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(Washington Post) Hunger worsened among U.S. households in 2022, report finds

More than 44.2 million Americans lived in households that struggled with hunger in 2022, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report released Wednesday — an increase of 10.3 million over the previous year.

The new figures, from the agency’s Economic Research Service, show an end to a nearly decade-long decrease in the number of families reporting food insecurity, at a time when food prices remain elevated because of inflation.

The report paints a difficult picture for many households considered food-insecure — meaning they did not have consistent, dependable access to enough food for active, healthy living. The percentage of U.S. households facing very low food security increased from 3.8 percent in 2021 to 5.1 percent in 2022, the report found.

The study found statistically significant increases in food insecurity across almost all categories compared with the previous year. One in 8 U.S. households struggled with hunger in 2022, with 13.4 million children living in households that experienced food insecurity. Rates of food insecurity were higher for Black and Latino households. And 33.1 percent of single-parent households headed by women experienced food insecurity.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, America/U.S.A., Dieting/Food/Nutrition, Poverty

(Bloomberg) Half of Working-Age Americans Struggle to Afford Medical Care

Paying for health care is increasingly straining US adults as escalating medical costs converge with rising prices throughout the economy.

More than half of working-age Americans said they had difficulty paying for health care in 2023, according to a Commonwealth Fund survey published Thursday. Among people without insurance, more than three-quarters reported trouble affording care. But 43% of people with employer health plans said they had difficulty paying, and the rate was even higher among people on public health plans like Medicare and Medicaid.

The results highlight a fundamental problem in the $4.3 trillion US health system: Despite spending more on medical care than any other wealthy country, the US fails to make it broadly accessible to much of the population. The rising financial burden squeezes families and leads people to delay care, which can hurt their health over the longer term, researchers said.

“As a primary care provider I’ve seen the impact of this grow over the past several years,” said Joseph Betancourt, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a health research nonprofit. “These affordability challenges are real, they’re getting worse and they’re a clear and present danger.

Read it all (subscription).

Posted in * Economics, Politics, Economy, Health & Medicine, Personal Finance

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Alfred the Great

O Sovereign Lord, who didst bring thy servant Alfred to a troubled throne that he might establish peace in a ravaged land and revive learning and the arts among the people: Awake in us also, we beseech thee, a keen desire to increase our understanding while we are in this world, and an eager longing to reach that endless life where all will be made clear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Posted in Church History, Spirituality/Prayer

A Prayer to Begin the Day from E. M. Goulburn

O Blessed Jesus, who hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, and hast consecrated us in baptism to be temples of the Holy Ghost: Make us, we beseech thee, both in body and soul, meet for thy dwelling place; that our hearts may be houses of prayer and praise, of pure desires and holy thoughts of thee, whose we are and whom we serve, and to whom be glory, now and for evermore.

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Scripture Readings

Now concerning the contribution for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

I will visit you after passing through Macedo′nia, for I intend to pass through Macedo′nia, and perhaps I will stay with you or even spend the winter, so that you may speed me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now just in passing; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost, for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.

–1 Corinthians 16:1-9

Posted in Theology: Scripture

(Tablet) Archbishop warns of mental health consequences of conflict

In his address to the conference, the Archbishop of Canterbury spoke about his own personal struggle with depression. He noted that the all-island Mind Matters research in Ireland had shown that 46 per cent of the 290 clergy surveyed felt not enough was being done to support their mental health.

He highlighted how the poverty, war and instability faced by people in the Global South contributes significantly to poor mental health while in the Global North “there is powerlessness, there is helplessness” in the face of the constant news about conflict in places like Ukraine and the Middle East and this contributed to poor mental health.

“We are better off than we have ever been in the past, yet there is a much higher level of mental illness in the economically prosperous world than elsewhere particularly among young people.”

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Posted in --Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury, Church of England, Health & Medicine, Israel, Middle East, Psychology, The Palestinian/Israeli Struggle

(Southwark news) Walworth cafe and bakery moves into church crypt

A Walworth bakery and cafe is baking its loaves from the bowels of a Georgian church after saying its rent became unaffordable.

