“The profoundly suffering people of Sudan continue to be in my prayers with each passing day. Following the return of the Bishops of Leeds and Bradford from the country last week, I am again in mourning for the millions of innocent people who have been killed, displaced or had their lives destroyed by this conflict. It is estimated that between 8 and 11 million people have been displaced, and that famine and other forms of insecurity are now inevitable. It is unconscionable that such immense suffering is allowed to continue, forgotten by most of the world. “As the violence intensifies with the siege and battery of El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces, I call on the countries supporting this destruction through weapons and financing to stop and channel their resources instead towards negotiations for peace. An honouring of the Jeddah commitments and UN Security Council’s call for a ceasefire is now of paramount importance. All those engaging in violence must cease. “The strong links between the Church of England, specifically the Dioceses of Leeds and Salisbury, and the Episcopal Church of Sudan are built on Christian solidarity with sisters and brothers in faith – and the conviction that all the people of Sudan are of infinite value before God. I stand in solidarity with my brother, the Most Revd Ezekiel Kondo, Primate of Sudan. We will continue to work and pray for peace and justice – and for a reconciliation that makes security and stability possible.”

Archbishop of Canterbury urges end to violence in Sudan | The Archbishop of Canterbury #sudan https://t.co/NgNOgc184h

— Sudan's Doctors for Human Rights (@sudan_doctors) June 17, 2024

By the time children born today are in kindergarten, artificial intelligence (AI) will probably have surpassed humans at all cognitive tasks, from science to creativity. When I first predicted in 1999 that we would have such artificial general intelligence (AGI) by 2029, most experts thought I’d switched to writing fiction. But since the spectacular breakthroughs of the past few years, many experts think we will have agi even sooner—so I’ve technically gone from being an optimist to a pessimist, without changing my prediction at all.

After working in the field for 61 years—longer than anyone else alive—I am gratified to see AI at the heart of global conversation. Yet most commentary misses how large language models like ChatGPT and Gemini fit into an even larger story. AI is about to make the leap from revolutionizing just the digital world to transforming the physical world as well. This will bring countless benefits, but three areas have especially profound implications: energy, manufacturing and medicine. 

Read it all.

“AI is about to make the leap from revolutionising the digital world to transforming the physical world as well,” writes Ray Kurzweil in a guest essay. The futurist says amid countless benefits, there will be profound implications in three areas https://t.co/ty57b4HqrY

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) June 18, 2024

Since the sequencing of the human genome in 2003, genetics has become one of the key frameworks for how we all think about ourselves. From fretting about our health to debating how schools can accommodate non-neurotypical pupils, we reach for the idea that genes deliver answers to intimate questions about people’s outcomes and identities.

Recent research backs this up, showing that complex traits such as temperament, longevity, resilience to mental ill-health and even ideological leanings are all, to some extent, “hardwired”. Environment matters too for these qualities, of course. Our education and life experiences interact with genetic factors to create a fantastically complex matrix of influence.

But what if the question of genetic inheritance were even more nuanced? What if the old polarised debate about the competing influences of nature and nurture was due a 21st-century upgrade?

Scientists working in the emerging field of epigenetics have discovered the mechanism that allows lived experience and acquired knowledge to be passed on within one generation, by altering the shape of a particular gene. This means that an individual’s life experience doesn’t die with them but endures in genetic form. The impact of the starvation your Dutch grandmother suffered during the second world war, for example, or the trauma inflicted on your grandfather when he fled his home as a refugee, might go on to shape your parents’ brains, their behaviours and eventually yours.

Read it all.

Latest resource : Can you inherit memories from your ancestors? (2024) article by Hannah Critchlow. Explains how what we do today cascades down across generations including in our physiology. #chaostheory #wecanhelpeachother #psychologyhttps://t.co/EarP0hwFTK

— Dr Andrew Perry (@coproductiveEqu) June 18, 2024

Beginning August 18, the people of Holy Trinity, Windemere will begin worshipping with the community of St. John’s Chapel on Hanover Street. The Revd David Dubay will lead the united congregations in discerning a new future together that will include outreach to the Hispanic community in downtown Charleston. The Bishop and Standing Committee have worked with all parties to discern a path forward that it is believed will lead to renewed and fruitful ministry for all.  Please keep them in your prayers as they begin this next season of life together.

