Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Emails – a blessing or a problem? Have you ever laughed at a joke you did not understand?   Beware of the dog Do you love a bargain?  Nectar in your garden How to keep ground coffee fresh Is there life without the BBC? Good walls protect marriages Beware the use-by date ** Editor: David Pickup,...

 – to ‘Give the World a Shot’ to help defeat Covid-19 The Church of England is supporting the ‘VaccinAid’ campaign which aims to help fund the biggest vaccination drive in history. Led by UNICEF UK, with the online fundraising platform Crowdfunder, the campaign offers people a practical way to give thanks for their Covid-19 vaccination,...

 – unable to say goodbye properly, research finds More than half of young adults have lost someone close to them over the past year, with this age group most active in helping to comfort the bereaved and organise funerals, according to new research by the Church of England on the impact of the pandemic. People...

Pentecost took place on the well-established Jewish festival of Firstfruits, which was observed at the beginning of the wheat harvest. It was seven weeks after Easter, or 50 days including Easter. A feast day to celebrate the country’s wheat harvest does not sound exactly world-changing, but that year, it became one of the most important...

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. (James 3 v 9-10) I wonder what St James would say about emails! He had plenty...

Then you are not alone.  It seems that two thirds of us have laughed at jokes we did not ‘get’, simply because we wanted to fit in with our friends at the time. And more than half of us have actually gone on to repeat jokes with punchlines which we don’t ourselves understand. More than...

The celebration of Pentecost this month could be described as a birthday party for the Church, as we remember the gift of the Holy Spirit to the first disciples (Acts 2:1-13). God’s Promise:   ‘Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised’ (1:4). The disciples met expectantly in prayer for God’s promised...

We used to call it Whitsun – ‘White Sunday’ because long ago children marched to church in white on that day. No processions nowadays, and we’ve even changed its name. It’s now ‘Pentecost’, which is more accurate but needs explaining. Pentecost marks a vital event in Christian history. It is celebrated 50 days after Easter....

  – bishops react The Bishop of St Albans, Alan Smith, together with the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, and Bishop of Kensington, Graham Tomlin, have spoken of their regret at the recent vote in the Commons removing an amendment to the Fire Safety Bill, to protect leaseholders from the cost of replacing dangerous cladding....

All in the month of MAY Remembering an outstanding astronomer 100 years of the British Legion Amnesty International celebrates 60 years Famine may be on the way What will happen to our offices in the future? ** Editor:  We continue our column that looks at memorable dates in the month (this time, MAY) down the...

Following the recent announcement that the Government will introduce an amendment to the Domestic Abuse Bill to make non-fatal strangulation a specific criminal offence punishable by five years’ imprisonment, the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, said: “It is extremely welcome news that the Government is acting to criminalise strangulation through the Domestic Abuse Bill. “I look...

John and Charles Wesley were the founders of Methodism. Two of 19 children born to Samuel and Susannah Wesley of Epworth Rectory in Lincolnshire in 1703 and 1707, their father was the local rector, while their mother was a spiritual inspiration to her many children. Both John and Charles went to Christ Church, Oxford (1720...