Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

The prices of second-hand cars are soaring, at ‘unprecedented’ rates. In the past few months, the cost of a second-hand car has risen by an average of 13.5 per cent, increasing the typical value of a three-year old vehicle by £1,700. The reason? It seems that so many of us have been unable to go...

A four-day Bank Holiday from 2nd to 5th June 2022 will mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. This is being called “an amazing opportunity” to bring our communities together for the celebrations, which end on Pentecost Sunday. HOPE Together, the Church of England, the Methodist Church, Biblica and other key partners are currently planning for the...

August is the month when schools are off and many of us go on holiday. This year will be very different, with many opting for a ‘staycation’! The good news is that Jesus offers us a true rest: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take...

Sir Walter Scott, the Scottish historical novelist, poet and playwright, was born 250 years ago, on 15th August 1771. His best-known works include Ivanhoe and Rob Roy. Often considered to be both the inventor and the greatest writer of historical novels, he was inspired by a stay with his grandparents in the Scottish borders during...

The first recorded ascent of Ben Nevis was made 250 years ago, on 7th August 1771, by Scottish botanist and artist James Robertson. At 1345 metres (4411 ft), it is the highest mountain in the British Isles. Some 100,000 people now make the climb each year. Robertson wrote: “A third part of the hill from...

Young people today are often very concerned about social and political justice.  The ‘Gen Z’  generation (those born in the 21st century) are especially worried about climate justice, as they would term it. They are conscious that over the next 50 to 80 years of their lives, the problems arising from not taking action now...

August is the month when schools are off and many of us go on holiday. This year will be very different, with many opting for a ‘staycation’! The good news is that Jesus offers us a true rest: ‘Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take...

The parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is one of Jesus’ best-known stories. It beautifully presents the good news of the gospel: the story of God’s generous and underserved love towards us. It’s the story of us being lost yet also found by Him. The younger son is lost when he demands his inheritance...

In England, hopefully by the time you read this, all the lock-down and social isolation measures will have been relaxed. Church buildings and services will be ‘back to normal’. Working folk will be back in their workplaces, and all will be well with us all. I live in hope – but I am well aware...

Just 90 years ago, on 19th August 1931, the Yangtze River and Huai River floods peaked in China. It was one of the worst natural disasters of the 20th century: up to four million people died, and the floods lasted from July to November. The inundation followed a two-year drought and a particularly harsh winter...

 We should beware of using our firepits and barbecues when it is windy, an insurer has warned. Home insurance claims for domestic fire incidents increased by 38 per cent over the past year, according to figures from Aviva. As a number of these fires were started by barbecues, Aviva is urging people to ‘rethink’ their...

Spare a thought for John the Baptist: however rough your local sandwich bar may be, it probably doesn’t serve you locusts with a honey dip; you won’t be imprisoned for saying derogatory things about the local MP’s wife, and even the boss from hell is unlikely to have a daughter who wants to hip-hop about...