Watch it all.

When the US last week added several units of BGI Group, a Chinese genetic sequencing firm, to its entity list restricting technology transfer, the primary justification was that the company had been “contributing to monitoring and surveillance”, including of ethnic minorities. Yet the human rights implications of China’s domestic surveillance state aren’t Washington’s only concern. The new regulations also state that BGI’s programmes of “collection and analysis of genetic data [present] a significant risk of diversion to China’s military”. 

Biotechnology has quietly become America’s newest national security concern. From Congress to the intelligence agencies, Washington’s leaders have concluded that control over biotechnologies will be critical not only to the country’s health, but to national security as well.

Biotech tools have made rapid advances of late, enabling new therapies, vaccines, manufacturing techniques — and biosecurity risks. It’s long been recognised that DNA is just a complex type of code, telling cells how to operate. Gene-editing technologies have become more precise and vastly cheaper, making it easier than ever to “reprogramme” organisms. In addition, more powerful computing capabilities have provided new clarity into the meaning of DNA’s “code”.

One use of these capabilities is for manufacturing. For centuries, humans have relied on micro-organisms to produce beer and yoghurt, but with the right reprogramming, bacteria can be made to produce many new types of chemicals. In 2010, Darpa, the Pentagon’s long-range R&D arm, launched a programme called Living Foundries, aiming to synthetically manufacture 1,000 molecules….

Read it all.

This author of Chip War keeping us on our toes re new competition coming down the track. There’s a new US national security obsession — biotech via @FT
https://t.co/tZrtlkHK9r

— George Magnus (@georgemagnus1) March 7, 2023

Christine Osburn Jackson sits at her dining room table and reflects on her life’s work.

At 94, her memory is beginning to fade. The Charleston area civil rights leader looks at the awards that decorate her living room and asks her granddaughter, “Who put all of these plaques on the wall?”

Then, in the same breath, Jackson indicates that she really hasn’t forgotten much at all.

“You know I was the director of the YWCA for 30 years?”

Jackson, the longtime leader of an organization committed to empowering women and eliminating racism, is still inspiring generations through the ongoing racial justice work at the YWCA Greater Charleston.

She is among the last of a generation of women active in the civil rights movement who, though often overlooked by society, helped pushed Charleston closer to its professed ideals of equality, freedom and justice.

Read it all.

At 94 years old, Christine Jackson is still inspiring generations of women. And yet, some fear the progress made possible by leaders like Jackson is being threatened amid current efforts to limit teaching of African American history.https://t.co/9Rz6xM5fuJ

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) March 5, 2023

When we first thought about convening a focus group of Jewish Americans, antisemitism was very much at the center of the national conversation. Kanye West’s incendiary comments about Jews had caused a media firestorm, and Donald Trump’s dinner with Ye and a prominent antisemite, Nick Fuentes, did not exactly tamp it down. We wanted to understand how antisemitism was affecting American Jews whose daily lives did not necessarily intersect with these high-profile incidents. How did they experience antisemitism in their lives, if at all? And what did it mean to them to be Jewish in America today?

We spoke with 13 Jewish Americans of different ages and political affiliations from across the country to learn how they connect to being Jewish, what they are scared of, what they are optimistic about and what they hope generations of American Jews will carry forward.

Many of the people we spoke to expressed fear about rising antisemitism, going so far as to hide their Jewish identities in certain circumstances. Several blamed Mr. Trump for the increase, though most pointed to the climate he created rather than animosity toward Jews on his part. The 2018 shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh loomed large, with some participants saying it caused them to behave differently in synagogue ever since, checking the doors for intruders. Others, though, felt that America was more accepting of Jews than ever and that their ancestors would be amazed. “I think they would be completely shocked by how successful we are,” said Joel, a 59-year-old in the group.

We held this focus group last month, before the most recent uptick of violence in Israel and the occupied territories and before the protests against Benjamin Netanyahu’s government swelled to include hundreds of thousands of Israelis across the country. When we asked the group about Israel, few had specific thoughts on Israeli politics or policy. Almost all of the participants, however, expressed great pride in the country. Many expressed a similar feeling of pride in and connection to being Jewish, even if they didn’t practice the religious traditions, using words like “light,” “love” and “belonging” to explain what being Jewish means to them.

Read it all.

