The Archbishop awarded Canon Rees a Lambeth Doctorate of Civil Law last night in recognition for his erudition and distinguished service as Provincial Registrar. The award was given during a service of Evening Prayer at Lambeth Palace, in the company of Canon Rees’s family, friends and former colleagues.

For over 20 years, Canon Rees held the offices of Registrar of the Diocese of Oxford, Registrar of the Province of Canterbury and Legal Adviser to the Anglican Consultative Council. He was a founder member, treasurer and, latterly, chairman of the Ecclesiastical Law Society. The Anglican Communion has benefited from his wisdom and knowledge through, amongst other things, the Windsor Report in 2004, and his role as Convenor of the Legal Advisors’ Network which published Principles of Canon Law Applicable to the Churches of the Anglican Communion for the Lambeth Conference in 2008.

Canon Rees has advised upon, assisted and enabled the ministry of the church at every level from individuals to parishes and dioceses, national churches and international bodies, assisting the Church in the fulfilment of the call to preach the gospel in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4. 2). Throughout this, as an ordained priest he has continued to minister in his local parish.

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The Archbishop of Canterbury @JustinWelby now leads thanks to Canon John Rees, who is departing as Provincial Registrar. pic.twitter.com/lc1taKf2GH

— General Synod (@synod) April 24, 2021

The Church of England Evangelical Council (CEEC) has published material intended to initiate conversations about “issues of culture, power and abuse” within its constituency.

The materials, published on Wednesday, are “designed to help Evangelical churches review, repent and reshape their cultures on the back of the recent Thirtyone:eight independent reviews into two prominent Evangelical churches and their leaders”, a press release says.

The reviews to which it refers are those of Emmanuel Proprietary Chapel, Ridgway, in Wimbledon and the Revd Jonathan Fletcher (News, 26 March), and the Crowded House, a non-denominational Evangelical church in Sheffield, at which “some instances of emotional and/or psychological abuse took place as a result of persistent coercive and controlling behaviour”.

The resources include an introductory film and a “liturgy of lament” for churches to use. There is also a booklet, Church Cultures Review Questions, which contains more than 100 questions for churches.

Read it all.

The resources include an introductory film and a “liturgy of lament” for churches to use. There is also a booklet, Church Cultures Review Questions, which contains more than 100 questions for churches.https://t.co/geCD1RMfdj

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 2, 2021

Asking a question in the House of Lords, Bishop Paul Butler said the omicron variant showed that the virus “knows no national boundaries.”

He said: “In the light of the new omicron variant that has dominated the news over the weekend, my colleague Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town urged those of us in rich countries to do better at narrowing inequality of vaccination rates, which are 7% in Africa and 70% in Europe.

“We must acknowledge that this virus knows no national boundaries and will spread, mutate and return to us in the way that we are seeing, so we need a global approach, not simply a bilateral approach.

Read it all.

‘Virus knows no national boundaries’ – Bishop calls for vaccine equity https://t.co/oW6MZUzre1

— Heartsong Live (@heartsonglive1) November 30, 2021

It has been announced that the Reverend Lynne Cullens will be the next Bishop of Barking, succeeding the Right Reverend Peter Hill, who retired earlier this year.

Lynne is currently Rector of Stockport and Brinnington in the Diocese of Chester, where she has served since July 2019. She is also a trustee and the Chair of the National Estate Churches Network.

Speaking about her appointment in a message to churches in the Barking Area, Lynne said:

It has been the most delightful and humbling surprise to have been called to this role and to Chelmsford Diocese. I am very much looking forward to joining you and to meeting with, and learning from, people, communities and partners across the Barking area.

It will be a privilege to serve God alongside you and to support Bishop Guli as she leads our continuing discernment of his will for our diocese and his Church”.

Read it all.

