrested 15 Christians in raids on their houses in the capital Asmara. All have previously been imprisoned for their faith. The East African dictatorship shut down most of its churches in 2002, often detaining Christians indefinitely in harsh conditions. Some have been packed into shipping containers in the heat of...

It was 150 years ago, on 10th November 1871, that Welsh journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley located the missing missionary Dr David Livingstone near Lake Tanganyika, in present-day Tanzania. He may or may not have greeted him with the words: “Doctor Livingstone, I presume?” Stanley’s real name was John Rowlands. He was born in...

If so, you will know the scenario: they happily agree a plan with you to do something, and then at the last minute, they cancel and don’t show.  As one sufferer of flaky friends put it: “Flakes are on a rise of epidemic proportions. People are becoming less reliable… the younger the generation, the worse...

A Church of England Governance Review working group, established by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York to explore options for simpler and more effective governance, has recommended changes to the Church’s national governance structures. These recommendations are being considered by the Church’s governance bodies this autumn. The main recommendation of the Governance Review Group is...

Since my wife passed away in July 2020, I have often been asked, “What are you learning from your grief journey?” Here are a few standout lessons: That grief takes longer than you think to work itself through, and it can’t be rushed. It is a journey you must take slowly. That when you lose...

Hilda played a key role in the early English Christian church, and she may even have been the first to encourage the writing of Christian poetry. She was born a princess, into the Deiran (Northumbrian) dynasty, and her sister became Queen of the East Angles, with whom the Deiran had connections. In those days East...