Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Agoraphobia, the fear of open or crowded places, is on the rise. That is the warning from two charities who work to help those with anxiety problems. Calls to mental health organisations such as Sane and Anxiety UK have rocketed in recent weeks.  Both have extended their helpline hours in order to offer support. Sane...

Later this month Christians all over the world will commemorate probably the most unlikely saint in the Bible, Mary Magdalene. There was something in her background that has always fascinated people. All we are told about her ‘past’ is that Jesus had cast ‘seven devils’ out of her, but on that slender if intriguing evidence...

Odd things have been happening to my world in these past weeks of lockdown. It’s got bigger. I’ve been speaking regularly via the web with friends in Australia and the United States. Worshippers from Canada and South Africa are taking part in our online church services. Other churches are telling the same stories, with increasing...

During the coronavirus crisis, the Church of England has been accused of “vacating the public square or of being absent.” So wrote Bishop Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York Designate, in a recent article for one of the national newspapers*.  But he goes on: “I simply do not recognise (this).  The Church of England has been...

– George Herbert and the Journey of the Soul By Mark Oakley, SPCK, £6.99 Mark Oakley reveals George Herbert as a fine companion with whom to examine the journey of the soul. His poems are ‘heart-work and heaven-work’, embracing love and closeness, anger and despair, reconciliation and hope. There is, too, an appealing and audacious...

Buttercup! What a delicious name! Rumour has it that, as they were frequently to be found in meadows where cows grazed, they were responsible for butter’s yellow colouring.  So the name was an obvious choice. However, since buttercups are poisonous and therefore are avoided as far as possible by our four-footed friends, this is somewhat...

The mental health impact of the lockdown could be felt for years to come, in similar ways to the Grenfell Tower disaster and the Manchester Arena bomb. So says a health chief, Claire Murdoch, who is the NHS England mental health director.  She has said that the service is preparing for a surge in referrals...

It is easy to understand the popularity of Mary Magdalene over the centuries: she is the patron saint both of repentant sinners and of the contemplative life. Jesus drove seven demons from Mary, who came from near Tiberius in Galilee.  She became His follower to the bitter end.  She followed Him to Jerusalem and was...

Spending time in your garden will do your wellbeing as much good as if you were living in a wealthy neighbourhood. So says a recent study by the University of Exeter and the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It has found that 71 per cent of people who used their garden went on to report good...

 – a colouring book SPCK, £9.99 This summer, if you have time on your hands, why not colour your way through the beautiful imagery of the Psalms? This book contains 30 illustrations with a corresponding verse, all designed to appeal to an adult market. The designs include animals, flowers, leaves, waves, stars and other patterns....

‘Going to church’ is not what it used to be. With our church buildings closed, many of us  now ‘go’ to services transmitted via YouTube or other social media. They last only about 45 minutes, half the length of a normal Sunday church service. Some churches also transmit a daily prayer slot, or provide a...

Fake news is not new. Perhaps one old example is the assertion that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Back in the 6th Century, Pope Gregory is said to have confused her with two other women in the Bible. Medieval Bible scholars also attempted to name an unidentified sinful woman who had washed and anointed the...