People first began to think about theology not because they were looking for intellectual stimulus or solutions to abstract problems, but because they found themselves living in an unsettling and vastly expanded ‘space’. They were conscious of new dimensions in their connection with each other, new dimensions in coping with their own fear, guilt, despair, a new sense of intimate access to the limitless reality of God. They connected these new experiences with the story of Jesus of Nazareth, executed by the Roman colonial government, reported by his closest friends as raised from death and present with them and their converts in the communication of divine ‘spirit.’ As we read Christian scripture, we are watching the first generations of Christian believers trying to construct a workable map of this unexpected territory. 

When I started writing the assorted pieces that make up the little book on Discovering Christianity (published earlier this year), my hope was above all to convey something of this sense of Christian thinking as a process of mapmaking in a new and bewildering landscape. That’s why one chapter – originally drafted for a Muslim audience – tried to list some of the things that an interested observer might spot in looking from outside at the habits of Christian believers: not first and foremost their spectacular and uniform embodiment of unconditional divine love (if only), but just the sorts of things they said and did, the sort of language used about Jesus, the rituals of induction and belonging. Indeed, if there is one biblical text I had in mind in virtually all the chapters, it is the simple phrase, ‘Come and see’ that Jesus uses in St John’s gospel when he is first followed by those who will become ‘disciples’, literally ‘learners.’ 

‘Come and see’. When we use language like that in everyday life, we’re encouraging others to share something that has excited or troubled us (or both). It’s not a proposal for solving a problem. It’s not even a recruitment campaign. It’s an invitation to stand where someone else is standing and look from there. In the rich symbolic context of John’s gospel, it’s about sharing Jesus’ ‘point of view’ – which is, as we’re told right at the start of the gospel, a point of view unimaginably close to the heart of eternal life and reality itself.  

We can only see in this way when we move away from our ordinary perceptions a bit….

Read it all.

"We read and think in company; our theological reflection like the rest of our lives of faith is a shared, ‘conversational’ affair."https://t.co/BZdeLOgjVw

— Seen and Unseen (@seenunseenmag) March 19, 2025

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will let you dwell in this place. Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’

“For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly execute justice one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will let you dwell in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your fathers for ever.

–Jeremiah 7:1-7

Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Glean thoroughly as a vine
the remnant of Israel;
like a grape-gatherer pass your hand again
over its branches.”
To whom shall I speak and give warning,
that they may hear?
Behold, their ears are closed,
they cannot listen;
behold, the word of the Lord is to them an object of scorn,
they take no pleasure in it.
Therefore I am full of the wrath of the Lord;
I am weary of holding it in.
“Pour it out upon the children in the street,
and upon the gatherings of young men, also;
both husband and wife shall be taken,
the old folk and the very aged.
Their houses shall be turned over to others,
their fields and wives together;
for I will stretch out my hand
against the inhabitants of the land,”
says the Lord.
“For from the least to the greatest of them,
every one is greedy for unjust gain;
and from prophet to priest,
every one deals falsely.
They have healed the wound of my people lightly,
saying, ‘Peace, peace,’
when there is no peace.
Were they ashamed when they committed abomination?
No, they were not at all ashamed;
they did not know how to blush.
Therefore they shall fall among those who fall;
at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown,”
says the Lord.

–Jeremiah 6:9-15

After this Jesus went about in Galilee; he would not go about in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews’ feast of Tabernacles was at hand. So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may see the works you are doing. For no man works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his brothers did not believe in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify of it that its works are evil. Go to the feast yourselves; I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” So saying, he remained in Galilee. But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.

–John 7:1-13

It’s going to be a beautiful day #Alaska #Denali #McKinley #ThePhotoHour #StormHour #travel #NaturePhotography #NatureBeauty pic.twitter.com/4amrJ1eKzS

— RG (@RFGartland) March 22, 2025

Jipp’s view is that Paul wants to offer “a robust theory of how relation to Christ is humanity’s supreme good, and is, therefore, necessary for human flourishing”, and he is right to insist on the importance of facing the inevitability of death”, as our “fundamental human predicament”, which means that in this life human flourishing is unobtainable because of the undeniable presence of sin and death (“this present evil age” — Galatians 1.4). But for Paul, of course, death is not the end; our only hope is that God has raised Jesus from the dead. Paul sees the possibility of a “transformed moral agency”, whereby we are seen to think, act, and feel in a way that is orientated towards, and therefore unified by, loving and worshipping God.

This is a very rich and powerful doctrine, in which Christ is seen as the “foundation of a new epistemology for persons-in-Christ”. Love is absolutely central here, making of us a sacred community, related to Christ and to one another, where the Church has to be a reconciling and forgiving community.

