A range of resources including personal anecdotes of some miracles and spiritual experiences in my life. I work as a free-lance RE consultant and will happily come in and talk about my own spiritual life or make a presentation on any aspect of RE (free - expences only)

A range of resources to use when planning a unit on questions of human rights justice, suffering and the age old issue of 'Is it Fair?&' The oxfam unit is excellent and I have made a worksheet for our students to create cards inspired by the ones created by the students at the school in South Africa which is featured in the Oxfam resources.

includes speech Malala gave at the UN on 12th July 2013 Videos of M's recovery more vids inc reports and interviews from July - Nov 2013 some of M&'s blog + it inspires others wksheets 1 bckgnd to start of her speech Worksheet with 20 questions plus 2 - in process - on the substance of the speech. (yr 9 upwards needs adaption and differentiation.) Worksheet on UN and Human Rights Taliban 1 full text of letter from T with background Taliban 2 about T from a contrasting perspective Women&';s experiences of T rule. Buddhist statues destroyed by T. Drone attacks. feedback please

what Jesus says about Love. Where might a Christian start when reading the Bible - Students can have little idea about how Christians seek guidance, through prayer and Bible reading. This starts with a post from a conversation with an atheist. I've added a bit which reflects on Jesus in an inter-faith way. The Sunday School experience story is in italics. Use with exam classes - to give students insight into what it is like to practise a religion Other resources which relate to this passage and to text-analysis and understanding the Bible are added

Yr 9 experience a good place to start. Readings / examples of missionaries. Success - eg Bruce Olson (from Wikki), \nfaith challenged - remaining Christian but no longer exclusivist fundamentalist - more liberal - eg blog by Lana Hope in Missions from an unfundamentalist Christian\nsome put Christianity to aside and became atheist in response to their experiences eg Daniel Everett - in the articles about his book 'Don&'t Sleep, There are Snakes.&';\nI hope to add more examples - please suggest some and give your comments.

This is a Facebook Live I recorded relating to my thoughts around a quote from the Sermon on the Mount which I felt was out of context. In Religious Education the one thing we all focus on is the quest for Truth. Truth is elusive - a bit like Life or Reality - impossible to define - but we do have the capacity to aim for it. As a Religious Education Specialist, when anyone uses a quote from any scripture to reinforce their argument, it rings alarm bells because it is possible to justify almost anything with the judicious use of quotations. In this video I refer to the US elections and Mr Trump as an example of some of the things we value and need to protect.

From HOD in Religious Education to giving Mindfulness-Meditation and Empowerment Workshops for resilience, improved mental health and happiness. In this Ebook, DurgaMata shares some practical strategies for reducing stress and increasing happiness - both in your own life and when dealing with challenges in the classroom. DurgaMata gives a fascinating overview of her own ‘spiritual sadhana’ which has taken her from teaching in the classroom to offering an Online Programme to reduce stress, build resilience and increase happiness - which can span the world. DurgaMata writes - The spiritual side of life has always been important to me. In this account I look back at how circumstances moved me from joyful and devoted Head of Religious Education in a large Secondary School, through a challenging time of unemployment as the Ebacc changed the educational landscape - to developing increasing expertise in Health and Wellbeing - especially mental health. After retiring from teaching, I developed a unique and comprehensive program for Raising Consciousness - which I translate as Reducing Stress, Building Resilience and Increasing Happiness. In my small book The Seven Steps to Happiness, I share some of the experiences which have been significant and a mini-seven-step strategy to use in the classroom when a challenging situation occurs. Before 2020, my workshops were all face to face but corona-virus has turned that - on its head, forcing me to take my signature Program ‘The Seven Steps to Happiness’ online. Everyone is suffering from stress - but my particular concern is to support and empower teachers in every way I can, so I dedicate this little book to you. I hope my book will encourage you to see beyond the surface of events to the great, underlying inner principles of love, compassion and oneness which we can all engage with, whatever crazy things may be happening in the world outside - and remind you that if we are to achieve that ideal, we need to begin by taking care of our own physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs and ring-fencing the time we need to look after ourselves. If we want to serve others - if we want to care for the children, pupils and students we teach - and if we want to have positive and happy relationships in the staffroom - then we have to ensure we are taking care of ourselves and we have an effective way of replenishing our own reservoir of inner peace and happiness. I hope this little book will give you some leads and encourage you to follow them. Love and Peace DurgaMata ps, hold fire on buying this. I have to edit all the quotes slides to ensure I’m not breaking copyright rules. I’ll let you know when it’s done.

This ten-word crossword-puzzle with Teacher's Notes and Helpful Hints is designed to reinforce or revise the main Key-Words for the GCSE Religious Studies topic 1.1 Believing in God. This resource includes 3 crosswords, Teacher's Notes which include answers and hints - and a Helpful Hints sheet to aid differentiation. Ideal for use as a Starter Activity, part of a lesson about the topic, extension activity, homework or revision, there is a second crossword to cover all the Key Words in this topic. In addition to the required Key-Words, a small number of additional words relating to this topic have been included. note - here you have an extra version of the crossword, as I was experimenting with different systems. I preferred the one which I then felt required enlarging, but have kept all the versions for you convenience.