Read it all.

Almighty and everlasting God, who didst enkindle the flame of thy love in the heart of thy holy martyr Bernard Mizeki: Grant to us, thy humble servants, a like faith and power of love, that we who rejoice in his triumph may profit by his example; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Church of England commemorates Bernard Mizeki, Apostle of the MaShona, Martyr, 1896

He became a Christian after attending night classes at an Anglican school in Cape Town run by the Cowley Fathers (SSJE) & was killed #OTD in 1896 while doing mission work in S Rhodesia pic.twitter.com/ZXk4hcOFro

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) June 18, 2024

Blessed be He Who in His love stooped to redeem  mankind!  Blessed be the King Who made Himself poor to enrich the needy!  Blessed be He Who came to fulfill the types and emblems of the prophets!  Blessed be He Who made creation rejoice with the wealth and treasure of His Father!  Blessed be He Whose glory the dumb sang with hosannas!  Blessed be He to Whom little children sang new glory in hymns of praise!  Blessed be the new King Who came that new-born babes might glorify Him!  Blessed be He unto Whom children brought faltering songs to praise Him among His disciples!     

–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)

Morning everyone hope you are well. After all the years I have lived here. A place in the Western Lake District I'd never visited. Very beautiful. It is also good to know it's not just landscape photographers who stand around for hours hoping to capture something. Have a great… pic.twitter.com/MwbPQkPUKf

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) June 18, 2024

For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.”

–Romans 1:16-17

Poppies and Lupins#northumberland #photography pic.twitter.com/0vYfvrHTgQ

— Jim Scott (@jimscottphoto) June 18, 2024

The Global South Fellowship of Anglicans (GSFA) achieved their third objective of Assembly 2024: the election of godly leaders among the Primates Council, the Council of Bishops, and the Assembly. The Assembly must have a standing committee, or board (Section 3.3). Like most dioceses and provinces, the Global South Assembly meets at a regular time every three to four years, but between its meetings it must have a group of people elected by them to carry on its work. If you go to the Cairo Covenant, you can see all the things the board must do in Section 3.3.3. Last night the lay delegates, clergy delegates, and bishop delegates of the Assembly elected representatives: three bishops, seven clergy, and seven laity. From North America, Bishop Alex Farmer was one of the three bishops elected to the board; from the clergy, myself and Venerable Daryl Critch; from the laity, Ms. Rachel Thebeau was elected and was unanimously voted Secretary of the Board. The board then met at noon today and received the GSFA marching orders on how we will carry the work of this Assembly moving forward. Please keep the Board in your prayers.

Secondly, the Council of Bishops had to elect a Faith and Order Commission (FOC) as explained in Section 3.4.4. As I have written elsewhere, the FOC is a critical component of the GSFA covenantal structures. The FOC is the operational means for guarding the faith and order of the GSFA. It can be called at any time to meet with the Primates Council. It may also be directed by the primates to meet separately to address matters of faith, order, and discipline. Normally the FOC is the first body that receives a question or proposed innovation with regards to the faith and order of the whole body. It is the FOC which makes recommendations to the bishops council and to the primates on what to do. It also has the authority to enlist the help of proficient members, lay and clergy, to assist it in the subject under study. In the election for the FOC, the bishops chose from North America, the Rt. Rev. Alex Farmer, and from Uganda, the Rt. Rev. Alfred Olwa.

