The Church of England has taken note. This week, a proposal suggested by members of the Blackburn diocese to trial waiving the statutory fees for couples planning a church wedding (up to £641), was voted through by the General Synod. “While everyone likes the principle of free weddings, there is understandable anxiety about the unknown effect on church finances of doing so: the amendment to authorise a regional trial means we can allay those concerns,” pointed out the Rev Tom Woolford, who originally raised the issue.

The Blackburn diocese cited a 50 per cent fall in Church of England weddings over two decades. Whether saving £641 if you marry in a church away from where you both live, or £539 if you marry in your home parish, on a day that, on average, costs £18,400, will encourage tens of thousands of couples to flock to churches remains to be seen.

“I’m hoping and praying the trial goes really well and we can bring a motion for the full abolition of wedding fees in due course,” the Rev Woolford said. The Archbishop of York, the Most Rev Stephen Cottrell, described it as “a chance for us to do something which I believe could be really good for us, good for our soul”.

Read it all.

🔴 The General Synod has waived statutory fees – but will the new tactic work?https://t.co/GoAB1QjEdn

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) July 13, 2023

Something clicked for Marlena Bhame when she first stepped into Liquid Church about four years ago. She’d been searching for something more spiritually dynamic and meaningful than the faith tradition she’d grown up in, or the various others she had tried out over the years.

When Bhame, who was raised in the evangelical Christian and Missionary Alliance tradition, arrived at the church in Parsippany, N.J., she was immediately struck by a feeling of belonging. The congregation mostly looked like her — a lot of millennials and Gen Z — and everyone seemed enthusiastic about being there.

“I was blown away by the amount of young people,” she says.

Liquid Church has helped Bhame, 28, and others like her find meaning even as many in her generation have turned away from organized religion. It is one of about 1,800 “megachurches” in the United States — defined as having 2,000 or more members. At a time when empty pews are forcing churches across the country to shutter, these mostly nondenominational houses of worship are largely bucking that trend — attracting younger, more vibrant and more diverse congregations.

Read it all.

After the pandemic, small churches are struggling, but megachurches are expanding. And increasingly incorporating digital worship offerings. Smart phones are becoming "absolutely vital"https://t.co/Arzp4wp6qD

— Daniel Cox (@dcoxpolls) July 14, 2023

The Hollywood actors’ union approved a strike on Thursday for the first time in 43 years, bringing the $134 billion American movie and television business to a halt over anger about pay and fears of a tech-dominated future.

The leaders of SAG-AFTRA, the union representing 160,000 television and movie actors, announced the strike after negotiations with studios over a new contract collapsed, with streaming services and artificial intelligence at the center of the standoff. On Friday, the actors will join screenwriters, who walked off the job in May, on picket lines in New York, Los Angeles and the dozens of other American cities where scripted shows and movies are made.

Actors and screenwriters had not been on strike at the same time since 1960, when Marilyn Monroe was still starring in films and Ronald Reagan was the head of the actors’ union. Dual strikes pit more than 170,000 workers against old-line studios like Disney, Universal, Sony and Paramount, as well tech juggernauts like Netflix, Amazon and Apple.

Read it all.

Breaking News: TV and movie actors are going on strike, joining Hollywood screenwriters and effectively bringing the entertainment industry to a standstill. https://t.co/QxBXrDR09t

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 13, 2023

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who knowest the Father, even as Thou art known of Him, lead us onward evermore in the knowledge of Thee Who art the truth, till at last we see Thy face, and know Thee as we are known of Thee; Who with ;he Father and the Holy Ghost livest and reignest, one God for ever and 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)

pic.twitter.com/SvBn9tOX8d

— Irena Buzarewicz (@IrenaBuzarewicz) July 14, 2023

I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also dwells secure.
For thou dost not give me up to Sheol,
or let thy godly one see the Pit.

Thou dost show me the path of life;
in thy presence there is fulness of joy,
in thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.

–Psalm 16:8-11

If you hear a duet sung by a pair of these awesome Black-headed Gonoleks, it’s often so well synchronised that it sounds like a single bird! Photographed @UmusambiV in #Kigali #Rwanda #RwOT #BirdsSeenIn2023 #TwitterNatureCommunity #VisitRwanda pic.twitter.com/yW1ZIdkfIL

— Will Wilson (@2wsphotography) July 14, 2023

The key questions raised by this majority view are as follows.

