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University of Delaware engineers have demonstrated a way to effectively capture 99% of carbon dioxide from air using a novel electrochemical system powered by hydrogen.

It is a significant advance for carbon dioxide capture and could bring more environmentally friendly fuel cells closer to market.

The research team, led by UD Professor Yushan Yan, reported their method in Nature Energy on Thursday, February 3.

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University of Delaware (UD) engineers have demonstrated a way to effectively capture 99% of carbon dioxide from air using a novel electrochemical system powered by hydrogen.https://t.co/FHzPkiEcDh

— Ahsan Butt احسن بٹ (@ahsanbutt) February 4, 2022

Funding set aside to regenerate 20 towns and cities outlined in the Government White Paper Levelling Up, “barely begins to address the chronic under-investment of recent decades”, the Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, has warned.

The White Paper, published on Wednesday, consists of 12 “national missions” to be achieved by 2030, including missions to close gaps in wealth, employment, education, training, 5G broadband, homeownership, and life expectancy in the UK — particularly between the north and south of England. It also pledges to reduce homicide and serious violence in the worst-affected areas, and offer a “London-style” devolution deal to every part of England which requests one, supported by the £2.6-billion UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is to be decentralised to local leaders.

One of the central proposals is to “restore local pride” in 20 towns and cities, beginning with Wolverhampton and Sheffield, with “King’s Cross-style” regeneration projects. To fund this, from April, £1.5 billion of the £1.8 million announced in the October Budget to bring 1500 hectares of brownfield land into use will be redirected towards the north and the Midlands.

In November, Wolverhampton and Sheffield were respectively promised £20 million and £37 million towards the scheme; a further £28 million was allocated to the West Midlands Combined Authority, and £13 million for the South Yorkshire Combined Authority on Sunday.

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“While it is obviously great news for the people of South Yorkshire that Sheffield will benefit from ‘levelling up’ funding, the initially promised funding barely begins to address the chronic under-investment of recent decades" – @PeteWilcox1564https://t.co/WiUJPBEfFT

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 2, 2022

The U.S. Hispanic population reached 62.1 million in 2020, an increase of 23% over the previous decade that outpaced the nation’s 7% overall population growth. At the county level, growth played out unevenly, which resulted in the continued geographic spread of Hispanics. Numerical growth of Hispanics was largest in counties that already had significant Hispanic populations, but the growth rate was largest in counties with smaller Hispanic populations, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of decennial census data from 1980 to 2020.

The Hispanic population grew by 50% or more from 2010 to 2020 in 517 of the 1,685 counties with 1,000 or more Hispanics in the 2020 census. The vast majority of these counties are not in what have historically been Hispanic population centers. Together, these counties have a Hispanic population of only 7.6 million. By contrast, the 20 counties with the largest numerical growth in population are home to more than a third of the nation’s Hispanics (22.2 million).

The U.S. Latino population has been shifting away from states with historically large Latino populations for decades, a trend that can be seen at the state level. As recently as 1990, 86% of Latinos lived in just nine states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Texas). Although the Latino population has grown in each of these states, their share of all U.S. Latinos had dropped to 73% by 2020. In New Mexico, the state’s 1 million Latinos are nearly half of the population (48%). Despite a large population share, New Mexico, which had the ninth-largest Latino population in 2010, dropped to 13th-largest in 2020, after being passed by Georgia, North Carolina, Washington and Pennsylvania.

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US Latino population reached 62.1 M in 2020, a rise of 23% over previous decade.

That outpaced the nation’s 7% overall population growth.

LA County has highest Latino population in US: 4.8 Mhttps://t.co/7CRL2dQWmZ

— Margot Roosevelt (@margotroosevelt) February 3, 2022

O God, who by thy Spirit didst call Cornelius the Centurion to be the first Christian among the Gentiles: Grant to thy Church, we beseech thee, such a ready will to go where thou dost send and to do what thou dost command, that under thy guidance it may welcome all who turn to thee in love and faith, and proclaim the Gospel to all nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Gerbrand van den Eeckhout (19 August 1621 – 29 September 1674) was an Dutch painter.Vertumnus and Pomona Vision of Cornelius the Centurion.Walters 372492 pic.twitter.com/EKJUyTtH3I

— Yiannis Einstein-Ιωάννης Αρβανιτάκης (@yianniseinstein) August 26, 2021

Almighty God,
by whose grace alone we are accepted and called to your service:
strengthen us by your Holy Spirit
and make us worthy of our calling;
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.