Jipp offers a very attractive vision of how “persons-in-Christ” can speak to our world. What, in your view, does it mean for any of us to flourish and live a good life in the world? I strongly recommend this book; it is not easy reading, but sheds interesting new light on the remarkable apostle Paul and his very telling use of athletic and military imagery.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

Book review: Nicholas King looks at being in Christ in St Paul's theologyhttps://t.co/baVGtgLjKc pic.twitter.com/ICUNsKhtA0

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 21, 2025

Rising political tensions in South Sudan threaten to drag the country into a new civil war, but even if rival factions can safeguard a 2018 peace deal, more fighting is set to occur in the northeastern Upper Nile state, which will likely draw in growing involvement from Sudan’s warring parties. On March 18, the party of South Sudan’s First Vice President Riek Machar, SPLM-IO, announced it was halting its participation in key provisions of a 2018 peace deal, including joint security and ceasefire monitoring committees, until authorities released allies of Machar who are currently being detained. The announcement comes amid rapidly surging tensions between Machar and South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, who in early March ordered the arrest of pro-Machar figures after the White Army, a militia drawing support from Machar’s Nuer ethnic group, captured the town of Nasir in Upper Nile state on March 4….

Read it all.

Rising tensions and violence in South Sudan's Upper Nile State risk reigniting civil war, threatening the fragile 2018 peace deal.https://t.co/BfMf97HiCx

Jan Pospisil, @covcampus#Politics

— The Conversation Africa (@TC_Africa) March 21, 2025

Since….[2023], stories like the ones we found in Levittown have become far more widespread. With federal law remaining largely silent on the legality of creating nonconsensual deepfake pornographic images, state prosecutors have scrambled to find charges that fit a new kind of harassment.

AI-based deepfaking services are hitting a peak. Traffic to the 10 most popular “nudifying” apps soared by more than 600% year over year, from 3 million views in April 2023 to 23 million in April 2024, according to figures provided to Bloomberg by a research company that asked not to be identified in connection with its data on online pornography. In January this year alone, the websites received 18 million views, the research shows.

With a stamp of approval from first lady Melania Trump, lawmakers this year are expected to pass a bill criminalizing the posting of nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes on the internet. It will penalize the posters with prison time and the platforms with fines if they don’t remove the fake pictures quickly enough.

The proposed Take It Down Act, which passed in the Senate in the last Congress with bipartisan support, wouldn’t outlaw the apps themselves. So San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu last year tried to tackle the root cause. He brought a first-of-its-kind lawsuit charging the deepfake app creators, arguing they broke federal and state revenge and child pornography rules and broke California’s competition law. The apps named in the lawsuit have either closed or appear to be operating under different names. Some have geofenced their services so they can’t be accessed in the state. Out of 16 apps named, representatives of only one of them have responded to Chiu’s complaint.

Read it all (and consider listening to the accompanying podcast).

A new podcast tries to understand exactly who was behind a global clearinghouse of nonconsensual deepfake pornography https://t.co/ERCR6WvrLm

— Bloomberg Markets (@markets) March 21, 2025

Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,
    look and take note!
Search her squares to see
    if you can find a man,
one who does justice
    and seeks truth;
that I may pardon her.
Though they say, “As the Lord lives,”
    yet they swear falsely.
O Lord, do not thy eyes look for truth?
Thou hast smitten them,
    but they felt no anguish;
thou hast consumed them,
    but they refused to take correction.
They have made their faces harder than rock;
    they have refused to repent.

Then I said, “These are only the poor,
    they have no sense;
for they do not know the way of the Lord,
    the law of their God.
I will go to the great,
    and will speak to them;
for they know the way of the Lord,
    the law of their God.”
But they all alike had broken the yoke,
    they had burst the bonds.

Therefore a lion from the forest shall slay them,
    a wolf from the desert shall destroy them.
A leopard is watching against their cities,
    every one who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces;
because their transgressions are many,
    their apostasies are great.

“How can I pardon you?
    Your children have forsaken me,
    and have sworn by those who are no gods.
When I fed them to the full,
    they committed adultery
    and trooped to the houses of harlots.
They were well-fed lusty stallions,
    each neighing for his neighbor’s wife.
Shall I not punish them for these things?
                says the Lord;
    and shall I not avenge myself
    on a nation such as this?

–Jeremiah 5:1-9

Red sky in the morning…Friday dawns spectacularly over the Leg of Mutton Pond in #BushyPark 21.03.25 @theroyalparks @TWmagazines @Visit_Richmond1 @TLTeddington @Teddington_Town @Visit_Richmond1 @SallyWeather @itvweather @RSPB_Richmond @SurreysWildlife pic.twitter.com/k2i1E3BjSF

— Sue Lindenberg (@patlinberg) March 21, 2025

Nearly every Sunday, as confirmands are presented, I ask the rector, “Have they been adequately
prepared?” Now, I’ve been a parish priest. I’ve worked with people. I know just how fraught with
opportunities to fall short the goal of things like confirmation classes can be. “Adequately
prepared” is something of a moving target. But the Prayer Book presses on. “Dearly beloved,” I’m
required to say, “it’s essential that those who wish to be confirmed or received in this church
publicly confess Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior, become his disciples, know and affirm the
Nicene Creed, the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten Commandments, and have received instruction in
the Holy scriptures of the Old and New Testaments in the catechism of the church.”
I always imagine the clergy saying, “Well, I mean, yeah, they finished our eight-week new
members class.” But my deep concern is that we live in an increasingly complicated world where
living out the Christian faith has become a challenge and is often also challenged by those around
us.

