Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

The Church of England is supporting this year’s Safeguarding Sunday, on 10th October, by encouraging local churches to use their regular Sunday service to think about what safer places look like. The ecumenical initiative from the specialist safeguarding charity thirtyone:eight provides bespoke resources, including films and animations, prayers, preaching notes, children’s activity sheets, hymns and songs...

If you like sourdough bread, you’ll know already that it is not easy to squeeze a slice of it into your toaster. Artisan bread is big, and sadly, the rise in popularity of these loaves has left the standard British toaster struggling to keep up. That leaves sourdough toast afficionados with one end of their...

On consecutive days this month (27th and 28th) the Christian Church celebrates, a mother and her son. The mother is Monica, and her son is Augustine. The story of their relationship and how, after a long process, they both came to share the same Christian faith is a moving one, and perhaps has a message...

Faith communities in the UK have played a critical role in supporting many disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people during the pandemic. And the Government is going to need their active support if it is to speed up the process of recovery. So says a recent report, Stepping Up and Stepping Out, from the Good...

Do you have a new phone and new number? Be prepared: it is likely that scammers will still be texting you within just two weeks. A Which? survey has found that of new numbers that have not been shared with anyone, still half of them receive at least one scam text message within the first...

From this autumn, if you want to go for ordination, you will be assessed against a new framework. The C of E is aiming to broaden the range of people who may have a ministerial vocation in the C of E. No longer will you be evaluated against criteria, but instead you will need to...

All in the month of AUGUST Remembering Sir Walter Scott Climbing Ben Nevis The Great Flood of China The Great Calcutta Killing The secret of happiness? What do you consider to be ‘beautiful countryside’?  ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, AUGUST) down the years. Here...

Prayer Walk 21 and OIKOS A celebration of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Social Justice Iran set to intensify Christian persecution Five things we’ve learnt about Truth in the pandemic Hardship for those who rent ** Prayer Walk 21 and OIKOS Hope for Every Home, part of HOPE Together, has recently launched OIKOS, a new prayer...

Clergy are getting enough money, and their pay will stay at its current level. That is the conclusion of a review of the remuneration package for stipendiary clergy officeholders in parochial ministry. But the review did call for targeted support for a minority of clergy who face hardship. And the review acknowledges that the “pandemic...

When the sun comes out, men should be careful: the rates of skin cancer among men have increased by almost 50 per cent in a decade. That is the recent warning from Cancer Research UK. It points out that while UK rates for melanoma among women have risen by 30 per cent over 10 years,...

Christian Aid has launched an emergency appeal, warning that more than 30 million people in 20 countries are “teetering on the brink of famine”. The Covid health pandemic, climate crisis, and continued conflict has exacerbated hunger and food insecurity in 20 countries. Countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Nigeria (in the North East) and...

After St Paul, who was the most influential Christian writer ever?  St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), whose feast-day is on 28th August.  He lived and wrote in a time of social and spiritual chaos.  The Roman Empire was collapsing, the world was about to slide into the dark ages and the Church was...