Happy Friday 🤗
On this rainy Friday in Ely, I thought I would share a photo from one of last weeks bright sunny mornings.
The beautiful “Fish Trees” along the river Great Ouse. #HappyFriday #RandomActsofKindnessDay #PlayItForwardDay pic.twitter.com/soEaojURsZ

— Veronica in the Fens 🧚🏼‍♀️ (@VeronicaJoPo) February 4, 2022

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation which addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor lose courage when you are punished by him.
For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant; later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

–Hebrews 12:3-11

'Morning Glow', Bangor Pier From Nr Glyn Garth Court, Menai Bridge this am ☁️🌤 (taken on s21 ultra) @Ruth_ITV @DerekTheWeather @ItsYourWales @BBCWalesNews @BBCCountryfile @BBCCymruFyw @ITVWales @BangorWalesNews @nationaltrust #NorthWales @metoffice #ThePhotoHour #LoveAnglesey pic.twitter.com/wa4hq6Oy7j

— Marilyn E Williams (@madmaz2112) February 4, 2022

A teenager has become what is thought to be England’s youngest churchwarden.

Ben Jenkins was appointed during a recent service at St Nicolas in Stanningfield, Suffolk.

The 19-year-old said he wanted to “make a difference” to his local church and community.

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, the Right Reverend Martin Seeley, said it was “wonderful” to see younger people coming forward to serve their churches.

Mr Jenkins was elected to the office of churchwarden at the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich’s annual parochial church meeting in December.

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Suffolk churchwarden thought to be youngest in England https://t.co/SCuCBfu23H

— BBC Radio Suffolk (@BBCSuffolk) February 2, 2022

St John’s Church in Keswick in the Lake District made half a hectare of land next to its graveyard that was too stony and waterlogged for burials available to the town’s then newly-formed Community Housing Trust.

The land now has 11 three-bedroomed houses and the trust has gone on to build a further 30 homes in the town on other plots. The latest four – three, three-bedroomed houses and one two-bedroom house – were built on land provided by the Methodist Church on the site of a demolished church hall.

Around half the homes built by the trust are for shared ownership and the other half are let out at rents that are truly affordable in perpetuity – measured in relation to local earnings, not market rents.

Bill Bewley, the Chair of Keswick Community Housing Trust, believes that up to 200 people have been housed as a result of the trust’s work so far with further potential plots of land for housing being explored.

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How a plot of unused church land helped families priced out of the housing markethttps://t.co/pwTlF8l8DC #Property #Housing #ChurchOfEngland #Keswick

— Estates IT® (@EstatesIT) February 3, 2022

For a small church, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Downingtown, Pennsylvania, has a surprising reach.

Most church members live in and around Downingtown, a small town about an hour west of Philadelphia. Some live as far away as Bermuda.

“But that’s one of the beauties that has come out of the pandemic,” Downingtown pastor Ivy Berry said. “We can meet in the sanctuary, but still maintain a worship presence via Zoom and on Facebook Live, so members who may not be able to travel to the sanctuary can still receive the same worship service.”

A report on churches and technology during the pandemic found that by offering online services, churches were able to expand their reach, often connecting with people outside their community or reconnecting with former members who had moved away. Even small congregations that had once struggled to reach outside the walls of the church were able to expand their reach, according to “When Pastors Put on the ‘Tech Hat,” a report from the Tech in Churches research project, led by Heidi Campbell, professor of communication at Texas A&M University.

“With the shift online, churches were shocked to discover the ways that an online service can become a wide-reaching net to whoever is interested in tuning in or watching,” according to researchers. “One pastor described this widening reach and shift as ‘shut-ins being no longer shut out.’”