The "New York Times" did a focus group of American Jews, and there's a lot to parse here: https://t.co/9zeN7pmnB8

— Joel S. (@jh_swanson) March 7, 2023

The question of how to meditate effectively comes up often in Cave’s online forum, the Red Hand Files, which he launched in 2020. Named after one of his most famous songs, Red Right Hand (inspired by John Milton’s Paradise Lost, where the hand represents divine vengeance), it’s a place where a wide range of people, not only fans, write in to share their troubles and questions, and Cave writes back. The site has become almost a form of spiritual direction between Cave and his public. “One concern that comes through all the time,” he says, “is, ‘I want to be a creative person, but I don’t feel inspired.’ They’re just thinking that something’s going to drop out of the sky and sort of ignite their imagination. Creativity for me is a practice, a rite, an application.”

Its purpose is not self-expression, he says, but a way of “making space”. Cave talks in the book about how his 2019 album Ghosteen was an attempt to “make a space” for his son Arthur in the terrible period after his death.

“Yes, that is what I was doing,” he says. “Trying to find a place Arthur could inhabit. A place where his spirit could reside. Things, of course, are different now … I think I’ve learnt to both incorporate his absence and indeed his presence into my work, slowly finding other things to write about.” It’s become a question, he says, of finding a space “around” Arthur, not just “for” him.

This has led to him rediscovering what can only be described as joy, through “an altered connection to the world”: “spasms of delight”, a brightness uncovered in things, coexisting with the “dark, vacuous space” of loss. This is a joy that has nothing much to do with “feeling happy” or with satisfaction. “It’s there, despite ourselves … not attached to anything.” This double vision, Cave says, is fundamental to the religious impulse. It explains why in church he feels able to hold together both the doubt and pain and the sense of anchorage.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

‘The book reveals the way in which faith, without ever giving a plain, comforting answer, offers resources to look at what is terrible without despair or evasion. Cave’s faith is not that of a man looking for shortcuts or consolations.’ Wonderful interview https://t.co/QHcLj2hr8l

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) March 4, 2023

In March 2021, I made public my departure from the Southern Baptist Convention, the denomination I’d loved all my life and served since I was 12.

When we entered the foyer, the double doors to the sanctuary were 20 feet ahead of us and wide open. We were looking to slip subtly into a pew, but a whole handful of people were huddled at the door. A man around our age with a gentle face and warm, genuine smile was among them. He had on a white robe overlaid with a green stole bearing a grapevine pattern. He reached out his hand to me and, in a louder whisper, introduced himself as the rector. “Welcome to our church. And you are?”

“Beth—” I hesitated for half a second—“Moore.”

“Oh!” he said, tilting his head back with surprise and an infectious, harmless chuckle. “Like Beth Moore.”

“Unfortunately, yes.” The verger who’d worked with him for decades would inform me later with a wide grin that the rector was simply amused I had the same name as the infamous Beth Moore. Nothing further occurred to him.

“Come right on in,” he said in the dearest way. “We’re glad to have you.”

Somewhere around 120 people were seated in the pews of the sanctuary. We’d hardly sat down when a bell rang….

Read it all.

I love imagining @BethMooreLPM introducing herself to a rector who's familiar enough to say "like Beth Moore!" but not enough to know it's her https://t.co/CxAuG7UhOJ

— kate shellnutt (@kateshellnutt) March 6, 2023

More than 190 countries have reached a landmark deal for protecting the biodiversity of the world’s oceans, agreeing for the first time on a common framework for establishing new protected areas in international waters.

The treaty, whose text was finalized Saturday night by diplomats at the U.N. headquarters after years of stalled talks, will help safeguard the high seas, which lie beyond national boundaries and make up two-thirds of Earth’s ocean surface. Member states have been trying to agree on the long-awaited treaty for almost 20 years.

Environmental advocacy groups heralded the finalized text — which still needs to be ratified by the United Nations — as a new chapter for Earth’s high seas. Just 1.2 percent of them are currently environmentally protected, exposing the vast array of marine species that teem beneath the surface — from tiny plankton to giant whales — to threats such as pollution, overfishing, shipping and deep-sea mining.

Read it all.

More than 190 countries have reached a landmark deal for protecting the biodiversity of the world’s oceans, agreeing for the first time on a common framework for establishing new protected areas in international waters.https://t.co/vbfbMP1329

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) March 5, 2023

Divine Physician, your Name is blessed for the work and witness of the Mayos and the Menningers, and the revolutionary developments that they brought to the practice of medicine. As Jesus went about healing the sick as a sign of the reign of God come near, bless and guide all those inspired to the work of healing by thy Holy Spirit, that they may follow his example for the sake of thy kingdom and the health of thy people; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, now and for ever.

