You may listen directly here

or you may download it on spotify there.

Willem Drost (19 April 1633 – 25 February 1659) was a Dutch painter.Saint John pic.twitter.com/qEIhl182eK

— Yiannis Einstein-Ιωάννης Αρβανιτάκης (@yianniseinstein) March 30, 2020

O loving God, whose martyr bishop Alphege of Canterbury suffered violent death because he refused to permit a ransom to be extorted from his people: Grant, we pray thee, that all pastors of thy flock may pattern themselves on the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep; through him who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

19 Apr 1012: St.Alphege (Aelfheah) Archbishop of Canterbury killed by #Vikings at drunken feast at #Greenwich #otd

(image: ClerkofOxford ) pic.twitter.com/bzA03olsO2

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) April 19, 2024

You may download it there or listen to it directly there from Saint Philip’s, Charleston, South Carolina.

Botticelli's Resurrection of Christ (1490) #EasterDayImages pic.twitter.com/HFZhC7SmrK

— Tim Montgomerie 🇬🇧 (@montie) March 27, 2016

George Augustus Selwyn was a very active man. This table is to enable students to pinpoint where he was at any particular time….

Take a look at it all.

Today the Church of England commemorates George Augustus Selwyn, first Bishop of New Zealand, 1878

Selwyn was 1st Bishop of New Zealand (1841-68) before being appointed Bishop of Lichfield on his return to England; @Selwyn1882 was established in his memory

Engraving 1842 (ALT) pic.twitter.com/qbUI48AEn7

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

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant George Augustus Selwyn, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to the peoples of New Zealand and Melanesia, and to lay a firm foundation for the growth of thy Church in many nations. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land evangelists and heralds of thy kingdom, that thy Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

17 October 1841: consecration of George Augustus Selwyn (1809-1878), Curate @windsorchurches (St John the Baptist), @lambethpalace Chapel, to be first bishop of the newly-created Diocese of New Zealand (part of the Province of Australasia). #anglican #181years 🇳🇿 pic.twitter.com/6qeCK5QuKy

— AustralianAnglican (@AustAnglican) October 17, 2022

You may download it there or listen to it directly there from Saint Philip’s, Charleston, South Carolina.

#Easter the day of the Resurrection. My favourite painting in #Venice about this subject can be admired in the church of San Francesco della Vigna in the chapel Badoer and is by Paolo Veronese. Wonderful colorful contrasts. https://t.co/Gzb0yJ9Kwu #librarytour #virtualtour pic.twitter.com/7iIQjCDgd3

— See Venice Guided Tours – Luisella Romeo (@luisella_romeo) April 4, 2021

In the events of the first Easter – the question was the same. Everyone knew that Jesus lived a remarkable life and was cruelly executed. But could they trust what they were being told – that he had risen from the dead?

There was no live streaming, no social media influencers. But there were eyewitnesses. The Bible tells the events of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. Hundreds of people saw the risen Jesus, spoke to him, and even ate with him.

Two thousand years after the first Easter we are still faced with the question – is Jesus alive and can we trust him with our lives? His offer of forgiveness and new life is worthless if we can’t and priceless if it is true.

Read it all.

The Resurrection of Christ, by Italian painter Tintoretto (1519–1594). This composition was originally shaped as an octagon but was altered in the 1600s. It was intended to hand high, possibly in a corner of a carved and gilded wooden ceiling. #Easter #EasterSunday pic.twitter.com/lBd1QgYzlM

— Ashmolean Museum (@AshmoleanMuseum) April 21, 2019

From there:

‘It’s Easter morning. This morning, I want to remind you that it is on this day that everything changed. This is the central day for all Christians everywhere because on this day, Christ Jesus rose from the dead….
One of my favorite hymns that we’ll get to sing again now that it’s the Easter season… is “All Creatures of Our God and King…” There’s a verse in that hymn that used to trouble me a little bit because I would worry about people who had experienced the death of a loved one and who knew the sadness and the tragedy. But there’s also a verse in that hymn that says, “And even you, most gentle death, waiting to hush our final breath. Oh, praise him. Alleluia. You lead back home the child of God, for Christ our Lord that way hath trod. Oh, praise him. Alleluia.” You see, at Easter, even death becomes something new. It’s not the final word anymore. It is the penultimate word. The final word is Jesus’ triumph over death and the grave that we become a part of.
Easter Greetings to you! And I pray that this Easter season, you will live into the reality that death itself has been changed by Jesus’ resurrection. Hallelujah. Christ is risen!’

