Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Editor:  Tim Lenton looks back on a horrific and unnecessary accident.   The Hatfield rail crash took place 20 years ago, on 17th October 2000. Four people were killed and more than 70 injured when a high-speed passenger train derailed because of a cracked rail. The crash was caused by metal fatigue and exposed major...

Covid-19 has even affected women’s make-up routines. In many cases, they simply haven’t bothered. The lack of demand for foundation, lipstick, eye makeup and hair-dye has been so great in recent months that 350 products have been pulled from supermarket shelves. Research from Edge by Ascential, the ecommerce consultancy, found that overall, there was a...

By Meg Warner, SPCK, £12.99 You may think you know the story of Joseph, but this book will make you think again! It invites you to think deeply about Joseph’s character and how he responds to the traumatic events that threaten to overwhelm him. Lacing her commentary with telling anecdotes from her own life story,...

Just a month after converting the famous Hagia Sophia into a functioning mosque, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that another historic church has been turned into a place of Islamic worship. The historic Chora church, one of Istanbul’s most recognisable Byzantine buildings, was officially commissioned as a mosque in late August. The mediaeval church contains several 14th century...

Odran is a suitable saint to remember as Halloween approaches, for his story involves the spirit world. British by birth, Odran (died c. 563) was one of Columba’s first companions on Iona.  Sadly, he died not long after his arrival on the island.  But Columba found comfort, for in a vision he saw Odran’s soul...

If your grannie gave you honey when you had a cold, she was right. Research published in The British Medical Journal has found that honey is especially good for treating upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) such as the common cold. Honey has anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory properties. These do better at soothing your cough and sniffles...

Autumn is in full swing but there is at least one plant that is in full bloom. Not spectacular to look at, yet ivy is an important source of nectar for bees, moths, flies and wasps, and while they are not most people’s favourite insects, they all play a vital part in Nature’s jigsaw. Ivy...

Jude the apostle and martyr (1st century) warns us in his epistle that not all ‘evil’ comes in the form of obvious ghosties and ghoulies.  He writes instead to warn the Christians of the greater danger of people who infect others with heresy and moral failure.  He writes that they are nothing more than …. ...

Crime hurts many people – including the families of prisoners who have ended up in the UK prison system. They are often the forgotten victims, but not by the Mothers’ Union (MU). Instead, the MU’s prison work across Britain is extensive, with the aim of keeping hurting families together. It is not simple work, for...

Oppression and discrimination against Christians has increased during Covid, says Release International, which has launched an appeal to help Christians suffering during the pandemic. Many Christians have been denied food and relief aid and excluded from support systems during lockdown. They have been abandoned by families because of their faith and refused relief by governments and...

By Peter Maiden, 10ofthose, £7.99 As Christians we should be the most grateful people alive. After all, doesn’t the Bible encourage thankfulness and condemn grumbling? Peter Maiden traces the theme of thanksgiving in Scripture, and shows how we can genuinely live counter-cultural lives even in an age of rampant entitlement. He explains how gratitude is...

Most churches who used digital channels during lockdown, in order to keep in touch with their congregations, found that their favourite platform was Zoom. A recent survey by Ecclesiastical found that Zoom was used by 78 per cent; Skype by 12 per cent, and other platforms, including WhatsApp, by eight per cent. Nearly one third...