My question is, are we preparing people to bear witness to the faith when it, the faith, and its
moral vision are constantly challenged? Can we say that the people in our churches are being
given the tools necessary to give an answer for the hope that they have?

From the youngest age to our oldest members, we must be in the business of teaching the Creed,
the Lord’s Prayer, the Ten Commandments, the Holy scriptures, and the Catechism of the Church.
That we might be prepared to resist our great adversary who is always on the prowl seeking whom
he may devour. I’ll add briefly here that our ACNA catechism, To Be a Christian, is an excellent
resource. If you haven’t already, I urge you to look into it, and especially into the cottage industry
that’s grown up around it, about how to use it for instruction for all ages.

There is a wealth of material available to teach our great Catholicism. My first passion, which
births vision, is a serious commitment to Christian education.

Read it all.

#SouthCarolina #Anglican Bishop Chip Edgar's Diocesan Convention address https://t.co/UHSdYyTXnn #parishministry #lowcountrylife #faith #charlestonsc #religion #anglicannews pic.twitter.com/zwZ6dhFztU

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 19, 2025

‘Christian faith is less about providing a set of cast-iron winning arguments, more about an invitation to “come and see“.’

–Rowan Williams, Discovering Christianity: A guide for the curious (London: SPCK, 2025) p. 93

Contemplative prayer classically finds its focus in the awareness of God at the centre of the praying person's being— and, simultaneously, God at the centre of the whole world's being: a solidarity in creatureliness.
— Rowan Williams, ‘On Being Creatures’ (76) pic.twitter.com/sa3CPJJf1H

— Jacob Sherman (@Shermanicus) January 27, 2025

Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing; for whatever he does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son, and shows him all that he himself is doing; and greater works than these will he show him, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me, has eternal life; he does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself, and has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of man. Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment.

–John 5:19-29

Prachtig weer om het water op te gaan. Fijne donderdag #zonsondergang #rivier pic.twitter.com/L7xKqTDlf7

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) March 20, 2025

“All right, so let me say a word about the setting because it’s absolutely crucial for our purposes. At the beginning of chapter 20, it reads this way, And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the Lord, you God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You cannot understand any of the ten commandments unless you understand this as the preface and the premise of the entire passage. Whose we are and therefore who God is, and who we are, and who we were, and what God did. God first, God at the start, God as the fundamental reality, the only non-contingent being from whom all contingent reality and being and matter comes to exist. The only reason we’re here is because God allows us to be here. The only reason that there’s something rather than nothing is because God allowed it to be.”

“The only reason there is a nation of Israel is because God came down and heard their cry, and constituted them, and brought them out. So they are God’s people. They are redeemed out of a house of slavery, and they’re going into the Promised Land, and all these things, whatever else they are, are in the context of this covenant relationship, and that saving act, and the reality that He is our God, and we are His people. Now, as if that all isn’t enough, and that’s a ton, one more thing. And that is the specific setting of this passage in the book of Exodus itself. And I just want to remind you, because when we read in chapter 20, and God spake these words, my question is simply this. In what context, in the flow of the book, are these words actually said? It’s a crucial question.”

Or you may download it there.

The Ten Commandments, 1516 #cranach #lucascranach pic.twitter.com/WCVDG4prk0

— Lucas Cranach the Elder (@ArtistCranach) March 1, 2021

ZENIT spoke with Father Tarcisio Giuseppe Stramare of the Congregation of Oblates of Saint Joseph, director of the Josephite Movement, about Tuesday’s feast of St. Joseph the Worker….

ZENIT: What does “Gospel of work” mean?

Father Stramare: “Gospel” is the Good News that refers to Jesus, the Savior of humanity. Well, despite the fact that in general we see Jesus as someone who teaches and does miracles, he was so identified with work that in his time he was regarded as “the son of the carpenter,” namely, an artisan himself. Among many possible activities, the Wisdom of God chose for Jesus manual work, entrusted the education of his Son not to the school of the learned but to a humble artisan, namely, St. Joseph.

Read it all.

"In order to assess the sanctity of Saint Joseph, it would be sufficient to know that he was elected by God in order to fulfill the duties of a father towards Jesus Christ." – St. Alphonsus pic.twitter.com/1bbR5kMrRC

— Memento Mori (@TempusFugit4016) March 19, 2025

O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

pic.twitter.com/ahqO2Q0bzc

— Robin Ward (@RobinWardSSH) March 18, 2025

The Lord said to me in the days of King Josi′ah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the harlot? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me’; but she did not return, and her false sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce; yet her false sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the harlot. Because harlotry was so light to her, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her false sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, says the Lord.”

And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false Judah. Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,

‘Return, faithless Israel,
says the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
for I am merciful,
says the Lord;
I will not be angry for ever.
Only acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,
says the Lord.
Return, O faithless children,
says the Lord;
for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.

