Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

March is a hungry time for birds, but you can easily help them.  Here are some things they will love: Seed and grains like nyjer, millet, oats, and sunflower seeds. Unsalted peanuts fit for human consumption. (cut them up, or the chicks could choke) Cooked pasta, rice and boiled potatoes. Grated cheese, unsalted uncooked bacon...

Sign in church The new curate had put some signs around the church.  They read: Keep your eyes on me preaching! Stop reading these signs! ** Query If you can quote lines out of the Bible, are you well-versed in it? ** Grannie After church, the mother asked her young son if he had enjoyed...

If you think that showing off our holiday snaps and flaunting other details of our lives is the stuff of Facebook and Instagram, you would be wrong.  The craze predates the internet by at least 400 years. Now the British Library has opened its collection of alba amicorum, or ‘friendship books’ – in which wealthy...

Is there something down at, say, B&Q, which reminds your friends of you?   John Climacus (d 649) had a thing about ladders.  He was a monk in Palestine who was only seen out at the weekends (at church, not B&Q); during the week he prayed and wrote in solitude.  He wrote The Ladder to Paradise,...

Clean water is one thing we take completely for granted.  After all, when did you last turn on the tap and expect filthy water to come out? But sadly, bad water is still a daily reality for billions of people. The United Nations wants to help them by ensuring that everyone can access clean water...

There is an old Jewish saying:  God could not be everywhere, and therefore He made mothers. Mother Church, Mother Earth, Mother of the Gods – our human mothers – all of them have been part of the celebration of ‘Mothering Sunday’ – as the fourth Sunday in Lent is affectionately known.  It has been celebrated...

There is no doubt about it: tourists love England.  Our visitor economy is worth a staggering £106 billion a year and it supports 2.6 million jobs.  What a boost for our restaurants, pubs, farming, transport, retailing, sports, museums, galleries, theatres – and – last but not leas and churches. No wonder that each year the industry...

The Fourth Sunday in Lent was called ‘Mid-Lent’ or ‘Refreshment Sunday’, when the rigors of Lent were relaxed more than was normal for a feast day. It is called Mothering Sunday as a reference to the Epistle reading for the Day (Galatians 4:21-31).  The Lenten Epistles follow from each other with teaching about our life...

This month Barbie celebrates her diamond anniversary.  And the fact that she needs no introduction is proof that this plastic doll became an international celebrity many decades ago.  Indeed, if you were a little girl in the 1960s, you will probably have loved a Barbie doll yourself. Barbie was launched at the International Toy Fair...

In the 1960s, it was said UK entry to the “Common Market” would mark the end of a thousand years of British history.  Fast-forwarding to 2019, the clock is now ticking rapidly towards the end of British membership of the European Union.  Where are we, and where are we going on Brexit? Brexit is a...

Love Despite Brexit? From the vicar Be my Valentine? Psalm 95’s wise words on worship No need to fall Organised rain? Then the fun stops Shine, Jesus, shine   ** Editor:  The Rev Paul Hardingham considers the tensions that Brexit has caused. Love Despite Brexit? ‘Should I stay or should I go?’ (The Clash).  Since...

‘Should I stay or should I go?’ (The Clash).  Since the Referendum in June 2016, we have seen families, our nation and Parliament divided by different opinions over Europe. But ‘at the heart of the Christian message is Jesus’ command to love our neighbour. This includes those with whom we agree and disagree: at home,...