Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Last month we considered the overall ‘look’ of a church building and how that often reflects the way faith is celebrated inside. One of the clearest visual symbols inside a church building relates to where the font, used for baptism, is placed. We often think of Baptism as being uniquely Christian, but this is not...

Rupert is the saint for you if you like The Sound of Music – or salt with your food! Rupert (d c 710) was bishop of Worms and Salzburg, and it was he who founded the great monastery of St Peter in Salzburg in the eighth century, thus firmly establishing Christianity in that city. True,...

It is not a simple process. And now Stephen Knott, The Archbishops’ Secretary for Appointments, has written to members of General Synod to confirm expected timings for the process of nominating the next Archbishop of Canterbury. He writes: “The Canterbury Diocese ‘Vacancy in See’ process commenced in December and, late last year, it was announced...

Desert Difficulties Prayer for March 2025 “Be joyful, keep the faith, do the little things” The breastplate of St Patrick A prayer for Lent Negotiations with myself – and God The Last Bomb Sons of Thunder ** Desert Difficulties Luke 4:1-12, John 16:33 Life is difficult, sometimes. No matter how faithful, no matter how trusting,...

The House of Bishops met recently to review updates from the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) working groups, presented by Bishop Martyn Snow. After considered reflection on the complexity of the proposed changes, the Bishops agreed that it was unlikely all elements of the proposals will be sufficiently developed in time for Synod to...

Numbers 12:13, ‘O God, heal her, I pray.’  These six words are Moses’ prayer for his sister Miriam.  They tell us a lot about Moses and a lot about prayer. For some time Miriam and her brother Aaron had been simmering with anger against Moses. They protested that he had married a Cushite woman (v.1),...

And his ladder to Paradise Is there something down at, say, B&Q, which reminds your friends of you?   John Climacus (d 649) had a thing about ladders.  He was a monk in Palestine who was only seen out at the weekends (at church, not B&Q); during the week he prayed and wrote in solitude. He...

Drinking a glass of milk a day could cut the risk of you getting bowel cancer by almost a fifth. So say researchers at the University of Oxford. They have found strong evidence that calcium protects against the deadly disease. According to the data, it takes only an extra 300mg of calcium a day (found...

What is the difference between a cathedral and a physics lab? Are they not both saying: ‘Hello’? – Annie Dillard Scientists often speak of a reality beyond the objects they are studying, and for some this is encountered in powerful – if rare – episodes of wonder and awe. The Christian writer J.W. Sire quotes...

In the midst of the dreaming spires and Gothic splendour of Oxford stands the Ashmolean Museum. Its classic proportions are a contrast to the buildings around. Within, the addition of thirty new galleries has doubled the exhibition space, and the visitor to the museum will discover a wealth of beautiful and impressive works – Renaissance...

** Snoring A clergyman consulted his doctor about his wife’s snoring. “It has to STOP,” he insisted. The doctor was intrigued: “Does it really bother you that much?” “Well, it’s not just me,” confided the minister. “She is bothering the whole congregation.” ** Beware of these contagious diseases in church Frontophobia:  A morbid fear of...

Editor:   With Lent and spiritual self-examination in mind…. ‘Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.’ – Isaiah 59:2 ‘Abide in Me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in...