–Jeremiah 3:6-16

A Glorious Spring Morning. 8°C and warm sunshine. Sheep having breakfast. pic.twitter.com/5of9pLgLX9

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) March 19, 2025

A debate

 about the mechanics of increasing the clergy pension — currently set at an “indefensible, ungodly, and unchristian” level — must not delay agreement on the moral course of action, a Southwark priest who has helped to organise concerned clergy said on Wednesday.

“This is a justice issue,” the Vicar of the Ascension, Balham Hill, the Revd Marcus Gibbs, said. “We take the decision to do the right thing — and that requires leadership — and then we work out how to do it. . . We need to start with the moral imperative.”

Mr Gibbs, who is the Area Dean of Tooting, has gathered more than 700 signatories to a letter to the Church Times this week calling for “urgent and decisive action on clergy pensions”. In the past three weeks, more than 1800 people have joined a Clergy Pension Action group on Facebook.

Read it all.

More than 700 clergy demand action on pensions https://t.co/5p3CRTGSmQ

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 14, 2025

7. Very great was the wound of man’s nature; from the feet to the head there was no soundness in it; none could apply mollifying ointment, neither oil, nor bandages . Then bewailing and wearying themselves, the Prophets said, Who shall give salvation out of Sion ? And again, Let Thy hand be upon the man of Thy right hand, and upon the son of man whom Thou madest strong for Thyself: so will not we go back from Thee . And another of the Prophets entreated, saying, Bow the heavens, O Lord and come down . The wounds of man’s nature pass our healing. They slew Thy Prophets, and cast down Thine altars . The evil is irretrievable by us, and needs thee to retrieve it.

8. The Lord heard the prayer of the Prophets. The Father disregarded not the perishing of our race; He sent forth His Son, the Lord from heaven, as healer: and one of the Prophets saith, The Lord whom ye seek, cometh, and shall suddenly come . Whither? The Lord shall come to His own temple, where ye stoned Him. Then another of the Prophets, on hearing this, saith to him: In speaking of the salvation of God, speakest thou quietly? In preaching the good tidings of God’s coming for salvation, speakest thou in secret? O thou that bringest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain. Speak to the cities of Judah. What am I to speak? Behold our God! Behold! the Lord cometh with strength ! Again the Lord Himself saith, Behold! I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall flee unto the Lord . The Israelites rejected salvation through Me: I come to gather all nations and tongues . For He came to His own and His own received Him not . Thou comest and what dost Thou bestow on the nations? I come to gather all nations, and I will leave on them a sign . For from My conflict upon the Cross I give to each of My soldiers a royal seal to bear upon his forehead. Another also of the Prophets said, He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and darkness was under His feet . For His coming down from heaven was not known by men.

9. Afterwards Solomon hearing his father David speak these things, built a wondrous house, and foreseeing Him who was to come into it, said in astonishment, Will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth ? Yea, saith David by anticipation in the Psalm inscribed For Solomon, wherein is this, He shall come down like rain into a fleece : rain, because of His heavenly nature, and into a fleece, because of His humanity. For rain, coming down into a fleece, comes down noiselessly: so that the Magi, not knowing the mystery of the Nativity, say, Where is He that is born King of the Jews ? and Herod being troubled inquired concerning Him who was born, and said, Where is the Christ to be born ?

10. But who is this that cometh down? He says in what follows, And with the sun He endureth, and before the moon generations of generations . And again another of the Prophets saith, Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem. Behold! thy King cometh unto thee, just and having salvation . Kings are many; of which speakest thou, O Prophet? Give us a sign which other Kings have not. If thou say, A king clad in purple, the dignity of the apparel has been anticipated. If thou say, Guarded by spear-men, and sitting in a golden chariot, this also has been anticipated by others. Give us a sign peculiar to the King whose coming thou announcest. And the Prophet maketh answer and saith, Behold! thy King cometh unto thee, just, and having salvation: He is meek, and riding upon an ass and a young foal, not on a chariot. Thou hast a unique sign of the King who came. Jesus alone of kings sat upon an unyoked foal, entering into Jerusalem with acclamations as a king. And when this King is come, what doth He? Thou also by the blood of the covenant hast sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water….

Read it all.

Our actions have a tongue of their own; they have an eloquence of their own, even when the tongue is silent. For deeds prove the lover more than words.

Saint Cyril of Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/kP7ywnHkRI

— Fr. Charbel Abernethy (@philokalia_min) March 18, 2019

For I am not ashamed of the gospel: it is the power of God for salvation to every one who has faith, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith; as it is written, “He who through faith is righteous shall live.”

Prachtig helder weer. Fijne dinsdag #zonsondergang #roeibootje pic.twitter.com/k84Gq4cJbt

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) March 18, 2025

Some firms may even intend to quietly pare back their investment plans. In 2017 Foxconn, a Taiwanese maker of electronics, vowed to spend $10bn on a plant in Wisconsin that would employ 13,000 people. Mr Trump visited the proposed site, proclaiming it the “eighth wonder of the world”. Yet after much watering down of plans, the company said last year that it had spent just $1bn on the project, and created only 1,000 jobs.

