Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

Here is an unexpected problem: children are struggling to use pencils these days, because the excessive use of touchscreen phones is damaging their dexterity. Now paediatric doctors, handwriting experts and orthopaedic therapists are warning that although kids may swipe a screen, they no longer have the hand strength and agility to learn to write correctly...

Is your home just too full of STUFF?  Lost the plot?  (Lost the dog or even children under all that stuff?)  Then why not start sorting out your home – and life. You could start by reading a new book on decluttering.  It is full of understanding of how you got into this mess in...

Eat some doughnuts – and help raise money to help desperately ill children through the Children’s Trust. That is the aim of National Doughnut Week, and this year you will find about 600 participating bakeries, cafes and shops, all over the country. There you can choose from all sorts of doughnuts with various toppings and...

At Pentecost, we remember the gift of the Holy Spirit to the first disciples. It was a powerful experience, when along with wind and fire, ‘all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:4). Power is experienced in two ways: it can be either unleashed or harnessed. The energy in petrol can be...

At Pentecost, we remember the gift of the Holy Spirit to the first disciples. It was a powerful experience, when along with wind and fire, ‘all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 2:4). Power is experienced in two ways: it can be either unleashed or harnessed. The energy in petrol can be...

‘A Christian is one who is completely fearless, continually cheerful and constantly in trouble!’ Paul shares his experience in Asia, when writing to the Corinthians: ‘We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death’ (2 Corinthians...

To be asked to become a godparent is a real honour.  Ideally, it should go on to become a lifelong commitment that turns into a deep and loving relationship between godparent and child.  Sadly, too often it wanes into a duty to be met by Christmas presents and birthday cheques. A godparent is a member...

This month the Church celebrates Pentecost (we used to call it ‘Whitsun’). It marks the occasion 50 days after Easter when the Holy Spirit was ‘poured out’ on the group of followers of Jesus who had obeyed his command to ‘wait in Jerusalem’ until they were ‘clothed with power’. The gift of the Holy Spirit...

I was having a little button problem with the ATM. A message appeared on the screen. ‘Would you like more time?’ I clicked the ‘yes’ button, eventually collected my cash, and spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about that profound question. Well, would I? As an elderly man, do I really want more time,...

To be frank, there is no convincing answer to the question, ‘Why am I suffering?’ It is something that is experienced by every individual (indeed, everything that lives and breathes). Jesus, who grieved, agonised and finally died in shameful circumstances, was no exception. It is an unavoidable part of the world we have inherited. There...

May is the month when the ancient pagans used to get up to ‘all sorts’!  The Romans held their festival to honour the mother-goddess Maia, goddess of nature and growth.  (May is named after her.)  The early Celts celebrated the feast of Beltane, in honour of the sun god, Beli. For centuries in ‘Olde England’...

Is there someone in church whom you respect for their spirituality and common sense combined – someone you feel easy about approaching to ask questions?  That person’s patron saint should be Philip. Philip came from Bethsaida, and was a disciple of Jesus from early on.  He knew how to lead others to Jesus – he...