Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

On the whole British people are happy with the title ‘Father Christmas’, a suitably neutral name for the central character in children’s Christmases, writes David Winter. In America, however, and by a process of cultural indoctrination increasingly in other English-speaking countries, the same red-coated and bearded fellow with his sack of presents is known as...

When I was a choir boy many years ago, writes David Winter, ‘Good King Wenceslas’ was a very popular carol. A man sang the King’s lines, a boy sang the Page’s, and the choir filled in the narrative. It was not of course technically a Christmas carol but one for which most people know as...

The Church of England’s Environmental Advisory Group has called for all parts of the Church to recognise the Climate Crisis and step up its action to safeguard God’s creation. In guidance sent recently to bishops, dioceses and church leadership teams, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) points to the ambitious programme of action required, covering everything...

For many, Christmas is a time of happiness and holiday. An opportunity for parties, concerts, pantomimes and watching children perform nativity plays. We exchange colourful cards, and presents, and prepare special meals for family and friends. We sing carols. We adorn our homes and churches with all kinds of decorations. All our celebrations are a...

Everyone knows that it was on the feast of Stephen that ‘good king Wenceslas looked on’.  After all, it’s in a Christmas carol – but why? There’s nothing about Christmas in it: a splendid young page who rustled up some flesh, wine and logs, an old man out in the snow (’deep and crisp and...

Have you ever stopped to consider that the very first martyr of the Christian Church (Stephen died c 35 AD) was a deacon?  (But no, he wasn’t worked to death by his church.)  It was Stephen, one of the first seven deacons of the Christian Church.  He’d been appointed by the apostles to look after...

Most of us probably know that on December 26th (the Feast of Stephen) ‘Good king Wenceslas’ looked out, writes David Winter. We probably also know that the snow lay round about, ‘deep and crisp and even’. Beyond that, he’s just someone in a carol that’s not often sung nowadays. However, Wenceslas was a real person,...

The death of a very young child is perhaps the hardest grief of all to bear.  So the 28th December is a very poignant day in the church calendar.  It is when the worldwide Church joins with bereaved parents to grieve the loss of babies and young children.  For Holy Innocents day recalls the massacre...

The day most of us call ‘Boxing Day’, was when tradesmen used to collect their annual tips from customers. It is named in the Church Calendar as St Stephen’s Day, in memory of the first martyr, stoned to death by an angry crowd because of his faith. That is a shocking footnote to the celebration...

This year the Nazareth Trust has raised funds to support renovation work in the Nazareth Hospital’s Maternity Department.  Over £60,000 was raised, renovations are well underway. For 2020, the aim is to launch a new International Volunteer Chaplaincy. As a spokesman explains, “At our hospital, we encounter over 300,000 people every year. We want to...

The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren I am sorry I was not alive during that wonderful four-year period when Oliver Cromwell abolished Christmas.  Just think!  No Christmas parties, no carol services, no cards to send and no frantic last-minute shopping. That man was a hero. Planning for Christmas at...