A #Prayer for the Feast Day of William Mayo, Charles Menninger and Their Sons 'As Jesus went about #healing the sick as a sign of the reign of God come near, bless and guide all those inspired to the work of healing by thy Holy Spirit' https://t.co/JJzBS4FAiX #health #Lent2018 pic.twitter.com/VjlGHb60Px

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 6, 2018

Erik ten Hag has rightly won plaudits this season for transforming Manchester United with his tactical awareness and decision-making from the touchline, but he made a costly tactical mistake at Anfield. By starting with Marcus Rashford as a lone striker, Bruno Fernandes wide on the left and Wout Weghorst as a No.10, the United manager let Liverpool off the hook, particularly by allowing Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive weaknesses to go untested.

Fernandes is a natural No.10 and the Portugal international is best when given that role to create chances for those further ahead of him. But he lacks the pace to play out wide, and his presence in that position meant Alexander-Arnold had one of his easiest games of the season. Had Rashford played out wide, it would have forced Alexander-Arnold to deal with

As for Weghorst, the Netherlands forward has played the position before, but by using the on-loan Burnley striker in that position, Ten Hag took Fernandes away from where he could be most impactful.

Read it all.

Liverpool crush Man United with historic 7-0 win that puts them on course for top-four finish https://t.co/lExu7Q9z7o

— Mark Ogden (@MarkOgden_) March 5, 2023

After a six-year hiatus, Mere Anglicanism returned to Charleston, January 26–28, 2023. The conference theme, “Telling a More Beautiful Story: Lessons from C.S. Lewis on Reaching a
Fractured World,” was addressed by world-class theologians and Lewis scholars who presented in person for the conference.

These session presenters generously shared their knowledge and
insights:

• The Rev. Dr. Alister McGrath,Andreas Idreos Professor of Science & Religion, University of Oxford

• The Rev. Dr. Michael Ward, Member of the Faculty of Theology & Religion, University of Oxford

• Dr. Philip Ryken, President of Wheaton College

• Dr. Simon Horobin, Professor, Magdalen College Oxford

• Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing, Director, Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics

• Dr. Peter Kreeft, Professor Emeritus, Boston College

• Dr. Jerry Root, Professor Emeritus, Wheaton College

Read it all (page 9).

Mere Anglicanism: The Holy Eucharist ~ January 27, 2023https://t.co/83vGVj8j1M pic.twitter.com/aC4IGxlvIC

— . (@anglican_net) February 1, 2023

Do not miss it.

In Britain’s Jews Freedman seems notably at ease with himself, and merely amused by the kind of contrariness and kvetching that means those working in Jewish communal organizations find “everybody else knows how to do their job better than they do, and nobody is afraid to tell them so”. The author explores everything from the plight of the “chained wives” unable to obtain a religious divorce to “the Jewish psychedelic movement” (which believes that “chemically assisted mystical encounters are a normative part of Jewish spirituality”), from the EcoSynagogue project promoting carbon neutrality to the Jewish schools in which the majority of pupils are Muslims. He cites the success of Jewish Book Week, the annual Limmud educational festival and the JW3 cultural centre on London’s Finchley Road. The last of these is modelled on the Jewish community centres that are a notable feature of American life. While British Jewish buildings “tend to be discreet, barely visible, blending in with the environment”, Freedman says, JW3 has “a large, unmissable, gaudy sign on its façade … It deliberately shouts, ‘Look at us!’ JW3’s brash building is an essential part of its brand. It wants to be noticed”.

Another theme is the way Jewish institutions now reach out well beyond their core constituency to apply “Jewish values” to broader concerns. Successive chief rabbis Immanuel Jakobovits and Jonathan Sacks were both prominent figures in wider ethical debates in the UK; although Freedman doesn’t specifically mention him in this context, the incumbent, Ephraim Mirvis, is too. The main Jewish charities no longer focus solely on relieving Jewish suffering. World Jewish Relief, for example, works in Rwanda, and its president argues that “We helped refugees in the 1930s because they were Jewish, and we help refugees today because we are Jewish”. According to Trevor Pears of the Pears Foundation, a philanthropic fund “rooted in Jewish values”, volunteers may still enjoy “gap year programmes in Israel”, but it is “just as empowering Jewishly” to “go on a fact-finding mission … to Ghana”. XR Jews, a group within Extinction Rebellion, “consider non-violent civil disobedience to be a religious duty”, Freedman reports, since “their actions in defence of the environment are rooted in the Jewish value that prioritizes the saving of life over everything else”. And the very existence of a lobbying charity called Nahamu, specifically designed to “speak out against harms systematically arising in the haredi community”, points to a “new, more open, even self-critical, attitude” among British Jews.