First, on what issues are they proposing that it should be possible for those in the Church of England to disagree? Does this, as the context suggests, include the matters that are currently under dispute in the Church of England, namely, the nature of marriage, the proper context for sexual activity, and what patterns of personal life should be expected of the clergy?

If it does include these matters, on what basis do the majority of the bishops hold that it is legitimate for Christians to disagree about them? To use the traditional theological terminology, on what grounds can these matters be said to be adiaphora?

Secondly, what would a ‘generous theological, ecclesial and pastoral space’ mean in practice?

Is this code for saying that the teaching of the Church of England should be altered to officially encompass the view that same-sex marriages and same-sex sexual relationships are in accordance with the will of God, that the Church should provide recognition and liturgical affirmation for same-sex relationships (including same-sex marriages) and that clergy should be allowed to be in same-sex relationships?

Read it all.

We may subjectively dislike what God has said, but true Christian humility lies in accepting what God has said and acting upon it anyway' Martin Davie https://t.co/EUCULJ0Bk1 #anglican #marriage #theology #sexualethics #anthropology #scripture #religion #uk pic.twitter.com/WyjgnobT0k

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 10, 2023

Controversial AI theorist Eliezer Yudkowsky sits on the fringe of the industry’s most extreme circle of commentators, where extinction of the human species is the inevitable result of developing advanced artificial intelligence.

“I think we’re not ready, I think we don’t know what we’re doing, and I think we’re all going to die,” Yudkowsky said on this week’s episode of the Bloomberg Originals series AI IRL.

For the past two decades, Yudkowsky has consistently promoted his theory that hostile AI could spark a mass extinction event. As many in the AI industry shrugged or raised eyebrows at this assessment, he created the Machine Intelligence Research Institute with funding from Peter Thiel, among others, and collaborated on written work with futurists such as Nick Bostrom.

To say that some of his visions for the end of the world are unpopular would be a gross understatement; they’re on par with the prophecy that the world would end in 2012. That prediction was based on a questionable interpretation of an ancient text, as well as a dearth of supportive evidence.

Read it all.

AI doomsday scenarios are gaining traction in Silicon Valley, which can deflect from actual harms like algorithmic bias and racism. https://t.co/Y6nJD8xkGl

— Bloomberg (@business) July 13, 2023

The dawn of a new era in astronomy is here as the world gets its first look at the full capabilities of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope, a partnership with ESA (European Space Agency) and CSA (Canadian Space Agency).

The full set of the telescope’s first full-color images and spectroscopic data, which uncover a collection of cosmic features elusive until now, released Tuesday, are available…[there.

“Today, we present humanity with a groundbreaking new view of the cosmos from the James Webb Space Telescope – a view the world has never seen before,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “These images, including the deepest infrared view of our universe that has ever been taken, show us how Webb will help to uncover the answers to questions we don’t even yet know to ask; questions that will help us better understand our universe and humanity’s place within it.

Read it all.

NASA reveals Webb Telescope’s first images of unseen universe https://t.co/ZkN67AwbbB #JWST pic.twitter.com/heqc936tNQ

— Sarwat Nasir (@SarwatNasir) July 12, 2022

Read it all (subscription).

Floods, Heat, Smoke: The Weather Will Never Be Normal Again
Global warming is accelerating, and it’s starting to show.
By David Wallace-Wells https://t.co/QBhqZoInnW

— Stuart Falk (@stufalk) July 13, 2023

In fact we are discovering that the decline of organised religion does not imply the eradication of human irrationality, human tribalism or the human longing for moral certainty. Astrology is — astonishingly — a booming industry. Antivaxers prosper on GB News. Among educated people there is a burgeoning faith in the existence of a quasi-spiritual “personal truth” that trumps objective reality. A fascination with apocalypse afflicts the “doomer” fringes of the climate movement and AI pessimists such as Eliezer Yudkowsky warn that the end of days is near (“everyone will die, including children”). Conspiracies such as QAnon have morphed into quasi-religions promoting visions of a child-sacrificing, blood-drinking elite that would not look out of place in a medieval Doom painting.

