O Lord Jesus Christ, before whose judgment-seat we must all appear and give account of the things done in the body: Grant, we beseech thee, that when the books are opened in that day, the faces of thy servants may not be ashamed; through thy merits, O blessed Saviour, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end.

On this 3rd Sunday in #Advent let us focus on John as the bringer of the news of Jesus coming, and rejoice in the joy of knowing that the Lord is coming. pic.twitter.com/AlxE9N5ydh

— Catholic Church (@catholicEW) December 12, 2020

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

–Hebrews 12:18-29

pic.twitter.com/Q8asohSt8Y

— Sezgin Keskin (@sezginkeskin719) December 13, 2020

During the Unity Services lunch, the tables aren’t separated by church or race.

“Whatever comfort zone we had was torn down,” [Louis] Fowler said. “It wasn’t a racial thing. It was fellowship.”

Simmons agrees. Having the chance to bring up subjects like Floyd’s death is what really pulled him in. He is new to the Ministerial Association and has only been the pastor of Central Missionary Baptist for two years.

While connecting with different community members through the Unity Services, he is able to relay how serious and scary things like police violence can be for the Black community.

“Those are tough subjects to talk about,” he said. “But that’s what Christian unity is all about.”

Read it all.

At least once a year, local Black churches swap pastors with predominantly White churches in town to bridge cultural community gaps.https://t.co/YCd4eUffIm

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) December 13, 2020

Most Gracious God, who hast bidden us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before thee; Teach us, like thy servants Francis and Jane, to see and to serve Christ in all people; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset."
— St. Francis de Sales pic.twitter.com/oHILHzIGt0

— Lisett Marie Philomena (@Trad_Cubanita) December 3, 2020

O Heavenly Father, whose most dearly beloved Son has come once to save the world, and will come again to judge the world: Help us, we pray thee, to watch like servants who wait for the coming of their lord. May we abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost; and, having this hope, may we purify ourselves by thy grace, even as Christ is pure. Grant this, O Father, for his sake and for the glory of thy holy name.

Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar,
window 12.
Mam Tor, Derbyshire #SRBadmin pic.twitter.com/iorvc7BoFq

— Helen Day (@LBFlyawayhome) December 12, 2020

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

To the end that [my] glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

–Psalm 30:11-12 (KJV)

#Caught this sunrise on my way to work today. OC Washington State [4032 x 3024] pic.twitter.com/jdbhFX9Oao

— Nature And Animals 🌿 (@naturezem) December 11, 2020

Chelmsford diocesan synod has formally approved a proposal to cut 61 stipendiary clergy posts by the end of 2021; a possible 49 more posts are to go if the financial situation does not improve.

The cuts come five years in advance of the original proposal for 2025, in the light of the pandemic. But plans have been in place since 2011 — when 47 per cent of stipendiary clergy were due to retire within the decade — to reduce clergy posts to the minimum sustainable number of 215 (News, 9 June).

A traffic-light system will operate, where posts “to be retained or filled if vacant” are classified as Green, and those “desirable and should be retained if finances permit” are Amber. Red posts are those “unlikely to be filled with a full-time stipendiary incumbent, and other options for enabling ministry should be considered.”

Benefices in the Red category which are unable to cover the average £80,180 costs of a full-time stipendiary priest will be invited to discuss alternatives, such as interim ministry, a self-supporting priest, or a licensed lay minister.

Read it all.

Chelmsford diocese to lose stipendiary clergy posts https://t.co/R1QQdAJgFk

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 7, 2020

When a physician working for biopharmaceutical company Moderna pushed a shot into the arm of Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld this past July as part of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine trial, the Orthodox Jewish leader offered up a blessing of gratitude.

Then he posted a video of the moment on TikTok.

“I say a blessing to God for this moment — for taking a shot that can help save people’s lives,” Herzfeld says in the video, which has been viewed nearly 390,000 times on the viral video website.

