Thought for the week

This week many people around the world will remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. One in three of the people in the world professes to be a Christian and many others will join them in singing carols and hearing Bible readings about the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem more than 2000 years ago.…

Mary and Joseph lived in the small Galilean village of Nazareth. Joseph had known Mary from a very early age, and she had been promised to him in marriage. She was still in her teens, and he was the village carpenter. They loved each other very much and were looking forward to being married and…

Christmas is a busy time. The season has a momentum of its own as we are swept along with the pressure of getting everything ready for the big day. It is easy in the busyness of it all to lose sight of the things that matter most and, when it is over, to feel a…

The birth of Jesus Christ really is a cause for great celebration! His coming into the world has changed the lives of millions of people for the better. His birth was foretold in detail by prophets who lived more than 600 years earlier and their prophecies were fulfilled. The prophet Micah foretold where he would…

In 2004 Richard Gamble had an idea he believed came from God. The idea was to build a wall made of a million bricks where every single brick would represent a story of answered prayer. Richard was a chaplain at the London 2012 Olympic Games. His dream was to build a monument to celebrate Christianity’s…

Haydn Davies was a promising young footballer who played for the Wales Under-21 team when he was 16 and dreamt of becoming a professional player. However, a Saturday night out in 1973 changed his life. After drinking all night, 19-year-old Haydn and three friends drove at high speeds round country roads. The learner driver lost…

At the end of the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance one million poppy petals fall at the Royal Albert Hall. It is a simple but deeply moving reminder of the millions of people who died in the World Wars of the 20th century, and especially in the Great War of 1914-1918. The casualty statistics…

The Office of National Statistics says loneliness is on the rise in Britain with the number of people living alone expected to increase by a fifth in the next seven years. By 2032 one third (8.57 million) of all dwellings in England will be occupied by a person living on their own – an increase…

In 2024 the Bible Society commissioned YouGov to conduct a survey of church attendance in England and Wales. The Bible Society published a report called “The Quiet Revival”. The survey revealed that between 2018 and 2024 monthly church attendance had risen by 50% from 8% of all adults to 12%. The most dramatic church growth…

Judge Frank Caprio died recently from pancreatic cancer aged 88. He was known as “America’s nicest judge.” From 1985 to 2023, he served as a Providence Municipal Court Judge. Some of the proceedings he presided over dealt with low-level non-criminal cases. Judge Caprio came from a poor background, an experience that encouraged him to put…