The Revd Lynne Cullens – @LynneCullens has this morning been announced as the next Bishop of Barking.
Find our more here – https://t.co/8W3kKrtFYv
Share your own welcome message with Lynne using the hashtag #NextBishopOfBarking pic.twitter.com/NBifmle5Zp

— Chelmsford Diocese (@chelmsdio) November 30, 2021

Repairs are under way at a cathedral after part of its roof was damaged during Storm Arwen.

On Friday, a piece of masonry fell from a tower at Worcester Cathedral and pierced the north choir aisle roof.

A team of experts is conducting investigations and weather-proofing the damaged area, the cathedral said.

Dean of the cathedral, the Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, said the repairs to the medieval building would require “a great deal of care”.

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Latest on the repair work @WorcCathedral #StormArwen https://t.co/nVzcf4C6gY

— BBC Hereford & Worcester (@bbchw) November 30, 2021

• Some of England’s biggest landowners, who collectively own and manage around 30 percent of England’s land, sign pact to tackle climate change
• Signatories include farmers, charities and private landowners, vow to work together alongside nature to use land effectively
• Commitment made to coincide with outcomes of COP26 to show what can be done at home to tackle climate change
• Joint principles include backing nature to tackle the climate crisis, reducing carbon and adapt to changing circumstances

Read it all.

Some of the nation’s largest landowners make unprecedented pact to jointly tackle the climate and nature crises – @nationaltrust https://t.co/1zwLK4SJdm
Signatories include: @Natures_Voice @NAAONB @natparksengland @WildlifeTrusts @WoodlandTrust pic.twitter.com/5MZWlyjrn3

— CJS News (@CountrysideNews) November 29, 2021

When I meet Rowan Williams at the Southbank Centre in late October, there is much going on. The Church of England, of which he was once Archbishop of Canterbury, stands accused of trying to close churches to save cash; a famous bishop has converted to Rome; and Williams is waiting for his daughter to give birth (the boy, his first grandchild, will arrive a few days later).

Although he’s been lampooned for being wishy-washy, I find Williams’s language to be economical and exact, and though he is thoroughly loyal to his successors in the clerical hierarchy, buried beneath his metaphors is a cutting critique of where we’re at. “There was a loss of nerve in the 1960s,” he says of Anglicanism. “Like St Peter walking on the water”, the Church seemed to “look down at the wrong moment” and lose its footing.

Now, Williams believes, we are seeing the legacy of that “pervasive and paralysing anxiety about the role of the Church in society”. Amid “a general cultural tide flowing away” from Christianity, we have to ask: what if the Church “is no longer a given….”?

Information has become abundant, he says, yet “the process of acquiring that information” – ie scrolling through one’s phone – “has disabled us intellectually… We are increasingly forgetting how to learn. We assume that knowledge can be distilled and communicated and transferred just like that… a tick box approach which is found in clergy training.” What knowledge we inherit, we take for granted, yet “the absolutism of some modern social morality” – the idea that right and wrong are obvious – “did not drop from heaven. We learnt to see things this way.”

Read it all (subscription).

Rowan Williams believes we are seeing the legacy of that “pervasive and paralysing anxiety about the role of the Church in society”

Read the full interview 👇 https://t.co/eVhfPuzq0u

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) November 28, 2021

On 7 November, I believe that ecumenical history may have been made when the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Palermo, Corrado Lorefice, preached the sermon at the installation of the new Chaplain of Holy Cross, the Revd Dr James Hadley. Certainly this is a first in this diocese and in the Church of England itself it may well be unprecedented for a Roman Catholic Archbishop to take such a significant role in the installation of an Anglican parish priest!

Many other local clergy were present for the mass, including the Orthodox Archimandrite for Southern Italy, representing Metropolitan Policarpo of Italy.

Read it all and enjoy the pictures.

I wonder if ecumenical history was made on this occasion when a Roman Catholic Archbishop preached at the installation of an Anglican parish priest and then gave him a gift of a chalice and paten? Certainly this is a first in the @DioceseinEurope https://t.co/IRea5YSbx7 pic.twitter.com/DCAKwZnA7L

— David Hamid (@eurobishop) November 25, 2021

A vital service offering support to new parents who are struggling to afford essentials for their babies is being run by a church.

