Viewing all items in Resource Category: Holy Days

Josephine Butler is the ‘saint’ for anyone who believes in social justice.  This remarkable 19th century clergyman’s wife became a renowned campaigner for women’s rights and for putting a halt to human trafficking. Josephine was born in Northumberland in 1828, the daughter of a wealthy family of liberal politics and committed Christian faith. They had...

How far would you go to respond to God’s call on your life? When, as the daughter of a peasant family in Champagne in 1426, 14-year-old Joan heard heavenly voices calling her to ‘save France’ from the English, she decided to obey the call, no matter what the consequences. Teenage girls who want to rescue...

On that long ago first morning of Pentecost, Jerusalem was crowded with thousands of visitors, for it was one of the most popular feast-days in the Jewish calendar – the Feast of Firstfruits, looking forward to the wheat harvest. In one small room of that great city, a small group of people who had followed...

Editor:  As the church year does not change, much of this material has appeared before.  The articles on ‘Fooling Around’ and ‘Mary Magdalene’ are new this year. 1           Fooling around 1          April Fool’s Day 2          Hugh of Grenoble – the saint who fought corruption 3          Richard of Chichester – wanting God more clearly, dearly and...

I was about six when I began to enjoy April Fool’s Day. My older brother was very clever at appropriate hoaxes, not only deceiving me but also mum and dad. On the whole my childish efforts were encouraged. The day was full of laughs, even at school, where the teachers would try to trick us...

In years gone by, the rules surrounding April Fool were this:  between midnight and noon on 1st April, everyone is ‘fair game’ to be made a fool of.  It is the morning of the practical joke.  But the aim is not just to discomfort the victim: he must be tricked into taking action himself, sent...

Murky crimes committed by various church leaders, local shops in trouble, roads needing repair, and hospitals in a sorry state…. wanting to retire, but the law said no… it seems that Hugh of Grenoble was dealing with 21st century problems in the 11th century. Born at Chateauneuf in 1052 as the son of a knight,...

Ever wonder where the prayer … ‘May I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly, and follow thee more nearly, day by day’ comes from?  Richard of Chichester, a bishop in the 13th century, wrote it. He began life as Richard de Wych of Droitwich, the son of a yeoman farmer.  But Richard was...

Leaving England to live in Spain was popular long before the TV show ‘Location Location Location’ became popular.  Back in 1350 Vincent Ferrer’s parents had left England to settle in Valencia, where their son Vincent was born and grew up.   In 1367, when he was 17, Vincent felt called by God to become a monk,...

Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, when the Church remembers how Jesus arrived at the gates of Jerusalem just a few days before the Passover was due to be held.  He was the Messiah come to his own people in their capital city, and yet he came in humility, riding on a young donkey, not...

The events of Easter took place over a week, traditionally called Passion Week. It began on Palm Sunday. After all his teaching and healing, Jesus had built a following. On the Sunday before he was to die, Jesus and his followers arrived at Jerusalem. The city was crowded. Jewish people were arriving from to celebrate...

Maundy Thursday is famous for two things.  The first is one of the final acts that Jesus did before his death: the washing of his own disciples’ feet.  (see John 13)  Jesus washed his disciples’ feet for a purpose:  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you...