Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Before the pandemic, about a quarter of children could not swim the curriculum stipulated length when they left primary school. But now it is feared that by 2025, this could rise to three in five of all primary school children. The figure comes from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Swimming and Swim England. With...

Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Bishop challenges the BBC on its religious broadcasting The ‘must have’ magazine for anyone who loves Christian books. Opening and closing churches in the UK Can comedy point the way to faith? The value of making our church ‘common ground’ When someone you love is dying ** Editor:  You may wish to...

All in the month of JULY 100 years of the Chinese Communists Bombing of the King David Hotel, Jerusalem Remembering Princess Diana A tribute to Dolly the Sheep Twitter marks its 15th birthday How climate change could affect your cup of tea Ivy on your house is not really so bad after all ** Editor: ...

The timetable for what is expected to be the first full in-person meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod for a year and a half has been published. Synod will meet at Church House, Westminster, from Friday 9th July to Tuesday 13th July for what will also be the final meeting of the current...

More than half of us admit that we will miss some aspects of the Covid-19 restrictions, especially spending more time at home with our family, and appreciating the quieter roads. A recent study by King’s College London and Ipsos Mori found that around one third of us feel the past year has been similar or...

Fake news is not new. Perhaps one old example is the assertion that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Back in the 6th Century, Pope Gregory is said to have confused her with two other women in the Bible. Medieval Bible scholars also attempted to name an unidentified sinful woman who had washed and anointed the...

This month should see the start of the Tokyo Olympics, having been postponed from last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A number of New Testament letters refer to Olympic sport including Hebrews: ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin...

Two out of three adults in the UK are now overweight. That means that the Government has made tackling obesity as the ‘priority’ for recovering from the pandemic. (80 per cent of our health problems are caused by unhealthy lifestyles.) Boris Johnson recently announced an Office for Health Promotion (OHP) to boost our activity and...

James and his brother John were sons of Zebedee and fishermen from Galilee – the ‘sons of thunder’, as the gospel writers describe their impetuous characters and fiery tempers. James stands out on three accounts: he was one of the three disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration of Christ.  Jesus took him, along with Peter and...

It was: 100 years ago, on 1st July 1921 that the Chinese Communist Party was founded. Also 100 years ago, on 10th July 1921 that Belfast’s Bloody Sunday took place.  Protestant loyalists attacked Catholic enclaves and set fire to homes and businesses, sparking rioting and gun battles. At least 17 people were killed and more...

The Church of England’s Chief Education Officer, the Revd Canon Nigel Genders, has been commenting on the recently updated guidance for the Church of England’s collective worship in schools. “One of the most rewarding parts of my role is the opportunity to visit schools across the country and join in inspirational and uplifting collective worship,...

One hundred years ago, on 1st July 1921, the Chinese Communist Party was founded. It had its roots in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and at first worked with the Chinese Nationalists. But the Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, turned violently against them in 1927 and for a while the Communists, under Mao Zedong and...