Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

And they went into Capernaum; and immediately on the sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught. And they were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one who had authority, and not as the scribes. And immediately there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him. And they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching! With authority he commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”

–Mark 1:21-27

But how are men to call upon him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? And how can men preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes by the preaching of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have; for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” Again I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

–Romans 10:14-21

Sunrise on Glastonbury Tor this morning. A golden start to the day and magic in the air. pic.twitter.com/OJHzpMnPnl

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) July 13, 2024

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but it is not enlightened. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law, that every one who has faith may be justified.

Moses writes that the man who practices the righteousness which is based on the law shall live by it. But the righteousness based on faith says, Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down) or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? The word is near you, on your lips and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preach); because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. The scripture says, “No one who believes in him will be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. For, “every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.”

–Romans 10:1-13

Down from the hills for an early breakfast. pic.twitter.com/XYwMn0na8f

— Steve Carter (@HighlandRampage) July 12, 2024

Longevity has officially become a competitive sport.

Welcome to the “Rejuvenation Olympics.” In this contest founded by tech entrepreneur and longevity bro Bryan Johnson, anti-agers take their health obsession to new levels. Just not dying isn’t enough. Instead, you have to not-die better than your competitor.

You may know Johnson, 46, as the man who founded—and sold, for $800 million—the payments company Braintree. Or you may know him as “that crazy guy trying to not die,” as Johnson self-identifies in his X bio. He says he has spent millions on a viral self-experiment to age as little as possible—one that involves a regimen of dozens of daily powders and pills, gene therapies and more. 

Once he began publishing his methods and corresponding health data, he encountered reactions from skepticism to outright vitriol. He decided to reframe his pursuit like a professional sport—and invite other players to the game.

Read it all.

Outliving Your Peers Is Now a Competitive Sport

Longevity zealots vie in contest to slow aging; ‘that crazy guy trying to not die.’

By @AlexLJanin @WSJ

Featuring: @julsg50 @bryan_johnson @siimland @Dode__Man https://t.co/27EZDhne9K

— Agingdoc⭐David Barzilai🔔MD PhD MS MBA DipABLM🩺 (@agingdoc1) July 11, 2024

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

Today the Church of England celebrates Benedict of Nursia, Abbot of Monte Cassino, Father of Western Monasticism, c.550

Image: Stained glass panel depicting St Benedict as a boy, being sent off to school by his parents. Made c.1460-80 by a Norwich artist, now in @stainedglassmus pic.twitter.com/SbkW4peEvV

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) July 11, 2024

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another, that will not be thrown down.”

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will this be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “Take heed that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that you are not alarmed; for this must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places: all this is but the beginning of the birth-pangs.

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation, and put you to death; and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. And then many will fall away, and betray one another, and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. But he who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, as a testimony to all nations; and then the end will come.

–Matthew 24:1-14

Het #oranje op een roze wolk lukte jammer genoeg net niet. Fijne donderdag😀 #natuur #landschap #zomer #Rhenen #ElstUt #Elsterbuitenwaard #zonsondergang #mooieluchten pic.twitter.com/rb0NjXEzRD

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) July 11, 2024

Together for the Church of England, an organisation that speaks for a number of groups promoting LGBTQ+ inclusion, welcomed the vote, and pledged to continue engaging in the process of refining the detail of the proposals.

The statement expressed hope that those who opposed the changes would likewise continue to engage “with honesty and kindness, as they have so far, in order that we may seek together for the welfare of the whole Church of England”.

By contrast, the national director of the Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC), Canon John Dunnett, said on Tuesday that it was “deeply disappointing” that the motion had been passed, “despite hearing repeatedly in speeches of the need to build trust by avoiding bad process, and CEEC’s continued advocacy of the insufficiency of delegated arrangements”.

Read it all.

Two prominent umbrella groups have given their response to the General Synod’s decision to endorse plans for stand-alone services of blessing for same-sex couples and delegate episcopal ministry for opponents to the changes https://t.co/VMuOfV8Yvz

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 10, 2024

Firms that manage drug benefits, which promise to keep a lid on high drug costs, instead steer patients away from less expensive medicines and overcharge for cancer therapies, Federal Trade Commission investigators found.

The FTC, in a report released Tuesday, detailed a number of actions that it said large pharmacy-benefit managers use to boost their profits and increase the spending of the health plans and employers that hired them to control costs. The actions can also lead to higher outlays for patients at the pharmacy counter, the agency said.

The findings follow a two-year investigation into the firms, known as PBMs, and calls from some lawmakers to rein in the firms’ business practices.

