Saint John’s Anglican, John’s Island’s One-year Celebration: “We Worship Unrestrained”

On July 16, St. John’s Anglican Church, Johns Island, celebrated – yes, celebrated – their one-year anniversary meeting in Haut Gap Middle School with worship, reflection, praise and an “incredible” BBQ luncheon. “The mood at our one-year celebration was joyful,” says Rector, the Rev. Jeremy Shelton. “We reflected on the faithfulness of the Lord over this last year.  The day was hopeful – we continue to look forward to participating in the building of God’s kingdom on John’s Island.  We remain expectant – In God’s timing we will have a permanent worship space, and in the meantime, we will continue to worship Him unrestrained.” See photos. 

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The Latest Edition of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina Enewsletter https://t.co/06q4n9tDOL #parishministry #anglican #faith #religion #southcarolina #lowcountrylife [Saint John's Anglican, Johns Island, SC] pic.twitter.com/CkBiDU2gH0

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 28, 2023

Almighty God, beautiful in majesty and majestic in holiness, who dost teach us in Holy Scripture to sing thy praises and who gavest thy musicians Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel and Henry Purcell grace to show forth thy glory in their music: Be with all those who write or make music for thy people, that we on earth may glimpse thy beauty and know the inexhaustible riches of thy new creation in Jesus Christ our Savior; who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer, 1750

Portrait of Bach by Elias Gottlob Haussmann (1748), in the Bach Archive, Leipzig (https://t.co/2hm7L965t8). Image: Public Domain via Wikimedia pic.twitter.com/VQgZzRXqlb

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) July 28, 2023

O God, Who hast given us life and all things good in this world: Thou hast created us for Thy service, and when we have forsaken Thee in our wanderings Thou hast sought us out; Thou hast vouchsafed to us the precious treasure of Thy Gospel; Thou hast ordained that we should be born in the bosom of Thy Church; Thou hast revealed to us Thy exceeding great mercies in Jesus Christ our Lord; Thou hast borne with us in our rebellions, raised us up from our falls, comforted us in our sorrows. For all these gifts of Thy grace, and for Thy benefits which we remember not, we Thine unworthy servants do give Thee thanks, and bless thy holy Name.

–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)

Beautiful Ennerdale Water, The Lakes. pic.twitter.com/Qu9852EvlV

— Danny (@Lifeoftimes) July 28, 2023

And all the assembly kept silence; and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brethren, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written,

”After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will set it up,
that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who has made these things known from of old.’

Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols and from unchastity and from what is strangled and from blood. For from early generations Moses has had in every city those who preach him, for he is read every sabbath in the synagogues.”

–Acts 15:12-21

Six minute exposure of cloud moving up Colpoy's Bay on the Bruce Peninsula at sunrise. #ExploreTheBruce #DiscoverOn #ThePhotoHour #WhereLumixGoes #sunrise pic.twitter.com/Yya42eSr81

— David Meredith (@dmeredithphoto) July 28, 2023

I am pleased to update you that we have crossed another important milestone in the progress we are making towards our church sanctuary construction. Since the beginning of the initiation of our contract with Habersham Land Company, the transfer of the property has been contingent upon the financing.

As you know, we have raised the pledge commitments over a number of years, therefore a bridge loan from a lending institution was needed. More specifically, we needed to provide a loan commitment letter from a Bank to prove we could, in fact, build the building.

We have believed for a few months now, that we had enough money in pledges and cash on hand to prove that a bank would want to enter into a loan relationship with us. However, this past Wednesday, the first bank did extend a commitment letter to us. Therefore, what we hoped for and saw good reason to believe would happen, has happened. We have satisfied the conditions to close on the property.