The highest body within the GSFA is the Primates Council. Once the board and the bishops were elected, the primates gathered alone to pray and discuss among themselves who would be the Chair, the Deputy Chair, the Treasurer, and the Secretary. It should be noted that the Secretary will be the member of the Primates Council to whom the Secretariat or Administration will report. Last night, after praying and discussing, the primates elected Abp. Justin Badi of S. Sudan as Chair, Abp Samy Shahata of Alexandria as Deputy Chair, Abp Stephen Kaziimba of Uganda as Treasurer, and Abp Titus Chung of SE Asia as the Secretary. In addition, the primates elected three other primates for a Steering Committee: Abp Titre Ande, of Congo; Abp Miguel Uchoa, of Brazil; and Abp. Stephen Than, of Myanmar.

Read it all.

Canon Phil shares about what happened to start building the structures of the GSFA Council and Assembly: How does it work and what's the plan? https://t.co/x6uUCVk7Vd

— American Anglican (@AnglicanCouncil) June 15, 2024

So, what’s the way out?

Step forward, Revd Sam Ferguson, the Rector of The Falls Church Anglican in Virginia, USA, who also addressed the GSFA gathering.  

Revd Ferguson does not see the current controversies as a threat, or something to be managed, or put to one side – instead he explained that the controversy was a gift and an opportunity.  “If you look at the history of the Church”, he said, “Christian doctrine is typically produced in the pressure of heresy and controversy, not in a vacuum.”

He described the LGBTQ movement as, “a flower on a tree, that is a completely a new way of understanding what it means to be human – so underlying the whole LGBTQ movement are a whole different set of assumptions about being human.” 

His thesis was that to address these assumptions, which affect us all, the Church needs to discover an ever more compelling vision of biblical anthropology, which will then shape our response with compassion and clarity.  Compassion for individuals who experience pain. Clarity because the truth is not subjective.

Living up to the challenge, in less than an hour, he set out three of the unarticulated assumptions which shape the world in which we live and are seen in the LGBT movement.  He then offered a glorious, biblical alternative to each one. 

1. I am a self-made individual, answerable to no-one
2. My sense of self is located in my feelings rather than any objective reality
3. I find my hope in happiness (and sex) and my healing in transition

As he travelled from creation to the new creation, Ferguson showed compassion for the fallen world and pointed to the resurrection hope for hurting people.  He challenged those present that the church needed to offer “a thick enough ecclesia, Christian community, to come around people who are hurting – but it is a Spirit-shaped community and a Spirit-shaped transformation.”

The presentation was steeped in his own American culture, yet his biblical exegesis landed with those from all nations.  The Q&A just kept going and when time was eventually called, he was surrounded by delegates from all over the world. There was no ‘deep listening’ – but those listening wanted more. 

Read it all.

The CofE bishops are stuck because they cannot agree on the answer to a simple question – “Is same-sex sex sinful?” Can the GSFA Assembly help? https://t.co/JKE1AgzVya

— Anglican Futures (@AnglicanFutures) June 14, 2024

Since February, Kathy Xiang and her entire family have been under siege.

Her 12-year-old daughter has had whooping cough, rhinovirus and parainfluenza: She’s missed more than five weeks of school in total. Xiang, a software developer in Shanghai, caught all three too. Her elderly parents, who were helping care for her 10-month-old, tested positive for Covid-19 in early March, and her father got shingles.

Then the baby caught parainfluenza and pneumonia, necessitating five days on an IV drip. “I was literally numb after the baby boy got sick despite all our efforts to protect him,” Xiang said. “I was physically and mentally exhausted.”

Around the world, a post-Covid reality is beginning to sink in: Everyone, everywhere, really is sick a lot more often.

Read it all.

Bloomberg: “Yes, Everyone Really Is Sick a Lot More Often After Covid”

“The state of constant illness already is taking a toll on businesses and the economy”https://t.co/nMY7N8fvUG

— Billy Hanlon (@bhanlon15) June 14, 2024

On the ninth anniversary of the Emanuel AME Church shooting, congregants and community members are honoring the nine victims and five survivors while looking to the future to ensure their story isn’t forgotten.

