O thou in whom we live and move and have our being, awaken us to thy presence that we may walk in thy world as thy children. Grant us reverence for all thy creation, that we may treat our fellow men with courtesy, and all living things with gentleness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

—New Every Morning (The Prayer Book Of The Daily Broadcast Service) [BBC, 1900]

The first signs of Spring have arrived in Oxford🥀
📸Image by '@lulahorton' on IG pic.twitter.com/5ZNK0RqlfD

— Keble College, Oxford (@KebleOxford) February 13, 2024

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own, based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith; that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that if possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

–Philippians 3:7-11

#Brighton sunrise. @ThePhotoHour @StormHour pic.twitter.com/APd8OGMzAP

— Stephen Royle (@Steveontour1) February 13, 2024

Hardship and poverty are often associated more with urban than with rural areas. Rural hardship in the north Cotswolds, for example, is often hidden, because of inequalities and the relative affluence experienced by the majority, and the high levels of tourism in the area.

This is a problem, because the significant minority who experience hardship are more hidden. This means that rural hardship is often not adequately addressed by local and national policy-makers and community leaders.

This is the focus of the exhibition “Hidden Hardship”, which Coventry Cathedral is hosting until 26 February, and which is part of my new participatory research project at Coventry University. This has sought to understand hardship in the north Cotswolds better.

The exhibition consists of illustrations by the artist Beth Waters, based on the research participants’ interviews and diaries of their experiences of hardship and/or responding to hardship. It focuses on people’s experiences of rural hardship, their coping strategies, and the barriers to their improved well-being.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

Hardship is a rural problem, too

In areas that appear more affluent, poverty is often hidden, writes @SJ_Denninghttps://t.co/8T0KmRxzFZ

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 9, 2024

There is a need for a feminism that sees women as more than “skin and bones” that can be transformed into men with the proper clothing and pronouns; a need for a feminism that works to keep women safe and honor them as daughters of God. Denying women certain fundamental rights leads to half the global population being denied the opportunity to flourish. When women aren’t given proper healthcare, financial opportunities, and protection from violence, they’re shut out from spaces of influence, which will lead to the world’s missing out on the many gifts women can offer.

Catholics, in particular, have recognized the need for this type of feminism. Saint John Paul the Great didn’t call for an end to feminism. He called for a new feminism, writing in Evangelium Vitae:

In transforming culture so that it supports life, women occupy a place, in thought and action, which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a “new feminism” which rejects the temptation of imitating models of “male domination,” in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation.

When Catholics surrender the term feminism to modern thinkers who rely on outdated stereotypes and a perverted sense of womanhood, we’re not answering Saint John Paul the Great’s invitation. We’re allowing our own bitterness and often justified disagreement to prevent us from recognizing the ways women are suffering. We let our culture twist words as it pleases. If Catholic women feel that they’re thriving, that is clearly a good thing. But many women aren’t, and those of us who are uniquely privileged are obligated to increase our aid.

Feminism, as it was originally intended, identified and honored the differences between men and women. It didn’t emphasize the stereotypical differences that both modern gender ideologues and Instagram #tradwives tend to emphasize—what a person wears, for instance, or what hobbies she enjoys. Feminism originally illuminated the fact that because women are life-bearers, and because of their innate capacity for care and serving, they were uniquely positioned to suffer discrimination.

Read it all.

Feminism has never been a phrase without its detractors—many men in the 1800s very much did see women as “skin and bones.” But today, Catholics seem to be split over the virtues and vices of the word “feminist” more than ever before.@claireswinarski https://t.co/wyqHeJOSqN

— Public Discourse (@PublicDiscourse) February 9, 2024

In a cavernous production hall in Düsseldorf last fall, the somber tones of a horn player accompanied the final act of a century-old factory.

Amid the flickering of flares and torches, many of the 1,600 people losing their jobs stood stone-faced as the glowing metal of the plant’s last product — a steel pipe — was smoothed to a perfect cylinder on a rolling mill. The ceremony ended a 124-year run that began in the heyday of German industrialization and weathered two world wars, but couldn’t survive the aftermath of the energy crisis.

There have been numerous iterations of such finales over the past year, underscoring the painful reality facing Germany: its days as an industrial superpower may be coming to an end. Manufacturing output in Europe’s biggest economy has been trending downward since 2017, and the decline is accelerating as competitiveness erodes.

“There’s not a lot of hope, if I’m honest,” said Stefan Klebert, chief executive officer of GEA Group AG — a supplier of manufacturing machinery that traces its roots to the late 1800s. “I am really uncertain that we can halt this trend. Many things would have to change very quickly.”

