Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

This winter, when you next see someone who looks both poor and cold, think of Martin of Tours.  This monk bishop, born in Pannonia (now Hungary) became one of the most popular saints of the Middle Ages. Martin’s father was a pagan officer in the Roman Army, and Martin was intended for the army as...

A music manuscript from about 1515 and attributed to King Henry VIII has the words:  Green grow’th the holly, So doth the ivy, Though winter blasts ne’er so high Green grow’th the holly. The next three verses take us through spring, summer and autumn, so this is clearly not a Christmas carol, unlike the familiar...

Where is God when we are hurting? When we are sick or a loved one is sick, why doesn’t God always answer our prayer for healing? If He has not answered us, how do we know that He is even there at all? The words of Alister McGrath* are helpful; “Experience cannot be allowed to...

Nearly 100,000 households sought food aid from the Trussell Trust’s network of food banks for the first time earlier this year, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Demand is surging further this autumn, as a result of the economic fallout from the virus. The research comes after food banks run or supported by Church...

– on Identity, Humanhood and Hope By Amanda Khozi Mukwashi, SPCK, £5.99 This book about identity comes from CEO of Christian Aid, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi. She shares her experience of life as a Christian black woman with Zambian heritage, born and living in the UK. She explores issues of race and culture and how it...

In the aftermath of the terrorist attack on America 17 years ago this autumn, many Americans were seen to be ‘saintly’ in their brave attempts to help save lives.  But Frances (1850 – 1917) was the first citizen of the United States to be officially canonised as a saint – by Pope Pius XII in...

Life before lockdown wasn’t always a bed of roses. But it was normal and predictable… usually… Now everything seems unknown. What does the future hold? Is there a door of hope? Hope in Uncertain Times is a giveaway booklet pointing to hope for now and for eternity. Published by HOPE Together and Biblica, with the backing...

 – my Life as a Cop By Leroy Logan, SPCK, £12.99  This book tells of an illustrious career, giving a behind the scenes look at the workings of the Metropolitan Police. One of the founder members of the Black Police Association Charitable Trust, Leroy Logan has had first-hand experience of race relations in modern-day Britain, and...

Keep calm, and keep kind, if you want to live longer. It seems that being sarcastic and irritable only makes heart attack victims more likely to die from a second coronary. A recent study in the US on the personality traits of patients who had had heart attacks found that hostile personality traits (sarcasm, cynicism,...

Here is a saint for any young person who has a generous heart and a desire to please God, but who gets rather badly used by adults who should know better. Elizabeth was born in 1207, a princess in the kingdom of Hungary. When she was four, she was sent to the court of the...

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) has joined more than 60 other anti-poverty charities to call on the Government to #KeepTheLifeline, and not lower the standard allowance of Universal Credit and Working Tax Credit by £20 a week in April 2021, to the level at which it was before lockdown. A spokesman for CAP said: “We’re in...

– Walking Through Advent with R S Thomas By Carys Walsh, Canterbury Press, £12.99 With the season of Advent, the coming of Christ is imminent.  It is a season of preparation and hope for the arrival of God-with-us in the Incarnation. R.S. Thomas, a poet of waiting and anticipation, can be a profound guide for...