Even when it comes to antisemitism, Freedman suggests that “the situation is not as grim as it is sometimes portrayed”. He cites a range of views about the former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, from a woman who, despite having what she describes as a “ridiculous English schoolgirl accent”, “began to feel like an alien in my own country, like the mask has been ripped away” during the recent period of Labour’s antisemitism crisis to those who believe that Corbyn was unfairly targeted by the right-wing press. Freedman clearly believes there was room for serious concern during the Corbyn years, yet he also puts a positive spin on the way Jews responded so forcefully to the perceived danger. While there has long been talk of a “Jewish vote” in the US, it was hostility to Corbyn, Freedman argues, that meant that, during the 2019 general election, “there was clear evidence of a Jewish vote” “for the first time in British history”.

Read it all.

'During the 2019 general election 'there was clear evidence of a Jewish vote’ ‘for the first time in British history'.' (@MatthewReiszTHE)https://t.co/BGB4p4Xfoe

— The TLS (@TheTLS) March 3, 2023

“With the Church of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury forfeiting their leadership role,” they said, Anglicanism’s “orthodox” primates across the global communion will meet to “work out the shape and nature of our common life together” because “for us, and perhaps by his own reported self-exclusion, the present Archbishop of Canterbury is no longer the … Chair of the Primates’ Meeting by virtue of his position.”

Uganda Archbishop Stephen Samuel Kaziimba Mugalu stressed that there will be no Anglican compromise this time around.

“The only significant difference between a wedding and a service of ‘blessing’ is the terminology used,” he said in a public statement. “The Church of England insists it is not changing its doctrine of marriage. But, in practice, they are doing precisely that. …

“But, what I want you to know is that if it looks like a wedding, and sounds like a wedding … it IS a wedding.”

Read it all.

In the contest of the century—the U.S. rivalry with China—the deciding factor will be innovation power. Technological advances in the next five to ten years will determine which country gains the upper hand in this world-shaping competition. The challenge for the United States, however, is that government officials are incentivized to avoid risk and focus on the short term, leaving the country to chronically underinvest in the technologies of the future.

If necessity is the mother of invention, war is the midwife of innovation. Speaking to Ukrainians on a visit to Kyiv in the fall of 2022, I heard from many that the first months of the war were the most productive of their lives. The United States’ last truly global war—World War II—led to the widespread adoption of penicillin, a revolution in nuclear technology, and a breakthrough in computer science. Now, the United States must innovate in peacetime, faster than ever before. By failing to do so, it is eroding its ability to deter—and, if necessary, to fight and win—the next war.

The alternative could be disastrous. Hypersonic missiles could leave the United States defenseless, and cyberattacks could cripple the country’s electric grid. Perhaps even more important, the warfare of the future will target individuals in completely new ways: authoritarian states such as China and Russia may be able to collect individual data on Americans’ shopping habits, location, and even DNA profiles, allowing for tailor-made disinformation campaigns and even targeted biological attacks and assassinations. To avert these horrors, the United States needs to make sure it remains ahead of its technological competitors.

The principles that have defined life in the United States—freedom, capitalism, individual effort—were the right ones for the past and remain so for the future. These basic values lie at the foundation of an innovation ecosystem that is still the envy of the world. They have enabled breakthroughs that have transformed everyday life around the world. The United States started the innovation race in pole position, but it cannot rest assured it will remain there. Silicon Valley’s old mantra holds true not just in industry but also in geopolitics: innovate or die.

Read it all (registration).

Eric Schmidt: Why Technology Will Define the Future of Geopolitics https://t.co/LP2imSEoSu

— Albert Royo (@AlbertRoyo5) February 28, 2023

Chinese researchers lead their American counterparts in the study of dozens of critical technologies, according to a new report that proposes Beijing is dominant in some scientific pursuits and positioned to develop key future breakthroughs.

The report, published Thursday by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, puts Chinese researchers ahead of Americans in 37 of 44 technologies examined, across the sectors of defense, space, robotics, energy, environment, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, advanced materials and quantum technology.

“In the long term, China’s leading research position means that it has set itself up to excel not just in current technological development in almost all sectors, but in future technologies that don’t yet exist,” ASPI concludes. No other nation is close to China and the U.S. in the research race, according to the Canberra-based think tank, which is primarily funded by Australia’s government. The report put India and the U.K. distantly behind them in most sectors, followed by South Korea and Germany.

The report says China’s research interest and performance in military and space sectors are particularly notable….

Read it all.

Beijing is globally dominant in some scientific pursuits and positioned to develop key future breakthroughs, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute says https://t.co/3SjLk37lu2

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 2, 2023

George Orwell coined the term ‘doublethink’ to describe the flexibility of mind required to live and survive in the society described in the novel 1984. Amongst its many traits, doublethink required the ability “To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic …” The book frequently quotes these examples: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength, and 2 + 2 = 5.

