Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

On Holy Cross Day the Church celebrates the Cross as a symbol of triumph, as the sign of Christ’s victory over death.   Holy Cross Day goes right back to 14 September 335, and we have the mother of a Roman Emperor to thank for it. Helena was a devout Christian, and after her son, Constantine,...

Can it be true that God is calling most Anglican clergy to the South of England?  Does He really want churches in northern urban areas like Burnley, Wigan, Sheffield and Bury and other post-industrial towns to struggle on with very few clergy? Well, you might be forgiven for thinking so, when you compare some figures. ...

Teaching people to ‘tithe’ can be a delicate matter.  Some clergy teach ‘tithing’ well, and inspire their people to great generosity of spirit.   Other clergy teach ‘tithing’ at least well enough, and get their people’s sluggish cooperation. But – there are clergy who teach ‘tithing’ badly – and then, watch out!   St Adam (bishop 1213...

When we sing the Sanctus in the Eucharist, we are affirming that our worship here on earth is caught up in the worship offered by the angels in heaven. They praise God around His throne of glory, but they are also agents of His care and guidance in our lives. Leading them is the archangel...

About 200 families escaped with their lives when Boko Haram Islamist militants recently ransacked a mainly-Christian village in the Far North Region of Cameroon. The armed gang stormed Roum village, in the Tourou area, setting fire to homes, killing livestock and plundering food stores and possessions. A Barnabas Fund contact estimated around 1,120 families in the...

Ninian was a Celt who was born about 360, in southern Scotland.  He was remarkable for two things:  he was almost certainly the first man in Scotland to live in a little white stone house, and also the first to preach the gospel to the Scots.   Just as remarkable:  becoming the apostle to the Picts...

Have you ever sinned since you became a Christian?  Really sinned – or in other words done something that was SO wrong and totally ‘out of line’ with being a Christian that you are still ashamed when you think of it now.  If so, and if you went on to ask God’s forgiveness for it,...

Joseph of Copertino (1603 – 63) should be the patron saint of all awkward people who mean well, but who drive those around them to distraction – especially their church leaders. Joseph began life in a garden shed, because his father had sold the house to pay debts.  Then he grew up wandering about open-mouthed...

Deaf soccer champions are changing how people perceive disability in Tanzania. The Neema Crafts football team, all of whom are deaf, recently won a match 3-0 against a hearing team in a village called Image. As sweet as that victory was, the real triumph was showing villagers how disabled people can contribute to their communities....

Korea is known for its thriving Christian church.  But it was not always so – in fact no Korean was baptised until as late as 1784.  Christianity arrived in Korea through Christian books sent from China, and the Koreans responded warmly as soon as they heard the Good News.  A Chinese priest who visited in...

By Ruth Clements, Lion, £9.99 “How am I supposed to keep going when all I want to do is hide? How does separation work. What are the ins-and-outs and complexities of divorce? Am I going to get through this?” Ruth Clement’s divorce turned her world upside down, and now she guides the reader, with compassion...

St Matthew was one of 12 apostles.  But he began as a publican i.e. a tax-collector of Jewish race who worked for the Romans, before he left all at the call of Christ.  From earliest times, he was regarded as the author of the first of the four Gospels.    The Gospel of Matthew is in...