Independent eatery Louie Louie has renamed itself Saint Louie after relocating to the crypt inside St Peter’s Church, on Sunday, October 15.

The cafe’s owners have said they are “delighted” by the move and that its products will be cheaper thanks to a more affordable rent.

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Posted in * Economics, Politics, Church of England, Dieting/Food/Nutrition, Economy, Housing/Real Estate Market, Parish Ministry

(Church Times) Modern slavery on the increase, Salvation Army reports

More than 10,000 people received modern-slavery victim support from the Salvation Army under its government contract last year — the highest in the 12 years since it began. This included more than 3000 new referrals, up by five per cent on the previous year.

The figures are set out in the charity’s annual report Behind the Shield: Protecting and supporting survivors of modern slavery, published on Anti-Slavery Day on Wednesday of last week. It is the 12th year that the Government has contracted the Salvation Army to provide specialist support for adult victims of modern slavery referred from England and Wales.

In that year — between July 2022 and June 2023 — 3533 potential victims contacted the Salvation Army for support: a five-per-cent increase (465 more people) over the previous year. Of the potential victims, one third were women, two-thirds were men, and 1.5 per cent identified as transgender.

The use of the term “potential” means that there is reasonable evidence that the person is a victim, but that this has yet to be confirmed by decision-making bodies in the Home Office, the report explains.

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Posted in Anthropology, Ethics / Moral Theology, Globalization, Law & Legal Issues, Police/Fire, Violence

(Gallup) Almost a Quarter of the World Feels Lonely

Nearly one in four people worldwide — which translates into more than a billion people — feel very or fairly lonely, according to a recent Meta-Gallup survey of more than 140 countries.

Notably, these numbers could be even higher. The survey represents approximately 77% of the world’s adults because it was not asked in the second-most populous country in the world, China.

With the World Health Organization and many others — including the U.S. surgeon general — calling attention to the dangers of loneliness, these data, collected in partnership between Gallup and Meta, provide a much-needed global perspective of social wellbeing.

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Posted in Anthropology, Globalization, Health & Medicine, Pastoral Theology, Psychology

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Tabitha (Dorcas) of Joppa

Most Holy God, whose servant Tabitha thou didst raise from the dead to display thy power and confirm thy message that thy Son is Lord; grant unto us thy grace, that aided by her prayers and example, we may be given a new life in thy Spirit to do works pleasing in thy sight; Through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord; who livest and reignest with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Posted in Church History, Spirituality/Prayer, Women

A Prayer for the day from the Pastor’s Prayerbook

Jesus, our Master, do thou meet us while we walk in the way and long to reach the heavenly country; so that, following thy light, we may keep the way of righteousness, and never wander away into the darkness of this world’s night, while thou, who art the Way, the Truth, and the Light art shining within us; for thy mercy’s sake.

–Robert W. Rodenmayer, ed., The Pastor’s Prayerbook: Selected and arranged for various occasions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960)

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Bible Readings

The Lord determined to lay in ruins
the wall of the daughter of Zion;
he marked it off by the line;
he restrained not his hand from destroying;
he caused rampart and wall to lament,
they languish together.

Her gates have sunk into the ground;
he has ruined and broken her bars;
her king and princes are among the nations;
the law is no more,
and her prophets obtain
no vision from the Lord.

The elders of the daughter of Zion
sit on the ground in silence;
they have cast dust on their heads
and put on sackcloth;
the maidens of Jerusalem
have bowed their heads to the ground.

My eyes are spent with weeping;
my soul is in tumult;
my heart is poured out in grief[a]
because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,
because infants and babes faint
in the streets of the city.

They cry to their mothers,
“Where is bread and wine?”
as they faint like wounded men
in the streets of the city,
as their life is poured out
on their mothers’ bosom.

What can I say for you, to what compare you,
O daughter of Jerusalem?
What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,
O virgin daughter of Zion?
For vast as the sea is your ruin;
who can restore you?

Your prophets have seen for you
false and deceptive visions;
they have not exposed your iniquity
to restore your fortunes,
but have seen for you oracles
false and misleading.

