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Christmas Geese From the Vicar What’s the Big Idea? – An Introduction to the Books of the New Testament: John Quiz on John’s Gospel Reflecting Faith: Christmas Tree Decorations The Challenges of Christmas No Room?  On the Contrary The most beautiful story ** Editor:  Canon Paul Hardingham gives thanks to the God who comes among...

No one is really sure, but a story is told of St Nicholas, a bishop who lived in the 4th century, who may have started the custom by accident.  St Nicholas was of a wealthy family, and of a generous heart.  As Christmas approached one year, he wanted to help a poor family whom he...

Anglicans and Methodists in England have underlined their commitment to forging closer ties as together they recently marked the 21st anniversary of an historic covenant between the two churches. The Anglican-Methodist Covenant was signed by leaders of the Church of England and the Methodist Church in Great Britain in front of Queen Elizabeth II on...

There are several colours that we traditionally associate with Christmas. They are green, red, and gold, and to a lesser extent, white and blue. Green: Evergreen plants like holly, ivy and mistletoe were used for thousands of years to decorate buildings during the long dark winters. The Romans exchanged evergreen branches in January to wish...

Ever wonder where many of our Christmas traditions come from?   A surprising amount of our modern Christmas celebrations can be traced back to the well-loved story of ‘A Christmas Carol’, by Charles Dickens. When you read ‘A Christmas Carol’, you discover almost a template of the ‘ideal Christmas’ which we still hold dear today.  Dickens...

This Christmas, there are about 360 million Christians worldwide who will not be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. They dare not do so. That’s because 1 in every 7 believers globally live in countries where they suffer oppression and discrimination for their faith. So, instead of going to church and singing carols, they face...

Twenty years ago, on 26th December 2004, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami (also called the Boxing Day Tsunami) took place. A massive undersea earthquake near Sumatra caused a devastating tsunami that swamped coastal areas in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and East Africa. It was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history,...

Over the past year, war in the Middle East has devastated millions of people’s lives across the region, destroying their families, homes, schools, hospitals and businesses. This Christmas, millions of people across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region are in urgent need of food, shelter and medical care. The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid...

The story is told of a farmer who didn’t believe in Jesus. One snowy Christmas Eve, his wife was taking their children to a service at their local church. He refused to come saying: ‘Why would God lower Himself to come to Earth as a man? That’s ridiculous!’ So, they left him at home. During...

It was 125 years ago, on 22nd December 1899, that Dwight L Moody, the famous American evangelist, died. Moody was born in Northfield, Massachusetts, in 1837 and raised in the Unitarian Church. But his father died when he was four, and he had a hard upbringing as one of nine children. At 17 he moved...

This DEC appeal has raised over £438 million and helped an estimated 8.2 million people affected by the conflict. This appeal will close for donations at the end of 2024, but donations will continue to be spent next year. From delivering essential supplies and services to communities in Ukraine, to helping refugees settle into a...

Here you can download, in one document, ALL of the editorial for this month.