Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

A leading Roman Catholic professor of Pastoral Theology at the University of Vienna thinks that this may well be so. For the Revd Paul Zulehner says that while Church is still losing young people, it is also gaining them. “We’re clearly witnessing a protest against mainstream secularisation, as groups of youngsters yearn for re-spiritualisation or...

As we remember St Luke this month, let’s note that one of the major themes in his gospel is prayer. Jesus tells the Parable of the Friend at Midnight (Luke 11:5-8) in the context of teaching His disciples to pray (1).  Pray Shamelessly:                                                                                                                            In the parable a man approaches his friend at midnight and asking:...

If you love languages, then Henry Martyn is the saint for you. Born in 1781, and schooled in Truro, he went on to St John’s College in Cambridge, where he proved a brilliant student. He planned on becoming a lawyer, but at Cambridge he met Charles Simeon, the Vicar of Holy Trinity Cambridge, and a...

It was: 750 years ago, on 27th Oct 1275 that the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands is traditionally considered to have been founded. 200 years ago, on 25th Oct 1825 that Johann Strauss II, was born. This Austrian composer is best known for his waltzes, including The Blue Danube. 125 years ago, on 20th...

It was 125 years ago, on 20th October 1900, that the American aviation pioneers the Wright Brothers made their first untethered glider flight at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina. This was a key moment in the history of aviation, although their first powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft came three years later, on 17th...

Paul’s letter to the Galatians has been described as the ‘Magna Carta of Christian Liberty’, because it emphasises the freedom that we have through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul vigorously defends the truth that people are justified (‘made right with God’) by faith in Jesus Christ alone. Our standing with God is not determined by...

When you are out and about on the road far from home, ever feel tempted to pop in and explore an unfamiliar church?  If so, think of Donatus as your patron saint – and beware.  You don’t know what you may be letting yourself in for…. In 829 Donatus, an Irish monk, had completed a...

One hundred years ago, on 13th October 1925, Margaret Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, was born. She was the first woman Prime Minister of Britain (1979-90). Her father, Alfred Roberts, was a grocer and Methodist local preacher in Grantham, and she was brought up as a strict Wesleyan Methodist. At one point just before the...

Been putting off writing or updating your Will? Next month the charity Will Aid’s ‘Make a Will Month’ will offer you the opportunity to put your affairs in order, secure your loved one’s future and give to charities helping those in need. Participating solicitors are inviting people to contact them to book appointments for November,...

The recent UN talks in Geneva were intended to finalise a legally binding agreement for countries to tackle plastic pollution. Almost 190 countries were represented. But despite ten days of negotiations, no consensus was reached. A small number of oil-producing nations, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, blocked key proposals on reducing plastic production and phasing...

Some parents aren’t sure quite what to feel about Hallowe’en – is it just harmless fun, or are there aspects of it that don’t fit in with how we want to see the world? A child’s christening service is very honest about the reality of good and evil, and Hallowe’en can be a good time...

A flower used by Victorians when they wanted to send a ‘hidden message’ of love is making a big comeback. It is the aster. It’s popularity in bouquets has quadrupled in two years. Sales at Tesco alone have soared by nearly 350 per cent. And no wonder: asters are vivid, fast-growing British flowers with a...