The North Shields Baby Bank, based at St John’s Church Percy Main, in North Tyneside, has helped more than 60 families since its launch in the summer with items including nappies, wipes, clothing and baby formula.

Revd Lee Cleminson, Vicar of St John’s, said: “We’ve all heard of food banks and know what a valuable lifeline they are for people struggling.

“However, as a result of parents discreetly contacting the vicarage, asking for help, there was a clear need for a similar scheme which supplied basic baby items.

“One mother who came to the church for help explained that she was having to choose between charging her electric meter and buying nappies for her beautiful newborn baby boy.

Read it all.

https://t.co/nB0gbYwxnh

— Graham Buxton (@BungleFinchley) November 24, 2021

Farmers and those living in rural areas have been urged to seek help and open up if they are suffering feelings of isolation, emptiness or despair, accepting that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of and is highly treatable.

Answering questions at the NFU’s annual Henry Plumb Lecture, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, spoke candidly about his own experience of depression.

“I take anti-depressants. I see someone quite regularly,” he said. “For quite a long time my behaviour became so complicated that even my colleagues noticed it as being unusual.

“I made a joke of it, but depression is not a joke and is the most frequent form of mental illness, and is treatable for most people most of the time.”

Read it all.

Archbishop urges openness to counter farmers’ mental health challenges https://t.co/cXOpAwIFRY

— ukagri (@ukagri) November 24, 2021

The Revd Canon Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy, currently Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Mission and Ministry Enabler in the Diocese of Leicester, has today been announced as the Diocese of London’s next Bishop of Willesden, covering the boroughs of Brent, Ealing, Harrow and Hillingdon.

The official announcement from Downing Street came while Canon Lusa visited Twyford School, a leading Church of England School in Acton, students from which played a role in deciding his appointment. The Sixth Form students, who judged sermons from shortlisted candidates, this morning welcomed Lusa and the Bishop of London, Sarah Mullally, at a special assembly, with Alice Hudson, Executive Head Teacher of Twyford CofE Academies Trust.

As part of today’s introduction to the Willesden Area, Canon Lusa will meet clergy and interfaith leaders from the local community.

He will be consecrated in January 2022, and will join the College of Bishops in the Diocese of London. He succeeds the Rt Revd Pete Broadbent as Bishop of Willesden, who served as Bishop for 20 years.

Read it all.

Delighted that Revd Canon Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy has been appointed as the next Bishop of Willesden! Canon Lusa spoke powerfully at the launch of our Inclusion and Diversity programme last month. Welcome @Lustherev! @dioceseoflondon 🥳 🎉 https://t.co/GEOQgUFlrW

— CCJ (@CCJUK) November 24, 2021

Henry Akingbemisilu was ordained as a Deacon earlier this year. He serves as a Self-Supporting Minister in Thamesmead, London, in the Diocese of Southwark – alongside working in Data Science.
Henry is shown in his clerical robes smiling
Henry was born in Nigeria, coming to the UK to study mathematics and computer network engineering. His journey to ordination started in 2008, but it was only in 2015 that he finally started the official discernment process with Southwark Diocese.

In the years that preceded this, he was involved in his church – in the choir, in prayer ministry groups and as Church Warden for eight years but felt a ‘calling’ to do more.

“You know, when God is calling, you just won’t be at peace with yourself until you give in,” he explained.

“It took me so many years.

“I asked myself is this God or is it me making things up?

Read it all.

‘I was fighting it’ an AI scientist’s 12-year journey to ordination.https://t.co/ZS1soxh8yR

— Southwark Diocese (@SouthwarkCofE) November 22, 2021

You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words “compelle intrare,” compel them to come in, have been so abused be wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.

