Viewing all items in Resource Category: Editorial

During the 18th century many people in England were involved in the campaign to abolish the slave trade.  The CofE remembers especially William Wilberforce, Olaudah Equiano and Thomas Clarkson – three very different but all tireless campaigners against the evil practice. Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846) was an Anglican clergyman and one of the most prominent of...

What do you do with your used tin foil?  Councils are asking us to give it a good rinse from any food or grease, so that it can be recycled.  Foil trays could be added to your dishwasher, so that you don’t waste time or water washing them separately. As the Aluminium Recycling Packaging Organisation...

Christians have called on PM Narendra Modi to guarantee religious freedom in India, following the recent Indian elections which saw a landslide victory for the nationalist BJP. The tightening nationalist grip on India is concerning Christians who are suffering increasing violence at the hands of extremists. Christians warn that religious polarisation in India is now...

 Four Church of England cathedrals have benefited from a cash injection of over £8m to help them engage with their communities through imaginative outreach, arts, heritage and learning projects, thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Leicester, Lichfield, Newcastle and Worcester Cathedrals announced awards from The National Lottery Heritage Fund for a wide range of...

When, in 2010, 4000 delegates from 198 countries gathered in Cape Town, South Africa, for the Lausanne Movement’s Third International Congress on World Evangelization, one unlikely speaker stood out from the rest.  She was a young North Korean orphan, dressed in her high school uniform, who told the story of her family’s escape from the...

The apostle Paul’s understanding of resilient ministry is summed up in 2 Corinthians 4:7: ‘But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.’ Here is the great paradox of the Christian life: God has placed His treasure (the life of His Son...

Despite a challenging year for investment markets, the Church Commissioners have reported a positive return of 1.8% in 2018. The value of the Commissioners’ investment fund now stands at £8.2bn. Holdings in strategic land, private equity, timber, infrastructure and indirect real estate combined to help to keep the fund’s performance in positive territory. Over the...

Have you ever suffered from gossip? Ever discovered that people are saying some really wild things about you?  If so, Joseph of Arimathea would understand – and sympathise with you.  This decent, godly man of the gospels seems to have fired the imaginations of all sorts of odd people down the centuries. Joseph was a...

We are drinking less alcohol. In fact, one in four adults in the UK does not drink at all. That is the finding of a recent study by the Lancet.  The trend is noticeable among millennials, with baby-boomers far more likely to drink alcohol – and consume it at higher levels.

The charity Sailors’ Society has launched a crisis response network to help victims of trauma at sea in Asia, as kidnappings at sea reach their highest levels in 10 years.  In 2018 alone, pirates kidnapped 62 people for ransom in 15 separate incidents. And so the charity, which supports seafarers around the world, has trained...

In the church I belong to we recently suffered two deaths in quick succession. Two of our older members (both in their eighties) passed away within a short time of each other, and we will miss them dearly. Doreen was with us from when we first started the church some 27 years ago. The matriarch...

A recent report by Christians Against Poverty (CAP), called Changing Perceptions has revealed that the financial problems of parents can have a profound effect on their children’s future relationship with money.  More than one in four of CAP’s current clients grew up in a household badly affected by debt. It seems that money worries are...