Search results for .uri
"I think I’ve just seen my sister for the last time."
When standing alongside bereaved friends, we feel helpless and often don’t feel like we are doing the right thing. Here is some useful advice on how to be a good friend during their time of grief: The power of presence. At times of deep sadness, sometimes we want to be alone. But often we want our…
Phil Knox
The power of a cuppa (or ‘chai’ for us Iranians)
It was more than a decade ago that my husband and I left Iran to pursue higher education in a neighbouring country. Our plans fell through. The year that followed was the most difficult of our lives: living as refugees was lonely and demoralising. The lowest point was the week we had to sleep on…
Bahar Shahabi
Should Christians attend secular music festivals?
For as long as I can remember, I have always attended Notting Hill Carnival. It was a whole family affair: Mum, aunts, cousins and siblings in tow, in overwhelming anticipation we'd make our way to West London for the two-day event to celebrate our Caribbean heritage of our native island of…
Nicola Morrison
Young adults: Let's talk mental health in church
Opening up the conversation We can be uncomfortable with disclosures about mental health problems, and sometimes inadvertently make unhealthy assumptions that are counter-productive. There is, however, sound scriptural grounds to believe God cares about our souls – the seat of our emotions, will…
Dr Ayodele Ajayi
The shooting of Chris Kaba
Since that date, members of the Racial Justice Advocacy Forum (RJAF), the National Church Leaders Forum, the Evangelical Alliance, the Ascension Trust and the London Baptist Association have been meeting to hear the concerns of the bereaved family and the wider community, offering pastoral support…
Rev Dr Israel Oluwole Olofinjana
Helping young adults transition to university
Thousands of young people across England will be attending freshers' week over the coming weeks. For most, this will be their first time living away from home. This period of transition could be a time of excitement, anticipation and anxiety all at once. It will no doubt be a time of making new…
Nicola Morrison
An Open Letter: Responding to the Cost-of-Living Crisis together
25th August 2022 Dear MLA, We, the undersigned leaders and organisations, are representatives from a breadth of churches and Christian faith-based charities in Northern Ireland. We are writing to you as part of ongoing efforts to help create a united church voice in response to the ever-growing…
Love breaks the roof
After careful assessment by Lynne, a volunteer occupational therapist, a suitable wheelchair was selected. Fawasi was delighted with his new chair, grinning broadly and thrusting his arms in the air in spontaneous thanksgiving. Love through action Fawasi is one of hundreds of people helped each…
Annette Stuart
Making a difference by showing up
At Youth for Christ, we’re about seeing young people’s lives changed by Jesus. We have long recognised that transformation usually happens through relationships and in most cases before we can declare Jesus, we need to demonstrate Him (Acts 1:8). Across Britain, we have over 60 local ministries…
Neil O'Boyle
Stories of Hope
God continues to move powerfully through you. You have continued to look out for fellow believers and those who do not know Jesus personally. Good news has been proclaimed in word and deed to communities across the UK and lives have been touched and transformed by His work. This collection of…
Could your church adopt a care home?
Overlooked and ignored: such an apt description of many care home residents. Did you know, research shows that older people in care homes are twice as likely to feel severely lonely as older people living in the community? There are about 12,500 care homes for older people across the UK, and about…
Tina English
“The wristband had changed his life…”
Many festivals returned to in-person events after two years of meeting online, and this year even saw the birth of new festivals that had been waiting to launch. These festivals provide valuable space and time for many Christians, young and old, some who are new to faith and some who have been…
Alyssa Carey
Jesus Unmasked
Is the Jesus story the greatest fake news in history or was Jesus really God? That's the question this quality evangelistic booklet answers for today's generation - after a 2022 survey found that one in three non-Christians want to know more about Jesus. Written by Good News newspaper's Editor,…
I’m a child of God
I’m fortunate enough to say that so far in my life I’ve never had a serious run in with poor mental health, but low level, bubbling anxiety has been a fairly familiar companion since I was a teenager, along with occasional visits from panic attacks and what I call “sad days”. After a few trickier…
Jo Evans
Dating apps: love or loathe them?
The dating landscape has undergone something of a transformation in the last 20 years. With the creation of online dating websites in the early 2000s, the way people date changed forever and, today, meeting somebody on a dating app is the norm, especially if you are a millennial. Research even…
Lizzie Thomson