Guerau Gener, 1369-1408
"Resurrección de Cristo"
Témpera, pan de oro y chapa metálica sobre madera
1.862×1.152mm
Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya

"Cristo resucitó de entre los muertos.
Con su muerte venció a la muerte.
A los muertos ha dado la vida."
(Liturgia bizantina)#art pic.twitter.com/mtDqB3ZYzD

— Miguel Calabria (@MiguelCalabria3) March 31, 2024

In this empty hallway, there’s nothing expected of us at this moment. The work is out of our hands, and all we can do is wait, breathe, look around. People sometimes feel like this when they’ve been up all night with someone who’s seriously ill or dying, or when they’ve been through a non-stop series of enormously demanding tasks. A sort of peace, but more a sort of ‘limbo’, an in-between moment. For now, nothing more to do; tired, empty, slightly numbed, we rest for a bit, knowing that what matters is now happening somewhere else.

–Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams

Burial of Christ by Carl Bloch (1834-1890) pic.twitter.com/lbjnI6ZZW9

— Eleutherius✝️🦬🇩🇪 (@Eleutherius23) April 8, 2023

You may listen directly here
or you may download it on spotify there.

An early 16th century representation of Christ on the back of a donkey. Part of the collections at the Bode Museum in Berlin. #PalmSunday 📸 My own. pic.twitter.com/AauiId9Lpf

— Kevin Wilbraham (@KPW1453) March 24, 2024

A priest who has broad experience of both chaplaincy and teaching, as well as in the ministering and leading of others to help God’s church to grow, has been chosen as the next Suffragan Bishop of Burnley.

Edinburgh-born Rev. Dr Joseph Kennedy, 55, is currently Vicar of Oxton St Saviour in the Diocese of Chester.

He was educated at Edinburgh University (Mathematics and Theology) and then Oxford University where he trained for ordination; later beginning his ministry in Oxford Diocese.

The Bishop-designate is married to Emily who is Head of External Financial Reporting for Oxfam and they have two children: David, 13 and Mary, 7.

Read it all.

A warm Lancashire welcome to Rev. Dr Joe Kennedy, our next Bishop of Burnley, seen here with @bpblackburn and @JillLCDuff. More details: https://t.co/wZMcXOOyPo @churchofengland @BDBofE @cottrellstephen @BurnleyExpress @leponline @BBCLancashire @lancstelegraph pic.twitter.com/IQMuJTmlLW

— The CofE in Lancashire (Blackburn Diocese) (@cofelancs) March 22, 2024

The provincial proposal being advocated by CEEC and the Alliance would involve the exercise of geographical episcopacy as it would involve bishops having responsibility for particular geographical areas. I have previously made this point in a theoretical description of what a conservative third province (the ‘Province of Mercia’) might look like.

‘Like the existing provinces of Canterbury and York, the new province would consist of parishes, deaneries, archdeaconries and dioceses. The number of dioceses that would initially be formed would obviously depend on how many parishes opted to join the new province, but one possible pattern would be for there to initially be four dioceses, one in the Southwest, one in the South and Southeast, one in the Midlands and East Anglia, and one in the North. Chaplaincies in Europe would come under the diocese for the South and Southeast.

Each diocese would initially have one bishop and one of these would be the archbishop of the province. There would be no fixed archiepiscopal diocese and the office of archbishop would subsequently be held by the senior bishop of the province.

A parish church in each diocese would be the cathedral. This would contain the bishop’s chair and would be used for diocesan services such as the enthronement of the bishop, ordinations, and the renewal of ordination vows on Maundy Thursday. The diocese would be named after the location of the cathedral and the incumbent would carry the title Dean. There would be no cathedral chapter and when not being used for diocesan services the cathedral would act as a normal parish church.’

As can be clearly seen in this description the geographical nature of episcopacy would be maintained in such a provincial arrangement. Bell’s suggestion that the geographical nature of the episcopate precludes a provincial solution is therefore mistaken.

Read it all.