Faced with American tariffs, some foreign companies could instead direct their attention elsewhere. That has been the case with Chinese firms, which bore the brunt of the duties imposed during Mr Trump’s first term. The flow of greenfield FDI from China to America slid from $8.2bn in 2016 to $6.5bn last year. According to Morgan Stanley, listed Chinese firms generated around a quarter of their foreign sales in America in 2024, down from roughly a half in 2016. Instead, they have turned to the fast-growing economies of the global south.

If Mr Trump’s objective is to encourage foreign businesses to build in America, there are more effective policies at his disposal than tariffs. On the campaign trail the president also promised to slash red tape. Tortuous planning processes have long held back American manufacturing. For foreign firms, fixing those would be far more motivating. 

Read it all.

Will Trump’s #tariffs turbocharge #foreign #investment in America?
Companies from #Asahi to #TSMC are expanding production in the country—for nowhttps://t.co/ga2y1Ryoxw pic.twitter.com/kNAGIbbRpA

— pebbleone (@TACITWR) March 17, 2025

If they’d been asked to write an autopsy of their marriage, Walter and Amanda Smith might have agreed that the cause of death was their lack of understanding of the institution. By the summer of 2021, they were like two people who had formed their own country before agreeing on the rules of citizenship. Walter was drinking too much and going through the motions; Amanda felt trapped and separated from the identity she’d been handed as a child. “I was raised to be a ray of sunshine inside,” she liked to say. “I’m supposed to be the joy of the room.” To which one day Walter blurted out, “You are not a ray of sunshine. You’re a black cloud.” Since they’d collided 10 years earlier in a Texarkana roadside bar — Amanda was the waitress who didn’t mind that Walter had already had too much to drink — they’d never spent a night apart. Both were easy on the eye and quirky and impulsive and extraordinarily willful. Both were also unhappy. Walter had ballooned to 250 pounds and was going through two six-packs of Budweiser a night. Amanda had decided that marrying Walter Smith after knowing him for only five months was the biggest mistake of her life — which was saying something.

Still, at first glance, they appeared to have built a life together. They’d bought a place with land around it outside De Queen, Arkansas. Walter had taken a good, if all-consuming, job fixing anything that broke inside a massive coal-fired power plant an hour’s drive away. At one stretch, he worked 12-hour shifts for 93 straight days. They’d accumulated a vast number of animals: chickens, goats, rabbits and cats, along with a surprising number of dogs. “I pick up dogs off the side of the road,” explained Amanda. Inside of six years, Amanda had given birth to three children and was pregnant with a fourth. Walter insisted on naming their first, a boy. Hunter, he’d called him, after one of his favorite writers, Hunter S. Thompson. By cobbling together names from Amanda’s side of the family, he’d named their second child, too, a daughter: Alaina. After that, Amanda seized back the naming rights and, for reasons Walter has never learned, called their third child Henry. The fourth time around, Amanda was racked with indecision. “Infant Smith,” read the baby boy’s birth certificate for the first three months after his birth. “I thought, she’s going to come up with some wild shit,” Walter said. “And one day she says it: Johnathan. And I’m like, ‘You got to be sh*&^ing me.’ It took you three months to call him John Smith?”

At a glance, they were a union, but by the summer of 2021, they were engaged in something closer to civil war. “I’m doing all the things I’m supposed to do,” Walter said. “But I wasn’t willing to do the shit that made her happy. I was doing the shit that would shut her up. I would do everything I could to keep her off my ass so she would feel guilty to ask me to quit drinking.” For example, he knew that Amanda wanted to rely less on processed foods and more on what they grew themselves. The soil on their farm was poor — just gravel and red clay that required a pickax to dent. And so before Amanda could think to ask him, Walter hauled in endless sacks of enriched soil and erected four massive garden beds.

As he worked, Alaina, then 5 years old, went out to watch and play. She loved hanging around her father. Making mud pies was her favorite hobby. Walter thought nothing of it until he looked up and saw Alaina enveloped in a dust cloud. “Hey, baby, get out from downwind of that,” he said. For a moment, he worried about the effect on her lungs of the dust. But then Alaina moved, and Walter returned to the job of making his wife unhappy.

And so their small nation was divided when its first external threat presented itself. The moment from Sept. 10, 2021, is still vivid in Amanda’s mind. “Hunter runs in and says, ‘Mom, when I’m talking to Alaina, she’s not talking back to me.’”

Read it all.

Putting a face on rare deadly diseases, federal bureaucrats, dedicated medical researchers, and working class America all in one brilliant piece of beautifully written journalism from Michael Lewis: https://t.co/1u4fGFcaoO #Balamuthia #CUREIDs

— Stephanie Sy (@TheStephSy) March 13, 2025

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” And I said, “I see a rod of almond.” Then the Lord said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

The word of the Lord came to me a second time, saying, “What do you see?” And I said, “I see a boiling pot, facing away from the north.” Then the Lord said to me, “Out of the north evil shall break forth upon all the inhabitants of the land. For lo, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, says the Lord; and they shall come and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls round about, and against all the cities of Judah. And I will utter my judgments against them, for all their wickedness in forsaking me; they have burned incense to other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands. But you, gird up your loins; arise, and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its princes, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you; but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, says the Lord, to deliver you.”