–C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy (Harcourt Brace, 1956), p.228

"If you become a writer you'll be trying to describe the *thing* all your life: and lucky if, out of dozens of books, one or two sentences, just for a moment, come near to getting it across." C. S. Lewis, who died on this day in 1963 pic.twitter.com/aLgp6LXxT1

— Ray Boomhower (@RayBoomhower) November 22, 2021

O God of searing truth and surpassing beauty, we give thee thanks for Clive Staples Lewis whose sanctified imagination lighteth fires of faith in young and old alike; Surprise us also with thy joy and draw us into that new and abundant life which is ours in Christ Jesus, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

22 November 1963: Author and academic, Clive Staples (CS) Lewis, died. (aged 64). He’s best known for his works of fiction, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Space Trilogy. pic.twitter.com/9lCS7lWi6Z

— Prof Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) November 22, 2021

The Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Revd Graham Usher, has criticised the Government for its lack of engagement with faith groups at the COP26 climate summit and urged it to make climate change a priority over the coming year.

Bishop Usher, who is the lead bishop on the environment, was at the UN talks in Glasgow which ended on Saturday, when countries had agreed to phase down coal use, end fossil-fuel subsidies, and come back next year to strengthen their commitments. But the promised financial support for poor and vulnerable nations remained lacking.

Bishop Usher said on Tuesday evening: “There was a powerful sense of solidarity across the faith groups and denominations at COP26. All faith traditions value the sanctity of creation, and before the summit many of us met at the Vatican to present our call to COP26 President Alok Sharma, where there was probably 85 per cent of the world’s population represented.

“In Glasgow, it was disappointing to see no space for faith groups at the summit. The Anglican Communion delegation struggled to find spaces to meet. It was a great shame the British Government didn’t put more emphasis on the role of faith communities.”

Bishop Usher applauded the efforts of Mr Sharma, however. He said: “I want to praise the commitment of Alok Sharma and his team, who have worked incredibly hard. The UK has the presidency of the COP for the next 12 months, and I would like to see them making use of this in the lead up to COP27 in Egypt.”

Read it all.

Our friend ⁦@Andy2Atkins⁩, CEO of ⁦@ARochaUK⁩, encourages the @churchofengland⁩ to rethink its attempt to engage with fossil fuel companies & to #divest instead. ‘When you’re facing an emergency, you don’t mess around’” #DivestCofE ⁦ https://t.co/fJDMQw8juF

— Operation Noah (@OperationNoah) November 19, 2021

The archbishop of Canterbury has apologised for saying there was a “significant cloud” over the name of one of the most venerated figures in the Church of England who was accused of sexual abuse.

In a move that may end a protracted and acrimonious battle within the C of E over the reputation of George Bell, a bishop of Chichester and a leading 20th-century figure, Justin Welby issued a personal statement admitting his earlier position had been wrong.

In a remarkable volte-face, Welby said a statue commemorating Bell as “one of the most courageous, distinguished Anglican bishops of the past century” would be erected at Canterbury Cathedral.

In 2015, 57 years after Bell’s death, the C of E paid compensation and issued a formal apology to a woman who alleged that Bell had sexually abused her when she was a child.

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Justin Welby admits he was wrong to say there was a cloud over George Bell https://t.co/BnluNJ9Vtk

— Guardian news (@guardiannews) November 17, 2021

What I say today that is new and should have been said sooner is this: I do not consider there to be a ‘significant cloud’ over Bishop George Bell’s name.

Previously I refused to retract that statement and I was wrong to do so. I took that view because of the importance we rightly place on listening to those who come forward with allegations of abuse, and the duty of care we owe to them. But we also owe a duty of care to those who are accused. I apologise for the hurt that my refusal to retract that statement has caused to Bishop Bell’s surviving relatives, colleagues and longstanding supporters. They have all raised this issue, often powerfully, and I have recognised my error as a result of their advocacy.

