Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Face masks are giving us skin complaints. In fact, so many of us are now suffering that the complaint has been given its own name: ‘maskne’. The causes are obvious. Our breath is warm and moist, and every time we exhale into our masks this humid air gets trapped. Masks move, and so we have...

To St Luke, a Gentile, we owe the beautifully written Gospel of Luke, and the Book of Acts.  He was a Greek physician, a disciple of St Paul, a companion on some of his missionary journeys, and an inspired writer. Luke’s gospel focuses on the compassion of Christ. His gospel contains some of the most...

When you are out and about on the road far from home, ever feel tempted to pop in and explore an unfamiliar church?  If so, think of Donatus as your patron saint – and beware.  You don’t know what you may be letting yourself in for…. In 829 Donatus, an Irish monk, had completed a...

Many churches are holding Sunday, weekday and pastoral (Baptism, Wedding and Funeral) services again in their buildings. However, for most of us no singing is allowed; and this often means no music is being played. Whilst the churches were closed, one of the key things about worshipping together that people missed was the communal singing...

By Lucy Moore, BRF, £4.99 Lucy Moore’s pocket-sized guide to the Bible takes readers on an epic journey through 4,000 years of history. Spanning Old and New Testaments from Genesis to Revelation in 50 bite-sized readings, the founder and leader of Messy Church writes for families and individuals who are new to the Bible: its...

Halloween is the month of ghosts and witches and evil spirits. Have you ever wondered where evil spirits come from, and how we are to view the unseen world of evil and occultism? The Bible tells us that evil spirits come from the created angelic order. They were not created as evil beings, for all...

Calling all aspiring Christian writers! The Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF) is offering aspiring writers the opportunity to see their work in print in The Upper Room. Published in 35 languages, The Upper Room is unique in that its readers are its writers. After the success of the 2017 competition, this is another chance to write...

Editor:  Some discoveries change world history. By Tim Lenton.   It was 500 years ago, on 21st October 1520, that Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan’s Spanish expedition to the East Indies discovered the Strait of Magellan at the southern tip of Chile. His ships, backed by King Charles I of Spain (soon to become Charles V...

Coronavirus has left low-income families struggling with a significant deterioration in living standards and high stress levels.  So warns a new report from Child Poverty Action Group and the Church of England. The report, Poverty in the pandemic: The impact of coronavirus on low-income families and children, is based on a survey of families with children...

Do you value your Bible?  If so, Felix of Thibiuca (247 – 303) is a good patron saint for you.  The year was 303, and Diocletian was emperor in Rome.  In February of that year he decided that Christians were NOT a good thing. So he issued an edict:  all copies of the Christian Scriptures...

The pandemic has doubled our rates of depression. Now one in five adults are struggling with the symptoms. And yet the peak of the Covid-19 mental health crisis is ‘yet to come’, according to NHS bosses. In June the Office for National Statistics released data showing that 19.2 percent of adults were experiencing some form...

Can you think of a politician who deserves to be called a saint?  If no one currently living politician comes to mind, never mind – there is always King Alfred of Wessex (871-899). This remarkable and best known of all the Anglo-Saxon rulers may have dozed off and let some cakes burn while a peasant...