–Jeremiah 1:11-19

St Patrick’s Day view… New Zealand

credit: my youngest

#adventures pic.twitter.com/tmTm4KqLSG

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) March 17, 2025

The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilki′ah, of the priests who were in An′athoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the Lord came in the days of Josi′ah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign. It came also in the days of Jehoi′akim the son of Josi′ah, king of Judah, and until the end of the eleventh year of Zedeki′ah, the son of Josi′ah, king of Judah, until the captivity of Jerusalem in the fifth month.

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Then I said, “Ah, Lord God! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” But the Lord said to me,

“Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’;
for to all to whom I send you you shall go,
and whatever I command you you shall speak.
Be not afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you,
                says the Lord.”

Then the Lord put forth his hand and touched my mouth; and the Lord said to me,

“Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

–Jeremiah 1:1-10

Einen schönen Sonntag für euch! pic.twitter.com/AWdqhJnEhC

— Brigitta Neurauter (@BrigittaNeurau2) March 16, 2025

The Gafcon Primates Council met in Plano, Texas on Tuesday, 12 March 2025 and during the rest of that week held G25, a conference for Gafcon leaders with a special focus on the next generation of global bishops. Over 170 leaders from 25 countries were present, including 10 primates and 83 other bishops and archbishops. Gafcon continues its commitment to reorder the Anglican Communion in joyful submission to Holy Scripture. The theme of the Conference was ‘Leading the Renewal.’

We were graciously hosted by Christ Church Plano (CCP), a cathedral church of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), whose Rector and Dean, Bishop Paul Donison, also serves as the General Secretary of Gafcon. The staff and many volunteers of CCP and surrounding churches provided generous hospitality and gladly served our needs.

The Conference began with an uplifting and inspiring service of Holy Communion, with a sermon by the Primate of the ACNA, Archbishop Steve Wood. Each day began with Morning Prayer led by bishops from Nigeria, Rwanda and Myanmar, with clear and stimulating Bible teaching from the early chapters of Joshua by the General Secretary that encouraged us in our personal walk with Christ. We ended our time together with another service of Holy Communion, where the Primate of All Nigeria, Archbishop Henry Ndukuba, encouraged us from the word.

The first session provided an insight into how the Gafcon movement began, as a panel of founding fathers were interviewed. The Conference was reminded as to why and how the first GAFCON was held in 2008, under the leadership of Archbishop Peter Akinola, producing the Jerusalem Statement and the Jerusalem Declaration, our foundational documents which continue to guide our movement.

Gafcon has sometimes been criticised, even vilified, as a sectarian and schismatic movement that has sought to undermine the unity of the Anglican Communion. But that is simply untrue. We cherish the worldwide fellowship that we enjoy through the Anglican Communion. We have not left it, but have sought to renew it, as it was in 1998, when the Bible was at the centre of our life and we submitted to its authority. We represent the Anglican Communion as we stand for the orthodox Anglican theology that is upheld by a vast majority of the Communion. It is those who have promoted unbiblical teachings who have torn the fabric of our Communion and shown themselves to be out of step with the apostolic faith.

Revisiting our history is essential to understand the ongoing challenges facing the Anglican Communion today, especially as many of our conference participants were bishops who have been consecrated within the past five years. Gafcon continues to stand firm against error, re-stating and celebrating the truth of the gospel, recognizing authentic Anglican provinces and dioceses, and renewing the Anglican Communion for mission to the nations.

Through a mixture of presentations and small group consultations, the participants considered four defining features of Gafcon.

Gathering Authentic Anglicans

‘Do not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching’ (Hebrews 10:25). Gafcon began as a gathering of bishops, clergy, and laity, united in their commitment to affirm true Anglican identity around a shared understanding of the gospel and a commitment to the authority of Holy Scripture, rather than through communion with the failing office of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Gafcon is a confessional fellowship of Anglicans held together by the theology, liturgy and vision of the Reformation Formularies. We rejoice in our theological unity and cultural diversity as we all ‘work and pray together in the common mission of Christ’ (Jerusalem Statement 2008).

Guarding God’s Gospel

‘Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you’ (2 Timothy 1:14). The gospel of Christ is precious as the good news of salvation, but it can easily be obscured or corrupted. Sadly, the Canterbury-based ‘Instruments of Communion’ have failed to guard this gospel against such corruption, or to exercise needed discipline within the church. Gafcon has taken up this responsibility by reaffirming the gospel of Christ, rebuking false teaching that undermines it, and providing theological resources. Where Anglican leaders in some regions have departed from the truth of the gospel, Gafcon has rejected their spiritual authority, and recognised new expressions of faithful Anglicans, in order to guard and boldly proclaim the life-giving gospel of Christ throughout the world.