Bishop Bell was and remains one of the most courageous, distinguished Anglican bishops of the past century, committed to the peace and hope of Jesus Christ in a time of conflict and war. The debt owed to him extends far beyond the Church that he served and is one that we share as a society. I am delighted that the statue to him that was planned will be erected on the west front of Canterbury Cathedral, where he served as Dean, as soon as the extensive repair and maintenance works are complete.

Read it all.

A personal statement regarding Bishop George Bell:https://t.co/HUet1ky9d6

— Archbishop of Canterbury (@JustinWelby) November 17, 2021

The Church of England has confirmed that 400 stipendiary curacy posts – both full and part time –will be available for ordinands expecting to take up stipendiary title posts from 2022 after leaving theological training.

Of these, 290 posts are fully funded by the dioceses while the Strategic Ministry Fund (SMF), administered by the Strategic Ministry Board, will support an additional 110 posts.

The SMF was set up in 2019 to help ensure that dioceses are able to support additional curate numbers as part of the drive to increase the number of candidates for ordained ministry.

The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Martin Seeley, who is Chair of the Ministry Council, said: “Stipendiary ministry remains core to the work of the Church of England and our Vision and Strategy for the future.

Read it all.

“The Church of England has confirmed that 400 stipendiary curacy posts – both full and part time – will be available for ordinands expecting to take up stipendiary title posts from 2022 after leaving theological training.”

Read the full announcement at https://t.co/4KggGLurrC.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) November 16, 2021

We are walking into uncharted territory:

The uncharted territory of living with COVID-19.
The uncharted territory of climate crisis
The uncharted territory of rapidly changing cultures, and the questions those cultures pose
The uncharted territory of our own continuing numerical decline and all the challenges, not least financial, that go with it.

We don’t have a map.

There is a clue in the title. It is uncharted territory.

Our job together is to draw the map, to work out what it means to be the Church of England in and for this day and in this age.

But we do have a compass: an utterly reliable source of comfort and guidance, by the Holy Spirit, the one who has told us that he himself is the way (see John 14. 6).

Read it all.

The Archbishop of Canterbury's Presidential Address – frank about the numbers. No. of regular church goers has shrunk in absolute terms every year since around 1952. 1851 high point in records: 20% of population was C of E; today it's a little less than 2% https://t.co/YOcdMJsCVB

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) November 16, 2021

Holy God, who didst endow thy servant Hugh of Lincoln with wise and cheerful boldness, and taught him to commend the discipline of holy life to kings and princes: Grant that we also, rejoicing in the Good News of thy mercy, and fearing nothing but the loss of thee, may be bold to speak the truth in love, in the name of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

St. Hugh of Lincoln, canonised in 1220, the patron saint of sick children, sick people, shoemakers and swans. A large white swan followed him everywhere that he went in Lincoln, and the pair developed a deep and lasting friendship. Feast Day Nov 17th. pic.twitter.com/VDU47qEHeX

— Deirdre Good (@good_deirdre) November 15, 2021

Graham Usher, the Bishop of Norwich and the Church of England’s lead bishop for the environment, and Olivia Graham, the Bishop of Reading, have spoken at the conclusion of COP.

In a statement they said: “At COP we called for keeping global warming to below 1.5 degrees, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and securing finance for the world’s most vulnerable people who are already effected by climate breakdown.

“Progress was made in all these areas, plus cutting methane emissions and halting deforestation. We were particularly inspired to hear powerful testimonies from young people and representatives of indigenous peoples.

“We pay tribute to the work of Alok Sharma MP, the COP26 President, and his team.

“Negotiations always have some compromises and disappointments. These impact the world’s economically poorest the most. We must now keep up the moral pressure so that pledges are urgently turned into measurable action….

Read it all.

"We must now keep up the moral pressure so that pledges are urgently turned into measurable action." 🌍 🙏🏼

– @bishopnorwich and @LiviJGraham react to @COP26.

