Thought for the week

January is a difficult month for many people. Some suffer from seasonal affective disorder, sometimes known as “winter depression”. Others are anxious as credit card bills arrive reminding us of how much we spent at Christmas. At the end of December 2021 people in Britain owed £1,765 billion. This was £1213 more for each adult…

Dr Allen Ault is a trained psychologist who began working in the U.S prison system in order to help and rehabilitate people but became the corrections commissioner for the U.S. state of Georgia. One of his responsibilities was overseeing executions at the prison. He oversaw 5 executions and says, “I have spent a lifetime regretting…

This year is the 250th anniversary of the publishing of the hymn “Amazing Grace” written by John Newton. The hymn is John’s testimony to his personal experience of God’s grace. Grace means “undeserved kindness.” John was nurtured by a Christian mother who taught him the Bible from an early age but, sadly, when he was…

A New Year has dawned. The holiday is over, and life is returning to its normal daily routine. The days are dark and wet, and the credit card bills will soon arrive. The new year is a time to look forward, but the future looks very uncertain. The war in Ukraine continues. Climate change is…

Christmas is a special time of the year. The preparations begin weeks before. There is a long list of things to be done; cards and presents to be bought, decorations and Christmas trees to be put up, school concerts and carol services, food to be bought and cooked, time with the family and for parents…

This Christmas people in every part of the world are facing very serious difficulties. The continuing war in Ukraine is inflicting great suffering on ordinary people who are facing very cold winter weather without heating and water. Many families also feel deeply the loss of loved ones who have died in the war. People in…

Phillips Brooks, the rector of Holy Trinity Church in Philadelphia, wrote the carol “O little town of Bethlehem” for the Sunday School children at his church. On Christmas Eve 1865, Phillips rode on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem. Before dark he rode out of the town to a field like the one where angels appeared…

Charles Wesley wrote “Hark! The herald angels sing”, one of the best-known Christmas carols. Charles was the brother of John Wesley, the leader of the English Methodists in the 18th century revival. Charles wrote more than 6000 hymns. His aim was to teach ordinary people, many of whom were poor and illiterate, the great truths…

One of the best-known Christmas carols is “Once in royal David’s city.” It was written by Cecil Frances Alexander whose husband became bishop of Derry. Mrs Alexander, as she was known, wrote 400 hymns including “All things bright and beautiful” and “There is a green hill far away.” She wrote hymns for children many of…

Thursday 24 November is Thanksgiving Day in the USA. The first Thanksgiving Day was celebrated in November 1621 by the Plymouth colonists and the indigenous Wampanoag people. In September 1620 a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth in England carrying 102 passengers. Most of the families on board were Christians who belonged to churches…