A self-avowed white supremacist joined a Bible study the night of June 17, 2015, at the historic Calhoun Street church. He opened fire in the fellowship hall, murdering a group of Black parishioners.

Family members appeared at the killer’s bond hearing two days later. Several stood up to speak as a magistrate called out the names of their loved ones. Some told the gunman they forgave him.

Their words reverberated across the globe, transforming an act of pure evil into a story of grace, resistance and strength.

Read it all.

On the 9th anniversary of the Charleston Emanuel AME Church mass shooting, congregants & community members are honoring the 9 victims & 5 survivors while looking to the future to ensure their story isn’t forgotten. #EmanuelAME https://t.co/Q67zu0VQuf

— Flo McAfee (@soukieg) June 17, 2024

Global defence companies are recruiting workers at the fastest rate since the end of the cold war as the industry seeks to deliver on order books that are near record highs.

A Financial Times survey of the hiring plans of 20 large and medium-sized US and European defence and aerospace companies found they are looking to recruit tens of thousands of people this year. Three of the largest US contractors — Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics — have close to 6,000 job openings they need to fill, while 10 companies surveyed are seeking to increase positions by almost 37,000 in total, or almost 10 per cent of their aggregate workforce.

“Since the end of the cold war, this is the most intense period for the defence sector with the highest increase in order volume in a rather short period of time,” said Jan Pie, secretary-general of ASD, the European aerospace and defence trade association. 

Read it all (registration or subscription).

An FT survey of 20 industry groups has found that they are looking to recruit tens of thousands of people this year, as order books near record highs. https://t.co/ZCOnyOaJCK pic.twitter.com/in7XIqZByA

— Financial Times (@FT) June 17, 2024

O Lord, from whom all good proceeds: Grant us the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may always think those things that are good, and by your merciful guidance may accomplish the same; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

This is what summer is all about!

Snacks by the river, stunning light and shadows, soaking up the warmth of the rocks warmed by the sun!

Last night on Kinder Scout #PeakDistrict pic.twitter.com/7yhVcBIq6N

— Sarah Lister (@ABTheAdventure) June 17, 2024

aul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord…

–Romans 1:1-4

I think we might be at peak poppy at Hampton Court Palace! Glowing red in the morning sunshine they really are quite beautiful 😍 pic.twitter.com/421Pl3dLQ1

— Tom O'Leary (@TomOleary72) June 17, 2024

From there:

We give our thanks, Creator God, for the fathers in our lives.

Fatherhood does not come with a manual, and reality teaches us that some fathers excel while others fail.
We ask for Your blessings for them all and forgiveness where it is needed.

This Father’s Day we remember the many sacrifices fathers make for their children and families, and the ways–both big and small–they lift children to achieve dreams thought beyond reach.

So too, we remember all those who have helped fill the void when fathers pass early or are absent; grandfathers and uncles, brothers and cousins, teachers, pastors and coaches and the women of our families.

For those who are fathers, we ask for wisdom and humility in the face of the task of parenting. Give them the strength to do well by their children and by You.
In Your Holy name, O God, we pray.

Amen.

Yu Hong🎨 Faher and Son. #fathersdaycelebration pic.twitter.com/WuuD7hiw39

— Diana☀️ (@dianadep1) June 16, 2024

Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Guten Morgen,schönen Sonntag pic.twitter.com/cXF1IPPvGl

— Manfred F (@F16Manfred) June 16, 2024

The Lord sets the prisoners free;
     the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
    the Lord loves the righteous.
 The Lord watches over the sojourners,
    he upholds the widow and the fatherless;
    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

The Lord will reign for ever,
    thy God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord!

–Psalm 146: 7c-10

Faith is the cord you hold onto, through bitter darkness or blinding light. "That's the thing about faith. If you don't have it, you can't understand it. And if you do, no explanation is necessary." (Kira Nerys) 💜 Greetings! Happy Sunday. Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's. 😉 pic.twitter.com/Nbi9EQqwuL

— Lee-Anne Gibbon (@LeeAnneGibbon1) June 16, 2024

O God, Origin, Sustainer, and End of all creatures: Grant that thy Church, taught by thy servant Evelyn Underhill, guarded evermore by thy power, and guided by thy Spirit into the light of truth, may continually offer to thee all glory and thanksgiving, and attain with thy saints to the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast promised us by our Savior Jesus Christ; who with thee and the same Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever.