Speaking to Religion News Service this week, the leader of Washington’s Ohev Sholom synagogue said participating in the trial in such a public way made him proud of his faith. He also hoped the moment, which was captured in a widely distributed photograph by the Washington Post, modeled a science-forward vision of Judaism and showcased how religious belief and science are not incongruous.

“It’s the most important sermon I’ve ever given — by far,” said Herzfeld.

Read it all.

A growing number of faith leaders and religious groups are promoting the use of #vaccines or offering up their facilities to assist with the daunting task of distributing the drugs to hundreds of millions of Americans. https://t.co/cioHHemUPZ

— Religion News Service (@RNS) December 11, 2020

The Church of England, education charity Teach First and the Chartered College of Teaching are today launching the new Rural Teaching Partnership. The partnership will run in ten pilot regions across England and will see trainee teachers, trained by Teach First, start two-year placements with Church of England primary schools in September 2021.

By coming together, these three organisations hope to tackle teacher recruitment challenges currently faced by schools in poorer rural areas, with evidence showing that rural school leaders face greater difficulties with staff recruitment and retention compared to urban schools.

With more than half of its 4,644 schools situated in rural areas, the Church of England is the majority provider of rural schools nationally. Within ten pilot regions, schools serving areas of rural deprivation will be selected for placements either in Church of England schools, or non-Church of England schools which are part of a Church of England federation or multi academy trust.

All trainee teachers in the partnership will be enrolled on Teach First’s Training Programme, which has recruited, trained and placed over 15,000 trainee teachers in schools serving disadvantaged communities to date. They will receive ongoing support and training from Teach First throughout the two years and will also benefit from bespoke training for rural school settings, such as teaching multiple year groups.

Read it all.

This looks like a good initiative. https://t.co/jp63HwqqCN

— Gill Kimber (@WardenGill) December 11, 2020

Archbishop Foley Beach, Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council, who will provide primatial oversight to ANiE said: “Anglicans in Europe need a network that is faithful to the Bible, focused on reaching the lost, and distinctly Anglican. Over ten years ago, when Gafcon enabled Anglicans in North America to come together for the good of the Gospel, I was one of them.

“Now, I am honoured to serve as the Chairman of the Gafcon Primates Council and provide for others what was provided for me: a spiritual home within Anglicanism and a base for mission.

“Please join me in prayer and support for the Anglican Network in Europe as they seek to proclaim Christ faithfully to the nations.”

Read it all.

ANiE will be " a home for those congregations that find themselves unable to continue part of the formal structures of their national churches", says Bishop Andy Lines. https://t.co/06coXxsoXJ

— Christian Today (@ChristianToday) December 10, 2020

Federal employees who violate religious freedom protections can now be held liable for monetary damages they cause after the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the law allows people of faith to seek financial relief.

Money is “the only form of relief that can remedy some … violations,” wrote Justice Clarence Thomas in the court’s unanimous decision.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett did not take part in the case because oral arguments took place before her Senate confirmation.

Read it all.

Supreme Court rules that religious freedom law allows for monetary damages https://t.co/GvwpT3bXsy pic.twitter.com/ABRIsA6KLC

— Kelsey Dallas (@kelsey_dallas) December 10, 2020

O Lord God, heavenly Father, who through thy Son hast revealed to us that heaven and earth shall pass away: We beseech thee to keep us steadfast in thy Word and in true faith; graciously guard us from all sin and preserve us amid all temptations, so that our hearts may not be overcharged with the cares of this life, but at all times in watchfulness and prayer we may await the return of thy Son and joyfully cherish the expectation of our eternal salvation; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

2nd Sunday of Advent. pic.twitter.com/2eBhxqcaV5

— Hilde 🇳🇴 (@HilTurn) December 7, 2020

‘But I trust in thee, O Lord,
I say, “Thou art my God.”
My times are in thy hand’

–Psalm 31:14-15a

⁦@Eweather13⁩ ⁦@RachelFrank_CT⁩
Another colorful sunrise! pic.twitter.com/H5V3npTGj5

— Chris (@Clane78) December 10, 2020

A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine, in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to follow the recommendation issued Thursday by its expert advisers. The advisory group, in 17-4 vote with one abstention, concluded that the shot appears safe and effective against the coronavirus in people 16 and older.