This resource is to gather together articles and video links which relate to Global Warming and the UN Climate Conference. It relates to issues we explore in RE with GCSE and older students, stewardship etc. But it is also an important subject in Geography, Science, Citizenship, Politics and Economics etc. Do let me know if you have good resources which I can add here - and give reviews.

Responding to a rather 'silly' comment on a thread, which suggests the Bible was a work of fiction written by Jesus&' mates, I have outlined the authors of Acts and the four Gospels here, using material copied from Wikki. This attitude and question is fairly typical of some of our young people when they come into year 7 so I hope that colleagues will find this outline useful. It may be good to use as revision with KS4, too, when beginning a unit of work on Christianity, since some of them can have a rather ignorant attitude. Do add your comments and ratings. Thanks

from websites and newspaper articles, a range of articles. These will be interesting to stimulate discussion with exam groups and engage G + T students at KS3 most relate to Christianity but some to Atheism and other world views. The one about the way that Americans change faith - but are basically looking for a faith they can follow, challenges the idea that 'faith is on the wane.' The traditional churches may be losing numbers but most people, find that they are looking for something to give them more of a sense of belonging and meaning than our Western Capitalism can offer.

Resources to use when exploring the story of Creation in the Bible, Genesis 1 An exploration of Genre and the different ways the Creation Story (Poem or Song) can be interpreted. Link this with some quotes from the Native American resource and environmental issues.

This eleven-word crossword-puzzle with Teacher's Notes and Helpful Hints is designed to reinforce or revise the main Key-Words for the GCSE Religious Studies topic 1.1 Believing in God. This resource contains * two versions of the crossword * teacher's notes - including the answers and hints * helpful hints for students. This can be used to aid differentiation or shared with the whole class towards the end of the exercise, to help everyone finish - or as you go through the activity, together Ideal for use as a Starter Activity, part of a lesson about the topic, extension activity, homework or revision, this is the second of two crosswords for Believing in God. In addition to the required Key Words, a small number of additional words relating to this topic have been included.

A selection of articles mostly from Wikki and youtube videos about a young Nepali Buddhist who at the age of about 13 was inspired to go into the forest / jungle and meditate for six years sitting under a tree - in a similar way to the Buddha. His tree became a focus of pilgrimage and tourism. The Discovery documentary team went to investigate and filmed for 96 hours without a break - proving that he did not eat, drink or move from the spot in all that time (something that science does not recognise as possible.) Also info about the American Buddhist monk Steve Hagen and some of his books.

Sri Ramakrishna lived in the 19th Century. Here I have given some insight into those who recorded his message as well as a brief selection of quotations including where he explains how God can be both Infinite, Transcendent and Impersonal AND personal and finite. Another model he uses is of the waters of a lake. Travellers approach from different directions, passing through totally different terrains, but when they bathe in the waters the waters are the same. (Different religions are like the different journeys - but the goal of all is the experience of God.

This crossword-puzzle with Teacher's Notes and Helpful Hints is designed to reinforce or revise the main Key-Words for the GCSE Religious Studies - unit 1.3 Marriage and family life. This resource includes: two versions of the crossword puzzle, Teacher's Notes which give all the answers plus hints and Helpful Hints which you can use to aid differentiation or share with the whole class when the time provided for this activity is nearly up. Ideal for use as a Starter Activity, part of a lesson introducing the topic, extension activity, homework or revision. In addition to the required Key-Words, a small number of additional words relating to this topic have been included.

Looking into the content of the Creation-Story, how it is found in both the Jewish Hebrew Bible and The Christian Bible. Where does the story originate - what is its Genre and what is the nature of the truths it offers? How do different people approach the Bible and the Story of Creation - and how does this lead to different interpretations? In what ways may the Creation-Story conflict or support the discoveries of science - which point to evolution over millions of years rather than an event spanning seven days? What truths or insights does the Creation-Story offer which complement scientific disovery? What might Einstein have meant when he said that without religion, science is blind and without science, religion is lame?

most of an essay I wrote on Christian Theology in around 1990 when working for my degree in Theology and Religious Studies. This is a good text to discuss with GCSE and A'level students.

Responding to comment about the Gospels being contradictory, my answer outlines some of the different ways of interpreting the Bible in general – Fundamentalist, Liberal and Conservative perspectives, applied to the story of Creation, the science/religion debate and the issue of Gay Marriage.

The Bible is a complex document. The very word means a library of books. What is it’s origin, how were the books chosen and when, Where does the Story of Creation appear and what genre of writing does it belong to? How do different Christians choose to interpret the Bible and why? Before we can even start to ask The Great God-Question, we need to ask all these questions and more. What is the relationship between Science and Religion. Exploring the God Question will help us understand. This is just the first slide in a series - exploring the God Question from different angles and religious perspectives. Who knows, it could even become another book!