Read the full statement at https://t.co/ypAslMxRDK.#COP26

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) November 16, 2021

[Charles] Simeon himself is our example here. The feature of his preaching which most constantly impressed his hearers was the fact that he was, as they said, “in earnest”; and that reflected his own overwhelming sense of sin, and of the wonder of the grace that had saved him; and that in turn bore witness to the closeness of his daily fellowship and walk with his God. As he gave time to sermon preparation, so he gave time to seeking God’s face.

“The quality of his preaching,” writes the Bishop of Bradford, “was but a reflection of the quality of the man himself. And there can be little doubt that the man himself was largely made in the early morning hours which he devoted to private prayer and the devotional study of the Scriptures. It was his custom to rise at 4 a.m., light his own fire, and then devote the first four hours of the day to communion with God. Such costly self-discipline made the preacher. That was primary. The making of the sermon was secondary and derivative.”

Read it all.

The candy store experience continues. Here’s a Bible of #CharlesSimeon. https://t.co/aHEYKkhBHZ pic.twitter.com/t3IGlocv6v

— Peter J. Williams (@DrPJWilliams) November 27, 2019

He stood for many years alone, he was long opposed, ridiculed, shunned, his doctrines were misrepresented, his little peculiarities of voice and manner were satirized, disturbances were frequently raised in his church or he was a person not taken into account, nor considered in the light of a regular clergyman in the church.

-–as quoted in William Carus, Memoirs of the Life of the Rev. Charles Simeon (New York: Robert Carter, 1848), p.39

Charles Simeon decía que en sus primeros siete años como predicador sus sermones no tenían ni píes ni cabeza #LaPredicaciónDeStott #Predicadores #Anglicanos #Evangélicos #Teólogos #Inglaterra https://t.co/o6kG5H8yWb pic.twitter.com/ZGVKgAOngF

— Entrelíneas (@entrelineas_org) November 9, 2021

The Queen has approved the nomination of the Reverend Malayil Lukose Varghese Muthalaly (known as Saju), Vicar of St Mark’s Gillingham, in the Diocese of Rochester, to the Suffragan See of Loughborough, in the Diocese of Leicester.

He succeeds the first-ever Bishop of Loughborough, the Right Revd Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani after she became Bishop of Chelmsford earlier this year.

The announcement naming the next Bishop of Loughborough was made by Downing Street at 10.02am this morning (12 November 2021). The identity of any Bishop-elect has to be kept a closely guarded secret until Number 10 publishes the news.

Last night Bishop-elect Saju and his family attended Curve Theatre in Leicester to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and are being introduced to the diocese at various events in Leicestershire today.

They are starting near Melton Mowbray at the rural campus of Brooksby Melton Agricultural College with prayers at the small rural church there. They will receive gifts representing various elements of the life of the diocese from various people including school children from Church of England schools Thrussington Primary and Rawlins Academy.

Read it all.

We are delighted that Downing Street has announced that Revd Saju Muthalaly will be the next @ChurchofEngland Bishop of Loughborough: https://t.co/hGApfvC9RO pic.twitter.com/YKonqNqCkV

— Diocese of Leicester (@leicestercofe) November 12, 2021

O loving God, who orderest all things by thine unerring wisdom and unbounded love: Grant us in all things to see thy hand; that, following the example and teaching of thy servant Charles Simeon, we may walk with Christ in all simplicity, and serve thee with a quiet and contented mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Charles Simeon
Priest, 1836

Grant us in all things to see thy hand; that, following the example and teaching of thy servant Charles Simeon, we may walk with Christ in all simplicity and serve thee with a quiet and contented mind pic.twitter.com/53WAEKz2r2

— Brian E. Denton🌐🌻 (@brianedenton) November 12, 2021

Read it all.(The interview starts from around 1:28:45 and last about 7 minutes.