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The Parish Church at Habersham in the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina nears groundbreaking for new Common Worship building https://t.co/CszGrBO217 #southcarolina #parishministry #anglican #acna #religion #lowcountrylife #stewardship #realestate #beginnings #worship pic.twitter.com/4KgndQ4GKl

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 27, 2023

In 1920, the Czech writer Karel Čapek wrote “R.U.R. (Rossum’s Universal Robots),” a play set in the year 2000 that follows the evolution of robota, a new class of android worker-slaves that eventually rises up and annihilates its human masters. The play introduced both the word “robot” and a narrative of human-robot conflict that, by now, has become familiar in movies such as “The Terminator,” “RoboCop,” and “Blade Runner.” Will robots fashioned to look like us, and programmed to accede to our wishes, spur people to think of them as friends and co-workers—or to treat them like chattel? Onstage in Telluride, David Hanson said that the purpose of robots like Sophia is to teach people compassion. But it seemed counterintuitive to suggest that a machine that can only mimic human emotions has the ability to inculcate in us something so fundamental to the human experience.

In Hanson’s view, Sophia is no different than a character in a book, and we know that stories can engender empathy. But given the speed at which artificial-intelligence models are being deployed, and their tendency to behave erratically, we would be wise not to wholly abandon the caution inspired by Čapek and his heirs. Matthias Scheutz, the C.E.O. of Thinking Robots, pointed out that unless designers build constraints and ethical guardrails into the A.I. models that will power robots of the future, there is a risk of inadvertently creating machines that could harm us in unforeseen ways. “The situation we need to avoid with these machines is that when we test them, they give us the answers we want to hear, but behind the scenes they’re developing their own agenda,” Scheutz told me. “I’m listening to myself talking right now, and it sounds like sci-fi. Unfortunately, it’s not.”

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“There is no doubt that the A.I. revolution we’re witnessing now will animate the robots of the future, giving them skills that match, surpass, or replace our own,” @SueHalpernVT writes. “It is already happening.” https://t.co/VNqhjGvleR

— The New Yorker (@NewYorker) July 26, 2023

The percentages of Americans who believe in each of five religious entities — God, angels, heaven, hell and the devil — have edged downward by three to five percentage points since 2016. Still, majorities believe in each, ranging from a high of 74% believing in God to lows of 59% for hell and 58% for the devil. About two-thirds each believe in angels (69%) and heaven (67%).

Gallup has used this framework to measure belief in these spiritual entities five times since 2001, and the May 1-24, 2023, poll finds that each is at its lowest point. Compared with 2001, belief in God and heaven is down the most (16 points each), while belief in hell has fallen 12 points, and the devil and angels are down 10 points each.

This question asks respondents whether they believe in each concept or if they are unsure, and from 13% to 15% currently say they are not sure. At the same time, nearly three in 10 U.S. adults do not believe in the devil or hell, while almost two in 10 do not believe in angels and heaven, and 12% say they do not believe in God.

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Americans’ belief in five religious entities — God, angels, heaven, hell and the devil — have all edged down since 2016, continuing a longer-term trend. https://t.co/giTa3xCK12

— GallupNews (@GallupNews) July 20, 2023

An Anglican Church in North America parish announced this week that it is departing the theologically conservative denomination to pursue affiliation with the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, with its priest saying “This journey has brought us immense clarity and conviction.”

Resurrection Anglican Church South Austin is the third parish in two years to depart the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others (C4SO), following St. Mary of Bethany Parish Nashville and The Table Indianapolis. The latter also pursued affiliation with the Episcopal Church, while the former remains unaffiliated as “an Ecumenical Eucharistic Community.”

The Table Indianapolis was the first parish to depart for the Episcopal Church from the ACNA denomination that is largely composed of congregations that themselves either departed the Episcopal Church or were planted in cooperation with those who did so.