Growing Orthodox Leaders

‘What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful persons, who will be able to teach others also’ (2 Timothy 2:2). Our conference speakers reminded us of the urgent need not only to equip current bishops and leaders, but also to continually raise up new leaders who will be faithful to guard and proclaim the gospel. Gafcon has sought to do this through the work of its conferences, its Bishops Training Institute (BTI), and, where necessary, its willingness to consecrate duly elected bishops in new and challenging areas of ministry. We were grateful to hear suggestions from both speakers and participants as to how we can further strengthen theological education around the Communion for the equipping of all God’s people for the work of ministry.

Generating Missional Resources

‘Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully’ (2 Corinthians 9:6). The mission of the church is hindered by a ‘poverty mindset,’ which proceeds from a fear of scarcity and an ingratitude for God’s gifts. This often results in a lack of available resources for ministry. Our speakers shared their own stories of God’s miraculous provision, as well as practical wisdom for how to partner together across provinces and utilise what God has given us to promote sustainable development and generate resources in our churches. Recognising that we have been gifted in distinct ways by God, we commit to use the resources that we have received in service of one another and of the kingdom of God.

We give thanks to God for the work of Gafcon and for our time together. We have prayed together, worshipped together, studied Scripture together, and been encouraged and edified by the faith that unites us across our differing languages and cultures.

Seventeen years ago, more than 1100 Anglicans from around the world came together in Jerusalem for the first GAFCON Assembly. That meeting could have been a one-time occurrence, but it was not. The Gafcon movement continues to grow, continues to gather, and continues to stand firm for the faith once delivered to the saints. We also continue to grieve over how some leaders in the Anglican Communion have led the flock of Christ astray, diluted the authority of Scripture and distorted the gospel, endangering many souls. We once again call them to repentance.

Our fellowship has not diminished but expanded. Our resolve to proclaim the gospel has not been weakened but strengthened. Our commitment to reform and renew the Anglican Communion has not wavered or faltered.

As we look forward to the future, we were inspired by the vision presented to us by our Gafcon Primates Council Chairman in his final address. He reminded us of who we are—a gospel people, a rooted people, an orthodox people, and a Bible people. He encouraged us to recommit ourselves to prayer, to self-sustainability within our churches, and to some of Gafcon’s key areas of ministry, including BTI, women’s ministry, and our conferences. He also outlined some new initiatives for Gafcon, including the development of a theological writing group and a theological commission, and the intentional deepening of relationships through inter-provincial visits.

G25 inaugurates a series of annual mini-conferences that will be taking place throughout the Gafcon world. Next year, G26 will be meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, and will have a special focus on the more senior leaders of our global movement.

As we conclude our time together, we rejoice in hope because we know that, despite all the threats and obstacles we may face as a global church, the one who has called us is faithful. He has begun a good work in us, and he will carry it to completion (Philippians 1:6).

To God be the glory!

Plano, Texas, USA
Friday 14th March, 2025

Bishop Julian Dobbs and Rev. Canon Marc Steele were in Plano, TX, this week for G25, a conference for GAFCON leaders. Read the Plano Statement from the conference here: https://t.co/WuW6ivsPYm

— The Anglican Diocese of the Living Word (@The_ADLW) March 15, 2025

For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. Because of this he is bound to offer sacrifice for his own sins as well as for those of the people. And one does not take the honor upon himself, but he is called by God, just as Aaron was.

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,

“Thou art my Son,
today I have begotten thee”;

as he says also in another place,

“Thou art a priest for ever,
after the order of Melchiz′edek.”

In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard for his godly fear. Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered; and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchiz′edek.

–Hebrews 5:1-10

“And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I command you this day for your good? Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it; yet the Lord set his heart in love upon your fathers and chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as at this day. Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner therefore; for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve him and cleave to him, and by his name you shall swear. He is your praise; he is your God, who has done for you these great and terrible things which your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons; and now the Lord your God has made you as the stars of heaven for multitude.

–Deuteronomy 10:12-22

March Garden Friday Blues… #Pulmonaria #FlowersOnFriday pic.twitter.com/239evWt0hf

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) March 14, 2025

Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest remains, let us fear lest any of you be judged to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them; but the message which they heard did not benefit them, because it did not meet with faith in the hearers. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,

“As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall never enter my rest,’”

although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way, “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this place he said,

“They shall never enter my rest.”

Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he sets a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,

“Today, when you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts.”

For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not speak later of another day. So then, there remains a sabbath rest for the people of God; for whoever enters God’s rest also ceases from his labors as God did from his.

–Hebrews 4:1-10

The sun is rising. Can you feel that spark of inspiration? Today is yours!
Nauset beach, Cape Cod. #sunrise pic.twitter.com/ln7FLe8qop

— Darius Aniunas (@dariusaniunas) March 13, 2025

The new Interim Dean of Winchester, Canon Roland Riem, has promised transparency and “radical candour” in response to a review, published last week, which identified leadership failings at Winchester Cathedral (News, 3 March).