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One thing that is pretty clear – streaming worship services and other options for online spiritual interaction have been really important during COVID – and likely will be going forward. https://t.co/9Ife1mUfHn

— Bob Smietana (@bobsmietana) February 2, 2022

Holy God, who didst inspire the Dorchester chaplains to be models of steadfast sacrificial love in a tragic and terrifying time: Help us to follow their example, that their courageous ministry may inspire chaplains and all who serve, to recognize thy presence in the midst of peril; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Four U.S. Army World War II chaplains died, linking arms, to save lives of American troops as S.S. Dorchester sank, tomorrow 1943. Here is an early U.S. postage stamp design: pic.twitter.com/Rif4nDb3PY

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) February 3, 2022

When one of Anskar’s followers suggested to him that he could work miracles he replied, ” Were I worthy of such a favour from my God, I would ask that He would grant to me this one miracle, that by His grace He would make of me a good man.” No one can read the “Life” written by Rimbert his disciple and successor which, after being lost for five hundred years, was fortunately rediscovered, without feeling moved to thank God for the accomplishment of the miracle for which Anskar had prayed. He was a good man in the best and truest sense of the term. In the character presented to us by his biographer we have a singularly attractive combination of transparent humility, unflinching courage, complete self devotion, and unwavering belief in a loving and overruling providence. The claim to the title Apostle of the North, which was early made on his behalf, rests not upon the immediate outcome of his labours, but upon the inspiring example which he bequeathed to those who were moved to follow in his steps. For whilst the Missions which lie planted in Denmark and Sweden during the thirty-three years of his episcopate were interrupted after his death by the desolating raids of the Northmen, those by whom the work was restarted gratefully recognised him as their pioneer.

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To celebrate his feast day, the statue of St Anskar from our north aisle screen. @thevicsoc @dioceseoflondon #taylerson @gtomlin @richardfrank pic.twitter.com/SDe5tW175A

— StJohnsW14 (@StJohnsW14) February 3, 2022

Almighty and everlasting God, who didst send thy servant Anskar as an apostle to the people of Scandinavia, and dist enable him to lay a firm foundation for their conversion, though he did not see the results of his labors: Keep thy Church from discouragement in the day of small things, knowing that when thou hast begun a good work thou wilt bring it to a faithful conclusion; 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 celebrates Anskar, Archbishop of Hamburg, Missionary in Denmark and Sweden, 865 https://t.co/yalGhThx5A

Image: Icon in the Church of St Cosmas und Damian (Barßel); Photo by Frank Vincentz, GDFL pic.twitter.com/tevx32gOpR

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) February 3, 2022

Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labour and not to seek for any reward, save that of knowing that we do your will; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Folly through the trees. A little hidden gem near Woodhouse Eaves, Leicestershire #Leicestershire #photography #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/WTMCVQoCz3

— Vicki Belt (@Vicki_Belt) February 3, 2022

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

–Hebrews 12:1-2

Mornings like these ☀️#sunrise #fortyfoot pic.twitter.com/iU8PTpFpbu

— Jilly Mc Donough (@JillyMcDonough) February 3, 2022

Unlike English, which uses the word hope broadly, the French language uses two words that derive from the word espérer (to hope): espoir and espérance. Both can first refer to something hoped for. In this sense, the word espoir usually refers to an uncertain object; that is, someone who hopes for something in this way does not have the certainty that it will happen (“I hope the weather will be nice tomorrow”). On the other hand, espérance describes what, rightly or wrongly, is hoped for or expected with certainty. It often refers to a philosophical or eschatological object (“I hope in the goodness of human beings”; “I hope for the return of Jesus Christ”).

When we speak of espoir or espérance, we then have in mind different types of objects hoped for. This difference matters, because both terms also commonly refer to the state of mind that characterizes the hopeful. And this state of mind will be different precisely according to the object hoped for.

Having espoir for an uncertain yet better future in these difficult times may be a good thing, but it is not enough. Such hope can be disappointed and easily fade away when our wishes and expectations (our hopes) do not materialize.

The opposite is true with espérance, which is deeper than our desire and wish for an end to a crisis or a future without pain and suffering. To face the trials of life, we need peace and joy in our hearts that come from expecting certain happiness. This is what espérance is: a profound and stable disposition resulting from faith in the coming of what we expect. In this sense, it is similar in meaning to the English word hopefulness.

