Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

If you are thinking of turning your back on wealth and privilege, in order to do something you feel God is calling you to do, St Theobald (1017 – 1066) may be the saint for you.   He was born into an aristocratic family at Provins in France.  But he became a hermit with a fellow...

It was 20 years ago, on 25th July 2000, that an Air France Concorde crashed outside Paris after taking off for New York. All 109 people on board were killed, as well as four people on the ground. The plane was a charter flight from Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris to New York, and...

Bishop Stephen Geoffrey Cottrell will be confirmed as the 98th Archbishop of York this month. The service, at 11am on Thursday 9th July, will be broadcast entirely via video conference due to the Coronavirus restrictions. The service, which had been due to take place in York Minster, will be in two parts. A legal ceremony...

Do you ever admire relief workers?  Those hardy folk who regularly appear on our TV screens, actively seeking out the disease-ridden, starving, destitute people of the world, instead of avoiding them, as most of us try and do. John Francis Regis (1597 – 1640) could be a patron saint of relief workers.  It all began...

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the multi-talented writer who created Sherlock Holmes, the world’s most famous detective, died 90 years ago, on 7th July 1930 at his home in Sussex, probably of a heart attack. He was 71. He had been born in Edinburgh to a prosperous Irish-Catholic family with a dysfunctional father and a loving mother...

Thomas, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles, was an impulsive, confused, honest sceptic.  Jesus could understand and work with such a man.  Thomas’ impulsiveness was evident when Jesus prepared to visit Lazarus in Bethany.  It was a dangerous trip to make, because of the Jews, but Thomas urged his fellow disciples: “Let us also go, that...

It was 150 years ago, on 18th July 1870, that the Vatican issued the declaration of Papal Infallibility. It preserved the Pope from the possibility of error when he defined a doctrine concerning faith or morals to be held by the whole Roman Catholic Church. The dogma of papal infallibility is one that has, not...

The Conservation Foundation has relaunched Gardening Against the Odds as a virtual network and is getting some excellent interest. As a result, it may be making a radio series soon, featuring some of the projects it has discovered over the years which show how people combat ‘odds’ – mental, physical and environmental – by gardening, even when they...

You are invited to take part in this national survey…details below The Covid-19 pandemic has obviously had a profound effect on churches. The lockdown has severely restricted ministry in areas such as pastoral care, fellowship groups, and serving the community. On the other hand, for those with online access, worship has taken on new and...

It was 175 years ago, on 4th July 1845, that Thomas Barnardo, the humanitarian and philanthropist, was born in Dublin. He founded Barnardo’s, a charity which continues to care for vulnerable children and young people. The son of a furrier, he worked as a clerk until converted to evangelical Christianity in 1862. He moved to...

St. Elizabeth of Portugal (1271 – 1336) could be the patron saint of all well-to-do women who have compassionate hearts.   As wife of Denis, the King of Portugal, Elizabeth became a byword for her acts of piety and charity to the poor.  She founded convents, hospitals, and shelters for prostitutes.  After Denis died she became...

HOPE Together has made the hugely popular Talking Jesus course available, rent free, to watch online during the Covid-19 crisis. Roy Crowne, executive director of HOPE Together, said: ‘We have had lots of requests during the Covid-19 lockdown to make the Talking Jesus course available online. There seems to be an increased interest from non-Christians in...