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There is a jarring disconnect between Anglicans who separated from the Episcopal Church’s theological revisionism at great cost, and post-Evangelicals newly weighing such truth claims. https://t.co/K7kWiR4iRk

— Jeff Walton (@jeffreyhwalton) July 27, 2023

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

Shunned in the West, his authority tested by a failed mutiny at home, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia needs to project normalcy and shore up support from his allies. So on Thursday, he will host African leaders at a flashy summit in St. Petersburg, part of his continuing outreach to a continent that has become critical to Moscow’s foreign policy.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, some African countries have backed Mr. Putin at the United Nations, welcomed his envoys and his warships, and offered control of lucrative assets, like a gold mine in the Central African Republic that U.S. officials estimate contains $1 billion in reserves.

But if Mr. Putin sought to move closer to African leaders as he prosecuted his war, the 17-month-old conflict is now straining those ties. This summit is expected to draw only half the number of African heads of state or government as the last gathering in 2019, a situation that the Kremlin on Wednesday blamed on “brazen interference” from the United States and its allies.

The summit comes against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the Black Sea over Mr. Putin’s recent decision to terminate a deal allowing Ukraine to ship grain to global markets. Russia’s withdrawal has caused food prices to spike, adding to the misery of the world’s poorest countries, including some of those attending the Russia-Africa summit.

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Shunned in the West and tested by a failed mutiny at home, Vladimir Putin will look to project normalcy and shore up support from other parts of the world as he hosts African leaders at a flashy summit in his home city, St. Petersburg, this week. https://t.co/s9flu3mDVI

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) July 26, 2023

O Lord our God, we thank thee for instilling in the heart of thy servant William Reed Huntington a fervent love for thy Church and its mission in the world; and we pray that, with unflagging faith in thy promises, we may make known to all peoples thy blessed gift of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Episcopal Church also today commemorates William Reed Huntington, Priest, 1909

Image: Icon by Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG, via https://t.co/1pTNE0szHz pic.twitter.com/hCo7vVExBx

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) July 27, 2023

Grant us, O God, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your path may not stumble; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

There's something truly enchanting about the morning light at the Nauset lighthouse. It's as if the world wakes up with a renewed sense of wonder. Eastham, Cape Cod National Seashore. #capecod #sunrise pic.twitter.com/Ena1zebK6p

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) July 27, 2023

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoeni′cia and Samar′ia, reporting the conversion of the Gentiles, and they gave great joy to all the brethren. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up, and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.”

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

–Acts 15:1-11

Blueberries in the mist #appleton #maine #sunrise ⁦@KJordan_WMTW⁩ ⁦@TStackhouseWMTW⁩ ⁦@Ted_WMTW⁩ ⁦@NorahHoganWMTW⁩ ⁦@colleenhurleywx⁩ ⁦@StormHour⁩ pic.twitter.com/CEs0xNXG3y

— Realtor Rick 💙 (@rick03907) July 27, 2023

Presidential guards in Niger have seized President Mohamed Bazoum and blockaded his residence, as well as key ministries, sources say.

The African Union, the UN, the EU and the United States have all condemned their actions.

President Bazoum is a key western ally in the fight against Islamist militancy in West Africa.

Crowds in the capital Niamey have taken to the streets of in support of the president.

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Breaking: Reports are coming in that Niger's president Mohamed Bazoum is being held in a coup attempt. The African Union has condemned the "attempted coup d'etat", describing it as "unacceptable".

Read the latest here:https://t.co/EMjaGab8vK

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) July 26, 2023

God’s wrath against sin does not mean … that he is likely to fly off the handle at the most trivial provocation, still less that he loses his temper for no apparent reason at all. For there is nothing capricious or arbitrary about the holy God. Nor is he ever irascible,malicious, spiteful or vindictive. His anger is neither mysterious nor irrational. It is never unpredictable but always predictable, because it is provoked by evil and by evil alone.

–John R W Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downer’s Grove, InterVarsity Press, 2006), p.173

Okay, quick thought on atonement: I have honestly never found the critique of Penal Substitution from its alleged inability to foster a life of discipleship to be moderately compelling. Easiest argument against it is John Stott's volume, "The Cross of Christ." pic.twitter.com/huHoJ0mtpX

— Derek Rishmawy (@DZRishmawy) July 19, 2018

The Gulf Stream is a mighty river in the ocean that powers past South Carolina with such force and momentum that it sucks water away from our coast, lowering our sea level by as much as 3 feet.

