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Ever wonder why we eat pancakes just before Lent?  The tradition dates back to Anglo-Saxon times, when Christians spent Lent in repentance and severe fasting. So on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the church bell would summon them to confession, where they would be ‘shriven’, or absolved from their sins, which gives us Shrove Tuesday.  ...

Editor:  by David Winter At the end of this month Ash Wednesday introduces the Christian preparation for Easter, which normally coincides with Passover, the major Jewish celebration of the year. It’s near Easter because Jesus was crucified at Passover, having just shared this very meal with his disciples. Passover celebrates and recalls the Israelites’ escape...

Mary Slessor was an indomitable Scottish Presbyterian missionary to Calabar, Nigeria in late Victorian times.  She not only evangelised three tribes there, but also stopped the widespread practise of killing twins at birth.  Her life made a tremendous difference for good to thousands of people. Concerned about the purposeless lives of some women back in...

The increasing use of contactless payments is leading young people into debt.  A recent study has found that one in five Londoners below the age of 45 are struggling to pay their debts, because of the ease of making ‘tap and go’ payments. Now more than one in 10 young people are thinking of stopping...

Lent begins with Ash Wednesday.  But why ‘Ash’ Wednesday?  The reason has to do with getting things right between you and God, and the tradition goes right back to the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, the Israelites often sinned.  When they finally came to their senses, and saw their evil ways as God saw...

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made Every person who ever lived was once a sperm and an egg. Those two cells fused together, and in nine months they turned into a living, breathing, human being. Each of us emerged from this same embryonic development process, which is highly complex and organised, but variable enough to turn out...

If you have been hurt in your search for romantic love, Gabriel Possenti (1838-62) may be a good saint for you.  Because Possenti, born to the governor of Assisi, began by having it all.   He grew up doing the mid-19th century equivalent of eBay, nightclubs, cinema and online dating, only in those days it was...

The Rectory St James the Least My dear Nephew Darren While it was good to see you when you visited us last Sunday, your suggestion to our churchwardens that chairs would be far more comfortable than our pews was not well received. You must remember that significant in any congregation firmly believe that the more...

By Andrew Brunson, Authentic, £9.99 In 1993, Andrew Brunson was asked to travel to Turkey, the largest un-evangelised country in the world, to serve as a missionary. Though hesitant because of the daunting and dangerous task that lay ahead, Andrew and his wife, Norine, believed this was God’s plan for them. What followed was a...

The canticle we call the Benedicite began its life as the Song of the Three Holy Children. In the midst of their terrifying ordeal in the burning fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego praise God. They call on the sky above, the seasons, and all that grows and moves on the earth to join them....

Editor:  with 14th February and romantic love on the mind:  Adam and Eve Adam and Eve had an ideal marriage.  He didn’t have to hear about all the men she could have married, and she didn’t have to hear about the way his mother cooked. Take me out An elderly single woman died last month. ...

If we were to name someone prominent from the 17th century, we might mention Rembrandt or Shakespeare. It is unlikely we would remember George Herbert. However, he was a prolific writer, a gifted speaker and musician. His hymns are still sung today. Herbert was born into a wealthy family in Mid-Wales on 3rd April 1593....