All who pass along the way
clap their hands at you;
they hiss and wag their heads
at the daughter of Jerusalem;
“Is this the city which was called
the perfection of beauty,
the joy of all the earth?”

–Lamentations 2:8-15

Posted in Theology: Scripture

(Premier) Church leaders considering quitting job due to stress

One in three church leaders say they want to step down from their roles within the next two years due to job-related stress, according to a new survey by Unite.

The trade union’s study revealed that 75 per cent of those surveyed regularly work beyond their contracted hours, often facing challenging situations such as providing support to individuals suffering from acute mental illness.

Rev Nicky Skipworth from Unite shared with Premier the challenging nature of the clergy’s role, emphasising the desire to be there for people in times of need but feeling they often have to rely on family and friends to feel listened to.

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Posted in Health & Medicine, Parish Ministry, Pastoral Theology, Psychology, Stress

A Lovely Tribute Article to Bobby Charlton from the (London) Times–A supreme talent and England’s iconic hero

It has been some time since an Englishman on the other side of the world could meet strangers and break the ice, find empathy, mutual understanding and common humanity, with the utterance of two words: Bobby Charlton.

Yet, with his passing, a little piece of England dies, too. He was more than a great footballer and a good man. He was our connection to what we believe was a gentler, nobler time. He was our bridge to loyalty and duty, to modesty and diligence. Sir Bobby Charlton came to represent much of what we thought was the best of us. His excellence on the football field set him apart, but Charlton the man mattered as much. His self-effacing nature, his ordinariness, his bald pate, his unassuming demeanour.

One can only imagine what he would have made of the many thousands of words spilt on his behalf today. At the height of his playing career, a respected writer described him as England’s greatest-ever footballer. Far from revelling in the praise, Charlton had the good grace to appear embarrassed. “Well,” he shrugged, finally, “he’s entitled to his opinion.”

Read it all (subscription).

Posted in England / UK, History, Men, Sports

Bishop Edgar And Chris Walchesky Named To ACNA Hymnal Commission

We threw a few questions Chris’s way:

Chris, a 2030 Hymnal?  Six years seems like such a long time. Why will it take that long?

Six years is a long time, yes, absolutely! I think several things are important to keep in mind about the process of creating a hymnal, which is not unlike the process undertaken to compile the 2019 Book of Common Prayer, which took a similar amount of time. Projects like this one are the production of a committee of people, representing different areas of focus in the worship life of the Church. Gathering people together, most of whom are musicians and clergy already engaged in full-time ministry in a parish setting, takes plenty of time!

There are 12 people on the Commission. How will the work be organized?

Our work will be divided among four sub-committees:

  • Hymns of the Anglican patrimony (think hymns distinctive of the English Cathedral tradition, that which composes the repertoire of our latest hymnals of 1940, 1982, and the REC’s Book of Common Praise, 2017)
  • Hymns of ecumenical/global significance
  • Hymns, choruses, & spiritual songs of the last half-century
  • Service music for BCP 2019, both ordinary and traditional language texts

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Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * South Carolina, Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), Liturgy, Music, Worship, Parish Ministry

(NYT) Kill and Be Killed: Ukraine’s Bloody Battlefield Equation

Europe’s deadliest war in generations remains exceedingly violent, precariously balanced and increasingly complicated by factors far from the battlefield.

Ukrainian and Russian soldiers are squared off across trench lines that have barely shifted for nearly a year. Meanwhile, tens of millions of Ukrainians are bracing for another winter of terror and suffering as Moscow stockpiles missiles that could be used to target their nation’s infrastructure in an attempt to demoralize civilians and make cities uninhabitable.

Ukrainian forces are still fighting to break through heavily fortified Russian lines in the south, but the pace of their advance has been slow, averaging only 90 yards per day during the peak of the summer offensive, according to a new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

That is the same pace as the Allied forces during the bloody five-month Battle of the Somme in 1916, the analysis said.

Read it all.

Posted in Foreign Relations, Military / Armed Forces, Politics in General, Russia, Ukraine

(Bloomberg) Deficit Doubling as US Economy Grows Shows Why Yields Are at 5%

In a year when the US economy exceeded almost everybody’s expectations, the underlying federal deficit roughly doubled, spotlighting a dire fiscal trajectory likely to only worsen the partisan budget battles in Washington.