It’s also part of a much larger conveyor belt of warm and cool waters called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, a current system that moderates the Northern Hemisphere’s climate like a radiator in a car.

But because of a rapidly warming planet, the AMOC system could collapse between 2025 and 2095, researchers said in a new study published in the journal Nature Communications that’s raising alarms across the globe.

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Gulf Stream and Atlantic ocean current system could collapse, causing seas to rise in SC https://t.co/8tFTs5toVv via @postandcourier

— Sandra Bundy (@SandraBundy) July 26, 2023

What happens when churches go vague on theology and detailed on politics? With the National Council of Churches (NCC), currently celebrating its 75th anniversary, we have the answer.

Have you ever heard of the NCC? If you are under age 60, likely not. But for decades it was the premier liberal voice for Protestant Christianity in America. In 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower laid the cornerstone on the new building in New York that would house the NCC and other Protestant agencies, in a tribute to their wide influence. Newspapers boasted that the new 19-story Interchurch Center, built with help from the Rockefellers, would house 37 Protestant denominations representing 40 million Americans and 144,000 congregations. Occupants included the Methodists, Presbyterians, Reformed Church, and American Baptists, and a host of mainline Protestant agencies.

For decades, the NCC had hundreds of employees and large budgets, and the council commanded respect as a pillar of American civil society. It was for public religion what the American Bar Association was for lawyers. It still has 37 member denominations. But, like those denominations, it is a shell of its former self, with a small staff and budget. What remains of the NCC is nestled in a small suite in the Methodist Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. What happened?

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But other churches can learn lessons from the NCC’s demise: Be firm on doctrine and careful on political activism.⁦@WNGdotorg⁩ https://t.co/PcxwyDD6Wc

— @markdtooley (@markdtooley) July 26, 2023

Almighty God, heavenly Father, we remember in thanksgiving this day the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and we pray that we all may be made one in the heavenly family of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

July 26 is the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of Christ. pic.twitter.com/jBAbtBUTvp

— Tradical (@NoTrueScotist) July 26, 2023

Deliver me, O God, from a slothful mind, from all lukewarmness, and all dejection of spirit. I know these cannot but deaden my love to Thee; mercifully free my heart from them, and give me a lively, zealous, active, and cheerful spirit; that I may vigorously perform whatever Thou commandest, thankfully suffer whatever Thou choosest for me, and be ever ardent to obey in all things Thy holy love.

–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)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

–Mark 4:35-41

Sunrise over the Holy City! #chswx pic.twitter.com/J4fpTNso9Q

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 26, 2023

Last week, Keir Starmer confirmed that a Labour Government would continue the current Government’s policy of the two-child benefit cap. This policy limits the payments that families in receipt of Universal Credit receive to only their first two children and was introduced in 2014 to ensure that ‘people on benefits face the same choices as those in work’.

The reasoning behind the policy does not stand true, as 58 percent of families affected by the limit are in fact households with at least working adult. The cap has instead had a detrimental impact on the lives of families across the country, and the Child Poverty Action Group estimates that the policy is pushing approximately one million children into poverty for prolonged periods.

Child poverty increases the likelihood of lower educational outcomes, as well as poorer mental and physical health. Those who experience it are also more likely to require support from public services later in life, negating any short-term benefits to the country’s finances that continuing to implement the cap would have. Removing the two-child limit would be the most cost-effective way of reducing the number of children living in poverty and would immediately lift an estimated 250,000 children out of poverty.