FTC Chair Lina Khan said the agency planned further scrutiny of big PBMs with the goal of making healthcare affordable. “Dominant pharmacy-benefit managers can hike the cost of drugs—including overcharging patients for cancer drugs,” she said. 

Read it all.

PBMs are a paradigmatic example of how a middleman meant to reduce costs and enhance efficiency becomes so bloated and powerful that it adds to costs and reduces efficiency. Great to see FTC addressing this issue!https://t.co/q0s3VC638W

— Kate Judge (@ProfKateJudge) July 9, 2024

The 6th Street Bridge in Los Angeles is wired to glow with colorful lights celebrating the city’s spirit. But the bridge, known as the “Ribbon of Light,” goes dark at night now. So do stretches of the busy 405 freeway and dozens of street blocks across the city.

In St. Paul, Minn., a man was recently hit by a car and killed while crossing a street near his home where streetlights had gone out.

And in Las Vegas and surrounding communities, more than 970,000 feet of electrical wiring, the equivalent of 184 miles, have gone missing from streetlights over the past two years.

The lights are going out across American cities, as a result of a brazen and opportunistic type of crime. 

Read it all.

Metal Thieves Are Stripping America’s Cities
Across the country, copper and other valuable materials have been stolen from streetlights, statues and even gravesites, costing millions to repair. https://t.co/vJh8sUvbzp

— Stuart Falk (@stufalk) July 10, 2024

I am speaking the truth in Christ, I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen by race. They are Israelites, and to them belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ. God who is over all be blessed for ever. Amen.

–Romans 9:1-5

Morning everyone hope you are well. There are many paths ascending Wetherlam in the Coniston Fells but this route along Red Dell Beck is quite stunning. Have a great day. #LakeDistrict @keswickbootco pic.twitter.com/pBXl0sWK8q

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) July 10, 2024

 I’ve said she is theological without being dogmatic, but I think the key to her project involves making space for theology more than defending specific claims. It’s the realm of metaphysics she cares about, the idea that our experience suggests something grander about us and about our apprehensions than our scientific models can account for. For her, the Christian narrative gives that transcendent realm its coordinates, but it’s our experience as human beings—Christians or non-Christians—that tells us that we matter and that the universe has beauty. She wants to recover a place for that mattering.

The gift of Marilynne Robinson’s long shelf of late work, then, is its refusal of cynicism, its declaration of wonder and awe, and its affirmation that our little minds haven’t exhausted the meaning of the universe—and won’t. Long before Robinson picked up her pen, Simone Weil told us that we’d already “lost the whole poetry of the cosmos.” Robinson hasn’t given up on that poetry.

One of my favorite notes of gratitude and hope comes in her novel Gilead (2004). “In eternity this world will be Troy, I believe,” her minister-hero declares, “and all that has passed here will be the epic of the universe, the ballad they sing in the streets.” It’s a startling image. It reverses the sense that our lives are trivial details in an unimaginable vastness. In Robinson’s vision, the universe—and the God who wills the universe into existence at the beginning of the book of Genesis—has a deep interest in us, such that even our follies are part of some epic song. It’s elevating. Maybe it’s fanciful, or maybe it’s true and sublime. “It depends upon the universe,” as Saul Bellow’s Herzog decides, “what it is.”

Read it all.

There are a handful of writers that, when I read them, I marvel at both their writing and wisdom.

I just completed Marilynne Robinson’s *Reading Genesis*, and I can assure you of her place on that short list.

She has clearly walked closely with the Lord these many years. pic.twitter.com/UCJQdSG7mJ

— Steve Bezner (@Bezner) May 4, 2024

‘But let all who take refuge in thee rejoice,
let them ever sing for joy; and do thou defend them,
that those who love thy name may exult in thee.
For thou dost bless the righteous, O Lord;
thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield.’

–Psalm 5:11-12

Starting the day with wonder and amazement!!!

Good Tuesday lovely people in my phone !!#TuesdayVibes #summer #grandrising #sunrise #weather #GoodVibesOnly #StormHour #jefinuist #outerhebrides #scotland pic.twitter.com/TCoyaihnWV

— DaliMach (@frenchscotjeff) July 9, 2024

Proposals to remove impediments on the use of new blessings for same-sex couples in stand-alone services, along with the provision of delegated episcopal ministry for those who oppose the changes, were shown a pale green light from the General Synod on Monday afternoon….

A notable opponent of the motion was the Bishop of Bath & Wells, Dr Michael Beasley, who has previously voted for LLF motions and supported an amendment in November last year calling for stand-alone services to be trialled (News, 17 November 2023).

He was voting against the motion this time, he said, because he felt that it was necessary to do more work on questions about whether doctrine was being changed by the introduction of services that some feared would resemble weddings.