In a statement read out to the cathedral’s congregation on Sunday, Canon Riem said that the Chapter would publish updates on its response to the review at three-monthly intervals.

Canon Riem, who was previously Vice-Dean of the cathedral, was confirmed as Interim Dean after the Very Revd Catherine Ogle brought forward her planned retirement.

In a statement last week, she apologised on behalf of the Chapter, saying that, although it had to accept “collective responsibility”, as its leader, she had decided to step back immediately (News, 7 March), ahead of her planned retirement.

Read it all.

The new Interim Dean of Winchester, Canon Roland Riem, has promised transparency and “radical candour” in response to a review, published last week, which identified leadership failings at Winchester Cathedralhttps://t.co/GbElq3J8JX

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 12, 2025

Diners and drinkers in a popular area of London are leaving more than 100 prayer requests a month after they are invited in by a nearby church for a special evening where they light candles, listen to music and pray.

Congregation members at the Parish of Our Most Holy Redeemer in Clerkenwell, in the Catholic tradition of the Church of England,  head out on a Thursday night every month after Mass with votive candles and lanterns to invite people in the busy Exmouth Market area into the church.

Vicar Fr Christopher Trundle said the Night Light evening, focussed on prayer, contemplation and adoration in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, is attracting up to 150 people, with more than 100 prayer requests left by those visiting.

He said that congregation members go out into the crowds in Exmouth Market to “invite people to encounter the love and beauty of God in Jesus Christ”.

Read it all.

Diners and drinkers in London are leaving more than 100 prayer requests a month after being invited in by a nearby church to light candles, listen to music and pray as part of a new initiative.

Read more at https://t.co/emJhkN5rdi.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) March 6, 2025

The Church of England has announced that the Revd Canon Samantha Brazier-Gibbs will take up the role in June.

She will be tasked with engaging younger people, enhancing community support, and increasing church attendance.

Currently, she is the parish priest for three rural churches in the Chelmsford Diocese and leads a team of ministers responsible for 14 parishes around Chipping Ongar.

Read it all.

ANNOUNCED TODAY
The Revd Canon Samantha Brazier-Gibbs has been appointed Archdeacon of Ipswich & Director of Inspiring Ipswich. Samantha is presently Vicar of Blackmore St Laurence and Stondon Massey Ss Peter & Paul with oversight of Fyfield St. Nicholas, diocese of Chelmsford. pic.twitter.com/spox6S1spE

— Rich Henderson (@archdeaconrich) March 9, 2025

After the loss of his goods, the death of his children, the wounds of his body, the words of his wife persuading him to evil, the insulting language of his comforters, and the darts of so many sorrows boldly received, blessed Job ought to have been praised by his Judge for such great power of constancy, if he had been now going to be called out of this present world. But after he is here about to receive back yet two-fold, after he is restored to his former health, to enjoy longer his restored possessions, Almighty God is obliged to reprove with strict justice him, whom He preserves alive, lest his very victory should lay him low with the sword of pride. For what commonly slays a soul more fatally than consciousness of virtue? For while it puffs it up with self-consideration, it deprives it of the fulness of truth; and while it suggests that it is sufficient of itself for the attainment of rewards, it diverts it from the intention improvement. Job, therefore, was just before his scourges but he remained more just after his scourges; and, having been praised before by the voice of God, he afterward; increased from the blow. For as a ductile tube is length ened by being hammered, so was he raised the higher in praise of God, as he was smitten with heavier chastisement But he who stood thus firm in his virtues, when prostrated by wounds, needed to be humbled. He needed to be humbled, lest the weapons of pride should pierce that most sturdy breast, which it was plain that even the wounds that had been inflicted had not overcome. It was doubtless necessary to find out a person, by comparison with whom he would have been surpassed. But what is this, which is said of him by the voice of the Lord; Thou hast seen My servant Job, that there is no man like him upon the earth. Job 1:8; 2:3. By comparison with whom then could he be surpassed, of whom it is said, on the witness of God, that he cannot be equalled, on comparison with any man? What then must be done, except for the Lord Himself to relate to him His own virtues, and to say to him, Canst thou bring forth the morning star in its season, and canst thou make the evening star to rise over the sons of men? Job 38:32. And again, Have the gates of death been opened to thee, and hast thou seen the gloomy doors? ib. 17. Or certainly; Hast thou commanded the dawn after thy rising, and hast thou shewn the morning its place? ib. 12. But who can do these things, but the Lord? And yet a man is asked, in order that he may learn that he is unable to do these things; in order that a man, who has increased with such boundless virtues, and is surpassed by the example of no man, may, that he should not be elated, be surpassed on comparison with God.

—-Gregory the Great (540-604), Book of Morals 6.Preface.1

“Saint Gregory the Great, Pope” by Francisco Goya (ca. 1796-1799) pic.twitter.com/dGVrY4hC30

— Tradical (@NoTrueScotist) September 3, 2020