Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

The Mothers’ Union is now more than 140 years old. It has accomplished a staggering amount in that time, and nowadays numbers more than four million members, doing good work in 83 countries.  That is a far cry from the modest circle of prayer for mothers who cared about family life, which is how it...

Laurence was a deacon of the Church in Rome who was martyred in 258.  His story is found in the very ancient Depositio Martyrum, which tells us that he was closely associated with Pope Sixtus II, who was martyred just a few days before him during the persecution of the Emperor Valerian.   We also know...

In the year 1212 Clare, the 18-year-old daughter of a local Count, heard a young preacher called Francis. A few years earlier he had caused a sensation in the centre of the town where they both lived, Assisi in Italy, by stripping himself of his wealthy clothes and declaring that from now on he would...

Clare (1194 – 1253) was the famous virgin foundress of the Minoresses or Poor Clares.  Born at Assisi of the Offreduccio family, Clare grew up to hear the teaching of St Francis of Assisi, and at 18 she renounced all her possessions and joined him at the Portiuncula, where she became a nun.  Soon Francis...

Holiday reading Are your sunglasses good enough? In praise of olive oil Dogs and heatstroke Those long car journeys of summer… Why can I see the moon in the day? Read a book! Being bored is good The benefits of coochie-coo ** Editor: David Pickup, a solicitor, considers how to fill those spare moments on...

The urgent need for decent, affordable housing is a hot topic these days. It was an even more urgent need in Victorian London, where the homes of the poor were tiny, cold, damp, and infested with lice and vermin. Water came from an outside pump, and filthy outside toilets were shared with several dozen neighbours....

If you have a strong sense of calling from God, then you will well understand Florence Nightingale. At the age of 16 she felt God was calling her to some great lifework, and so she determined to avoid marriage, and thus be available to obey Him. Florence had been born in Italy in 1820, while...

Transfiguration From the Vicar What’s the Big Idea?An Introduction to: 1 Corinthians The Nicene Creed part 3: The Incarnate Jesus Reflecting Faith: Saying ‘Farewell’ Praying with the Prayers of the Bible – The Prayer from the Depth of Despair  Give Him a Call! How big was the Flood? When I Say I Am A Christian...

All in the month of August The black boy who died for ‘flirting’ with a white woman The atomic bomb that hit Hiroshima The vicar who won Wimbledon Looking back on JAWS – 50 years on Pope Leo is a distant cousin of Madonna Wildfires in the UK The unlikely helper of red squirrels **...

When I go away, I first write a list of things to pack. I pride myself on being able to pack quickly; just throw some spare clothes in a bag, toothbrush, other things I need and of course plenty to read. My experience tells me I need at least a book a day. I take...

St Radegund (518-87) is a saint for anyone who has suffered domestic abuse. She is also a reminder that domestic abuse can occur in any family, however wealthy, and can span the generations, so that some women go straight from violent father to violent husband. Radegund was born in 518, the daughter of Berthaire, king...

Abortion law changes: comment from the Bishop of London “An unsafe and unworkable bill” – Bishop Sarah on assisted suicide Lord’s Prayer tops Shakespeare, Dickens, Churchill and National Anthem New data shows ‘sheer scale’ of child poverty – Bishop of Leicester New report highlights impact of Net Zero ambition Major investment in local churches and...