Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

I confess, I am a petrolhead. I don’t have the dosh to buy the cars that truly quicken the pulse, but buying and selling at the tragic end of the market as I do, I get a lot of pleasure from cars with toys – rear view cameras, wing mirrors which fold in when you...

If you are helping others at this time, remember to still leave space and time for yourself. Going the extra mile for other people all the time will only ensure one thing; your collapse. Work in teams. Even the Good Samaritan did not attempt to help the injured man all on his own; he brought...

On 4th October we give thanks for one of the most loved saints in the church – Francis of Assisi. He died in 1226, but his example and witness have lived on to inspire Christians through the centuries. His was a life focused on the crib and the cross, Lady Poverty and the stigmata, suffering...

So says the Children’s Society in its recent Good Childhood Report, an annual consideration of childhood in the UK. The Church of England charity found that 15-year olds in the UK score lower levels of life satisfaction than those in 24 other European countries. Levels of poverty, a lack of close friendships and pressure in...

This year’s Green Health Awards were just one of many activities to be cancelled because of the current situation. Whilst churches have been closed their gardens have continued to grow and many of these will have been used for therapeutic gardening. But have these been growing wild or have enthusiasts found ways round the rules...

Modern Halloween celebrations have their roots with the Celtic peoples of pre-Christian times. In those long-ago days, on the last night of October, the Celts celebrated the Festival of Samhain, or ‘Summer’s End’.  The priests, or Druids, performed ceremonies to thank and honour the sun.  For there was a very dark side to all this:...

A spirit guest? Moses revisited Ten Commandments Sorry The language of church-going Noah and the Ark – 2020 version New York Prayer for the sick Learning from the young Telling the time Where? Home Aliens Put it this way… ** A spirit guest? When new neighbours moved in next door, they held a House Warming...

Covid-19 has brought one good thing to some of us: the average amount of personal debt has reduced by nearly £2,000, according to a recent study by Experian. It recently stood at £9,681 (without mortgage), as opposed to £11,615 (without mortgage) in March. As a spokesman for the credit-checking agency explained: “For some people, a...

Christmas should start with October’s half-term this year, rather than in November. Christmas lights could be switched on, and shoppers (hopefully) enticed back to the shops. So say many retailers, as they struggle to recover from the pandemic. An executive with the New West End Company in London explains: “If we can bring the start...

With Harvest in mind… With Bible Sunday ahead… With Bible Sunday ahead… With St Luke’s Day and healing in mind… Miscellaneous observations on our Christian pilgrimage Some miscellaneous observations on daily life and other people… ** With Harvest in mind…  Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving. – Psalm 95:2 Gratitude is the heart’s...

By Rachel Turner, BRF, £9.99 This book tackles the unique parenting challenges faced by church leaders. It is full of insightful advice and creative suggestions for managing the pressures and expectations heaped on church leaders’ families. The author counters the widespread view that vicarage or manse life inevitably has a negative impact on the children....

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren I am unsurprised that the cleaning lady took exception to you dismantling your motorbike in the church vestry. Clergy vestries are the final repositories of rotting hymn books, ancient cassocks with a certain aroma, buckets with holes in, which are kept “just in...