I have just posted a new blog post, 'Geographical episcopacy – a further response to Charlie Bell.'https://t.co/5qMh71WfIv

— Martin Davie (@MartinBDavie) March 11, 2024

Wright takes us through Romans 8 as a summary of the whole letter and of Paul’s theology more widely, and finds it to be about a call to become genuine human beings by being filled with God’s own life.

The chapter is read as a recapitulation of the schema of Creation, Passover, Exodus, and Covenant. Not all scholars of Romans have been persuaded by the tidiness of this reading, but it is, none the less, compelling when set out in detail, and chimes with elements of patristic exegesis. Wright uses “platonism” as a shorthand for an earth/heaven dualism, but he would find allies in Christian Platonist writers who would also foreground recapitulation, the corporate dimension of salvation, and Paul’s synergism. Indeed, as Wright shows, Romans 8 is one of those passages that show that God does not like to do anything for us without us. Rather, what he does for us he does as one of us, with us, and through us.

Read it all.

"Wright takes us through Romans 8 as a summary of the whole letter and of Paul’s theology more widely, and finds it to be about a call to become genuine human beings by being filled with God’s own life." https://t.co/SSjOSFgzso

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 17, 2024

Increasing the number of stipendiary priests in the diocese of Truro is the “top operational priority”, the Acting Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, who is the Bishop of St Germans, said this week.

His comments followed claims by the campaign group Save the Parish Cornwall (STP) that the number of stipendiary priests in the diocese had fallen to 38, and that there were 19 vacancies to be filled. The group says that the diocese is “struggling to recruit new priests to undertake the unrealistic roles proposed by the restructuring plans — in particular ‘oversight ministers’ . . . in giant benefices”.

A diocesan spokeswoman said this week that there were 58 stipendiary clergy in post at the end of last month, including incumbent-status clergy, assistant curates, and archdeacons. In addition, eight new appointments had been made in the past three months. The plan was to increase the number of stipendiary clergy to about 85, “dependent on clergy being attracted to our posts”.

Read it all.

Increasing the number of stipendiary priests in the diocese of Truro is the “top operational priority”, the Acting Bishop of Truro, the Rt Revd Hugh Nelson, who is the Bishop of St Germans, said this week https://t.co/Xg8Zz5KOH7

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 15, 2024

Robinson’s reading is full of telling details and keenly observed parallels. This enables her to show that what Jews term the binding of Isaac is not a test of Abraham’s faith, but a prohibition of the child sacrifice that occurred in some other cultures, for example in Carthage. Although she is familiar with biblical scholarship and makes use of it where necessary, this work is best seen as a close, attentive reading from a literary point of view. In her approach there is something of the sense of astonishment and marvel that is present in her novels. About the first words of Genesis she writes, “When I think there was a day when a human hand first wrote those words, I am filled with awe. This sentence is a masterpiece of compression.”

“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will,” Hamlet said to Horatio. That is the conviction that controls the narrative of Genesis, culminating in its closing, when Joseph says to the brothers who tried to murder him, “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.”

Robinson makes few concessions to the reader. There is no introduction or conclusion; there are no chapter headings or signposts. She just wants her audience to look again at Genesis and see what they make of it.

Read it all.

Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson review – rich literary reading of the first book of the Bible https://t.co/oBAzmJviaq

— Guardian Books (@GuardianBooks) March 13, 2024

Bishop Chip Edgar called the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina to exercise hospitality in his address to the 2024 Convention. The event, which drew more than 300 clergy, delegates and guests to the Cross Schools in Bluffton, was held March 8-9.

“If we are true to our nature as the people God has called to himself, keeping our blessings to ourselves is not an option,” he said.

He urged those present to be ready to welcome the stranger.  “People by the thousands continue to move to South Carolina… Many are unchurched, and study after study suggests that unchurched folks are more likely to visit a church plant than an established church,” he said. “But many are churched, too, and churched folks are more likely to look for churches. To be hospitable, we have to both strengthen our existing churches and plant new ones.”

He made three proposals: “One, that we continue to encourage deaneries to work together to strategize church planting, and we set the goal for ourselves to add a new congregation to our diocese each year going forward; two, we reestablish our Congregational Development Committee to help our existing congregations; and three, that we, as a diocese, continue to raise up and emphasize the ministry and work of deacons in our diocese.”

Read it all.

