CHURCH NEWS
1. Whose medal was marked “return to sender” before posting?
2. Why do angels fear to tread in Guildford?
3. Who was forced to take shelter in a hotel basement in Kyiv during an air raid?
4. Whose inside knowledge about what helped him to a perfect score on the BBC’s Mastermind?
5. How did Joe Lycett’s encounter with the C of E Pensions Board end in a busted flush?
6. Why was the RC priest Fr Justin “unfrocked” in May?
7. Why might a former Lord Mayor of London be turning (again) in his grave?
8. Who was mistakenly identified as “a suspicious youth” by a member of the public who promptly alerted the police?
SEASONAL
1. In which year did Norway first send the UK a Christmas tree?
2. When were snowflakes first photographed?
3. When was the song “Frosty the Snowman” first released?
4. Where and when was the first ice-skating club (for which we have records) founded?
5. When was Christmas Day made a public holiday in Scotland?
6. Who wrote the soundtrack for the film Home Alone?
7. How many ghosts show up in A Christmas Carol?
8. In which modern-day country was St Nicholas born?
CAROLS
1. In which year was Nine Lessons and Carols first broadcast from King’s College, Cambridge?
2. Who wrote the tune Irby for the words “Once in royal David’s city”, from a poem by Cecil Frances Alexander?
3. Which Christmas carol, sung by Katherine Jenkins, featured heavily in the 2010 Doctor Who Christmas special?
4. How many gifts did “my true love” give in “The Twelve Days of Christmas”?
(a) 12 (b) 144 (c) 364 (d) 422
5. Which carol was granted an Intangible Cultural Heritage status by UNESCO in 2011?
6. Which carol was the first to be played on radio, and in which year?
7. Which Christmas song is the best-selling single in world history?
8. Which carol, based on the Ukrainian folk chant Shchedryk, is typically sung to celebrate the new year?
THE BIBLE
1. How many times is cheese mentioned in the Old Testament?
(a) zero (b) three (c) 12
2. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah are better known by which adopted names?
3. Annie Vallotton is arguably the bestselling artist of all time, thanks to her illustrations in what?
4. Who was Paul’s first convert in Macedonia?
5. Which city erected an altar to an Unknown God, used by St Paul as a preaching illustration?
6. Which book in the Bible does not mention the word God at any point?
7. Who replaced Judas among the Twelve?
8. Which of the Twelve was martyred first?
WHO SAID WHAT?
1. What I’m about to say is not a dogma of the Faith but something I hold personally: I like to think that hell is empty. I hope that’s the reality!
2. If I do get to heaven, I’ve often wondered what job I’d get. I’d like to be a defence lawyer for borderline cases: people with a good heart who’ve made a few poor decisions. We used to call it forgiveness and it used to be quite popular, but the world isn’t so keen on it these days. Maybe it’s time to bring it back
3. The British are reticent about talking about religion. They regard their churchgoing in a similar way as their visits to the bathroom — that it’s good manners not to tell anyone they’re going, not say where they’ve been, and never mention what happened there
4. I don’t think I’ve ever been to a popular music concert — that absolutely confirms my terminal nerdishness
5. I do go to church although I must say sorry to my vicar that I haven’t been recently. I’ve been quite busy. But I do believe in God, and I am a practising Christian
6. By luck or by God, many people are saying it’s by God I’m still here
7. Vicarage dogs are as fundamental to the life of the Church of England as Fairtrade coffee and the Book of Common Prayer
8. My mother was a church-going teacher. She wanted me to be the Archbishop of Canterbury. To be honest, I haven’t given up hope
CURRENT AFFAIRS
1. Which country’s Queen abdicated after 52 years?
2. Which artist won her fourth Grammy album of the year for “Midnights”?
3. Who died in a Russian prison, aged 47?
4. Which dog breed was banned by the Government in England and Wales?
5. Which disease was predicted to be eradicated, thanks to a vaccine rolled out to schoolchildren?
6. Who was filmed putting on a necklace with a goat pendant after winning her sixth Olympic gold medal, in Paris?
7. Which Sunday-school teacher from Georgia, in the US, celebrated his 100th birthday?
8. Which coal-fired power station closed in September, bringing to an end 142 years of history?