Today the Church of England commemorates Evelyn Underhill, Spiritual Writer, 1941

If God were small enough to be understood, He would not be big enough to be worshipped.
― Evelyn Underhill

Icon by Suzanne Schleck (2000) pic.twitter.com/rySL8Yaa4p

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) June 15, 2024

Lord and of all, by your amazing grace you gift us with all that we need. We seek to depend on you, knowing your love is constant and new each and every day. We give you thanks this day for the surprising gifts that will meet us in the kindness of others. And, as your Spirit leads us, may we be an unexpected blessing – sharing Christ’s love with others in our actions, thoughts and words. For the coming of your kingdom we pray, in Jesus name. Amen (courtesy Methodist Church, UK).

Beautiful morning here now. pic.twitter.com/19I5B891DC

— Steve Carter (@HighlandRampage) June 15, 2024

These are the generations of Aaron and Moses at the time when the Lord spoke with Moses on Mount Sinai. These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the first-born, and Abi′hu, Elea′zar, and Ith′amar; these are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to minister in the priest’s office. But Nadab and Abi′hu died before the Lord when they offered unholy fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai; and they had no children. So Elea′zar and Ith′amar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.

And the Lord said to Moses, “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. They shall perform duties for him and for the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle; they shall have charge of all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and attend to the duties for the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall attend to their priesthood; but if any one else comes near, he shall be put to death.”

And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every first-born that opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the first-born are mine; on the day that I slew all the first-born in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the first-born in Israel, both of man and of beast; they shall be mine: I am the Lord.”

–Numbers 3:1-13

The miniature grass vetchling – a jewel-bright beauty 🌸
It is on the rare plants register & this is only the third location in which I have found it.
Always a pleasure to spot!🩷 pic.twitter.com/WdPiSgyLyz

— Beatrice Groves (@beatricegroves1) June 15, 2024

The composer and choral director John Rutter has been appointed a Knight Bachelor in the King’s Birthday Honours list, published late on Friday evening.

Sir John, who is 78, has composed hundreds of choral anthems, carols, and extended compositions, including opera and orchestral pieces. He has conducted orchestras around the world (Interview, 9 September 2005).

He is a vice-president of the Joyful Company of Singers, president of the Bach Choir, and president of the Association of British Choral Directors (ABCD).

Sir John was educated at Highgate School, where he was a chorister. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was also a choir member, and as an undergraduate had his first compositions published. He served as director of music at Clare from 1975 to 1979. In 1981, he founded the Cambridge Singers, which he conducts, and with whom he has made several recordings of sacred choral repertoire, including his own works.

Read it all.

The composer and choral director John Rutter has been appointed a Knight Bachelor in the King’s Birthday Honours list, published late on Friday evening https://t.co/hID4df2HsL

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 14, 2024

In his workshop today on Anglican identity and how Anglicans read the Bible, the Rev. Dr. Ashley Null made this very point by citing Cranmer’s work. He explained how Cranmer is the forebearer of the Thompson Chain Reference Bible, the first Bible my parents gave to me. If you’ve ever read that Bible, you know that when a particular word or topic appears in the scripture, there is a number that takes you to a list of all the scriptures that cite that same word, theme, or topic. This is exactly what Cranmer did in his work. He took to heart St. Augustine’s teaching that we should always let scripture interpret itself. Scripture interprets scripture. When a passage of scripture is “dark,” in Cranmer’s words, we should look for a passage where the same word, passage, or theme is used in a way that brings its meaning to light.

