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This month we remember the life of St Barnabas. His real name was Joseph, a wealthy Levite from Cyprus. However, he is known by his nickname ‘Son of Encouragement’ (Acts 4:36). Throughout Acts we see him encouraging others in different ways. He was an example of generous giving (Acts 4:36-7), when he sold property and...

According to a recent study conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) and two universities, people who garden every day have well-being scores 6.6 per cent higher, and stress levels 4.2 per cent lower than those who do not garden at all. Dr Lauriane Chalmin-Pui, RHS well-being fellow and lead author says, “The evidence overwhelmingly...

How do you ‘sit’ in church? I’m a wriggler and change my position on the seat often. I cross one leg over the other, then swap them over, stretch them out, then cross them at the ankles. I do the same with my arms.  I lean one way and then the other. In other words, ‘I’m a...

Just when we thought the last word had been written about the late Duke of Edinburgh, it emerged that he had a genuine interest in theology.  That dashing young naval officer, who became the Queen’s dutiful consort and accompanied her to thousands of church services, was someone who listened intently to sermons, thought through what...

Britain’s first Christian martyr Alban was the very first Christian martyr in Britain – or at least the first we know of. A ‘martyr’ is someone who has died for the faith – the word literally means ‘witness’. He was probably killed during the persecution under the emperor Diocletian in the early years of the...

This month (June) could see a sudden bumper appearance of the notorious garden pest, Japanese knotweed. The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS)experts have warned that the April frosts either delayed or killed other plants who would have helped keep it in check. Unfortunately, the pest is very hardy, and will not have been killed off. The...

A perfectly mown lawn may look beautiful, but it is also a sign of male control. So says Monty Don, the Gardeners’ World presenter. He is wary of what he calls the ‘male obsession’ to achieve a closely cut lawn which is of pure and perfect grass, without any other plants in it at all....

It was 60 years ago, on 6th June 1961, that Carl Jung, the Swiss psychiatrist and psychologist, died. He was the founder of analytical psychology. Today he is thought of as a countercultural icon and an advocate of spirituality outside religion, associated more with New Age thinking than mainstream psychology. But he came from a...

What are the best metaphors we could use to describe biological things? You might be used to hearing phrases like “your genetic blueprint” or “survival of the fittest”, but are they helpful or even accurate? Some of these words fail to capture the wonder and joy of understanding something new about the nature of living...

It was “sobering and shameful” for the Church of England to be “confronted by the recent Panorama documentary”, which looked at “a number of shockingly specific instances where sisters and brothers in Christ have experienced racism in the Church of England.” So said the Archbishop of York in his recent Presidential Address to the General Synod. He...

Under the Romans On June 22nd the Church remembers St Alban, who was put to death on that day in 250AD, on the site of the town in Hertfordshire that now bears his name and has a splendid cathedral which houses his shrine. Christianity was struggling to survive in third century Britain under Roman rule....

Remember the story of Jacob, and how God met him in a dream when he was sleeping on the desert floor with a rock for his pillow? The story in Genesis 28 says this: ‘When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of...