Read it all.

🇩🇪 #Germany’s Days as an Industrial Superpower Are Coming to an End – Bloomberghttps://t.co/F0E4eUlAXA pic.twitter.com/DCJWqTqSPI

— Christophe Barraud🛢🐳 (@C_Barraud) February 10, 2024

Nextgov/FCW: Talk about how you prepared for the water-systems security hearing today and any major takeaways from it. 

Clancy: We met with the majority and minority staff ahead of the hearing to get a sense of their objectives. Of course, MITRE has a diverse set of sponsors in these areas, so we engaged with them to make sure we were representing a whole-of-government view across the sectors.

My big message is what I said in my opening statement. A lot of these policy fixes on the fringes are not going to deal with the scale of the threat that we face. So if you want to continue to fight against harassment campaigns from nation states…the sorts of solutions people were talking about are probably okay, but I think the big point I want to get across that didn’t get enough air time is that the threat has really changed.

We’ve got maybe three years to figure this out before China does an all-out attack against our critical infrastructure. We’re going to have to train and prepare to disconnect our operational technology systems from our information technology systems ahead of a major attack from China.

Read it all.

Expect China to attack US infrastructure within 3 years, MITRE CTO says https://t.co/zWHBOAn8uH

— Defense One (@DefenseOne) February 11, 2024

Gracious God, who didst call Charles Freer Andrews to show forth thy salvation to the poor: By thy Holy Spirit inspire in us a tender concern, a passionate justice, and an active love for all people, that there may be one Body and one Spirit in Jesus Christ, our Savior; who with thee and the same Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Charles Freer Andrews, Priest & “Friend of the Poor” in India, 1940

A Christian Socialist/Anglican priest from Newcastle, he was a missionary in India & close friend of Gandhi who dubbed him Christ's Faithful Apostle (his initials=C.F.A.) pic.twitter.com/4xHeZgotW5

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) February 12, 2024

Almighty God, whose sovereign purpose none can make void: Give us faith to stand calm and undismayed amid the tumults of the world, knowing that thy kingdom shall come and thy will be done; to the eternal glory of thy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

—Daily Prayer, Eric Milner-White and G. W. Briggs, eds. (London: Penguin Books 1959 edition of the 1941 original)

"… on Cranberry River"#AlmostHeaven #WestVirginia #Highlands #wintertime #snow #Weather #SnowHour #StormHour #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/ZfydWQuW3g

— Thomas R Fletcher (@ThomasRFletcher) February 12, 2024

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any incentive of love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

–Philippians 2:1-11

Sunrise over Glastonbury Tor this morning.@BBCBristol @ITVCharlieP @TravelSomerset
#ThePhotoHour #landscapephotography #Somerset #sunrise @VisitSomerset #Glastonburytor pic.twitter.com/4rLkVl1Azg

— John Wickes (@john_wickes9) February 12, 2024

Almighty Father,
whose Son was revealed in majesty
before he suffered death upon the cross:
give us grace to perceive his glory,
that we may be strengthened to suffer with him
and be changed into his likeness, from glory to glory;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Our worship service this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. will celebrate Transfiguration Sunday and includes the anthem, "Blessed Is the Spot, and the House," an original composition by the Los Angeles-based Filipino composer Saunder Choi.

Details: https://t.co/nUWVhtUAqX pic.twitter.com/LZe1udMMps

— Duke Chapel (@DukeChapel) February 8, 2024

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the heavens,
praise him in the heights!
Praise him, all his angels,
praise him, all his host!

Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For he commanded and they were created.
And he established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds which cannot be passed.

–Psalm 148:1-3

Good morning everyone, it’s Sunday again, have a great day today. pic.twitter.com/qdxGzScEcc

— Roy Jacobs (@woodiechef) February 11, 2024

Assist us, O God, to love one another as sisters and brothers, and to balance discipline with love and rules with compassion, according to the example shown by thy servant Scholastica; for the sake of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with thee and the Holy Ghost be all honor and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

Today's the feast of St Scholastica, 6th Century mystic and foundress, by tradition the sister of St Benedict. She appears on the early 16th Century screen at Wiggenhall St Mary the Virgin, Norfolk. She's the patron saint of women's education.

