Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

From the Vicar The recent Blue Planet II series exposed just how much plastic waste is an issue in our seas. The Prime Minister has called plastic waste ‘one of the great environmental scourges of our time.’ The best estimates suggest 10 million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans, contaminating and killing sea...

We are given gifts for a good reason If we are not practical, it’s good to know we can call on plumbers and electricians to sort out our house problems.  Some people are gifted with practical knowledge and skills, and we could not do without them. Other people are more creative and artistic. Such folk...

THE WAY I SEE IT – Holidays and Holy-days ‘Going to go somewhere nice for your holidays?’ is the standard hairdresser’s opening gambit at this time of year. ‘Yes’, I reply, ‘I’m staying here’. They laugh politely, but clearly that’s not their idea of a holiday. In an average life holidays go through stages. Do...

The ‘Other’ Mary A new film about her has stimulated fresh interest in one of the most elusive characters in the New Testament story, Mary Magdalene. I saw the film recently and personally found it disappointing. How do you make a rather boring film about such a fascinating person? Was she, as widely believed, a...

Becoming a Christian I said last month that to become a Christian requires from us something outward and something inward.  Of course, the ‘something external’ is Baptism: a physical act in which we apply to the candidate a sign of Christ’s sacrificial death and resurrection.  But Baptism implies a turning of heart and mind towards...

Smile Lines   Not covered by insurance A recent letter that appeared in The Independent newspaper: ‘Following the recent major flooding, I find myself out of pocket, due to what I am informed is an ”act of God.” To avoid future financial embarrassment, please could you recommend an atheist insurance company?   Inner peace If...

On My Knees – rebuilding our confidence in prayer  By Chris Band, Monarch, £8.99 Life has a tendency to knock our confidence in prayer. In the face of persistent difficulties, our prayer-fuelled hopes can be overwhelmed by such despair that we end up “on our knees” not so much in prayer, as in defeat. In...

Quotes of the month   Some spiritual observations Some miscellaneous observations on life: ** Some spiritual observations: ‘I am sorry’ and ‘I forgive you’ are the hardest things a human being can ever say – but also, the most liberating.  When the wars and scandals are over, those words can rebuild nations.  Tim Stanley Every...

China’s Oasis – Love, hope, and opportunity for the hidden children of China By Richard Harris and David Gotts, Monarch, £8.99 Here is an inspiring tale of love, hope, and opportunity for China’s abandoned children. At the tender age of 22, David Gotts was shocked by the condition of the children at a Chinese welfare...

The Character of Virtue – letters to a Godchild By Stanley Hauerwas, Canterbury Press, £16.99 Stanley Hauerwas is one of today’s greatest theologians, but like many of us, he is also a godparent. In this very special collection he invites us to share in fifteen letters which he sent to his godson, Laurence Wells. Each...

– four movements of spiritual growth By Christopher Chapman, Canterbury Press, £18.99 This resource for spiritual directors explores how we can cooperate with God in our own spiritual growth.  Using biblical imagery of the natural world, Christopher Chapman explores four recurring patterns of spiritual development: Rooted and Grounded: finding stability through prayer and humility; Emergence:...

God is able to use us to meet others’ needs We are all familiar with the story of the Feeding of the 5000 (Matthew 14:13-21). It reminds us that God is able to use us in meeting the needs of others. As Jesus says to the disciples: ‘you give them something to eat’ (16). We...