Fifteen years ago “new atheists” such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens launched gleeful attacks on religion. It turns out that what they really despised was human nature. Few are capable of living without faith of any kind. “Humankind cannot bear very much reality,” as TS Eliot wrote. The political theorist Samuel Goldman has proposed “the law of the conservation of religion”. All societies have a relatively constant level of religious feeling. What changes is how it is expressed.

It is no accident that the decline of religion has coincided with the outbreak of an age of secular moralising. It seems we cannot get by without the reassurance of absolute moral laws.

Read it all (subscription).

Fascinating (and admirably candid) material from @j_amesmarriott in today’s @thetimes

‘It is no accident that the decline of religion has coincided with the outbreak of an age of secular moralising. It seems we cannot get by without the reassurance of absolute moral laws.’ pic.twitter.com/2mrBpL2TkR

— Andrew Roycroft (@AndrewTRoycroft) July 13, 2023

Grant, O blessed Lord, that thy Church in this our day may hear anew thy call to launch out into the deep in the service of thy glorious gospel; that souls for whom thou hast died may be won for thee, to the increase of thy kingdom and the glory of thy holy name.

Morning! 😀 Finally on 'Fiery skies' week is a simply stunning sunrise that I was lucky enough to witness at Chinkwell Tor on Dartmoor…

This is my favourite photo of the week – RT if you agree!#thursdaymotivation #ThePhotoHour #Dartmoor #Stormhour pic.twitter.com/z9X5zlisMs

— Gary Holpin | Photography (@GaryHolpin) July 13, 2023

I love thee, O Lord, my strength.
The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.

–Psalm 18:1-3

Deep In The Fireweed. 19°C and rather muggy. Plenty of lovely bees. 🐝 pic.twitter.com/NsgdO5s6K5

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) July 13, 2023

Every society—even in the West—defines freedom differently,…[Wissam al-Saliby, advocacy officer for the WEA] continued, and the WEA must keep to an international minimum as it represents evangelical opinion. Hate speech is a significant societal problem, and the global WEA body endorses the UN-backed Rabat Plan of Action to determine when it crosses the line into incitement to violence.

The Christian minimum, however, is drawn instead from the image of God.

“Our ability to reject God and his love,” Saliby said, “establishes the absolute right of freedom of expression, religion, and the changing thereof.”

Secure in God’s love themselves, all Christians should condemn Quran burnings.

“Insulting religions does not reflect our Christian witness,” said Saliby. “Our Lord and Savior is bigger than this.”

Read it all.

“What happened in Sweden was an unwholesome use of the concept of personal freedom,” said one pastor in Baghdad. https://t.co/RyvtD1F0Nz

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) July 12, 2023

For years, farmers across South Carolina have used sludge from factories and sewage plants to fertilize the fields where crops grow and cattle graze.

Applied to thousands of acres since the 1990s, the sludge is billed as a cheap way to enrich the soil.

But increasingly, chemicals suspected of causing cancer, high cholesterol and other health problems are being found in the mucky waste. Scientists, environmentalists and some farmers worry that the pollutants in sludge, called PFAS or forever chemicals, are contaminating drinking water, poisoning crops and sickening people.

“We’re talking about cancer-causing chemicals that can get into surface water and, therefore, into drinking water systems or in fish people eat,’’ said environmental lawyer Ben Cunningham, who has pushed the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control to tighten state oversight of sewer sludge.

Read it all.

Concerns are rising over using sludge to fertilize farms. Hazardous forever chemicals have been found in sludge. SC has approved 80,000 acres of sludge fields, McClatchy and The State found in an investigative series. https://t.co/mfXpyQcXKh @jamooreforsc @ewg @scelp @selc_org

— Sammy Fretwell (@sfretwell83) July 12, 2023

The Church of England’s General Synod has called for renewed action from the Church and Government to tackle the impact and causes of climate change.