Sunday 16 June at 6pm – Welcome Service for Imogen Nay. https://t.co/WRqLmTZkKN pic.twitter.com/bRfstNECAb

— Chelmsford Cathedral (@CCathedral) June 14, 2019

The Church of England too is ditching stocks over climate concerns, even if Joffe says she believes that “having a seat at the table” is generally more effective. Last year, the church’s two investment bodies restricted investments in companies including Berkshire Hathaway and Korea Electric Power Corp over climate change concerns.

Joffe says a tougher approach, involving activism and divestment, “will have to become more mainstream”, especially if asset managers and asset owners are to meet their net zero commitments.

For companies, this means a tougher time from shareholders, says Tom Matthews, a partner who specialises in corporate activism at White and Case. He adds the “narrative around climate change has shifted significantly versus where it was in 2015”, when the Paris agreement was signed. “We’re seeing companies getting targeted because they haven’t woken up quickly enough.”

As for Aviva Investors, Baig says he believes the UK asset manager will end up selling out of at least some of the companies it is targeting because they are not making progress quick enough. “We have to be bold enough to walk way,” he says.

Read it all.

Stay or sell? The $110tn investment industry gets tougher on climate https://t.co/JqKFSC5rdn

— FT Markets (@FTMarkets) November 9, 2021

And, of course, we don’t need to look far. Jesus models for us a very different attitude to women. The way he treated women and responded to them was radically different to the prevailing culture of his day and deeply shocking to many who encountered him.

It is likely that many women travelled with him in the wider band of his disciples.

Martha and Mary were his friends and he was a welcome guest in their house.

When he was thirsty, he asked a Samaritan woman for a drink. We can’t realise how scandalous this was. Not only was he approaching a woman in a way that was unacceptable in his time, it was a Samaritan woman, whose religious beliefs were anathema to the Jews. In this way, Jesus crossed boundaries and broke, and challenged those cultural and religious traditions that not only excluded women, but also enabled them to be treated as property and dealt with in the same negligent and wilfully violent way.

Then, we have this beautiful story of Jesus honouring and receiving the kindness of the woman who anoints him, shaming the men who had welcomed him in by her profound care born. I suppose, of her thankfulness to him and her recognition of what she saw in him, nothing less than a different way of being human – a different way of being a man (see Mark 14. 3-9).

Read it all.

I’m @HexhamAbbey to preach & preside at a service marking White Ribbon Sunday. We remember all who have lost their lives due to Domestic Violence & come together to stand & be counted amongst those who refuse to excuse, condone or remain silent about domestic abuse pic.twitter.com/gh39KWVG0I

— Stephen Cottrell (@CottrellStephen) November 7, 2021

O God of light and love, who illumined thy Church through the witness of thy servant William Temple: Inspire us, we pray, by his teaching and example, that we may rejoice with courage, confidence and faith in the Word made flesh, and may be led to establish that city which has justice for its foundation and love for its law; through Jesus Christ, the light of the world, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

#WilliamTemple, Archbishop of Canterbury and Teacher of the Faith is remembered today. He is especially remembered for his ecumenical efforts and also for his concern with social issues leading to the creation of state welfare provision after WW2. He died in 1944. pic.twitter.com/LqlRsk6ZHM

— Parish of Moseley (@ParishofMoseley) November 6, 2021

The Anglican Communion is helping to give a voice to vulnerable communities during the COP26 summit in Glasgow, the Bishop of Reading, the Rt Revd Olivia Graham, has said.

Bishop Graham, a member of the Church of England’s environment working group, has been at the summit this week, among the many Christian people and organisations lobbying and praying in Glasgow.

“Leaders from all faiths are on the same page about climate chaos and environmental crises,” she said. “When we focus on something as big as this, our differences fall into perspective.

“With tens of millions of members across 165 countries, the Anglican Communion brings a global perspective to the conference that’s untainted by national interests. One of the many benefits of an Anglican presence here is giving voice to the plight of the small island states, which are already becoming slowly submerged by rising sea levels.”

Read it all.

“Leaders from all faiths are on the same page about climate chaos and environmental crises.” https://t.co/qHwotPRNt4

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) November 5, 2021