Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Techno-dinosaur and curmudgeon that I am, I have clung to my old plug-in satnav for far too long. It has finally given up the ghost, and I have listened to the superior wisdom of Madame-my-wife, and started to use my smartphone, held in place via a holder on the car’s dash, to navigate around areas...

The Church of England has recently announced a multi-million-pound overhaul of the maintenance grant system for people training for ordained ministry, aimed at ensuring that ordinands get the support that they need. Around £2 million extra per year is to be invested in a redesigned and more generous grant scheme for people training for ordained ministry in the...

This year the UK Health Security Agency has issued a series of amber and yellow health alerts across the UK. Heatwaves can kill people, the Met Office has issued advice on how to keep safe in extreme temperatures. Stay hydrated – drink plenty of water Avoid any exercise between 11am and 3pm, when the sun...

Grants for conservation of historic items and works of art in parish churches more than doubled in 2025 to nearly £600,000, with a record number of grants awarded by the Church of England. Books from a library where Isaac Newton is thought to have studied, one of the oldest clocks in the country, medieval wall...

After St Paul, who was the most influential Christian writer ever?  St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), whose feast-day is on 28th August.  He lived and wrote in a time of social and spiritual chaos.  The Roman Empire was collapsing, the world was about to slide into the dark ages and the Church was...

A celebration to mark 250 years since the birth of one of Wales’s most important hymn-writers will take place this month. Ann Griffiths was born on a farm near Llanfihangel-yng-Ngwnfa in Powys in 1776 and is buried in the churchyard of St Michael’s Church in the village. The Revd Dr Cass Meurig says: “Ann is...

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren I was delighted to hear that you have been made chairman of the Missionary Sub-committee; it should help you to hone your skills in appearing to encourage committee members to contribute while ensuring that they only say the things you want to hear....

It was just 15 years ago, on 24th August 2011, that Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple Inc because of ill health. (Pancreatic tumour.) Steve Jobs died on 5th October, but he left behind a company which has transformed how modern society interacts with digital technology. Apple Inc was born in a garage in...

How can the church best reach the younger generation with the message of Jesus? It is a challenge faced daily by thousands of children’s and youth workers in churches across the UK. Now, a brand-new podcast has been launched to help them answer that question. The Mission Sparks podcast is released every other week on...

 Some people are good working behind the scenes. They don’t make a fuss or want to grab your attention. Instead, they quietly do a job which always gets done, and it is only when they are missing for some reason do we realise the important work that they do! Deborah was a bit like that....

Spare a thought for John the Baptist: however rough your local sandwich bar may be, it probably doesn’t serve you locusts with a honey dip; you won’t be imprisoned for saying derogatory things about the local MP’s wife, and even the boss from hell is unlikely to have a daughter who wants to hip-hop about...

Each month we have been making our way through the church building and pausing to ponder different areas. This month we look up to the roof and ceiling of the church. In Gothic buildings our hearts are lifted high as the architecture soars upwards, trying to touch the very skirts of heaven. Norman churches in...