The government ran a $2.02 trillion deficit for the fiscal year through September, after adjustments to remove the impact of President Joe Biden’s student-loan forgiveness program, which was scotched by the Supreme Court. The gap is $1.02 trillion more than the prior year.

The surge is a powerful illustration of a fiscal path that’s triggered warnings from economists, politicians and credit rating agencies. It also helps explain why yields on longer-term US Treasuries are reaching highs unseen since before the global financial crisis, with the government needing to issue ever more debt to cover the shortfall of revenues relative to spending. Ten-year yields surpassed 5% on Monday.

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Posted in * Economics, Politics, Budget, Medicare, Social Security, The National Deficit, The U.S. Government

A Prayer for the day from the ACNA Prayerbook

Set us free, loving Father, from the bondage of our sins, and in your goodness and mercy give us the liberty of that abundant life which you have made known to us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Bible Readings

At that time Jesus declared, “I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will. All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

–Matthew 11:25-30

Posted in Theology: Scripture

C of E Synod meeting to focus on implementation of Prayers of Love and Faith

The Bishop of London, Dame Sarah Mullally, who has co-chaired the Living in Love and Faith steering group, said: “This twin-track approach means that prayers asking for God’s blessing for same-sex couples will be available for use in church very soon, as Synod has asked. A means of offering special, standalone services for same-sex couples will go forward to be considered for formal authorisation at a later stage.

“While we do not all agree about questions of marriage and sexual intimacy, a long period of discernment has shown that a majority of people would like to see a change in the Church of England’s approach to same-sex relationships. Based on what the Church has told us, no change is not an option.

“There are those who would like to see us go much further, and those who believe we are going too far. Yet we have expressed our heartfelt wish to remain together as one Church. The pastoral provision must protect and value both those who struggle so much with this that they need reassurance, and those who wish to place same-sex relationships before God in prayer.

“In other words, it will be ‘both and’, not ‘either or’. We are implementing what Synod asked us to, prayerfully and with the hope of God’s Grace.”

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Posted in Uncategorized

(Washington Post) How plants communicate with each other when in danger

It sounds like fiction from “The Lord of the Rings.” An enemy begins attacking a tree. The tree fends it off and sends out a warning message. Nearby trees set up their own defenses. The forest is saved.

But you don’t need a magical Ent from J.R.R. Tolkien’s world to conjure this scene. Real trees on our Earth can communicate and warn each other of danger — and a new study explains how.

The study found injured plants emit certain chemical compounds, which can infiltrate a healthy plant’s inner tissues and activate defenses from within its cells. A better understanding of this mechanism could allow scientists and farmers to help fortify plants against insect attacks or drought long before they happen.

The study marks the first time researchers have been able to “visualize plant-to-plant communication,” said Masatsugu Toyotasenior author of the study, which was published Tuesday in Nature Communications. “We can probably hijack this system to inform the entire plant to activate different stress responses against a future threat or environmental threats, such as drought.”

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Posted in Energy, Natural Resources, Science & Technology

(NYT) The Race to Save Our Secrets From the Computers of the Future

They call it Q-Day: the day when a quantum computer, one more powerful than any yet built, could shatter the world of privacy and security as we know it.

It would happen through a bravura act of mathematics: the separation of some very large numbers, hundreds of digits long, into their prime factors.

That might sound like a meaningless division problem, but it would fundamentally undermine the encryption protocols that governments and corporations have relied on for decades. Sensitive information such as military intelligence, weapons designs, industry secrets and banking information is often transmitted or stored under digital locks that the act of factoring large numbers could crack open.

Among the various threats to America’s national security, the unraveling of encryption is rarely discussed in the same terms as nuclear proliferation, the global climate crisis or artificial general intelligence. But for many of those working on the problem behind the scenes, the danger is existential.

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Posted in Science & Technology

The Official Announcement from Holy Cross, Sullivan’s Island, SC, of David Cumbie as the new rector

Dear Holy Cross Family,

On behalf of the Vestry, it gives me great pleasure to announce that we have called a new Rector!