The Anglican world has just received its own example of doublethink (and doublespeak) in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s opening address to the Anglican Consultative Council. Speaking in Ghana less than a week after General Synod’s decision to approve prayers of blessing on sexual relationships outside marriage, Archbishop Justin Welby stated, “When I speak of the impact that actions by the Church of England will have on those abroad in the Anglican Communion, those concerns are dismissed by many. Not all, but by many in the General Synod.”

Read it all.

Bush never stipulates that the rest of the world must “become like America” in so many words. How could he? The whole point of his rhetoric was to assure himself that he was at the helm of the gigantic killing machine that is the United States military not merely to protect and promote American interests, but in order to bring the blessings of liberty to every corner of the earth. The final paragraph of Bush’s introduction reveals the self-deception:

Freedom is the non-negotiable demand of human dignity; the birthright of every person—in every civilization. Throughout history, freedom has been threatened by war and terror; it has been challenged by the clashing wills of powerful states and evil designs of tyrants; and it has been tested by widespread poverty and disease. Today, humanity holds in its hands the opportunity to further freedom’s ­triumph over all these foes. The United States welcomes our responsibility to lead in this great mission.

One is hard pressed to imagine a more utopian vision—freedom’s triumph over all its foes! But Bush was president of the United States, not of the world. Moreover, this document and its urgency stemmed from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. There can be no doubt that Bush was concerned for the weal and woe of Americans.

We can substitute America or American interests for the key word “freedom” in this final paragraph without altering the strategic implications. Indeed, if we make these substitutions, Bush’s words become more faithful to events. Here is my rendering in that spirit:

Being American is the non-negotiable demand of human dignity; the birthright of every person—in every civilization. Throughout history, American interests have been threatened by war and terror; they have been challenged by clashing wills of powerful states and evil designs of tyrants. . . . Today, humanity holds in its hands the opportunity to further America’s triumph over all these foes. The United States welcomes our responsibility to lead in this great mission.

To speak about America in this way seems rather grandiose. But in truth, both versions, Bush’s actual words and my rendition, border on the delusional. This is perhaps to be expected. Baby Boomers were intoxicated by the fusion of hard responsibilities with the most exalted moral idealism. An intoxicated person has blurred vision and a tenuous grasp on reality, and he often makes bad judgments.

Read it all.

Cursed by the Boomers by R. R. Reno | Articles | First Things https://t.co/qLylAU4XXl

— Allen Mendenhall (@allenmendenhall) February 14, 2023

Alongside essays from a diverse group of United Methodist leaders, he wrote that he believed the denomination should not split.

“Now, years later, I realized that my hope and my dream turned out not to be possible because the church has in fact, split this last year,” Jones told Religion News Service. “But it was a desire to try to do whatever I could to hold it together and point the way forward. It just didn’t work.”

It didn’t work, he said, because some church leaders and regional conferences have taken action to oppose the denomination’s official stance barring LGBT members from ordination and marriage.

“These doctrinal and moral disobedience questions have made it hard to keep the idea that we really are a church following the same Book of Discipline,” he said.

Read it all.

Scott Jones’s exit from the UMC is causing a stir, in part because of the unique position his family holds in Methodism. https://t.co/hQ54ziw7TP

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) March 1, 2023

China is in the midst of a quiet but stunning nationwide collapse of birthrates. This is the deeper, still largely overlooked, significance of the country’s 2022 population decline, announced by Chinese authorities last month.

As recently as 2019, demographers at the U.S. Census Bureau and the United Nations were not expecting China’s population to start dropping until the early 2030s. But they did not anticipate today’s wholesale plunge in childbearing.

Considerable attention has been devoted to likely consequences of China’s coming depopulation: economic, political, strategic. But the causes of last year’s population drop deserve much closer examination.

China’s nosedive in childbearing is a silent alarm. It signals deep disaffection with the bleak future the regime is engineering for its subjects. In this land without democracy, the birth collapse can be read as a landslide vote of no confidence in President Xi Jinping’s rule.

Read it all.

"China’s nosedive in childbearing is a silent alarm. It signals deep disaffection with the bleak future the regime is engineering (…). In this land without democracy, the birth collapse can be read as a landslide vote of no confidence in (Xi’s) rule."https://t.co/Yx3m7HXGeA

— Chris Alexander 🌻 (@calxandr) March 1, 2023

It’s been a widely accepted trend in financial circles for nearly two decades. But suddenly, Republicans have launched an assault on a philosophy that says that companies should be concerned with not just profits but also how their businesses affect the environment and society.