Read it all.

Here in the Diocese of York, we call our response to the Church of England’s Vision and Strategy and its invitation to be a Christ-centred and a Jesus Christ shaped Church, Living Christ’s story. We imagine and envisage our life of missionary discipleship to be as if, led by the Spirit, we are writing the next chapter in the Acts of the Apostles, the chapter for this bit of Yorkshire in this day and for the people and communities we serve. And when Jesus says at the end of St John’s Gospel, ‘As the Father sent me, I am sending you’ (John 20: 21); and when at the end of Matthew’s gospel, he says ‘Go into all the world and make disciples’ (Matthew 28: 19); and when St Paul says to the church in Corinth that they are a ‘letter from Christ… written by the Spirit of the living God’ (2 Cor. 3: 3), it is as if God is handing us the pen, entrusting to us his mission of love to the world and asking us, imploring us, to be his presence in the world. And of course, the foundation and the inspiration for this is the living word of God that bursts forth from the pages of scripture and lodges in our hearts and minds, changing them and shaping them so that we, indeed, become that love letter from God. But for this address, knowing that it is scripture, but also the way that scripture shapes and is shaping the lives of so many others who then become these love letters from God, there are two other books I want to mention as well.

When I first went to see my parish priest, Fr Ernie Stroud, one time member of this Synod, and spoke with him, aged about 20, about a possible vocation to the priesthood, he gave me two books to read. First Iremonger’s Life of William Temple; and second Kenneth Ingram’s biography of the slum priest, Basil Jellicoe.

I read these books when I was about 20 years old and they have made a mark on my life and groove in my ministry that has never gone away, that has laid down tracks upon which I believe I am still seeking to live and minister today.

William Temple gave me – and I believe still gives to the Church – a profound vision of how Christian Faith shapes and orders society; and since we are gathering the day after a General Election, it is especially relevant for us not only to pray for our new Prime Minister and government, but also to think afresh how Christian Faith and Christian values can shape and order the world.

Read it all.

The living word of God bursts forth from the pages of scripture and lodges in our hearts and minds, changing them and shaping them.

I begin my presidential address for the opening of Church of England @synod. pic.twitter.com/PJ8BNWn1nK

— Archbishop of York (@CottrellStephen) July 5, 2024

You may listen directly here:

You may also download it there and there is a video version here.

“And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.”
Mark 6:5-6 ESVhttps://t.co/QgHoI84y7M pic.twitter.com/HGiiaRyWHe

— Will Worsham (@wworsham) November 11, 2021

God of grace and might, we praise thee for thy servants Priscilla and Aquila, whom thou didst plenteously endow with gifts of zeal and eloquence to make known the truth of the Gospel. Raise up, we pray thee, in every country, heralds and evangelists of thy kingdom, that the world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today is the feast of Saints Aquila and Priscilla, early Christians who are mentioned in the New Testament. They lived, worked, and traveled with the Apostle Paul, who described them as his "fellow workers in Christ Jesus”. They are considered patrons of love and marriage. pic.twitter.com/wDqyTFFD4f

— stpeterinchains (@stpeterinchain1) July 8, 2024

Then said Jesus to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. They bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by men; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues, and salutations in the market places, and being called rabbi by men. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for you have one master, the Christ. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

–Matthew 23:1-12

Beautiful morning view of the Ravenel Bridge from Downtown Charleston! pic.twitter.com/xljmFmrKfV

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 8, 2024

And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks; and fear fell upon them all; and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Many also of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all; and they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew and prevailed mightily.

–Acts 19:11-20

Het #oranje zonnetje had het moeilijk, hield knap stand en gaat voor de volgende ronde. Fijne zondag😀 #natuur #landschap #zomer #Rhenen #ElstUt #Elsterbuitenwaard #zonsondergang #mooieluchten pic.twitter.com/w23l2NeWdj

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) July 7, 2024

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

–Romans 8:18-25

Isle of Mull.
Have a lovely weekend. pic.twitter.com/SEyn6I7UqK

— Veritatis Cupitor (@English1Maiden) July 6, 2024

The £5.2m Demonstrator Churches project from the Church of England’s Net Zero Programme aims to help 114 churches in 2024 and 2025 pay for items such as solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, secondary glazing, LED lighting and infrared heating systems.

As work progresses, the network of Demonstrator Churches – representing many different types of community and situations – will share what they have learned more widely with dioceses and parishes so that all Church of England churches can learn from their experiences.

