Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Preparing the way for the Messiah John the Baptist is famous for baptising Jesus, and for losing his head to a woman. He was born to Zechariah, a Temple priest, and Elizabeth, who was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus. John was born when his mother was advanced in years, and after the...

 ** Neighbourhood Watch In one small rural village the local vet also led the local Neighbourhood Watch group.  Late one night the phone rang, and his wife answered.  An agitated voice inquired, “Is your husband there?” “He is, but tell me, do you need him as the vet or the Neighbourhood Watch?” the wife asked....

Peter Prayer for Encouragement in June Charity The Ancient Church The Post Card Peace between neighbours God’s Care ** Editor:   29 June is St Peter’s day, so this may be of interest…. Peter (Mt 26:71-75, John21:15-18) I don’t know the man. I don’t know Him. I don’t know Him. But I did. From the moment...

Try listening to ‘sedative music’, with a slow tempo, soft volume and smooth melody. Music is less invasive than sleeping pills, and may possibly work for you. A recent study carried out at a university in Taiwan found that “listening to sedative music can improve sleep by modulating sympathetic nervous system activity and the release...

The word ‘grace’ is one of the most important words found in the New Testament. It means God’s loving disposition towards us as sinners. God’s ‘grace’ is almost another word for God’s love. This grace is the foundation of our salvation. So Paul can say that ‘we are justified freely by His grace’ (Romans 3:24);...

When we think of analysing church attendance, we usually do it by denomination, churchmanship or people’s age. But there is another way.  We should also consider the environment (catchment area) of where people attend a church. The most recent Rural Digest was issued by the Government Statistical Service in March of this year, comparing the rural...

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren Since your parishioners mostly live in an area of half a square mile, where their only concern in getting to church is whether to take the underpass, or to risk a dash across the ring road, you may have little understanding of the...

At the end of this month, on 28th June, we celebrate two of the great saints of the early church: Peter and Paul. We might relate more easily to Peter because his humanity and vulnerability spill out of the pages of the New Testament in everything he said and did. Peter was a fisherman, who...

Miscellaneous observations on our Christian faith With Father’s Day in mind: Miscellaneous musings on life ** Miscellaneous observations on our Christian faith Without God the world would be in a maze without a clue. – Woodrow Wilson Our ecological responsibility rests in our prior responsibility to obey our Creator. – R C Sproul The universe...

British birds are in big trouble. 80 per cent of our most popular species are in severe decline, according to recent data from the RSPB’s annual Big Garden Birdwatch. The world’s largest wildlife survey has found that 16 out of the 20 most spotted garden birds have been in decline since 2020. There are now...

The Methodist Church of Great Britain (MCGB) was formed in 1932 from a merger of the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Primitive Methodist Church and the United Methodist Church (itself a merger of three groups in 1907), then with a total membership of 840,000 and 7,800 churches. In 2019 the MCGB had some 4,200 churches across England,...

Some of our British roads are beginning to resemble “the surface of the moon”, according to the RAC. It has recently reported that an average of 52 drivers a day are breaking their cars on potholes and needing to be rescued. More than 4,000 drivers have needed assistance since January, despite the fact that lockdown...