More than $18 trillion is held in investment funds that follow the investing principle known as E.S.G. — shorthand for prioritizing environmental, social and governance factors — a strategy that has been adopted by major corporations around the globe.

Now, Republicans around the country say Wall Street has taken a sharp left turn, attacking what they term “woke capitalism” and dragging businesses, their onetime allies, into the culture wars.

The rancor escalated on Tuesday as Republicans in Congress used their new majority in the House to vote by a margin of 216 to 204 to repeal a Department of Labor rule that allows retirement funds to consider climate change and other factors when choosing companies in which to invest. In the Senate, Republicans are lining up behind a similar effort and have been joined by Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia.

Read it all.

(NYT front page) The Cultural and Partisan Divide
Of Socially Conscious #Investing https://t.co/uLO6W0hcKW #economy #stockmarket #ESG #corporations #ecology #culture #21stc

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 1, 2023

The number of people in any form of legally registered partnership in England and Wales is the lowest on record, new statistics from the 2021 Census show.

The latest 2021 figures, published by the Office for National Statistics, show that less than half the adult population (46.9 per cent) are either married, in a civil partnership, or separated, compared with 58.4 per cent in 1991.

The total number of adults who have never married or been in a civil partnership has increased every decade, from 26.3 per cent in 1991 to 37.9 per cent in 2021. The rise is most pronounced among 25- to 35-year-olds: in 1991, 2.7 million were unmarried; today, that figure is more than double, at 5.8 million. Among women aged between 25 and 29, however, the proportion has decreased from 27.8 per cent in 2011 to 17.5 per cent in 2021.

The Census, which was the first since same-sex marriage was introduced in 2014, showed that adults in same-sex marriages and all civil partnerships make up less than 0.5 per cent of the population. Same-sex-married is the largest group, at 134,000 people; 67,000 are in same-sex civil partnerships; and 36,000 are in opposite-sex civil partnerships.

Read it all.

The number of people in any form of legally registered partnership in England and Wales is the lowest on record, new statistics from the 2021 Census show https://t.co/MNErr268ZO

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 27, 2023

The promise and perils of America’s counterterrorism campaign were on full display at a remote training base in central Somalia.

It was graduation day for 346 recruits who would join an elite Somali commando unit trained by the State Department, advised by U.S. Special Operations forces, and backed by American air power.

Since last August, the unit, called Danab, has spearheaded a string of Somali army victories against Al Shabab, an Islamist terrorist group that is considered the deadliest of Al Qaeda’s global branches.

“We’re more dedicated than ever,” said Second Lt. Shukri Yusuf Ali, 24, who joined the unit two years ago as one of its few female members and was recently selected to attend the U.S. Army infantry training course at Fort Benning, Ga.

Read it all.

Nearly two decades after the rise of Al Shabab, Somalia is the most active front in the “forever wars” that the United States has been waging against Islamist extremists since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks https://t.co/MImvQabjRM

— Eric Schmitt (@EricSchmittNYT) February 27, 2023

The 2023 ADOSC Convention Begins in 10 Days!

Our Diocese will gather at the Cross Schools in Bluffton March 10-11 for our 2023 Convention. This gathering is always a time of connection, inspiration, worship and fellowship! We’ll get an update from the leadership on the state of the Diocese, hear an inspiring message from our Bishop, elect those who will serve in the coming years and more.

As Bishop Edgar noted in a message to clergy and convention delegates, we are streamlining the Convention this year. The Bishop’s address and a video update on the churches in transition will be part of Friday evening’s events. The elections, presentation of the budget and business portion of the meeting will be held on Saturday. Learn more. View the nominations booklet. 

Read it all.

The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter 'Our Diocese will gather at the Cross Schools in Bluffton March 10-11 for our 2023 Convention' https://t.co/q32upenGLA [Cross Schools Blufton website photo] #parishministry #religion #BluftonSC pic.twitter.com/kL9zGCu31s