Abi Hiscock, Project and Grants Manager for the Church of England’s Net Zero Demonstrator Churches Project, said: “Ultimately, we want to demonstrate that with the right support and infrastructure, churches from diverse settings and facing a variety of challenges can reach net zero by 2030.

“By the end of this project, we will have over 100 case studies on what to do and when, and what not to do. Along the way, the supported churches are all required to act as champions to other churches in their dioceses or geographically near to them, or simply to other churches working from similar baselines to them, so that the learnings from these projects engage, influence and support this vision.”

Read it all.

@StPeterMancroft is 1st of over 100 churches 2 receive part of the £5.2M Demonstrator Churches project from the Church of England’s Net Zero Programme.

Watch our journey towards net zero in the full video on the Diocese website. Here's a snippet…https://t.co/dsrNh10sAr

— VergerStPeterMancroft (@verger_st) July 4, 2024

Life is difficult. This is a great truth, one of the greatest truths.1 It is a great truth because once we truly see this truth, we transcend it. Once we truly know that life is difficult—once we truly understand and accept it—then life is no longer difficult. Because once it is accepted, the fact that life is difficult no longer matters.

Most do not fully see this truth that life is difficult. Instead they moan more or less incessantly, noisily or subtly, about the enormity of their problems, their burdens, and their difficulties as if life were generally easy, as if life should be easy. They voice their belief, noisily or subtly, that their difficulties represent a unique kind of affliction that should not be and that has somehow been especially visited upon them, or else upon their families, their tribe, their class, their nation, their race or even their species, and not upon others. I know about this moaning because I have done my share. Life is a series of problems..What makes life difficult is that the process of confronting and solving problems is a painful one. Problems, depending upon their nature, evoke in us frustration or grief or sadness or loneliness or guilt or regret or anger or fear or anxiety or anguish or despair. These are uncomfortable feelings, often very uncomfortable, often as painful as any kind of physical pain, sometimes equaling the very worst kind of physical pain. Indeed, it is because of the pain that events or conflicts engender in us all that we call them problems. And since life poses an endless series of problems, life is always difficult and is full of pain as well as joy.”

–M. Scott Peck, The Road Less Travelled, quoted by yours truly in last Sunday’s sermon

Scott Peck’s best seller “The Road Less Travelled” (https://t.co/wggkqnfgkU ) has a trememdous impact on the 20th century, because he dared to reveal the great truth that most people are stuggling, whether they are the homeless or rich and famours.
Yes, fife is difficulties and… pic.twitter.com/hDp87ex3FV

— Dr. Paul T. P. Wong (@PaulTPWong) June 19, 2023

Then the Pharisees went and took counsel how to entangle him in his talk. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Hero′di-ans, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and teach the way of God truthfully, and care for no man; for you do not regard the position of men. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the money for the tax.” And they brought him a coin. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled; and they left him and went away.

–Matthew 22:15-22

Sunrise view looking from Downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant! pic.twitter.com/WY7DtfrA3L

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 5, 2024

And again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a marriage feast for his son, and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the marriage feast; but they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, Behold, I have made ready my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves are killed, and everything is ready; come to the marriage feast.’ But they made light of it and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding is ready, but those invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the thoroughfares, and invite to the marriage feast as many as you find.’ And those servants went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good; so the wedding hall was filled with guests.

“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment; and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and cast him into the outer darkness; there men will weep and gnash their teeth.’ For many are called, but few are chosen.”

–Matthew 22:1-14

As Christians, we believe that true liberty is not merely a lack of restriction, but it is a freedom we have found in the eternal possession of God’s love. God bless America and happy Fourth of July! #independenceday #freedom #bostoncatholic pic.twitter.com/cNAC6XEquq

— Archdio. of Boston (@bostoncatholic) July 4, 2024

“Hear another parable. There was a householder who planted a vineyard, and set a hedge around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and let it out to tenants, and went into another country. When the season of fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants, to get his fruit; and the tenants took his servants and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. Again he sent other servants, more than the first; and they did the same to them. Afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let us kill him and have his inheritance.’ And they took him and cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him. When therefore the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” They said to him, “He will put those wretches to a miserable death, and let out the vineyard to other tenants who will give him the fruits in their seasons.”

Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the scriptures:

‘The very stone which the builders rejected
has become the head of the corner;
this was the Lord’s doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing the fruits of it.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard his parables, they perceived that he was speaking about them. But when they tried to arrest him, they feared the multitudes, because they held him to be a prophet.

–Matthew 21:33-46

Good Wednesday morning #limhamn #photofrommyheart pic.twitter.com/XSwWfuTIR2

— Lisa von Steijern🇸🇪 (@LisavonSteijern) July 3, 2024

The Vatican is taking historic strides towards achieving “full communion” with Anglicans who do not ordain female priests. It is doing so by recognizing Anglican holy orders and churches, but not requiring them to merge with or convert to Roman Catholicism.