Therefore, the sixteenth century Anglican reformers understood sola scriptura to mean that we read the scripture together in light of both the scripture itself and the church that has gone before us. As an example, Dr. Null described a historic incident where a German prince sought a biblical interpretation from Luther and Melanchthon that would have allowed him to consort with one favorite mistress over his many others—a scandal they sought to justify using the Old Testament. Cranmer responded with a condemnation of their supposed biblical defense on the grounds that, since the time of Christ and the New Testament, no one in scripture ever permitted or justified bigamy. In other words, if you come up with a new interpretation of the Bible that no one has ever come up with, by definition, it must be wrong.

The Bible study this morning raised questions about the extent to which deep listening (as Archbishop Chung described it) is within the boundaries of the fundamental declarations in the Cairo Covenant which are the plain and grammatical reading of scripture and its historic interpretation by the Church fathers. At best, the message of deep listening struck a confusing chord. This may be a moment for the primates of the Global South to bring clarity out of the confusion by restating how we study the Bible together in keeping with the fundamental declarations of the Cairo Covenant and not simply in keeping with our own cultures.

Read it all.

Canon Phil's report on Day 3, Thursday, of the GSFA Assembly 2024: https://t.co/gdWvbcV8Y0

— American Anglican (@AnglicanCouncil) June 14, 2024

US consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell to a seven-month low in early June as high prices continued to take a toll on views of personal finances.

The sentiment index dropped to 65.6 in June from 69.1, according to the preliminary reading from the University of Michigan. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for the measure to rise to 72.

Consumers expect prices will climb at an annual rate of 3.1% over the next five to 10 years, up slightly from the 3% expected in May, the data out Friday showed. They see costs rising 3.3% over the next year, the same as in the previous month.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

Pretty rotten UoM Consumer Sentiment reading. Expectation was for 72.1, and we got 65.6 instead:

"Assessments of personal finances dipped, due to modestly rising concerns over high prices as well as weakening incomes." pic.twitter.com/Lpl8CXbJqQ

— Markets & Mayhem (@Mayhem4Markets) June 14, 2024

A bird flew out at the break of day
From the nest where it had curled,
And ere the eve the bird had set
Fear on the kings of the world.

The first tree it lit upon
Was green with leaves unshed;
The second tree it lit upon
Was red with apples red;

The third tree it lit upon
Was barren and was brown,
Save for a dead man nailed thereon
On a hill above a town.
That night the kings of the earth were gay
And filled the cup and can;
Last night the kings of the earth were chill
For dread of a naked man.

”˜If he speak two more words,’ they said,
”˜The slave is more than the free;
If he speak three more words,’ they said,
”˜The stars are under the sea.’

Said the King of the East to the King of the West,
I wot his frown was set,
”˜Lo, let us slay him and make him as dung,
It is well that the world forget.’

Said the King of the West to the King of the East,
I wot his smile was dread,
”˜Nay, let us slay him and make him a god,
It is well that our god be dead.’

They set the young man on a hill,
They nailed him to a rod;
And there in darkness and in blood
They made themselves a god.

And the mightiest word was left unsaid,
And the world had never a mark,
And the strongest man of the sons of men
Went dumb into the dark.

Then hymns and harps of praise they brought,
Incense and gold and myrrh,
And they thronged above the seraphim,
The poor dead carpenter.

”˜Thou art the prince of all,’ they sang,
”˜Ocean and earth and air.’
Then the bird flew on to the cruel cross,
And hid in the dead man’s hair.

”˜Thou art the son of the world.’ they cried, `
”˜Speak if our prayers be heard.’
And the brown bird stirred in the dead man’s hair
And it seemed that the dead man stirred.

Then a shriek went up like the world’s last cry
From all nations under heaven,
And a master fell before a slave
And begged to be forgiven.

They cowered, for dread in his wakened eyes
The ancient wrath to see;
And a bird flew out of the dead Christ’s hair,
And lit on a lemon tree.