Join us this Sunday, July 23, 2023 as we, in The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, pray for Bishop Chip Edgar and Bishop Emeritus Mark Lawrence as they begin their summer respites. #ACNA #ADOSC pic.twitter.com/ipSeFrsA13

— Anglican Diocese of SC (@anglican_sc) July 21, 2023

The Government’s new definition of extremism is likely to “vilify the wrong people” by threatening freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have warned.

In a joint statement published on Tuesday afternoon, Archbishops Welby and Cottrell said that the plan also “risks disproportionately targeting Muslim communities, who are already experiencing rising levels of hate and abuse”.

Their statement pre-empts an announcement, expected on Thursday, in which the Communities Secretary, Michael Gove, plans to broaden the official definition of extremism to include individuals and groups who “undermine the UK’s system of liberal democracy” — and ban them from public life.

Read it all.

The Government’s new definition of extremism is likely to “vilify the wrong people” by threatening freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York have warned https://t.co/T87MOTD9eg

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 12, 2024

The Church of England in Lancashire has achieved an important milestone in developing its environmental credentials.

The Diocese of Blackburn has been awarded the Bronze status of the national A Rocha Eco Church programme, which encourages churches, schools and dioceses throughout the UK to take practical action in ‘caring for God’s Creation’.

The collective award follows individual bronze awards for Blackburn Cathedral; the Diocesan Offices in Blackburn and the Centre for Christian Discipleship and Prayer at Whalley Abbey, along with 15 parishes in their own right across Lancashire. A further three churches in the Diocese have already achieved silver status; while another 36 have registered and are working towards their bronze status.

Read it all.

Congratulations to @cofelancs on their Bronze Eco Diocese! #Ecochurchhttps://t.co/pECAWKNI6y

— Church of England Environment Programme (@CofEEnvironment) March 11, 2024

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, is urging people in the diocese of Leeds to respond to an extended consultation on plans to build an annexe to the cathedral, which is said to be “bursting at the seams”…

Building plans for the renovation — Ripon Cathedral Renewed — have already been approved by Historic England and all the cathedral’s regulators, including the Fabric Advisory Commission. But about 2000 people have signed a petition opposing the annexe.

Ripon Cathedral was the first minster church since the Reformation to be given cathedral status, in 1836. Unlike those that came later, it was never adapted or extended in any way; consequently, it has no lavatories — the cathedral pays the council to keep open the public lavatories across the road in Minster Gardens — no safe space for choristers to change and rehearse, no refectory, no communal meeting space, and no storage space.

Read it all.

The Dean of Ripon, the Very Revd John Dobson, is urging people in the diocese of Leeds to respond to an extended consultation on plans to build an annexe to the cathedral, which is said to be “bursting at the seams” https://t.co/ner0Tgxd03

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 7, 2024

The 2024 Convention of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, which will be held March 8-9, promises to be a joyful event of worshiping our Lord, fellowshipping in His name, and carrying out efficient and productive Kingdom work. The Church of the Cross, Bluffton is again extending their spectacular hospitality on their Cross Schools Campus. The Convention will open on Friday with Holy Eucharist and the Bishop’s Address at 4:00 p.m. in The Chapel, followed by dinner at 6:00 p.m. and a must-see video presentation.

Registration for the business section of the gathering will begin at 7:30 on Saturday morning, and a continental breakfast will be provided. Members of the Diocesan Youth Commission will open the business meeting with Morning Prayer at 9:00 a.m., after which Bishop Edgar will conduct the meeting. The aim is to end at noon. Participants will be provided with a boxed lunch, which they can eat on the grounds or take with them as they depart.

You may find the convention agenda there.

Your Prayers Sought for the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina’s Convention March 8-9 https://t.co/hxHncqL0dD #parishministry #churchmeetings #21stc pic.twitter.com/P2Jjg7Gg0R

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 7, 2024

Some, who mistakenly view the Church of England as a unified, coherent body – may therefore delight in the shrinking congregations and generally low morale that defines it nowadays. I delight in none of these things, because I love the CofE.

Look more closely though, and you’ll realise that there is not one Church of England – but two. There’s the Reverend Dr Jekyll, the one who performs invaluable work on the ground; burying the dead, visiting the sick, educating more than a quarter of our nation’s schoolchildren to a much higher standard than the state normally achieves.