We discerned, and Bishop Edgar confirmed, that God has called the Reverend David Cumbie to be our new Rector. Reverend Cumbie accepted the Call. We anticipate he and his family will be here around the week of December 10th.

[The] Reverend Cumbie has been ordained for around 10 years and has been Rector of the Church of the Apostles in Houston, TX for the past 6 years.

If you look at the description of the type of Rector we were praying for in the Parish Profile, David is clearly who God wanted for us. David is a servant leader who will shepherd and lead Holy Cross with love and in step with the Holy Spirit. He and his family want to develop deep roots in the community and be here for the long haul. He has a background not only in small group ministry but also has developed children and adult education programs. He feels that discipleship is not just through small groups but also through education classes.

Reverend Cumbie asked us to share the attached letter which may be found there.

The Search Committee and the Vestry would like to express our gratitude for all of the prayers and support you have given us during this search process. Please continue to pray for the Cumbies and the Church during this time of transition.

Thank you,

Your Brother in Christ,

Darren Hartford

Senior Warden, Church of the Holy Cross

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * South Carolina, Children, Marriage & Family, Ministry of the Ordained, Parish Ministry

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Saint James of Jerusalem

Grant, we beseech thee, O God, that after the example of thy servant James the Just, brother of our Lord, thy Church may give itself continually to prayer and to the reconciliation of all who are at variance and enmity; through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.

Posted in Church History, Spirituality/Prayer

A Prayer for the day from the Church of England

God, our light and our salvation:
[by your Spirit] illuminate our lives,
that we may see your goodness in the land of the living,
and looking on your beauty
may be changed into the likeness of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen (slightly edited; KSH).

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Scripture Readings

Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
Oh guard my life, and deliver me;
let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in thee.
May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for thee.
Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.

–Psalm 25:19-23

Posted in Theology: Scripture

(WSJ) Richard Haas–The Goal for U.S. Diplomacy With Israel: First Calm, Then Peace

As recently as a few weeks ago, the Middle East seemed relatively calm. The principal story coming out of the long-troubled region was a positive one, the possible normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. At the same time, there looked to be hope that the U.S. and Iran were working to place an informal ceiling on the scale of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for some limited sanctions relief.

All this and more is now among the many casualties of Oct. 7, when Hamas militants stormed an unprepared Israel, killing more than 1,300 people and taking several hundred hostages. Israel has responded with aerial strikes on Gaza meant to degrade Hamas’s military capability, as well as by cutting off supplies of electricity, food, water and fuel. Israel has called on the Palestinian population to relocate away from the north of Gaza, allowing its military to act against Hamas strongholds with greater freedom and fewer civilian casualties.

The initial U.S. response to the Hamas attack was full-throated support for Israel, both rhetorically and in the provision of military aid. In just a matter of days, however, that support became somewhat more conditional, with President Biden making clear his opposition to a full-scale invasion and occupation of Gaza. During his brief visit to Israel this week, Biden called for Israeli restraint both in allowing humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and in avoiding military operations that would hurt civilians, themes reiterated in his Oct. 19 Oval Office address. The administration is clearly worried that Israel’s plans could otherwise lead to a wider war, one that at a minimum would draw down already-stretched U.S. munitions stockpiles, increase the price of oil, cause the U.S. reputational problems with much of the so-called Global South, and possibly lead to direct U.S. military involvement.

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Posted in Uncategorized

Prayers for the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina This Day

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * South Carolina, Parish Ministry, Spirituality/Prayer

A Prayer for the day from the Pastor’s Prayerbook

O God, the strength of those who walk with thee, without whom nothing is safe, nothing is tranquil; Confirm in us the knowledge of thy presence, that, thou being our companion in the way, we may so deal with our anxieties that at length our hearts may find their rest in thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–Robert W. Rodenmayer, ed., The Pastor’s Prayerbook: Selected and arranged for various occasions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960)

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Scripture Readings

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let your prophets and your diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream, for it is a lie which they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord.

“For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfil to you my promise and bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart….

–Jeremiah 29:4-13

Posted in Theology: Scripture