A final FDA decision is expected within days. Millions of shots would then ship to begin vaccinating health care workers and nursing home residents. Widespread access to the general public is not expected until the spring.

Read it all.

#BREAKING: A U.S. government advisory panel has endorsed #Pfizer's coronavirus #vaccine, in a major step toward an epic vaccination campaign that could finally conquer the outbreak. https://t.co/18qG8JTt2e

— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) December 10, 2020

McGrath outlines Packer’s views on a number of issues. He was an enthusiastic champion of the Puritans, believing that they have much to teach us today. As McGrath puts it, Packer believed ‘the wisdom of the past can be re-appropriated by today’s Christians allowing it to enrich and challenge our own ideas and lives’. Although McGrath does not draw the parallel, there is much in common with Packer’s approach and the way of ‘ressourcement’ advocated by Catholic theologians who sought to learn from the early church and whose work was a major influence at Vatican II.

To the wider Christian community Packer was known as the author of ‘Knowing God’. This book really expressed the heart of Packer’s theology. Knowing God does not just mean knowing about him; to know God is to enter into a transforming relationship. His account of what it means to know God is cognitive, experiential and relational. There is an emotional element as in all close personal relationships and also deep change within us just as those we love change us.

As years went by, Packer gained a reputation as a conservative in the church. Many were surprised that he cooperated with two Anglo-Catholics, Eric Mascall and Bishop Graham Leonard, in opposing Anglican-Methodist reunion but Packer saw both Anglo-Catholics and Roman Catholics as allies in defending orthodoxy and the importance of doctrine in Christianity. He would have no truck with the WCC slogan ‘doctrine divides, ministry divides’. This led him to play an important role in the dialogue between evangelicals and Roman Catholics in the US.

It could be said that conservatism led Packer to a progressive attitude to ecumenical relations with Catholics. He showed the same progressive attitude in his readiness to engage with the charismatic movement although early life he opposed the holiness teaching of the Keswick Convention.

Read it all.

“But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God’s love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin to be sincere. His sincerity is based on confidence, not in his own illusions about himself, but in the endless, unfailing mercy of God.”

—No Man Is an Island (New York: Houghton Mifflin 2002 paper ed. of 1953 original), p.202

As Thomas Merton so greatly said, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”#BAHSSMM #Bahsp4lit #ArtKidThoughts #AmatureArtist pic.twitter.com/mhlpPSN8LB

— Gene (@Gene97083353) December 1, 2020

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

Thomas Merton on the Unity of All Things in the Love of Christ – https://t.co/XHwPoBeL6C

"God's love creates and sustains all things in being. The contemplative life is being or at least striving to be aware of this beautiful reality." pic.twitter.com/5PEOvyPYvk

— FreshImage354 (@FImage354) December 2, 2020

Gracious God, who didst call thy monk Thomas Merton to proclaim thy justice out of silence, and moved him in his contemplative writings to perceive and value Christ at work in the faiths of others: Keep us, like him, steadfast in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Tomorrow in the Church calendar we remember #ThomasMerton. I've just uploaded a service for him at https://t.co/3oMvO60Qiy pic.twitter.com/MgWjbmhsLm

— Paul Monk (@Revd_Paul_Monk) December 9, 2020

“If Christianity be not altogether thoroughgoing eschatology, there remains in it no relationship whatever with Christ.”