This Church manages the food banks, playgroups, dementia cafés and loneliness workshops. It does its best to protect some of the most valuable parts of our nation’s physical and cultural heritage. Its parish priests do this for little money; its thousands of volunteers do it for none at all.

Then there is the other Church of England – the Reverend Mr Hyde. This is a church of unaccountable committees and upward failure, resulting in perhaps the least impressive bench of bishops since Pope Gregory first observed “non angli, sed angeli”. Members of this caste speak in identikit managerial jargon, which from an institution that has provided some of the most beautiful cadences and turns of phrase in the English language is depressing.

Read it all.

Several points expressed well. And they won’t stop. It’s like the control room at Chernobyl – total meltdown.

The Church leadership is destroying the CoE I love https://t.co/VUVRNZ06Te

— Tom Sander 🚴 (@RevThomasSander) March 6, 2024

I want to make a threefold response to what Bell says in these two paragraphs.

First, creating a new provincial structure for the Church of England to provide for the differing positions of conservatives and liberals is not a ‘fundamental threat’ to the Church of England’s ecclesiology.

What CEEC is asking for is internal differentiation within the Church of England by means of a re-configuration of the Church’s current provincial system. This could take the form of a new province for conservatives alongside Canterbury and York, a new province for liberals alongside Canterbury and York or a re-working of the two existing provinces to cover the whole country with conservatives in Canterbury and liberals in York. [1]

The key point to note about this proposal is that it is in line with the existing ecclesiology of the Church of England. The Church of England has historically consisted, and continues to consist, as a combination  of two separate provinces, each their own Archbishop (both of whom have metropolitical authority within their own province and neither of whom is subject to the other), and each having its own provincial synodical structure consisting of a provincial Convocation made up of the two Houses of Bishops and Clergy, and an attendant House of Laity.  A meeting of the General Synod is simply a joint meeting of these two provincial synods, and the two Convocations retain the power both to veto legislation proposed in the General Synod and to make provision for matters relating to their province (see Canon H.1 and Article 7 of the Constitution of General Synod).

Adding another province into the mix, or reconfiguring the two existing provinces, would not alter this ecclesiological structure in any fundamental way.[2] What it would mean is that the two (or three)  provinces of the Church of England could continue to meet together in General Synod to debate and legislate on matters of common concern, while their provincial synods could legislate to either maintain or change the Church of England’s current teaching and practice with regard to marriage and human sexuality, thus allowing both conservatives and liberals to have what they are looking for  within their own province or provinces.

Each province would hold that the other province or provinces is (or are) part of the Catholic Church and the Church of England, and there would be transferability of ministry without re-ordination between them subject to a minister being prepared to accept the doctrine and discipline of the province to which he or she was transferring.

The Church of England could thus stay together, but in a way which respected the conscientious convictions of both sides and would prevent the Church of England breaking apart entirely.

Read it all.

Martin Davie–A response to Meg Warner ‘Does the Bible really say … that sex outside marriage is wrong? https://t.co/tYzlpsnfpt #christianity #sexualethics #marriage #bible #anglican #anthropology pic.twitter.com/qdQI0oGk5j

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) May 30, 2019

The first woman Bishop of Peterborough has been installed in an “uplifting and inspiring service”.

The Right Reverend Debbie Sellin was welcomed as the 39th bishop in the diocese during a 90-minute service at Peterborough Cathedral.

The 59-year-old will lead the Anglican communities across Northamptonshire, Rutland and Peterborough.

She previously acted as Bishop of Southampton after the sudden retirement of the Right Reverend Tim Dakin.

Read it all.

New female bishop installed in 'inspiring service' https://t.co/y8H4akRr4z

— صحيفة مباشر العربية (@mubasheer2022) March 3, 2024

Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal responsibility: Keep us, we pray thee, from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times to give place to others, (in honor preferring one another,) that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the name of him who washed his disciples’ feet, even the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Happy #StChad ’s Day!
Credited with bringing Christianity to Mercia, St Chad died #otd 672, seen here as one of the saints in Christopher Whall’s 1902 #stainedglass in All Saints, Brockhampton-by-Ross. (St John is in the panel above, I didn’t want to crop Chad’s crosier) pic.twitter.com/xbLSyMSTp2

— Posy Hill (@PosyHill1) March 2, 2024