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 28, 2023

Oh King of grief! (a title strange, yet true,
To thee of all kings only due)
Oh King of wounds! how shall I grieve for thee,
Who in all grief preventest me?
Shall I weep blood? why thou has wept such store
That all thy body was one door.
Shall I be scourged, flouted, boxed, sold?
‘Tis but to tell the tale is told.
‘My God, my God, why dost thou part from me? ‘
Was such a grief as cannot be.
But how then shall I imitate thee, and
Copy thy fair, though bloody hand?
Surely I will revenge me on thy love,
And try who shall victorious prove.
If thou dost give me wealth, I will restore
All back unto thee by the poor.
If thou dost give me honour, men shall see,
The honour doth belong to thee.
I will not marry; or, if she be mine,
She and her children shall be thine.
My bosom friend, if he blaspheme thy name,
I will tear thence his love and fame.
One half of me being gone, the rest I give
Unto some Chapel, die or live.
As for thy passion – But of that anon,
When with the other I have done.
For thy predestination I’ll contrive,
That three years hence, if I survive,
I’ll build a spittle, or mend common ways,
But mend mine own without delays.
Then I will use the works of thy creation,
As if I us’d them but for fashion.
The world and I will quarrel; and the year
Shall not perceive, that I am here.
My music shall find thee, and ev’ry string
Shall have his attribute to sing;
That all together may accord in thee,
And prove one God, one harmony.
If thou shalt give me wit, it shall appear;
If thou hast giv’n it me, ’tis here.
Nay, I will read thy book, and never move
Till I have found therein thy love;
Thy art of love, which I’ll turn back on thee,
O my dear Saviour, Victory!
Then for thy passion – I will do for that –
Alas, my God, I know not what.

–George Herbert (1593-1633)

In 1980, the Church of #England designated #otd 27th February as a commemorative day for George Herbert #poet

(City of London Corporation) pic.twitter.com/EI7W6lpDE0

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) February 27, 2023

Thirdly, and most fundamentally of all, Bishop Christopher [Cocksworth] admits that the cart was effectively put before the horse. Speaking of the “Pastoral Guidance” the bishops are supposed to be now producing in relation to Prayers of Love and Faith, he writes: “We promised pastoral guidelines on the practical outworking of the provision, with all their complex legal and theological questions, at a later point, rather than offering them alongside the liturgical provision. The result was that the response and prayers raised more questions than they answered…”

In other words, the Bishops came up with the prayers first rather than the theology. But how can you write prayers if you are not sure what the underlying theology is? Not only is it putting the cart before the horse, but arguably the horse has bolted and it is too late to shut the stable door as no-one knows where the stable is anyway. Don’t explore that mixed metaphor too closely but you get the idea…

In other words, the Bishops came up with the prayers first rather than the theology. But how can you write prayers if you are not sure what the underlying theology is? Not only is it putting the cart before the horse, but arguably the horse has bolted and it is too late to shut the stable door as no-one knows where the stable is anyway. Don’t explore that mixed metaphor too closely but you get the idea…

The bishop admits things have been done in the wrong order elsewhere when he lists some of the theological questions still to be answered by the bishops. He says these include: “Is the provision genuinely consistent with the doctrine of the Church of England?” (yes, you read that right!) and “What [are the draft prayers] saying or implying about the permissibility or otherwise of sexual intimacy in relationships of the same sex, and in opposite sex relationships that the Church does not recognize as marriage, and what is its theological case?” So the prayers were written before the answers to the key theological questions on which they rest were considered.

Read it all.

Good grief begins with honest reflection, however difficult.https://t.co/voCNxVJRmM

— Will Briggs (@WillBriggs) February 27, 2023

Sometimes, to appreciate where you are, it’s good to remember where you’ve been. And just over six months ago, Erik Ten Hag had debuted with consecutive Premier League defeats (2-1 at home to Brighton and 4-0 away to Brentford). Cristiano Ronaldo was still around, angry supporters were showing up outside new chief executive Richard Arnold’s house and there was a sense that things could easily slip from bad to abject.

Many, including yours truly, questioned how Ten Hag’s brand of football was going to be effective with this group of players (starting with Ronaldo). And the club’s insistence on signing players who, other than Casemiro, all seemed to be either Eredivisie alumni did not bode well. But here we are.

The League Cup is what it is, but psychologically it matters because it’s the first piece of silverware the club have won since 2017, snapping the longest trophy drought at Old Trafford since the early 1980s. And no, it’s not a bauble won in isolation. United are third in the Premier League, and they just knocked LaLiga leaders Barcelona out of in the Europa League.

Read it all.

Erik ten Hag’s record in finals for Manchester United:

2022/23 Carabao Cup Final – Winners 🏆

“Eras come to an end”. 🔴 pic.twitter.com/E2zUmXVdfF

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 26, 2023

Thirty years ago today, terrorists left a bomb weighing more than a half-ton in a rented van parked beneath the World Trade Center, a workplace for tens of thousands. Its smoldering fuse took about 12 minutes to close the gap between the everyday and the horrific.

The lunchtime blast left a crater several stories deep, sent acrid smoke up the center’s north tower and killed six people. More than 1,000 others were injured that day, including a dark-haired trader just yards from the underground detonation.