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Unlike English, which uses the word "hope" broadly, French uses two words that derive from the word espérer (to hope): espoir and espérance.

A writer in Benin explores how these two words shape her theology. Read our French winning essay here: https://t.co/ssQk5nv4S4

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) January 31, 2022

We could, like the Methodist Church has recently done, simply extend our current practical incoherence into our teaching. We could move to a position where, as a church, we state that we uphold and support contradictory teachings. This would also fail to address either problem and appears to ignore Jesus’ stark warning later in Matthew (and also in Mark and Luke) that “if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand”.

We could, and should, through the LLF discernment process, make one more attempt to see whether we really can find some agreement as to what would be the rock on which we should be building, whether something that has not previously been recognised by the church as rock might nevertheless be a solid foundation we can all recognise as faithful to Jesus.

It may though be that, lamenting our lack of common mind, and renewing our commitment to keep seeking such a common mind, we have to begin to consider seriously what changes our collective double-mindedness renders necessary in how we structure our common life. How can we create sufficient space or distance to enable each view to find expression in an episcopal structure which has some form of agreed teaching that in turn authorises consistent practice and so has intellectual and moral integrity without generating the level of conflict now sadly so common? How can we allow each group of Anglicans to build on what they believe to be the rock and to avoid building on what they believe to be sand?

Because we are here dealing with competing and contradictory visions of faithfulness to Christ, of the holiness to which we are called in Christ, of our created human nature, and of the ground on which we are to build communities of disciples, this is a much greater challenge than that we have faced and struggled with in relation to women priests and bishops. And because our received ecclesial structures are those of episcopacy within a geographically ordered national church and a global Communion this is a much greater challenge than the ecclesial questions faced by the URC and Baptists and others with a different church structure. The sad history of Anglican provinces and the Anglican Communion over the last 20 years confirms how great a challenge it is. But it is a challenge which we must perhaps now face and, as far as possible, face and seek to resolve together, across our differences.

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‘Can ⁦@churchofengland⁩ ever bridge its differences on #sexuality?’ Worth reading this article ⁦@goddardaj⁩ @Psephizo website. https://t.co/sN5PvPgGJZ

— Graham Kings (@GrahamRKings) February 2, 2022

America’s gross national debt topped $30 trillion for the first time on Tuesday, an ominous fiscal milestone that underscores the fragile nature of the country’s long-term economic health as it grapples with soaring prices and the prospect of higher interest rates.

The breach of that threshold, which was revealed in new Treasury Department figures, arrived years earlier than previously projected as a result of trillions in federal spending that the United States has deployed to combat the pandemic. That $5 trillion, which funded expanded jobless benefits, financial support for small businesses and stimulus payments, was financed with borrowed money.

The borrowing binge, which many economists viewed as necessary to help the United States recover from the pandemic, has left the nation with a debt burden so large that the government would need to spend an amount larger than America’s entire annual economy in order to pay it off.

Some economists contend that the nation’s large debt load is not unhealthy given that the economy is growing, interest rates are low and investors are still willing to buy U.S. Treasury securities, which gives them safe assets to help manage their financial risk. Those securities allow the government to borrow money relatively cheaply and use it to invest in the economy.

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Breaking News: The U.S. national debt topped $30 trillion, years ahead of schedule, as pandemic spending fueled government borrowing. https://t.co/6yUwsPvi1P

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 1, 2022

St Paul’s Without the Walls has seen its evening service of choral music and traditional liturgy grow in popularity after introducing a home cooked meal.

The idea came to parishioner Michael Keeler-Walker following suggestions the service would be stopped.

He said: “We had Choral Evensong once a month, but often it was irregular and sometimes just dropped.

“Despite a choir of 18, often the only congregant would be the person doing the reading.
“So, we decided to go back to basics. It became regular, each month, focussing on good food, good fellowship, good preaching, and good music.”

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. @churchofengland picks up on one of #PBS' success stories – Choral Evensong and a home cooked meal.https://t.co/VxR1T66wI4

— The Prayer Book Society (@prayerbook_soc) January 25, 2022

‘The blessed Mary offered her sacrifice to God with the child, as it was appointed in God’s law. It was so appointed in the old law, by God’s command, that those who could afford it should bring a lamb of one year old with their child, as an offering to God, and a pigeon or a turtle-dove. But if any woman were so poor that she could not obtain those things, then she should bring two young pigeons or two turtle-doves.

