Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Here is a curious winner in the coronavirus crisis: the humble egg cup. It has been flying off the shelves in recent months, as more of us find solace in a cooked breakfast. At one point, John Lewis had sold out of most of its egg cups, with even the most expensive lines selling out....

As the traditional Easter story is remembered again this month, you may notice that there is one name that frequently occurs. It is that of the ‘other’ Mary – not the mother of Jesus but Mary of Magdala, who stood by her at the cross and became the first human being, male or female, actually...

According to one survey, during the lockdown, a quarter of adults in the UK have watched or listened to a religious service and one in 20 have started praying. While majority of people who contract Covid-19 survive, it reminds us that we are much more frail and weak than we like to think. As the...

The ACT Alliance, a network of 135 faith-based actors and churches operating in 120 countries, has called attention to the gendered dimension of Covid-19.  It is urging that the international community, including churches and religious organisations, should take this into account. Women are afforded fewer rights than men worldwide, and although the disease itself might...

A recent report from Nigeria claims the latest attacks by Fulani militants killed 620 Christians in the first five months of 2020. The report, by the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (ISCLRL), follows an attack on the Christian village of Gonan Rogo, which claimed 17 lives, including a father, mother and...

– blue edition Edited by Carol Petley, SPCK, £10.49 This devotional journal enables you to reflect on your spiritual journey over a period of five years. Approachable and encouraging, it offers a brief Scripture reading and a question for each day, on topics such as praise, faith, prayer, worry, creation and forgiveness. As you record your...

To say that we are living in uncertain times is an understatement! Psalm 46 speaks into our anxiety and fear, just as it did to Israel originally. At this time, we must focus on God, who alone can deliver us in such times. He is our refuge: ‘God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present...

New research has shown that young families with children under five could be a vital element for church growth. The Talking Toddlers report, using recent research by Savanta ComRes, found that 74% of all parents with children under the age of five have attended a church-based activity in the past year. Dr Rachel Jordan-Wolf, assistant...

Agoraphobia, the fear of open or crowded places, is on the rise. That is the warning from two charities who work to help those with anxiety problems. Calls to mental health organisations such as Sane and Anxiety UK have rocketed in recent weeks.  Both have extended their helpline hours in order to offer support. Sane...

Later this month Christians all over the world will commemorate probably the most unlikely saint in the Bible, Mary Magdalene. There was something in her background that has always fascinated people. All we are told about her ‘past’ is that Jesus had cast ‘seven devils’ out of her, but on that slender if intriguing evidence...

Odd things have been happening to my world in these past weeks of lockdown. It’s got bigger. I’ve been speaking regularly via the web with friends in Australia and the United States. Worshippers from Canada and South Africa are taking part in our online church services. Other churches are telling the same stories, with increasing...

During the coronavirus crisis, the Church of England has been accused of “vacating the public square or of being absent.” So wrote Bishop Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York Designate, in a recent article for one of the national newspapers*.  But he goes on: “I simply do not recognise (this).  The Church of England has been...