Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

After St Paul, who was the most influential Christian writer ever?  St Augustine of Hippo (354 – 430), whose feast-day is on 28th August.  He lived and wrote in a time of social and spiritual chaos.  The Roman Empire was collapsing, the world was about to slide into the dark ages and the Church was...

Churches across the country have reported saving money on their energy bills after making changes to their buildings to lower their carbon emissions, a recent new report has revealed. The latest Net Zero Carbon 2030 Impact Report, which covers all of 2024, shares stories from parishes who installed solar panels, LED lighting, heat pumps and...

Ninety years ago, on 21st August 1935, John Hartley, the British tennis player, died. He was the only clergyman ever to win Wimbledon and was World Number One in both 1879 and 1880 – winning Wimbledon both years. The Revd John Thorneycroft Hartley was born in 1849 in Wolverhampton and was well connected: his parents...

Observations on our Christian faith Don’t bother much about your feelings. When they are humble, loving, brave, give thanks for them; when they are conceited, selfish, cowardly, ask to have them changed.  – C. S. Lewis Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of...

Spare a thought for John the Baptist: however rough your local sandwich bar may be, it probably doesn’t serve you locusts with a honey dip; you won’t be imprisoned for saying derogatory things about the local MP’s wife, and even the boss from hell is unlikely to have a daughter who wants to hip-hop about...

Who? Prayer for August 2025 A Strong Hold 6th August 1945 The Pilgrim’s Aiding The Shell The Apple Rhyme A Breton fisherman’s prayer The Old Woman of the Roads To a Fish of the Brook ** Who? (Matthew 16:13-16) They say He was a good man, A great teacher, A fascinating figure Who inspired social action,...

Read Jonah 2:2-9.  Twice in the Bible there is a record of prayers prayed in hell. In Jesus’ parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus, the former prayed for both release from his torment and that a warning would be sent to his family (Luke 16:24-31). Here in the book of Jonah this chapter opens...

In the 1830s a group of academics came together to promote a new identity for the Church of England. To them the church was not just a department of state for the government to control, but part of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. Among that group in what became known as the Oxford...

One of the most famous stories about Jesus is the calming of the storm (Luke 8:22-25). Of course, anyone could say that the wind stopped suddenly of its own accord, but the disciples were not fooled. They had seen a number of these ‘coincidences’ in Jesus’ ministry, and they weren’t about to ignore this one....

The shark that came to Amity Island for dinner – most people aged 60 and over remember him as the scariest fish they ever saw.  As this summer the famous film celebrates its golden anniversary, here are some fun facts about the film which you may not have known… When Jaws was released in the...

‘Online’ or ‘Live streaming’ services essentially started during the Covid lockdowns in 2020, as many churches filmed their services and broadcast them through YouTube or other channels.  It was difficult to know how many of their members actually watched these services, although YouTube did count the number watching at any particular moment. The Church of...

From The Rectory St James the Least of All My dear Nephew Darren Anyone who thinks that the English are a peaceful race has obviously never organised the annual pumpkin growing competition. Very regrettably, one of the Pilgrim Fathers sent a handful of pumpkin seeds to a relation in this parish in the 17th century...