This smaller offering was offered for Christ, that is, the birds, which were the offerings of the poor. The Almighty Son of God was very mindful of our needs in all things; not only did he choose to become man for us, though he was God, but he also chose to become needy for us, though he was mighty, so that he might give us a portion in his kingdom and communion with his divinity. A lamb betokens innocence and the greater kind of goodness; but if we are so wretched that we cannot offer to God that greater goodness, then we should bring him two turtle-doves or two young pigeons; that is, a twofold burgeoning of awe and love. A person experiences this burgeoning in two ways: first, he dreads the torments of hell, and mourns for his sins; then afterwards he feels love to God, and he begins to murmur, and it seems to him too long a time until he shall be taken from the afflictions of this life, and brought to eternal rest.’

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Today is Candlemas, festival of light, 'forðy on ðissum dæge wæs þæt soðe Leoht, Crist, geboren to þam temple' ('because on this day was the true Light, Christ, borne to the temple'). An Anglo-Saxon sermon for this ancient and beautiful feast: https://t.co/uKyXcVyvTw pic.twitter.com/7Dg2p32JC7

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) February 2, 2022

Almighty and everliving God, we humbly beseech thee that, as thy only-begotten Son was this day presented in the temple, so we may be presented unto thee with pure and clean hearts by the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

On #Candlemas, 2 Feb:

The Presentation in the Temple
c. 1390

Made in Lower Austria

(Met Museum) pic.twitter.com/8a9cdsaOQ2

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) February 2, 2022

Blessed Father, grant that our hearts might burn with a holy desire to know you as you are, and not as we want you to be, and open the eyes of our hearts that we may see you in your biblical fullness, the Holy, loving gracious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, now and forever. Amen.

good morning all and a happy Wednesday to you ! #lancashire #goodmorning @ThePhotoHour @StormHour pic.twitter.com/tHy86xJCam

— David Oxtaby (@Disc_light) February 2, 2022

By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was beautiful; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to share ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered abuse suffered for the Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he looked to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king; for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the first-born might not touch them.

By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as if on dry land; but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given friendly welcome to the spies.

—Hebrews 11:23-31

"Moon over Tea Creek Meadow"#AlmostHeaven #WestVirginia #Highlands #SnowHour #HighlandScenicHighway #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/PmnhHMdGRU

— Thomas R Fletcher (@ThomasRFletcher) February 2, 2022

The model and justification of most holidays taken by clergy is Jesus’s custom of going to a deserted place to pray. “He did it: you should too.” From the earliest centuries, Christianity had its contemplative side; these stories are its foundation.

Before that, though, there’s the account of the flight of the Prophet Elijah from the vengeance of Jezebel in the 19th chapter of the first book of Kings. This is the model of clergy burnout. An angel gives him a hot cake baked on a stone, and lets him sleep. Then, when he wakes, he is offered another cake, and sleeps again. Only after that does he go up to the mountain of God where the Lord speaks to him, not in the sound of gale or earthquake, but in sheer silence, the echoing silence when the wind and the earthquake have passed. In that silence, God tells Elijah that there will be a new king, and also that there will be a new prophet, because more people have been faithful than Elijah is willing to credit.

That’s a favourite story of mine, as is the one told by the reclusive 19th-century Hasidic sage Menachem Mendel Morgensztern of Kotzk, better known as the Kotzker Rebbe. It concerns the sacred goat whose horns reached up to the heavens. As he walked through the world, the goat heard a poor old man crying. “Why do you weep?” asked the goat. “Because I have lost my snuffbox.” “Cut a bit from one of my horns,” said the goat, “Take what you need to make a new one.” You can guess what happened next. There are more poor folk in the world who have lost their snuff boxes than you can count.

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After Christmas, the things I’d been holding together in the parish had all come loose, writes @AliceGoodman17 https://t.co/dnUpfie724

— Prospect Magazine (@prospect_uk) January 30, 2022