The Rev Canon Ian Paton has today been elected as the new Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane, and The Very Rev Andrew Swift has been elected as the new Bishop of Brechin.

The election of the new bishop was carried out by an Electoral Synod in each Diocese (comprising representatives of clergy and lay members from the Diocese). The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev Mark Strange, says “I am delighted that the Electoral Synods have elected Ian Paton and Andrew Swift as their new Bishop in each of their Dioceses and I thank the members of the Electoral Synod for the work that they have done in this process.

“I look forward to welcoming both Ian and Andrew to the College of Bishops and to working with them, and I am sure that the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane and the Diocese of Brechin will look forward to their respective leadership and inspiration in the future development of Mission and Ministry across each of the Dioceses. I ask that we hold them both in prayer as they each move to a new stage of their ministry and prepare for their consecration.”

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The Prince of Wales has been asked to give a witness statement to a public inquiry about a paedophile bishop who was jailed after abusing young men.

Peter Ball, 85, was jailed for 32 months in October 2015 for offences against 18 teenagers and men.

The former Bishop of Lewes and of Gloucester carried out the abuse between the 1970s and 1990s.

Prince Charles exchanged a series of letters with Ball, whose Gloucester diocese covers his Highgrove home….

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Suicide rates have increased in nearly every state over the last two decades, and half of the states have seen suicide rates go up more than 30 percent.

Suicide is a major public health issue, accounting for nearly 45,000 deaths in 2016 alone. That’s why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta decided to take a comprehensive look at suicides from 1999 to 2016.

“Suicide in this country really is a problem that is impacted by so many factors. It’s not just a mental health concern,” says Deborah Stone, a behavioral scientist at the CDC and the lead author of the new study. “There are many different circumstances and factors that contribute to suicide. And so that’s one of the things that this study really shows us. It points to the need for a comprehensive approach to prevention.”

She and her colleagues collected data on suicide deaths from all states. In addition, to better understand the circumstances surrounding suicide, they turned to more detailed information collected by 27 states on suicides that occurred in 2015.

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Timely Sermon Addressing Legal Issues from Ted Duvall:

This past Sunday, the Rev. Ted Duvall, the Rector of Christ Church, Mount Pleasant, gave a helpful sermon addressing the on going legal battle. Listen now.

The rector of Christ Church, Mount Pleasant, #southcarolina preaches on approaching the Supreme Court decision Theologically https://t.co/oc0aQOHiny #scotus #law #religion #parishministry #preaching #anglican pic.twitter.com/GyodtjLqdG

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) June 7, 2018

Dai’s charges can add up to more than $150,000 for two months of work, which is far more than what he could earn as a high school graduate in his hometown in eastern Jiangsu province. Wives of wealthy men are willing to pay his fees because China’s divorce law favors the man and divorce is still a major stigma.

“It can affect your children. They will be less desirable as marriage candidates,” Dai said.

There is no guarantee of success in marriage dissuading. Dai said only 50 percent of his cases work out. He refers to the mistress as a “cancer in the marriage.”

“We are merely doing an external surgery. Whether the marriage can be saved depends on the couple,” Dai said.

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If those playing down the importance of the Masterpiece Cakeshop ruling are wrong, those overstating it are also off base. “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane claimed that “it’s a shorter walk than we think, particularly today, from ‘I won’t bake them a cake because they’re gay’ to ‘I won’t seat him here because he’s black.’ ” This wildly mischaracterizes Mr. Phillips’s position. The Masterpiece proprietor serves all customers, regardless of sexual orientation, but he can’t in good conscience communicate all messages or celebrate all events. He is motivated by his Christian belief that marriage unites husband and wife, not his customer’s identity.

This disagreement about the definition of marriage occurs among people of good faith motivated by honorable theological and philosophical premises, as Justice Kennedy recognized in Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 same-sex-marriage decision. And as he wrote in Masterpiece, “religious and philosophical objections to gay marriage are protected views and in some instances protected forms of expression.”

That is why states should be careful not to abuse antidiscrimination policy in a way that amounts to an enforcement of an orthodoxy regarding questions about sex on which reasonable people can disagree.

Monday’s ruling won’t open the floodgates to invidious discrimination as critics imagine. But neither should we gainsay its wider applicability. The Supreme Court has said clearly that the government may not punish people because of their religious beliefs. Any generally applicable, neutral law must serve the common good, not punish those whom people in power deem to be “wicked.”

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You may find the bishop’s letter about this there.

O Lord, Who hast taught us that the way of man is not in himself, and hast mercifully promised to keep the feet of Thy saints: direct our thoughts and inspire our actions, we humbly pray Thee, to the good of Thy Church and the fulfillment of Thy eternal purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)

A Prayer 4 the Day from Joseph Armitage Robinson 'O Lord, Who hast taught us that the way of man is not in himself, and hast mercifully promised to keep the feet of Thy saints: direct our thoughts and inspire our actions, we humbly pray Thee…' https://t.co/EvIFUEJ8CD #anglican pic.twitter.com/AltxTyUBSL

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) June 7, 2018

A Psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes, he does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire, round about him a mighty tempest.

–Psalm 50:1-3