Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

‘Chilling reading’ – Bishop Sarah responds to assisted suicide impact  11,000 people in consultations for the next Archbishop of Canterbury A day to remember – Bishop’s VE Day challenge  Churches are facing big cash shortfalls as a result of VAT grants cut Rural areas, low income communities, parish revitalisations & mission funding CofE attendance rises...

Six Marys are mentioned in the New Testament, including Mary Magdalene, who is remembered this month in the church’s calendar (22nd July). What can we learn from Mary’s story? We don’t have to be defined by our past: When Jesus encountered Mary, He cast seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2). As a result, her...

A former insurance worker and a priest who once worked in sales will speak of the sense of peace and purpose in finding their vocation in life, in a recently launched new film and online service. The  ‘Is it You?’ film and the Church of England’s national online service for Vocations Sunday will highlight the individual nature...

It is easy to understand the popularity of Mary Magdalene over the centuries: she is the patron saint both of repentant sinners and of the contemplative life. Jesus drove seven demons from Mary, who came from near Tiberius in Galilee.  She became His follower to the bitter end.  She followed Him to Jerusalem and was...

The gospels have a number of stories about things lost and found. The lost sheep, the prodigal son, and one of my favourites – the lost coin. I wonder if Our Lord had someone in mind when He told that parable? Perhaps He had seen a lady searching high and low, turning the house upside...

Fake news is not new. Perhaps one old example is the assertion that Mary Magdalene was a prostitute. Back in the 6th Century, Pope Gregory is said to have confused her with two other women in the Bible. Medieval Bible scholars also attempted to name an unidentified sinful woman who had washed and anointed the...

We see them, off and on, all summer: cricket bats. But did you ever wonder how they are made? The timber comes from mature willow trees, each of which should give about 30 bats. It is first cut into rounds, and clefts are split out. Each cleft is then rough sawn, and waxed at the...

The Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, the Church of England’s lead bishop for health and social care, has recently responded to the Government impact assessments on the bill to introduce assisted suicide in England and Wales. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), together with the Ministry of Justice, had published a main assessment...

All in the month of July The ‘father’ of modern British policing The great flood of China The July 2005 bombings of London Don’t Step on a Bee Day – 10th July The danger of electric cars< Murder World is more violent than ever Rise in older shoplifters ** Editor:  We continue our column that...

More than 11,000 people have so far participated in the consultations for the next Archbishop of Canterbury. It was carried out online, by post and in person between February and March this year. The public consultation was a unique opportunity to influence the future of leadership within the Church, helping to discern the gifts, skills...

 It was: 250 years ago, on 1st July 1775 that the British Parliament brought in the New England Restraining Act. This forbade its North American colonies from trading with anyone other than Britain, Ireland, and the British West Indies. The colonies were also forbidden to fish in the Atlantic without permission. 175 years ago, on...

James and his brother John were sons of Zebedee and fishermen from Galilee – the ‘sons of thunder’, as the gospel writers describe their impetuous characters and fiery tempers. James stands out on three accounts: he was one of the three disciples who witnessed the Transfiguration of Christ.  Jesus took him, along with Peter and...