WSMV: https://t.co/8WH5rHAbTN pic.twitter.com/GSHVEsNit7

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) February 10, 2024

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who when on earth wast ever occupied about Thy Father’s business; grant that we may not grow weary in well-doing. Give us grace to do all in Thy Name; be Thou the beginning and the end of all; the pattern Whom we follow, the redeemer in Whom we trust, the master Whom we serve, the friend to Whom we look for sympathy. May we never shrink from our duty through any fear of man; make us faithful unto death: and bring us at last into the eternal presence, where with the Father and the Holy Ghost Thou livest and reignest for ever.

–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)

I had almost forgotten what the sun looked like. Today was lovely on Glastonbury Tor. What started off as a sun pillar reached up to the sky to meet a small halo. The sun shining on the wet grass and steps shows what the weather has been like for the last week. pic.twitter.com/z8hTUOstNR

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) February 10, 2024

As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.

One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

–Romans 14:1-12

“Go where your best prayers take you.”

~ Frederick Buechner

I wish you all a weekend full of smiles
and peace. Enjoy every moment!🕊️

© Slava Kushvalieva pic.twitter.com/PNn9KyGjoT

— Monica AS (@Monica85198503) February 10, 2024

LEGAL sanction, including the possibility of disqualification from holding office, is necessary to address bullying by lay officer-holders, a motion set to be debated by General Synod this month argues.

The private members’ motion, brought by the Archdeacon of Blackburn, the Ven. Mark Ireland, asks the Synod to recognise “the serious pastoral problems and unfairness that arise while clergy can be subject to penalties for bullying that include prohibition and removal from office but there is no means of disqualifying a churchwarden, PCC member, or other lay officer who is guilty of bullying from holding office”.

It asks the Archbishops’ Council to “bring forward legislative proposals which would enable a churchwarden, PCC member, or other lay officer who was found to have conducted him-or herself in such a manner to be disqualified from holding office”.

Read it all.

Two motions set to be debated at Synod this month tackling bullying by lay officers and destructive behaviour on PCCs. Bishops said to be reluctant to recommend some parishes ‘knowing that a series of previous incumbents have been hounded out of office’ https://t.co/Cc0aAGaI9Z

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) February 9, 2024

Some Democrats inside and outside of Biden’s bubble were privately anxious about what’s next for the campaign. The report came during a week when Biden made a number of high-profile flubs, confusing current and past world leaders. He didn’t help matters when he referred to the Egyptian president as the president of Mexico in his remarks on the counsel’s report Thursday night, and his decision to forego a high-profile interview ahead of Sunday’s Super Bowl has also drawn scrutiny.

“Anytime his age and capacity is front and center is bad for his re-election prospects. That said, it does provide an opportunity to more forcefully deal with this issue which they have to do,” said Brian Goldsmith, a Biden donor and a Democratic consultant based in Los Angeles. “The right response is that Biden is a better president because of his age and wisdom and experience, not despite his age and wisdom and experience.”

“They need to find a way to jujitsu this and turn it from a negative into a positive because it is not going away,” Goldsmith said. He added: “Avoiding the Super Bowl interview is a mistake.”

Read it all.

Democrats’ anxiety over Biden’s age spilled out into the public this week after a special counsel report
https://t.co/g8V3TcFRAG via @WSJ

— Dan Whitcomb (@DanWhitcomb) February 9, 2024

I will take comments on this submitted by email only to KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

I learn from this wonderful website that after Stubbs became Bishop of Truro, the carol was performed at his cathedral’s ‘Festival of Lessons and Carols’ in 1911 – Truro being the place where services of ‘Nine Lessons and Carols’ first originated at the end of the 19th century.

Read it all.

Earendel at Epiphany.

Hail Earendel,
Brightest of Angels!

It was upon these Old English words that J.R.R. Tolkien stumbled across at his desk in Oxford in 1911, and adopted Earendel for his own use.

Earendel = 'O Oriens', the Advent Antiphon sung at the Winter Solstice. pic.twitter.com/a9pHlXnK04

— Ninefold Kyrie (@Gda1238) January 9, 2024

With the Super Bowl this weekend, don’t expect many pastors to place a bet on Kansas City or San Francisco to win the game, but a few may have more than a rooting interest riding on the game.

Despite its legalization across many states, US Protestant pastors remain opposed to sports gambling, but they’re not doing much about it, according to a Lifeway Research study. Few pastors (13%) favor legalizing sports betting nationwide and most (55%) say the practice is morally wrong.

“Anything can happen in sports, and many Americans want the same allure of an unexpected win in sports to translate into an unexpected financial windfall,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “Most pastors see moral hazards in sports betting and believe American society would be better off without it.”