Karl Barth, Epistle to the Romans (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1933), p.314

Almighty God, source of justice beyond human knowledge: We offer thanks that thou didst inspire Karl Barth to resist tyranny and exalt thy saving grace, without which we cannot apprehend thy will. Teach us, like him, to live by faith, and even in chaotic and perilous times to perceive the light of thy eternal glory, Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, throughout all ages. Amen.

“The best and greatest thing I can bring to you as a pastor will always be Jesus Christ and a portion of the powers which have gone out from his person into history and life…What Jesus has to bring us are not ideas, but a way of life.”

—Karl Barth pic.twitter.com/HXEjTw0VCD

— Danté Stewart (Stew) (@stewartdantec) April 22, 2019

Almighty and everlasting God, who orderest all things in heaven and on earth: We give thee thanks and praise that thou didst make all ages a preparation for the coming of thy Son, our blessed Redeemer. Prepare us for the coming of him whom thou dost send, and grant that of his fullness we may all receive; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

–Prayers for the Christian Year (SCM, 1964)

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act.

–Psalm 37:3-5

With cases of COVID-19 climbing to record highs, South Carolina’s health care leaders and Gov. Henry McMaster pleaded with residents to continually wear masks and socially distance this holiday season to stem the deaths of loved ones, noting help is on the way but still months off.

While South Carolina is expected to receive enough doses in the coming days to vaccinate at least 200,000 people, that won’t be enough for even everyone eligible in the highest-priority group, which includes front-line medical workers and nursing home residents, McMaster said.

“It appears many people have let their guard down. I know we have fatigue, but now is not the time for us to let up. Now is the time to redouble our efforts,” he said, cautioning that widespread vaccination “will be a slow process all over the country.”

But he reiterated he will not shut the state down again, as he did for roughly six weeks in the spring with one of the nation’s shortest stay-at-home orders.

Other states where Democratic governors ordered longer shutdowns and recently clamped down again have ruined their economy and killed hundreds of thousands of businesses, the Republican governor said, adding those actions did not ultimately stem the spread there.

“There’s a better way, and we all know what that is,” he said, indicating the mask in his hand.

Read it all.

“It appears many people have let their guard down. I know we have fatigue, but now is not the time for us to let up,” @henrymcmaster said.https://t.co/MoPKuOnzSX

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) December 10, 2020

In March, the emergency room doctor was bedridden with the first case of the coronavirus among his colleagues at a hospital in Wales. Within weeks, he was back in scrubs, tending to a crush of ill, breathless patients.

On Tuesday, after having weathered each turn in Britain’s ravaging bout with the coronavirus, the doctor, Farbod Babolhavaeji, was given one of the world’s first shots of a clinically authorized, fully tested vaccine — a step in the long, painstaking campaign to knock back a disease that has killed more than 1.5 million people worldwide.

Images of the first people to be vaccinated were broadcast around the country, led by Margaret Keenan, 90, a former jewelry shop assistant in a “Merry Christmas” T-shirt, and an 81-year-old man with the improbable name of William Shakespeare. They quickly became emblems of the remarkable race to make a vaccine, and the world’s agonizing wait for relief from deaths now numbering 11,000 a day.

Never before has Britain undertaken such a fiendishly difficult mass vaccination program. Given pizza boxlike trays of 975 doses each, hospitals stored them in deep freezers, defrosted them and, on Tuesday, drew them up into individual syringes and jabbed them into the upper arms of variously jubilant and needle-shy Britons. Every minute mattered: Defrosted doses that were not given by Friday would be wasted.

Read it all.

For Britain’s first recipients of the coronavirus vaccine, the shots offered a glimpse of hope at life after the pandemic. Some health care workers who had spent months treating Covid patients cried upon getting the shot. https://t.co/brhKLoI8ae

— The New York Times (@nytimes) December 9, 2020

“The ’20s will be roaring, but with several months of hardship first,” according to the quarterly UCLA Anderson forecast. “These next few months will be dire, with rising COVID infections, continued social distancing, and the expiration of social assistance programs.”