–G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936)

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought, and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.”
~ G.K. Chesterton

Woman by a Fjord
🎨 Hans Dahl pic.twitter.com/gLYxHUN0Af

— Cian McCarthy (@arealmofwonder) April 18, 2024

O God of earth and altar, who didst give G. K. Chesterton a ready tongue and pen, and inspired him to use them in thy service: Mercifully grant that we may be inspired to witness cheerfully to the hope that is in us; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about.”

G.K. Chesterton, 29th May 1874 – 14th June 1936 pic.twitter.com/yhexhFGjKo

— Mark W. (@DurhamWASP) June 14, 2024

To God the Father, who first loved us, and made us accepted in the Beloved; to God the Son, who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; to God the Holy Ghost, who sheddeth the love of God abroad in our hearts: to the one true God be all love and all glory for time and for eternity.

"Magnificent Mountain Laurel"#MonongahelaNationalForest #AlmostHeaven #WestVirginia #Highlands #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/RR3ArJsSBj

— Thomas R Fletcher (@ThomasRFletcher) June 14, 2024

Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart.

–Galatians 6:7-9

Happy Friday all ! pic.twitter.com/YywQHFvLtr

— David Oxtaby (@Disc_light) June 14, 2024

THE appointment of two new Oxford Regius Professors and Canons of Christ Church was announced from Downing Street on Thursday.

The Starbridge Professor of Theology and Natural Sciences in the University of Cambridge, the Revd Dr Andrew Davison, has been appointed Oxford’s Regius Professor of Divinity: one of the oldest chairs in the university, established by King Henry VIII….

The Robert E. Cushman Distinguished Professor of Moral and Political Theology at Duke University, in the US, Dr Luke Bretherton, is to be the Regius Professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology. He is also currently Senior Fellow at the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke.

His predecessor at Christ Church, the Revd Professor Nigel Biggar, retired in 2022.

His Majesty The King has approved the appointment of two new Regius Professorships at Christ Church. We look forward to welcoming Professor Luke Bretherton and The Revd Professor Andrew Davison in the coming months! #MuChChLove
Find out more 👇https://t.co/kzPUZIGZSA pic.twitter.com/s8idYVu3d8

— Christ Church (@ChCh_Oxford) June 13, 2024

Day two of the GSFA Assembly was focused on mission, as promised by Archbishop Justin Badi in his keynote address. Today began with a powerful opening illustration by Archbishop Samy Shahata from a book, The Minds of Billy Milligan, the only person ever acquitted of murder because of Multiple Personality Disorder. The Global South Assembly begins every day with Bible Studies on Ephesians, and today its focus on chapter one was on our identity in Christ. It’s this identity that has come into crisis through the modern confusion brought on by progressive ideology. Archbishop Sami likened the Anglican Communion today to Billy Milligan and the sickness of Multiple Personality Disorder, characterized by fracture, loss of consciousness, multiple identities, and an ignorance by each identity of the other. The result is a seared conscience and a lack of responsibility. This describes what happened in the Anglican Communion over the last fifty years.

Ephesians chapter one reminds us we have one identity only: it is not our work, feelings, gender, or sexual orientation. As followers of Jesus Christ our identity is in him alone. Yes, we express that identity in different ways and gifts, but from this one identity we receive from Christ spiritual blessings and being called chosen by God. We receive a purpose to be holy and blameless. We receive a deep sense of belonging in a world where we feel lost and isolated. We receive total forgiveness – no longer defined by our past mistakes but defined by Christ’s lavish grace, redemption, and forgiveness. As a result, we are free from condemnation (Romans 8:1). This is the gift at the heart of the Good News.

It is the gift that Christ bought for us with his blood and which he revealed to the world by his Resurrection. This is the heart of the mission to which the Global South was called in being a light to the nations (Isaiah 49:6). Unfortunately, theological divisions and false teaching within the Anglican Communion distracted us from the mission. 

Canon Phil reflects on the significance of mission, the focus of Day 2, as the heart of the GSFA. https://t.co/Q9aLMvQzCL

— American Anglican (@AnglicanCouncil) June 13, 2024