A motion brought by the Diocese of Oxford calls on all parts of the Church to review policies and procedures in order to give due priority to creation care, and asks the Government to review planning regulations to aid the installation of renewable technology on church buildings that are listed or in conservation areas, was passed by a substantial majority of Synod members.

It also commends the National Investment Bodies for their decisions to divest from fossil fuels, calls for regular prayer, and encourages the opportunity for confirmation candidates to make commitments to safeguard the integrity of creation.

Ahead of the vote, Synod members were briefed on the aspects of the motion which have made positive progress since the motion was passed by Oxford Diocesan Synod in March 2020: including the Church of England’s Routemap to Net Zero by 2030 and announcements by the National Investing Bodies to disinvest from fossil fuels.

Read it all.

Church of England General Synod calls on Church and Government to move faster on Climate Change
Powerful speech by Bishop @LiviJGraham @oxforddiocese @CofEEnvironment @UNEPFaith4Earth @fftcnetwork https://t.co/Z5sTB7rOc0

— Green Anglicans (@Greenanglicans) July 12, 2023

The acting chair of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB), Meg Munn, has accused the Archbishops’ Council of being “slow to listen” to experts — and the Archbishop of Canterbury of “undermining” her work — as she resigns all her safeguarding responsibilities within the Church.

Ms Munn, a safeguarding professional and a former MP, is also the independent chair of the Church’s National Safeguarding Panel (NSP).

After weeks of silence as disputes about the functionality and future of the ISB escalated, Ms Munn released an explosive personal statement to the Church Times on Wednesday morning explaining her decision to cease working for the Church, and finally giving her side of the story of the ISB’s demise.

In it, she speaks of being unsupported by the Archbishops’ Council, which appointed her; says that the other two members of the ISB arbitrarily changed their brief; and calls the ISB “a huge waste of money”. But she also says that safeguarding in the Church of England is not in crisis, praising the professionalism of many diocesan and national safeguarding officers.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

BREAKING. The acting chair of the Independent Safeguarding Board (ISB), Meg Munn, has accused the Archbishops’ Council of being “slow to listen” to experts — and @JustinWelby of “undermining” her work — as she resigns from the Churchhttps://t.co/DPPdqMpqvK

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 12, 2023

Almighty God, we bless thy Name for the life and work of Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala, who helped to inspire the modern liturgical revival and worked tirelessly for cooperation among Christians. Inspire us by his example, that we may ever strive for the renewal of thy Church in life and worship, for the glory of thy Name; who with Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Died #OnThisDay in 1931: Nathan Söderblom, Archbishop of Uppsala, considered the architect of the ecumenical movement
He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930 for his work for Church unity & for world peace; see: https://t.co/ikM7kYUIs5

Photo (1923), Public Domain via Wikimedia pic.twitter.com/dCtqQ2oVwm

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) July 12, 2023

Almighty and everlasting God,
by whose Spirit the whole body of the Church
is governed and sanctified:
hear our prayer which we offer for all your faithful people,
that in their vocation and ministry
they may serve you in holiness and truth
to the glory of your name;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

The burnished copper-gold of a comma in full sunlight. pic.twitter.com/tPXwiaoLGI

— Beatrice Groves (@beatricegroves1) July 12, 2023

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for the LORD sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

–1 Samuel 16:7

#LongIslandMe pic.twitter.com/KAG5jkeD7O

— Steve Train (@fvhattierose) July 12, 2023

Delays at naval shipyards mean that nearly 40% of US attack submarines are out of commission for repairs, about double the rate the Navy would like, according to new data released by the service.

As of this year, 18 of the US Navy’s 49 attack submarines — 37% — were out of commission, according to previously undisclosed Navy data published by the Congressional Research Service. That leaves the US at a critical disadvantage against China’s numerically superior fleet.

The maintenance backlog has “substantially reduced” the number of nuclear submarines operational at any given moment, cutting the “force’s capacity for meeting day-to-day mission demands and potentially putting increased operational pressure” on submarines that are in service, CRS naval analyst Ronald O’Rourke said in a July 6 report.