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'My hope is that this Bill will bring an end to this cruel policy'@BishopPaulB urges the Labour and Conservative parties to back his Private Members’ Bill on abolishing the two-child benefit caphttps://t.co/H1FUnetFDb

— Politics.co.uk (@Politics_co_uk) July 24, 2023

A record number of children are living in temporary accommodation, as the level of homelessness in England soars.

The housing department revealed on Tuesday that 104,510 households were in temporary accommodation by the end of March this year — a 25-year high.

The total number of children in the same situation is at the highest level since records for that measure began in 2004, with 131,370 children living in temporary accommodation.

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A record number of children are living in temporary accommodation, as the level of homelessness in England soarshttps://t.co/KOTwx7L29i

— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) July 25, 2023

Evangelicals have very good retention rates — even in the last decade nearly three quarters were still part of the same faith tradition as adults. The overall retention decline for evangelicals is just five percentage points. For mainline it’s much worse. They started right around the same level as evangelicals (76%), but now it’s just 58%. That means that if you found five people who were raised in the mainline, two of them would no longer be mainline today.

Black Protestants have also seen a noticeable decline. It was 87% who stayed in the tradition. Now it’s just 71% — a 16-point decline. Catholics are in a similar boat, too. They started out pretty high at 85%; now that number is 67%, which means that about one-third of folks raised Catholic are no longer part of the church.

As previously discussed, the nones are doing better at retention, though, going from a low point of 36% in the 1970s to 66% in the last decade. That is obviously a partial explanation for why the overall share of Americans who identify with no religion has continued to rise. Their boat has become less leaky, and they have to replace fewer people who leave. For most Christian groups, there are more holes forming in the hull every year.

But so far, we’ve only discussed retention rates, not where people go when they leave their childhood religion behind. Let’s take a closer look at that now….

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The development is owed partly to a rebound in immigration as the United States has eased pandemic-related restrictions, cleared processing backlogs and enacted more permissive policies. Labor supply has also received a boost as some demographic groups — including women in their prime working years — have returned to the job market in bigger numbers than anticipated, pushing their employment rates to record highs.

That influx has made the Fed’s job a little less painful. Hiring has been able to chug along at a solid clip without further overheating the labor market because job seekers are becoming available to replace those who are getting snapped up. Unemployment has held steady around 3.5 percent, and some data even suggests that staffing is becoming less strained. Wage growth has begun to slow, for instance, and workers are no longer pulling such long hours.

“Monetary policy is part of the story to get demand moving towards supply, but any help we can get from supply increasing, that’s good news,” John C. Williams, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said in an interview with The Financial Times this month.

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The expanding supply of workers has allowed the Fed to accept the faster-than-expected hiring without slamming the brakes on the economy even more aggressively.

A Flood of New Workers Has Made the Fed’s Job Less Painful. Can It Persist? https://t.co/mvAz3MCsYF

— Sean Graf (@seangraf) July 24, 2023

O gracious God, we remember before thee this day thy servant and apostle James, first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the Name of Jesus Christ; and we pray that thou wilt pour out upon the leaders of thy Church that spirit of self-denying service by which alone they may have true authority among thy people; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

25 July is the feast of St James, patron saint of pilgrims. In medieval art he's often depicted dressed as a pilgrim, with all the necessary equipment for a pilgrimage – broad-brimmed hat, staff, scrip, and scallop-shells.

(https://t.co/N8GPbcYWf8, 14th century) pic.twitter.com/4QAS29DE4N

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) July 25, 2023

Almighty God, who in thy Son Jesus Christ hast called us in from the bondage of sin to be servants of righteousness: Give us grace to yield our lives wholly to thine obedience; that, being made free from sin, we may have our fruit unto holiness, and hereafter may be made partakers of the life everlasting; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sunrise view from the @SCaquarium! pic.twitter.com/HgZtUO6yxE

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 25, 2023

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

–Mark 4:21-34

Whitby sunrise. pic.twitter.com/t3UFxFqMsC

— Dave Z Photography (@DaveZ_uk) July 25, 2023

An outstanding candidate for the role of UK patron saint is, I believe, Aidan, the 7th-century Christian missionary bishop who embodies both the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon strains in our national identity.

