Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Almost two thirds of UK churches plan to carry on streaming online, even after restrictions lift. According to a recent survey by the insurance group Ecclesiastical and The Bible Society, 93 per cent of churches have used new ways to keep in touch with their congregation and over two in five churches (43 per cent)...

The world is changing. It’s on an accelerated path towards some worrying possibilities. Ten years ago, our focus was primarily on combatting extremist terrorists. But for many in defence and foreign policy circles, our assumption was that the world was becoming more peaceful, conflicts less deadly, arms control more effective, and a major war between...

I’m involved in a project rooted in the Church of England’s St Albans diocese, north of London. We bring together people from a range of backgrounds and faiths to address the question ‘Where is Truth now?’ A vital issue for us from recent months has been ‘How has truth fared during the pandemic? Here are...

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren As with many of your ideas, your intentions are admirable; it is just that they don’t work. So it was with the recent wedding in your church, where you allowed the happy but quite mad young couple to try and imitate the marriage...

There is a story that someone asked a Father of the early church, Tertullian, to prove the existence of God. He replied by showing the person a rose. But Tertullian took a risk, for while many appreciate the beauty and wonder of a rose, it is not everyone who sees that beauty pointing to God...

Dante Alighieri, the Italian ‘supreme poet’, died 700 years ago, on 13th September 1321. Regarded as the most important poet of the Middle Ages, he is best known for his Divine Comedy, widely considered the greatest literary work in Italian and an influence on such English writers as Chaucer, Milton and Tennyson. Born in Florence...

Here is a good tip if you are trying to learn a new skill: take short, regular breaks as you go along. US neurologists helping people to rehabilitate from strokes have found that short breaks allow them to replay what they have learned, which cements the new skill in their memory. As one explained: “Manipulating...

The Church of England’s National Investing Bodies (NIBs) recently updated General Synod on their progress against climate change measures agreed in July 2018. The Church of England Pensions Board, Church Commissioners for England and CCLA, which collectively make up the NIBs, had agreed with Synod: to work with companies in which we are invested to...

By Canon David Winter  What is an angel? Easy, people think: a shining figure with glorious wings, who appears from time to time to do some mighty work for God or bring a very special message from him. Well, that’s right in one sense (apart from the wings, which owe more to stained glass windows...

When a caterpillar changes into a butterfly, it’s hard to believe it’s the same creature. But at both stages of its life, it has a body that is perfectly suited to living in a particular environment. This insect can help us understand the afterlife and the significance of the resurrected Jesus. Paul, on his journeys,...

Editor:   Kings and mystics, writers and martyrs – August does well with its feast days that remember outstanding Christians. 1          Ethelwold – Saint of Wessex 4          Sithney – mad dogs 5          Oswald – a king with faith, courage and humility 6          *NEW – The Transfiguration of Jesus 7          Cajetan – pawnshops 8          Dominic –...

St Ethelwold (c.912 – 84) did great things for the church at Winchester, which in those days was the principle town of Wessex.   He began as a simple monk, eager to restore the Rule of Benedictine in England, a major reform for the church of the time.  So, after serving at the abbey in Glastonbury,...