That’s up from 28% overall in 2017 and 33% in 2022, and below the industry best practice of 20%.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

Backlogs at overworked shipyards have left US attack submarines at a crucial disadvantage against China’s numerically superior fleet https://t.co/N0DOKv7yse

— Bloomberg (@business) July 11, 2023

Jane Chevous, a representative of survivors of church abuse, opened the proceedings with a damning description of the events leading up to the decision to sack the board, the incompetent way it was handled and the devastating impact it has had on already vulnerable people.

“For as we learned this weekend,” she explained, “Getting the papers prepared for Synod was more important than the lives of survivors. At 12.17 that day Jasvinder phoned me to share the devastating news – I felt like my whole world had crumbled around me. I had trusted the ISB. I had hope. And now that hope had been snatched from me and trampled underfoot.” [at 5.14 on video]

Despite their claims to the contrary, the response of the Council representatives, particularly the Archbishop of York, Rt Revd Stephen Cottrell, was defensive and self-asserting. In his introductory remarks he said,

“I want you to know Synod, though I can’t make you believe me, but I want you to know, that the decisions we took were some of the most painful decisions I have ever had to be part of in my life and work, but we took them believing them to be the were the right decisions for the safeguarding of the church? Could we have communicated them better? Could things have been different in the past? They are things we can discuss and they are certainly things we can learn from – I do want you to know that my concern has always been for the safeguarding of the church.” [at 18.50 on video]

Read it all.

As a trustee of Anglican Futures I'm biased but this is really good on how the Church of England is just repeating its safeguarding errors during Synod in York.https://t.co/EIRD6KKKu3

— Dan Leafe (@DanLeafe1) July 10, 2023

Despite billions of federal dollars spent to help make up for pandemic-related learning loss, progress in reading and math stalled over the past school year for elementary and middle-school students, according to a new national study released on Tuesday.

The hope was that, by now, students would be learning at an accelerated clip, but that did not happen over the last academic year, according to NWEA, a research organization that analyzed the results of its widely used student assessment tests taken this spring by about 3.5 million public school students in third through eighth grade.

In fact, students in most grades showed slower than average growth in math and reading, when compared with students before the pandemic. That means learning gaps created during the pandemic are not closing — if anything, the gaps may be widening.

“We are actually seeing evidence of backsliding,” said Karyn Lewis, a lead researcher on the study.

Read it all.

Whoa: "Students in most grades showed slower than average growth in math and reading, when compared with students before the pandemic. That means learning gaps created during the pandemic are not closing — if anything, the gaps may be widening." @smervosh: https://t.co/0gnhZjqDuz

— Alec MacGillis (@AlecMacGillis) July 11, 2023

Just as there is an evil zeal of bitterness
which separates from God and leads to hell,
so there is a good zeal
which separates from vices and leads to God
and to life everlasting.
This zeal, therefore, the sisters should practice
with the most fervent love.
Thus they should anticipate one another in honor (Rom. 12:10);
most patiently endure one another’s infirmities,
whether of body or of character;
vie in paying obedience one to another —
no one following what she considers useful for herself,
but rather what benefits another — ;
tender the charity of sisterhood chastely;
fear God in love;
love their Abbess with a sincere and humble charity;
prefer nothing whatever to Christ.
And may He bring us all together to life everlasting!

–The Rule of Benedict, Chapter 72: On the Good Zeal Which They Ought to Have

Celebrating the feast of Saint Benedict, father of Western monasticism, patron of Europe. https://t.co/K3z7jX8exD pic.twitter.com/TBz5LMhpcU

— Fr Lawrence Lew, O.P. (@LawrenceOP) July 11, 2023

Almighty and everlasting God, whose precepts are the wisdom of a loving Father: Give us grace, following the teaching and example of thy servant Benedict, to walk with loving and willing hearts in the school of the Lord’s service; let thine ears be open unto our prayers; and prosper with thy blessing the work of our hands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

#OTD 11 July: feast of St Benedict of Nursia, founder of Western monasticism and of the abbey of Monte Cassino. pic.twitter.com/CfFyYs2nmz

— Caroline Murray (@Prof_hedgehog) July 11, 2023

Set a watch, O Lord, upon our tongue, that we may never speak the cruel word which is not true; or being true, is not the whole truth; or being wholly true, is merciless; for the love of Jesus Christ our Lord.