Eight years later, that same man, Tim Lang, fled Lower Manhattan as terrorists struck the World Trade Center again, this time with jetliners. He saw the first of its two towers buckle and fall in an attack that killed nearly 3,000 people, including those dear to him.

Mr. Lang is 69 now, with shock-white hair and photos of grandchildren stored in his smartphone. He describes himself as an unremarkable man. Yet he is also an everyman through-line between two remarkable events: the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which upended world politics, and the bombing of Feb. 26, 1993, which is less indelibly burned into collective memory but stands as ominous prelude.

Read it all.

Thirty years ago on Sunday, Tim Lang was injured in the first attack on the World Trade Center — an ominous but often overlooked prelude to 9/11.

"Just about everybody forgets about it," he said. But he does not. https://t.co/dGR8lVXEyr

— The New York Times (@nytimes) February 26, 2023

Our God and King, who didst call thy servant George Herbert from the pursuit of worldly honors to be a pastor of souls, a poet, and a priest in thy temple: Give unto us the grace, we beseech thee, joyfully to perform the tasks thou givest us to do, knowing that nothing is menial or common that is done for thy sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Church of England celebrates George Herbert, Priest, Poet, 1633 https://t.co/mSm4mfIMSY

Image: Panel depicting Herbert in the Anglican Window (C.E. Kempe & Co., 1923) in All Saints', Cambridge. Photo via https://t.co/znkJLsdgR9 pic.twitter.com/LBfMtFaDux

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

The Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice has released the second of its biannual Racial Justice reports.

Mandated to drive ‘significant cultural and structural change on issues of racial justice within the Church of England’, the Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice (“ACRJ”), headed by The Rt Hon Lord Paul Boateng, is charged with monitoring, holding to account and supporting the implementation of the forty-seven recommendations of the Archbishops’ Anti-Racism Taskforce which were laid out in the Taskforce’s comprehensive 2021 report From Lament to Action.

In his foreword letter to the Second Report, Lord Boateng singles out for praise the Church Commissioners for their “ground-breaking work” in the forensic audit undertaken on Queen Anne’s Bounty and its links with transatlantic chattel slavery. The Commission welcomes the £100 million of funding to deliver a programme of investment, research and engagement over the next nine years, but caveats that there is much further work to be done as this is “not the end of the story” [Slavery, p 23].

Lord Boateng welcomes the arrival in December 2022 of the Director of the Racial Justice Unit, but expresses continued disappointment at the time it has taken to establish the Unit and comments: “This has inevitably impacted negatively upon our own work and on the progress made across the Church of England in delivering on the recommendations of From Lament to Action”.

The Second Report draws particular attention to the witness heard from representatives of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Christians about the “indifference, neglect and outright hostility” at the hands of both church and state. General Synod in 2019 urged dioceses to establish a chaplain to the communities. The Commission heard that twelve such chaplains have been appointed and calls for the remaining dioceses to do likewise in ensuring the GRT community receives pastoral, advocacy and educational activities. On the latter, the Church of England’s “Leaders like us” programme will have a part to play and the programme will be scrutinized by the Commission over the course of its work…

Read it all.

CoE Archbishops’ Commission on Racial Justice releases Second Biannual Reporthttps://t.co/lyT8Ngw1ha pic.twitter.com/xDOn5angEG

— Anglican Ink (@anglicanink) February 24, 2023

Churches in Ukraine have marked the first anniversary of the Russian invasion with calls to prayer and fasting, as President Putin vowed to continue his military assault, and President Biden rallied morale during visits to Kyiv and Warsaw.

“We are now witnessing a media information wave about a major Russian offensive and troop mobilisation for a second large-scale attack,” the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations, which includes the main Christian denominations, as well as Jewish and Muslim leaders, said in an appeal on Monday.

“Millions of believers are praying for an end to this war every day, but the great evil at its root does not want to retreat. In these fateful times, we understand that Ukraine needs God’s power to defeat the Russian aggressor.”

The appeal was published in the run-up to Friday’s anniversary, as European Union foreign ministers discussed arms supplies, and Ukrainian fighters struggled to hold back attacks on the eastern town of Bakhmut and other Russian targets.

The appeal mentioned that “many politicians and experts” had predicted that Ukraine would fall within three days of the invasion on 24 February 2022. They now also agreed that a “miracle had happened” when numerically and technically superior forces had been held back.

Read it all.

Ukrainian Churches mark war’s anniversary with fresh appeals for aid https://t.co/RvADToHAw8

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 24, 2023