The forecast, which assumes mass vaccination of Americans will take place by summer, predicts that annualized growth in the nation’s gross domestic product will accelerate from a weak 1.2% in the current quarter to 1.8% in the first quarter of next year, then to a booming 6% in next year’s second quarter and consistent 3% growth each quarter thereafter into 2023.

“With a vaccine and the release of pent-up demand, the next few years will be roaring as the economy accelerates and returns to previous growth trends,” wrote Leo Feler, a senior economist with the forecast. “We expect a surge in services consumption and continued strength in housing markets to propel the economy forward.”

Read it all.

Get ready for another roaring '20s, UCLA economic forecast predicts https://t.co/7bwkHGuMdA

— L.A. Times Health (@latimeshealth) December 9, 2020

The French army has been given the go-ahead to develop bionic soldiers resistant to pain and stress and endowed with extra brain power thanks to microchip implants.

The approval came from the ethical committee of the armed forces ministry, which said in a report that France needed to keep up with countries that were already working to produce super-soldiers.

The committee gave details of some lines of research, including pills to keep troops awake for long periods and surgery to improve hearing. Other areas in the “field of study” involve implants which release anti-stress substances or “improve cerebral capacity”.

Read it all (requires subscription).

Bourne ultimatum: France given green light for bionic soldiers- https://t.co/kmWY8YTLWY

— Tam Hussein (@tamhussein) December 9, 2020

In England, the original form of the evangelistic ministry of An­glicanism for Anglican parishes—the form it took in the sixteenth century when the Prayer Book was put together, and the form it was still taking in the seventeenth century—was catechetical. The vision was to promote the parishioner’s learning through an understanding of the substance of the children’s catechism (contained in the Prayer Book), and through taking part regularly in the worship of Morning and Evening Prayer and the Communion service. In all these, the themes of sin, grace, and responsive faith are embodied, embedded, and expressed; all of it would ideally have been properly explained by one’s clergyman. Thus parishioners would grow into a living faith in Christ.

That hasn’t always happened, however. And after the eighteenth century, people came to think of evangelistic ministry the way they still think of it today—as going out and reaching out and having special messages given at meetings or services specially designed to bring people to a firm, personal commitment to Jesus Christ. Already when George Whitefield and John Wesley were preaching by the end of the 1730s, they were making applications at the end of their services that we would call appeals, and the pattern of evangelism in the minds of evangelical people has been the same from that day to this.

That is bad because in our minds—both in the Anglican world and in other branches of the evangelical world—this image of evangelistic ministry has driven out the older thought of evangelism being con­ducted institutionally through a discipleship process that begins with catechism, that is, teaching young folk the faith.

Read it all.

Having just heard about the home going of J. I. Packer, I am filled with mixed emotions: joy for him, sadness for us. I first met him when I was about 15. I can’t calculate how much I owe to him, not only his teaching and writing but his godly example. #jipacker pic.twitter.com/lt9HG0FeVQ

— Michael Horton (@MichaelHorton_) July 18, 2020

O Eternal God, who has taught us in thy holy Word that love is the fulfilling of the law: Pour into our hearts that best of all thy gifts, that loving our neighbour as ourselves we may live as children of the day and of the light; for the glory of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Good Morning Mt. Denali. Today it will be Mostly Cloudy with a temp of 0 . It's currently Partly Cloudy with a temp of -5 . Sunrise is on December 9, 2020 at 10:29AM and sunset is on December 9, 2020 at 03:24PM . pic.twitter.com/rXx7wzm94K

— Midwest Weather (@MidwestWeather3) December 9, 2020

In the year that King Uzzi′ah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

–Isaiah 6:1-8

Holy Apostles exterior in Thessaloniki, Greecehttps://t.co/RC1lzKPl4v pic.twitter.com/b1tgmG14so

— Architecture Hub (@architecturehub) December 9, 2020