The Bishop of Norwich the Right Reverend Graham James has given his last service before stepping down.

Of his 19 years in the role, he said it had been “a privilege and an honour”.

The bishop, who has been an active member of the House of Lords, gave his final blessing from the ancient throne in Norwich Cathedral.

Bishop James told the congregation he and his wife Julie would “miss this diocese and this cathedral enormously”.

He said he would not be “disappearing immediately” and had a number of engagements that would be “below the radar” and this would be his last sermon at the cathedral.

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But I know I’m the exception to the rule — a lucky one. It’s clearer than ever that a disproportionate number of men and women of color are treated unfairly by a broken criminal justice system. The system causes a vicious cycle, feeding upon itself — sons and daughters grow up with their parents in and out of prison, and then become far more likely to become tied up in the arrest-jail-probation cycle. This is bad for families and our society as a whole.

We, as a free and democratic society, must do better. Since my release, I’ve had the opportunity to meet with several lawmakers such as Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania, and I’m determined to use my platform to help those without the resources to make their voices heard.

We all need to hold our lawmakers accountable for supporting unfair or inhumane policies and all practices that perpetuate injustice, especially for the blacks and Latinos who fall prey to them most frequently. The reality is African-Americans and Latinos who come from poverty-stricken neighborhoods are assigned public defenders too overburdened to do anything in most cases other than negotiate the most favorable plea deal, regardless of guilt or innocence.

Soon, some friends and I will be announcing a foundation dedicated to achieving real change. In the meantime, if you’re interested in joining us and lending your support to solving what is the moral crisis of our time, please visit www.reformnow.com and sign up.

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The Church of England will hold a summit this week to brainstorm ways of keeping open its rural schools.

Many of its 2,000 rural schools – some with less than 200 pupils – are battling to stay open, and are often the last survivor in a village that has already lost its post office, general shop and pub, it is claimed.

The church’s chief education officer Nigel Genders, writing today in the Sunday Times, says: “While it is true that the cost of educating a child might be higher in a rural area, we also understand the value to children of receiving their education in this setting, and of rural schools as rich expressions of their community.”

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From 1997 to 2002 Jonathan was Rector of Ash in the Diocese of Guildford. For eleven years he was Tutor for Christian Doctrine on the Diocesan Local Ministry Programme. From 2002 to 2010, he was Residentiary Canon at Guildford Cathedral and Co-ordinating Chaplain to the University of Surrey. At this time he was elected to the Church of England’s General Synod.

Since 2010 Jonathan has been Suffragan Bishop of Southampton in the Diocese of Winchester. Here he has served as Chair of the Joint Diocesan Board of Education (with Portsmouth Diocese, where he is also an Honorary Assistant Bishop); and as Chair of Love Southampton, an ecumenical network of churches in the City of Southampton working with the City Council on areas of social need. Jonathan is Episcopal Visitor for Hopeweavers, an acknowledged Anglican Religious Community.

Jonathan is a Trustee of USPG, an Anglican Mission Agency. In 2015 he was elected to represent the Suffragan Bishops of the Province of Canterbury on General Synod.

Jonathan’s emphases in ministry include: Christian unity and mission; contemplative prayer, evangelism and discipleship, inter-faith relations and action for social justice. He is committed to ministry amongst children and young people.

Jonathan is married to Christine, a teacher and therapist in training. They have three grown up children. He is a lifetime supporter of Fulham Football Club and follows Test cricket. He enjoys time spent with friends, live music, reading and is a keen walker.

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Downing Street has today announced that Her Majesty The Queen has accepted the nomination of The Rt Revd Dr Jonathan Frost, the Suffragan Bishop of Southampton, as the next Dean of York. @York_Minster https://t.co/LO9XENj5RN pic.twitter.com/7X3HmvZ5D8

— Diocese of York (@DioceseOfYork) November 26, 2018

You can listen directly there and download the mp3 there.

Christ the King statue in the Carmelites church in Dobling, Vienna, Austria. By architect Richard Jordan and artist Ludwig Schadler from the year 1933 pic.twitter.com/IDc9HquFT0

— Pictures of Churches (@ChurchPictures8) November 26, 2018

A Chinese scientist from a university in Shenzhen claims he has succeeded in creating the world’s first genetically edited babies.

He told the Associated Press that twin girls were born earlier this month after he edited their embryos using CRISPR technology to remove the CCR5 gene, which plays a critical role in enabling many forms of the HIV virus to infect cells.

We have just entered the era of designer babies. We will soon have the ability to edit embryos with the aim of eliminating debilitating diseases, selecting physical traits such as skin and eye color, or even adding extra intelligence. But our understanding of the effects of the technology is in its infancy.

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God of truth and grace, who didst give Isaac Watts singular gifts to present thy praise in verse, that he might write psalms, hymns and spiritual songs for thy Church: Give us grace joyfully to sing thy praises now and in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.God of truth and grace, who didst give Isaac Watts singular gifts to present thy praise in verse, that he might write psalms, hymns and spiritual songs for thy Church: Give us grace joyfully to sing thy praises now and in the life to come; through Jesus Christ our Savior, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today the Church remembers Isaac Watts, the Father of English Hymnody. His paraphrastic hymns are to the Psalms in the 18th cent. what Eugene Peterson's THE MESSAGE is to the Psalms in our own day. https://t.co/eNHhmyHVaY

— Caleb Stallings (@CalebStallings_) November 26, 2018

May the grace of the Lord Jesus sanctify us and keep us from all evil; may He drive far from us all hurtful things, and purify both our souls and bodies; may He bind us to Himself by the bond of love, and may His peace abound in our hearts.

Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD, or show forth all his praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!

–Psalm 106:1-3