Viewing all items in Resource Category: Looking at your Church

The Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has been voicing his deep concern for Christians facing persecution worldwide.  He has warned that a “misguided political correctness’ must not inhibit the Government’s response to religious persecution, and that ‘with Christianity on the verge of extinction in its birthplace, it is time for concerted action that begins to turn...

The Church of England is looking into ways of giving more support to vicars. You may wonder why, as it looks a nice life: house provided, regular salary, job security – and only one day’s work a week! But from my own personal experience I can assure you it’s not like that. In my working...

Last month we thought about ‘crossing ourselves’ and in a way I wanted to continue that by asking ‘when would you cross yourself?’ I can recall people doing it almost superstitiously at times of danger, seeing an ambulance rushing on the road or even as a sign of gratitude at good news. Many sign themselves...

The Bishop of Manchester, Dr David Walker, has said that the level of street homelessness in the city is now worse than anything he has seen in his lifetime. The Bishop said that in the past the reasons for people to be homeless seemed to have been relationship breakdown or mental-health issues.  But now the...

It can be risky being ordained: ten per cent of C of E clergy who filled in a recent   government-funded survey have said that someone had been violent towards them during the past two years.  In one in five cases, the violence had resulted in the clergy being injured. The survey was carried out on...

How will the world change with respect to religion over the next 30 years?  What will the map of world religions look like in 2050? A link-up between the Global Christian Database in Gordon-Conwell University and Operation World staff on the Lausanne website suggests the following trends in relation to population: A third of the...

Two words that do not occur in the Hebrew Old Testament – adolescence and retirement.

Can you be married in church? Signs & Symbols:  Why do we cross ourselves? CMS launches new mission workshops for churches Nigerian Christians under relentless attack Do you have spare room in your home? The Bible verse of 2018 Child slavery Historic churches share in funding payout **  Editor:  In this month of romance, here...

Can you get married in church? Yes. Even if you are not baptised and never go to church? Yes. Even if you are already living together? Yes. And if you have been divorced? There are some circumstances in which divorced people can marry again in a church.  Christians believe that marriage is for life, but...

    Do you ‘cross’ yourself?  Do you literally make the sign of the cross over or upon your body? People do this in different ways: some with certain fingers joined together, some touch their right shoulder before the left, some do small contained crosses on their head, lips and chest whilst others do an...

Church Mission Society has created new workshops designed to get churches thinking in a mission-minded way, and how they can better reach their local community through living out God’s mission. Workshops can take the form of a whole day or half day training. They are for all members of the congregation to take part –...

Release International relates the following true story: Gyang, a 27-year old Nigerian Christian is a student at the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Jos.  A few weeks ago Gyang saw a post on Facebook about how his village had come under attack from Fulani militants. Almost immediately he called home to speak...