“We are scheduled to begin our talks at the Vatican this coming September 26-27,” Bishop Ray Sutton, presiding bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church in the U.S., announced in an Ecumenical Relations Task Force Report of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) College of Bishops.

The ACNA bishops, who oversee 128,000 Anglicans in more than 1,000 congregations across Canada, Mexico, and the United States, met during a provincial council from June 20-25 at St. Vincent’s College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Read it all.

Rome Takes Historic Step Towards ‘Full Communion’ with Conservative Anglicanshttps://t.co/hmvfEApmxH

— The Stream (@Streamdotorg) July 2, 2024

The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and for evermore.

–Psalm 121:7-8

Good morning from Aberdeen have a terrific Tuesday 👋☺️ pic.twitter.com/qoYuG8f4Sx

— Natalie Hood (@NatalieAHood) July 2, 2024

 …we face an extraordinarily challenging mission field. Our Bible teacher this morning, Bishop Rennis Ponniah of Singapore, gave us a teaching on 2 Timothy, which addressed the question of how we spread the Gospel in a culture like Timothy faced, where the forces of darkness were unleashed on the Church, externally through persecution and internally through false teaching. It’s a context not unlike what we face today.

Bishop Rennis reminded us that, like Timothy, it’s easy to become timid and to have our spiritual fire burning low in our own communities. The answer is to stir up the gifts and the power God already gave us through the Holy Spirit. Bishop Rennis reminded us that there are three dimensions to the power of the Spirit: first, the accomplishing power that abolishes death, annihilation, and judgment, and gives to us eternal life through Jesus Christ (2 Tim 1:9-10); second, the safe-keeping power that guards both the integrity of the Gospel and its messenger, so that we finish well and keep both the message and the messenger flourishing (2 Tim 1:11-12); and finally, there is the enabling power of God, the power of the Holy Spirit that enables us to follow the pattern of the sound Word we received through the Scriptures (2 Tim 1:13-14). For those of us facing challenges in missional contexts, it was an inspiring and hopeful message.

When I left off yesterday in my video on Provincial Council, we were in the middle of robust fellowship on new canonical amendments that place the burden of safe-guarding, both children and adults, on the bishop and the diocese. There was language in the canonical amendment (Title 1; Canon 5; New Sections 8 and 9) that said it is the duty of the bishop “and not the province” to bear this burden. An eloquent objection was raised that it is both morally and spiritually wrong for the Church, and the Province in particular, to avoid responsibility for legal reasons. Another delegate moved to table the motion over lunch so that drafters and objectors could meet together and hammer out a compromise. When we returned after lunch, a new preface was added to both Sections 8 and 9 that stated it is the “moral responsibility of the Church (the province, the diocese, the congregation, and ministries) to care for the flock of Christ and protect them from abuse and misconduct.” At the same time, it was noted that where this takes place most effectively was “in the diocese rather than the province”. This compromise seemed to satisfy Provincial Council, which represents the whole Church. It was passed unanimously and stands as an excellent example of how the synod engages governance in a conciliar way and without wordsmithing from the floor.

Read it all.

Abp.@FoleyBeach gives thanks for his years of service, and expresses his gratitude for those who served alongside him in @The_ACNA. pic.twitter.com/BzxjfEjfh2

— American Anglican (@AnglicanCouncil) June 27, 2024

Lyrics:

Come, my soul, thy suit prepare,
Jesus loves to answer pray’r.
He Himself has bid thee pray,
rise and ask without delay.

Thou art coming to a King,
large petitions with thee bring,
for his grace and pow’r are such,
none can ever ask too much.

With my burden I begin,
Lord, remove this load of sin!
Let Thy blood, for sinners spilt,
set my conscience free from guilt.

Lord! I come to Thee for rest,
take possession of my breast;
there Thy blood-bought right maintain,
and without a rival reign.

While I am a pilgrim here,
let Thy love my spirit cheer;
as my Guide, my Guard, my Friend,
lead me to my journey’s end.

Show me what I have to do;
ev’ry hour my strength renew;
let me live a life of faith;
let me die Thy people’s death.

Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
that he might make known his mighty power.
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.

–Psalm 106:8-9

Morning everyone hope you are well. A bit of sunshine to start the week, although that might be in short supply this week in the lakes! Keswick towards Derwentwater and Catbells. Have a great day. #LakeDistrict @keswickbootco pic.twitter.com/iP1rV1kI8l

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) July 1, 2024