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

Hidden gem: the delightful market town of Oundle in Northamptonshire looks like a mini-Cambridge from the air. It is here that St. Wilfrid died. pic.twitter.com/VTAYkQpzg6

— Andy Marshall 📸 (@fotofacade) July 11, 2023

Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints that lived at Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden for eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

Now there was at Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. In those days she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him entreating him, “Please come to us without delay.” So Peter rose and went with them. And when he had come, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing tunics and other garments which Dorcas made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, rise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up. Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

–Acts 9:32-43

Beautiful sunrise to get our Tuesday started! #chswx pic.twitter.com/aHV5avde05

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 11, 2023

The number of marriages in China declined for nine consecutive years, falling by half in less than a decade. Last year, about 6.8 million couples registered for marriage, the lowest since records began in 1986, down from 13.5 million in 2013, according to government data released last month.

Although the numbers have risen so far in 2023 compared with the year before, more marriages are ending, too. In the first quarter of this year, 40,000 more couples married compared with the same period a year earlier, while divorces rose by 127,000.

Surveys have shown that young people are deterred by the toll of putting a child through China’s cutthroat education system. As women in cities achieve new levels of financial independence and education, marriage is less of an economic necessity to them. And men say they cannot afford to get married, citing cultural pressure to own a home and a car before they can even begin dating.

The instability of the last three years has compounded these pressures, reshaping many young people’s expectations about building a family. China has imposed an increasingly tight grip over every aspect of society under its leader, Xi Jinping — with effects that could weigh on the marriage rate.

Read it all.

It has been brutal for China’s young adults as their unemployment rate soars amid a wave of corporate layoffs. For many people, the recent turmoil is another reason to postpone major life decisions — contributing to a record-low marriage rate.https://t.co/eOaYk6ITgp

— NYT Business (@nytimesbusiness) July 10, 2023

After a previous arrest, Rukundwa was released for lack of any evidence to substantiate the allegations. But some officials complained, and he was arrested again.

Rukundwa is president of Eben-Ezer University of Minembwe and has dedicated his life to education, development, and empowering churches in Eastern Congo. He played a critical role in bringing solar power to the region.

“Lazare is among few people in those mountains who is respected and loved across the tribal lines, even from communities in constant conflicts and fighting,” says his friend of 25 years, Freddy Kaniki.

CT Global managing editor Morgan Lee spoke with him before his arrest about the challenges currently facing Christians in Congo and the hope he holds for change.

Read it all.

#DRC: saddened by the violent, arbitrary and unlawful arrest and detention of Prof. Lazare Sebitereko Rukundwa, President and Rector of Eben-Ezer University of #Minembwe (UEMI). A peaceful and dedicated Professor and Man of God. #JusticeforLazare. #FreeProfLazare ⁦@unjhro⁩ pic.twitter.com/ZMZdx8k6sU

— Jean Baptiste Serugo (@jbserugo) July 2, 2023

Zunera Hashmi, a Toronto resident, has been anxiously waiting in line for three years to be assigned a family doctor. When she gets stressed, the 28-year-old marketing professional calls the provincial help line but hears the same message: “Wait just a bit longer.” She emails them occasionally but gets no reply.

Over 2.2 million like Hashmi don’t have a regular family physician in the province of Ontario, according to data from health-care researcher Inspire Primary Health Care, up from 1.8 million two years ago. The shortages are dire in Toronto, Canada’s most populous city and its financial capital. One in five Ontarians, most of them Toronto dwellers, could be without a family doctor in the next three years, according to the Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP), which represents 15,000 family doctors in the region.

“We have a full-blown health-care crisis on our hands,” said Dr. Mekalai Kumanan, president of the OCFP, which is raising an alarm. Canada’s population saw record growth in 2022, spurred in large part by an immigration-friendly policy. Older physicians are retiring but fewer medical students are choosing family medicine. And Toronto’s aging population faces ever-more medical issues.

“It’s a perfect storm,” Kumanan said.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

Years-long waits to find a primary care doctor are becoming a “full-blown health-care crisis” for Ontario https://t.co/ULpoRCXX9J via @citylab

— Bloomberg (@business) July 10, 2023