Originally from Ireland, he was a monk in the Scottish monastery that Columba founded on Iona, from where he was called by Oswald, ruler of the English kingdom of Northumbria, to promote Christianity. He established his episcopal see on the island of Lindisfarne, where he also set up a monastery in 635.

Aidan was a person of deep and genuine humility, described by the early church historian Bede as “a man of outstanding gentleness, devotion and moderation”. He upbraided a monk of “much harsher disposition”, who had first been chosen to evangelise the Northumbrians but had no success, for being too hectoring in his approach.

When a subsequent king, Oswin, gave Aidan a fine horse, he gave it away to the first beggar that he met, preferring to go round his extensive diocese on foot. In Bede’s words: “Whenever he met anyone, whether high or low, he spoke to them.”

Read it all (subscription).

August 31st is the feast of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, “the Apostle of Northumbria”: Irish monk of Iona, missionary to Bernicia, founder-Bishop of Lindisfarne, adviser to King Saints Oswald and Oswine, wonderworker, and Confessor of the Faith—who died on this day in A.D. 651. pic.twitter.com/wxKsay0wry

— Tradical (@NoTrueScotist) August 31, 2018

There is less theater in America these days. Fewer venues. Fewer productions. Fewer performances.

Cal Shakes, a Bay Area favorite that staged Shakespeare in an outdoor amphitheater, is producing no shows this year. Chicago’s Lookingglass Theater, where Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” had its premiere before coming to Broadway, has halted programming until next spring. The Williamstown Theater Festival, known for its star-studded summer shows, has no fully staged productions at its Western Massachusetts home this season.

The coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath have left the industry in crisis. Interviews with 72 top-tier regional theaters located outside New York City reveal that they expect, in aggregate, to produce 20 percent fewer productions next season than they did in the last full season before the pandemic, which shuttered theaters across the country, in many cases for 18 months or more. And many of the shows that they are programming will have shorter runs, smaller casts and simpler sets.

Seattle’s ACT Theater has reduced the length of each show’s run by a week. In Los Angeles, the Geffen Playhouse will no longer schedule performances on Tuesdays, its slowest night. Philadelphia’s Arden Theater Company expects to give 363 performances next season, down from 503 performances the season before the pandemic.

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As they struggle to recover after the pandemic, regional theaters in the U.S. are staging fewer shows, giving fewer performances, laying off staff and, in some cases, closing. https://t.co/UzrmbK5BL4

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 23, 2023

You may also find more there and you can listen directly or download it if you prefer.

@NetworkTheatre Jean-Paul Sartre's 'No Exit' (Huis Clos) @CasaLiverpool last night tonight Fri 9 Feb, 7.30pm £9/£7 https://t.co/jbUIKGj5ak or pay on door @speccytheatreco @offtopictheatre @hihtheatre @reviews_chris @IanDHall1 @LiverpoolPhilos #philosophyinpubs #Pips pic.twitter.com/M0RGZAKpwG

— Theatre At The Casa (@CasaTheatre) February 9, 2018

“This memorial is designed to have life and legs,” he said.

Mayor John Tecklenburg called the memorial a “sacred public space” and celebrated its potential to foster healing.

Chris Singleton, son of the late Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, said the memorial was a helpful way forward from tragedy.

Malcolm Graham, brother of the late Cynthia Graham Hurd, said the site is “where love and harmony prevail over hatred and division.”

“Together we can channel our pain into positive action,” he said. “As Cynthia would say, keep the faith, do the work.”

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Fundraising efforts, years of design and planning, and delays caused by the COVID pandemic, finally are in the rearview mirror as the Emanuel Nine Memorial Foundation broke ground today, signaling the start of the construction phase of the memorial project.https://t.co/bolJ34ysIL

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) July 22, 2023