Read it all.

,
A surge in betting on the Vegas-based game between Kansas City and San Francisco has not pushed church leaders to speak about the issue. https://t.co/bq1jRkBU0D

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) February 9, 2024

When Edith Ceccarelli was born in February 1908, Theodore Roosevelt was president, Oklahoma had just become the nation’s 46th state and women did not yet have the right to vote.

At 116, Ms. Ceccarelli is the oldest known person in the United States and the second oldest on Earth. She has lived through two World Wars, the advent of the Ford Model T — and the two deadliest pandemics in American history.

For most of that time, she has lived in one place: Willits, a village tucked in California’s redwood forests that was once known for logging but now may be better known for Ms. Ceccarelli.

Read it all.

At 116, she is the oldest known person in the U.S. and the second oldest on Earth.

For most of that time, she has lived in one place: a village tucked in California’s redwood forests that was once known for logging but now may be better known for her. https://t.co/EQ4i4LeBAf

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 8, 2024

O thou in whom we live and move and have our being, awaken us to thy presence that we may walk in thy world as thy children. Grant us reverence for all thy creation, that we may treat our fellow men with courtesy, and all living things with gentleness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

—New Every Morning (The Prayer Book Of The Daily Broadcast Service) [BBC, 1900]

Despite the howling wind a pleasant #Brighton sunrise to start the weekend off. @ThePhotoHour @StormHour pic.twitter.com/0ltht8SwLg

— Stephen Royle (@Steveontour1) February 9, 2024

Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of him who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute his wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be subject, not only to avoid God’s wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay all of them their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

–Romans 13:1-7

Corfe Castle, Dorset#dorset#earthcapture #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/nxRDxD9ZDI

— AccessToDixons (@dixonsaccess) February 9, 2024

[John Wyatt]….argues for the recovery of a biblically based understanding of friendship, and uses the relationship of Paul and Timothy, in particular, to spell out what this involves. This is a friendship rooted in our relationship with Christ, who called us friends, and who helps us to grow in Christ-like love. It is expressed in regular prayer for our friends and their true and lasting good. He argues that gospel-shaped friendships should be an important part of the Christian life, and that these can exist without exploitation or abuse.

In these friendships, there are clear boundaries, so that they do not slip into sexual or romantic relationships; but they can and do include hugs and physical gestures. For examples of this, he looks not just to Stott, but to Evangelicals round Charles Simeon (1759-1836), including people such as William Wilberforce and John Newton the ex-slave trader.

The title of the book, Transforming Friendship, is meant to indicate two kinds of transformation: first, the way in which such friendships can change our lives, halving our troubles and doubling our joys, as J. C. Ryle put it; and, second, the way in which our whole understanding of friendship in the modern world needs to be transformed. There can be such a thing as a healthy intimate friendship in which two people reveal to each other their deepest hopes and fears, and which is neither abusive nor potentially predatory.

Read it all (subscription or registration).

My new book, Transforming Friendship, is all about how the church can rediscover how to do healthy and safe intergenerational 'Paul-Timothy' friendships in an era of suspicion, abuse and mistrust. Find out how to get 25% off here:https://t.co/ekNvuuFVDV

— John Wyatt (@johnswyatt) December 13, 2023

For most Americans, the decline of teen pregnancies is a reason to celebrate; and for many, falling rates of teen sex represent an equally positive development.

But it’s not just sex that’s declined among teens; it’s romantic relationships overall. Teens are dating less. A survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life found that only 56 percent of Gen Z adults—and 54 percent of Gen Z men—said they were involved in a romantic relationship at any point during their teenage years.[i] This represents a remarkable change from previous generations, where teenage dating was much more common. More than three-quarters of Baby Boomers (78 percent) and Generation Xers (76 percent) report having had a boyfriend or girlfriend as teenagers.

Forty-four percent of Gen Z men today report having no relationship experience at all during their teen years, double the rate for older men.

Read it all.

A remarkable, lamentable decline:

“Teens are dating less. A survey [found] only 56 percent of Gen Z adults—and 54 percent of Gen Z men—said they were involved in a romantic relationship at any point during their teenage years” ~ @dcoxpolls @AEI https://t.co/m6QQYQAbqz

— Brad Wilcox (@BradWilcoxIFS) February 8, 2024

The World Health Organisation estimates that endometriosis affects around one in ten women during their lifetime—roughly the same as the proportion of the global population with diabetes. But whereas doctors understand why diabetes occurs and how to treat it, their understanding of endometriosis is languishing “30 to 40 years” behind, according to Andrew Horne, a professor of gynaecology and reproductive sciences at the University of Edinburgh and president-elect of the World Endometriosis Society. He blames it on a lack of research and awareness, driven by funding shortages.

