Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Things we would not have known without Sunday School With your eyes closed for prayer, anything can happen in a room full of pre-schoolers. Squash and song motions do not mix. When dropped, offering money always rolls to the other side of the room. Children’s prayer requests reveal a lot about their parents. **  Bishop...

With Lent in mind St David and St Patrick In praise of Mothers Observations on the Christian Life Miscellaneous observations on daily life ** With Lent in mind Man, in his fallen nature, is a dissatisfied and frustrated rainbow-chaser. – Anon Whatever else is or is not true, this one thing is certain – man...

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! … Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 4:4,6-7) I’ve been thinking a lot about contentment...

‘Ecce Ancilla Domini’ (Behold the handmaid of the Lord) is the title of this month’s painting of the Annunciation by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. We shall hear those words in the Gospel for this feast on 25th March, when Mary responds to Gabriel’s message that she is to be the mother of our Saviour. It is...

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren So, your vicar has introduced staff appraisal for all the officers who work for your church, including yourself. It seems a very dangerous innovation; as far as I am concerned, ministry is only successful when parishioners have no idea what the clergy get...

We may all have rather mixed feelings on reaching March this year. On the one hand, it is lovely to see the onset of Spring, and vaccinations and better weather may make handling the pandemic a little easier. On the other hand, marking a year from the start of the first UK lockdown will be...

There is a Christian charity that helps churches who want to reach out to their local children in need. ‘Transforming Lives for Good’ (TLG) offers three programmes with which local churches can partner. The “Early Intervention” programme is where TLG train and support volunteers from local churches to be coaches in schools supporting children who...

With the third lockdown, too many of us are facing a torrent of stress over job insecurity, home schooling, isolation, illness, or all of the above! Stress makes us want to eat badly, exercise less and drink more. It also has a profound effect on our immune system. While brief or ‘acute’ stress can spur...

Letter to Joseph of Nazareth Prayer for Families The Upper Room Together The Goldfinch JESUS Thoughts Written in March ** Editor:  25th March sees the Annunciation, when the angel told Mary that she was going to have a special baby… this poem reflects on Joseph’s reaction.  Letter to Joseph of Nazareth (Mt 1:16, 18 –end,13:55;...

The events of Easter took place over a week, traditionally called Passion Week. It began on Palm Sunday. After all His teaching and healing, Jesus had built a following. On the Sunday before He was to die, Jesus and His followers arrived at Jerusalem. The city was crowded. Jewish people were arriving from to celebrate...

28 Too Many, a UK based research charity set up to campaign against the continuing practice of Female Genital Mutilation [FGM] is running a series of workshops in an effort to halt the resurgence of FGM which has occurred worldwide, including the UK, during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr Ann-Marie Wilson, the founder and executive director...

Conservation charity, A Rocha UK has announced that Hereford Cathedral is the recipient of its Eco Church scheme’s 1,000th award for creation care. A spokeswoman for A Rocha UK said: “Hereford Cathedral demonstrates that even historical buildings can make great progress towards being more sustainable. The Cathedral land includes both gardens within the cathedral complex...