Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Three hundred years ago, on 31st December 1720, Charles Edward Stuart, commonly known as “Bonnie Prince Charlie”, was born in Italy. He was leader of the unsuccessful Jacobite rebellion of 1745-46 – a turning point in British history. Charles believed the British throne to be his birthright as the grandson of King James II, a...

Have you ever stopped to consider that the very first martyr of the Christian Church (Stephen died c 35 AD) was a deacon?  (But no, he wasn’t worked to death by his church.)  It was Stephen, one of the first seven deacons of the Christian Church.  He’d been appointed by the apostles to look after...

By Stephen Cottrell, SPCK, £5.24 The Sleepy Shepherd is so dozy that he completely misses the visit of the angels and the chance to greet the Christ-child in Bethlehem. But one crucial night, years later, he makes an important decision – to be a real shepherd to a man whose friends have all fallen asleep....

Most of us probably know that on December 26th (the Feast of Stephen) ‘Good king Wenceslas’ looked out, writes David Winter. We probably also know that the snow lay round about, ‘deep and crisp and even’. Beyond that, he’s just someone in a carol that’s not often sung nowadays. However, Wenceslas was a real person,...

This time of year you can see all sorts of traditions played out with regard to Christmas decorations. Strict adherents use holly, ivy and of course, mistletoe. While holly and ivy are to be found in gardens and hedgerows, mistletoe usually only appears in greengrocers’ shops, or high in a tree well out of reach....

The Church of England has welcomed the award of grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Historic England for grants amounting to £10.7m to 66 churches and cathedrals across the country. A total of 16 cathedrals and 50 parish churches will receive grants under the Culture Recovery Fund for Heritage. The grants will support churches and cathedrals,...

A recent poll has found that the over-60s often face patronising, though usually well-meant, comments from the younger generation. One older woman was amused, when going into a shop before Christmas, to be met by a younger assistant who asked, ‘And how are we doing so far today?’ ‘I suspect she had taken one look...

The death of a very young child is perhaps the hardest grief of all to bear.  So the 28th December is a very poignant day in the church calendar.  It is when the worldwide Church joins with bereaved parents to grieve the loss of babies and young children.  For Holy Innocents day recalls the massacre...

The Church of England’s Living in Love and Faith teaching resources have been recently published. They explore questions of human identity, sexuality, relationships and marriage. The resources, commissioned by the House of Bishops, include a book, a series of films and podcasts and a course. They will initiate a process of whole Church learning, that...

Editor:  As Saints’ Days do not change from year to year, we have offered material on many of these days before.  The one with an asterisk is new this year. 1          All Saints’ Day 1          The first martyrs 2          All Souls’ Day 3          Hubert 4          Charles Borromeo – saint for those with a lay...

All Saints, or All Hallows, is the feast of all the redeemed, known and unknown, who are now in heaven. When the English Reformation took place, the number of saints in the calendar was drastically reduced, with the result that All Saints’ Day stood out with a prominence that it had never had before. This...

The first martyrs of Rome are recorded in the old Roman Martyrology, which states that: ‘At Rome, the birthday is celebrated of very many martyrs, who under the Emperor Nero were falsely charged with the burning of the city and by him were ordered to be slain by various kinds of cruel death; some were...