Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

“A cold coming they had of it at this time of the year, just the worst time of the year to take a journey, and specially a long journey, in.  The way’s deep, the weather sharp, the days short, the sun farthest off, in solstitio brumali, the very dead of winter.” It was 1622, and...

This Christmas, why not make an extra effort to be kind to your neighbours? It seems that neighbourly distrust has grown more than fivefold since the summer of 2020, with one in five of us now saying that relations in our community have soured. On the plus side, there are still 25 per cent of...

The coronavirus pandemic has pushed an estimated 120 million people into poverty. Most of these will have to wait until at least 2022 to receive their vaccine. Tearfund says: “The only way out of this pandemic is to recover together – no country is safe until all countries are safe. People who are going hungry...

What will you do with the Christmas gifts you don’t want?  Depends on your sex. It seems that women are 60% more likely than men to return or give away Christmas presents they don’t want. What are considered unwanted presents?  One list includes potato peelers, a carpet cleaner, a sleeve ironing board, a mop and...

The Church of England is consulting dioceses, cathedrals, national institutions, parishes, schools, and other interested parties on a proposed route map to achieve net zero carbon by 2030. The draft route map suggests how all parts of the Church of England can make changes together, in order to achieve the ambitious target set by General...

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Advent From the Vicar A Christmas Gift What a Christmas Amazed! Music for the Messiah When someone you loved is dead ** Editor:  The Revd Canon Paul Hardingham on waiting for Christmas. Advent Waiting is not popular in our culture, when so much can be obtained simply at the press of a button! Advent, when...

Release International is warning of a new threat to religious freedom in Sudan, following a recent military coup in the country. Sudan’s transitional government took significant steps towards increasing freedom of religion. They determined that Islam would no longer be the state religion, and abolished the death penalty for apostasy – converting from Islam to...

All in the month of December The coming of St Columba Remembering Dorothy Wordsworth Steve Biko – speaking out on behalf of blacks The day Mikhail Gorbachev resigned Dwindling wildlife in Britain Beware raw sewage Plastic spending ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, DECEMBER) down...

The 11th General Synod of the Church of England was formally inaugurated on Tuesday 16th November, at the start of a two-day meeting in London – the first full group of sessions held in person since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The recent elections attracted a record number of candidates (with 956 standing for...

Ever wonder where many of our Christmas traditions come from?   A surprising amount of our modern Christmas celebrations can be traced back to the well-loved story of ‘A Christmas Carol’, by Charles Dickens. When you read ‘A Christmas Carol’, you discover almost a template of the ‘ideal Christmas’ which we still hold dear today.  Dickens...

The charity Embrace the Middle East works to support Christians in the Middle East, for whom life is often very tough. A spokesman for the charity says: “We support our Christian partners, as they work to transform lives. Where there is a need – for refuge, a home, for health care, for education, for justice...