Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

“As you would expect, Tearfund’s work will continue through our amazing network of courageous Christian partners and churches around the world.”  So says Nigel Harris, CEO of Tearfund. “We are doing all we can to follow Jesus where the need is greatest, bringing practical help and powerful hope to the most vulnerable people, just as...

John and Charles Wesley were the founders of Methodism. Two of 19 children born to Samuel and Susannah Wesley of Epworth Rectory in Lincolnshire in 1703 and 1707, their father was the local rector, while their mother was a spiritual inspiration to her many children. Both John and Charles went to Christ Church, Oxford (1720...

Funerals have changed almost beyond recognition under the strict new rules to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Church of England funerals may now take place only at crematoria or at gravesides. Only immediate family may attend, and they must keep their two-metre distance. To help those who are grieving-at-a-distance at this difficult time, the Church...

Here is some good news for us all: if you are feeling low, get moving. A recent study at Harvard has found that even just half an hour of exercise a day can lower the risk of depression by 17 per cent. So – even though we are told to stay home at present, do...

It was: 200 years ago, on 11th May 1820 that the British Royal Navy sloop HMS Beagle was launched. This was the ship that took the naturalist Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage around the world (1831-36). Also 200 years ago: on 12th May 1820 that Florence Nightingale was born. This Italian-born British social reformer...

‘God is our refuge and strength,     an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way     and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea…’ Psalm 46:1,2 “In this time of great uncertainty, at MAF UK we have felt God draw us to these precious verses from Psalm 46, and I wanted to remind...

by Canon David Winter Later this month the Church calendar celebrates the lives of John and Charles Wesley.  John’s great gift to the Christian cause was the little matter of founding the world-wide movement known as Methodism. His brother Charles had an equally profound impact through his hymns. He actually wrote over 6,000, most of...

By Pat Palau and Peggy Sue Wells, Lion, £7.99 What scares you to death? Probably coronavirus, just now.  For everyone whose life has been crippled by anxiety, here is a book about finding freedom. Pat Palau provides practical, tangible ways to make progress. Fear incapacitates; it strangles the life out of us. Her book guides...

The recent guidance preventing clergy from entering their own churches, even to just livestream an act of worship, has prompted a series of imaginative alternatives. “Not being able to use our church buildings is, of course, a huge loss to us all,” one says, but on the other hand, “streaming worship from home shows that...

Amid the current coronavirus pandemic, we all live with fear and uncertainty. How do we deal with fear? ‘I sought the Lord, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.’ (Ps 34:4). In this psalm, David expresses real fears. He was on the run from Saul, who was trying to murder him!...

Augustine, a 6th century Italian prior, holds a unique place in British history. He became the ‘apostle to the English,’ although it was with great reluctance. In 596 Augustine was chosen by Pope Gregory to head a mission of monks whom he wanted to send to evangelise the Anglo-Saxons. Augustine was not a bold man,...

One good thing about staying at home is that you cannot be tempted by food that you see in restaurants, bakeries or the shops. This may be a good time to lose that weight you’ve been trying to shift for years. One good way of doing it seems to be the 5:2 diet. A recent...