Things are starting to change. A clinical trial of the first non-hormonal, non-surgical treatment for endometriosis, started in 2023 in Scotland, is showing promising results. Dr Horne says that the trial, which he co-leads, grew out of closer examinations of how endometriosis lesions form. By taking samples from patients during diagnostic laparoscopies, his team found that those with peritoneal endometriosis—meaning disease on the lining of the pelvic cavity, which represents around 80% of cases—had significantly higher levels of a chemical called lactate in their pelvises than those without.

Lactate is produced when the body breaks down glucose (and is also the cause of the uncomfortable stitches that can suddenly strike runners). Its increased presence, the researchers reckoned, suggested a hand in the development of endometriosis lesions, possibly similar to the role lactate plays in helping cancer cells proliferate.

Read it all.

At last, progress is being made on a condition that affects one in ten women. The first new drug for endometriosis in four decades is on the horizon https://t.co/ixwWrB8flC 👇

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 8, 2024

Spending on safety net programs such as Social Security and Medicare continues to grow even as their trust funds face the prospect of being depleted in the next 10 years.

“Also boosting deficits are two underlying trends: the aging of the population and growth in federal health care costs per beneficiary,” Mr. Swagel said. “Those trends put upward pressure on mandatory spending.”

The national debt is likely to be even larger than the budget office is predicting, as its forecast assumes that the 2017 tax cuts that Republicans enacted will fully expire even though lawmakers are already considering extending many of the measures, including lower individual income tax brackets.

For the second time in less than a year, the budget office said it now expected Mr. Biden’s efforts to wean the nation from fossil fuels to be more popular with the public — and more expensive for taxpayers — than initially estimated.

Read it all.

New: U.S. Debt on Pace to Top $54 Trillion Over Next 10 Years w/ @jimtankersley https://t.co/VZ9wDWn5l2

— Alan Rappeport (@arappeport) February 7, 2024

O God of Love, thou didst deliver servant Josephine Margaret Bakhita from the bondage of slavery to serve you in true freedom; by her example help us to see those enslaved among us, and work to release them from their chains. In your mercy, give to all survivors healing from their wounds and joy in their liberation; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Bakhita (Josephine Margaret Bakhita), Monastic, 1947

Abducted/sold into slavery as a child in Sudan, Bakhita later gained her freedom & in 1896 became a Canossian religious sister, from 1902 at a convent in Schio. She was canonised in 2000 pic.twitter.com/f5Vs8TIc9B

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) February 8, 2024

O Lord God, heavenly Father, Who didst give up Thine only-begotten Son into grief and sorrow, that we might have peace through Him: grant us so surely to found our faith upon Him alone that we may have peace in our souls. Quicken us with Thy Word; grant already here on earth the peace which is a foretaste of the rest that remaineth for Thy people. And while the cares and tumults of this life beset us round about, guide us in all our undertakings by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may abide in Thy peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–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)

Good morning 👋🍀❤️📸 . Happy Thursday Twitter pals .
One of my favourite places to sit and watch the waves 🌊 #Cornwall #photography #seascape #ThePhotoHour #StormHour @VisitBude @VisitCornwall pic.twitter.com/MHSBIQhLK7

— Gary James (@Gazpics76) February 8, 2024

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

–Romans 12:9-21

Good morning all
Buenos días pic.twitter.com/cxhMsncBQ3

— 🌱Mystic Mel (@Melshenny1) February 8, 2024

A 7% increase in the National Minimum Stipend (NMS), set to come into effect in April, has been welcomed by the trade union Unite.

The increase, agreed by the Archbishops’ Council, acting as the Central Stipends Authority (CSA), will see the minimum stipend jump from £26,134 to £28,670.

Last July, the CSA announced a five-per-cent increase for 2024. The greater uplift to seven per cent has been made possible because dioceses, which will have to fund the stipends, need pay less into the Church of England pensions scheme. In December, the Pensions Board announced a drop in the contribution rate by three percentage points from April this year: to 25 per cent of the previous year’s National Minimum Stipend.

Read it all.

A seven-per-cent increase in the National Minimum Stipend (NMS), set to come into effect in April, has been welcomed by the trade union Unite https://t.co/jroZM9yEUY

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 7, 2024