Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

It was 500 years ago, on 11th October 1521, that Pope Leo X granted the title ‘Defender of the Faith’ to King Henry VIII of England and Ireland. It recognised the King’s defence of the sacrament of marriage, the supremacy of the Pope, and his opposition to the Protestant Reformation and the ideas of Martin...

Odran is a suitable saint to remember as Halloween approaches, for his story involves the spirit world. British by birth, Odran (died c. 563) was one of Columba’s first companions on Iona.  Sadly, he died not long after his arrival on the island.  But Columba found comfort, for in a vision he saw Odran’s soul...

Less attractive people can make themselves more attractive in the workplace if they stand tall and adopt a ‘power stance’. So says a recent study from the State University of New York, accepting that “attractive individuals have a greater sense of power than their less attractive counterparts” and thus “exhibit a more effective non-verbal presence.”...

Jude the apostle and martyr (1st century) warns us in his epistle that not all ‘evil’ comes in the form of obvious ghosties and ghoulies.  He writes instead to warn the Christians of the greater danger of people who infect others with heresy and moral failure.  He writes that they are nothing more than …. ...

The Great Chicago Fire took place 150 years ago, from 8th to 10th October 1871. A fire in a barn spread quickly, following a long period of hot, dry weather. About 300 people were killed, more than three square miles of the city was destroyed, and about 100,000 people were made homeless. At exactly the...

A lady had recently become a Christian and been baptised. Curious, one of her colleagues at work asked her what it was like to be a Christian. The lady was caught off guard and didn’t know how to answer.  Then she saw the office ‘jack-o’-lantern’ on a nearby desk and blurted: “Well, it’s like being...

The Rt Revd & Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu, the former Archbishop of York, will be the next Chair of the board of international development agency Christian Aid. Dr Sentamu – who has been outspoken on issues of poverty and justice in the UK and globally for many years – served as the Archbishop of...

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren It has all been excitement and activity here this last week, with a period drama being filmed using our church. It was remarkable how many people felt the need to drop in to church to collect magazines, check the reading rota or arrange...

Our teenage years are those in which we grow, discovering who we are through our new-found independence. Imagine then, pushing through these years with your independence stolen by a global pandemic. In a survey by Young Minds (2020) it was found that 80% of young people (those aged 13-25) agreed that their mental health had...

A church in North Yorkshire has been trying to convince eager tourists that the vampire’s grave is NOT in their churchyard. Recently the church leaders at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Whitby, even put up a poster in the entrance door which reads: “Please do not ask staff where Dracula’s grave is as...

Sometimes a law of nature is very similar to a law of the spirit. Take the whole business of harvest, or ‘sowing and reaping’. The Bible tells us: “A farmer who plants just a few seeds will get only a small crop, but if he plants much, he will reap much.” (2 Cor 9:6) The...

Every time you eat a hot dog, you have shortened your life by 36 minutes. But if you eat a portion of nuts, or even better a peanut butter and jam sandwich, you will have added 30 minutes to your life. These are just some of the findings in a recent study at the University...