Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

This month should see the start of the Tokyo Olympics, having been postponed from last year due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A number of New Testament letters refer to Olympic sport including Hebrews: ‘Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin...

Two out of three adults in the UK are now overweight. That means that the Government has made tackling obesity as the ‘priority’ for recovering from the pandemic. (80 per cent of our health problems are caused by unhealthy lifestyles.) Boris Johnson recently announced an Office for Health Promotion (OHP) to boost our activity and...

James and his brother John were sons of Zebedee and fishermen from Galilee – the ‘sons of thunder’, as the gospel writers describe their impetuous characters and fiery tempers. James stands out on three accounts: he was one of the three disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration of Christ.  Jesus took him, along with Peter and...

It was: 100 years ago, on 1st July 1921 that the Chinese Communist Party was founded. Also 100 years ago, on 10th July 1921 that Belfast’s Bloody Sunday took place.  Protestant loyalists attacked Catholic enclaves and set fire to homes and businesses, sparking rioting and gun battles. At least 17 people were killed and more...

The Church of England’s Chief Education Officer, the Revd Canon Nigel Genders, has been commenting on the recently updated guidance for the Church of England’s collective worship in schools. “One of the most rewarding parts of my role is the opportunity to visit schools across the country and join in inspirational and uplifting collective worship,...

One hundred years ago, on 1st July 1921, the Chinese Communist Party was founded. It had its roots in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and at first worked with the Chinese Nationalists. But the Nationalists, led by Chiang Kai-shek, turned violently against them in 1927 and for a while the Communists, under Mao Zedong and...

This month we are looking at the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). This familiar story tells of a man who is mugged on the road between Jerusalem and Jericho and rescued by a Samaritan. Jesus tells it in response to a lawyer’s question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” When Jesus...

A ‘Santiago of the North’ has been launched, encouraging people to walk ancient pilgrimage routes to Durham dating back more than 1,000 years. Around 30 churches in the dioceses of Durham and Newcastle are part of four revived pilgrimage routes starting from villages and towns in the region, re-creating the routes taken by pilgrims to...

Looking at your smartphone, or touching it, makes other people want to do the same to their smartphones. A recent study at the university of Pisa calls it ‘human mimicry’, when people unintentionally change their physical behaviour to match those of people nearby. The study found it happened to people in social settings that included...

A four-day Bank Holiday from 2-5 June 2022 will mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year. This is 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 Queen’s Platinum...

The legend goes that St Christopher was a Canaanite who lived in the 3rd century.  He was a giant of a man, of fearsome appearance.  At first he decided to serve the devil, but when he discovered that the devil was afraid of Christ and His Cross, Christopher decided to serve Christ instead.  A nearby...

Glorious things of thee are spoken, Zion, city of our God; He whose word cannot be broken Formed thee for His own abode. On the rock of ages founded, What can shake thy sure repose? With salvation’s walls surrounded, Thou may’st smile at all thy foes.   See, the streams of living waters, Springing from...