Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

I find that watching buds swelling on trees and plants during the winter months gives me a tremendous sense of hope. We may all need some need extra hope for 2021, after the events of 2020. By the time you read this a number of us may have been fortunate enough to receive a COVID...

– patron of artists If you enjoy drawing or painting, Fra Angelico is the patron saint for you. This devout Dominican priest of the Early Renaissance (1387-1455) used his superlative talent to the glory of God to such an extent that even six centuries later we are inspired and blessed by his art. For while...

Seven weeks of material for Lent By Andrew Roberts, BRF, £6.99 A welcome new addition to BRF’s growing collection of Holy Habits resources, Holy Habits: Following Jesus provides seven weeks of material for Lent. Although written before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the applications, questions and take-home ideas are highly relevant to...

– an insight into the work of Street Pastors By Luke Randall and Sue Shaw, Instant Apostle, £9.99 This book celebrates the excellent work done by the formidable army of ‘Street Pastors’, Christian volunteers who have become a welcome presence in their various towns and cities across the nation. Founded on the streets of Brixton...

– sad search for acceptance and love Did you have a miserable childhood? Were your parents more absorbed in themselves than in you? Later, looking for love, did you fall for the wrong man? Perhaps you now have children of your own, and struggle to raise them. If you feel your life has been ‘wrong-footed’...

If you think you feel better after cuddling your dog or cat, there is a good reason: you really do feel better. After only three minutes of cuddling your pet, your levels of oxytocin, the ‘love’ hormone, increase, according to a recent study from Australia’s Monash University. And just five minutes of cuddling will also...

As we launch in to 2021, with rapidly rising numbers of infections, it is all too easy to lose our bearings. So says Nigel Genders, the Church of England’s Chief Education Officer. He urges that rather than argue along the “usual political fault lines”, or to follow newspaper articles putting the blame either on ‘incompetent...

– faithful servant who would not deny his Lord Polycarp (c. 69 – c. 155) was one of the most important Christians in Roman Asia in the mid-2nd century, because of his link between the time of the Apostles and the earliest Christian Fathers. This disciple of John the Apostle became bishop of Smyrna and...

Will Covid-19 mean a large increase in abandoned dogs and cats? Battersea Dogs and Cats Home fear so. In a recent study it found that a third of the people who acquired a cat or dog during the national lockdown had not considered having a pet before the pandemic, and had bought one on impulse....

– as PM’s Special Envoy on Freedom of Religion or Belief Fiona Bruce, MP for Congleton, has recently been appointed as the new Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB). Bruce has long been a supporter of the work of Open Doors, including attending the World Watch List parliamentary launch, visiting an Open...

Where do we most like to walk? A recent survey has found that two places in the Lake District are clear winners. Top comes the gently accessible Buttermere Circuit, with its rippling silver water, mountain views, peace and quiet. Second is the demanding eight-hour climb up Helvellyn, which is not for the faint-hearted. Then comes...

– the inspiring and true story of Gladys Aylward By Phyllis Thompson, 10Publishing, £9.99 A down-to-earth London girl, without many prospects, Gladys Aylward became a Christian when she was just 18. When she felt God’s call on her to go to China as a missionary, she overcame great obstacles in order to obey, and made...