Among the 35 or so people who showed up for a meeting that November day in 2019 were about 15 Amish farmers, many of them angry over $100,000 they said they were owed.

Aaron Schwartz, an elder member of the rural Western Pennsylvania settlement where those Amish lived, hosted that meeting at his simple frame home, even though he was owed much less than other farmers.

“Maybe somebody could salvage this thing,” the 62-year-old Mr. Schwartz remembered thinking.

It wouldn’t be easy. Those owed money were resolute about dealing with Penn’s Corner. “All of us farmers said, ‘No more produce,’ ” Mr. Schwartz said. “It could’ve gotten a little messy.”

Meanwhile, his wife, Prisciolla, was busy serving the crowd — chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade maple ice cream with raspberry preserve topping. Mr. Schwartz opened the meeting by reciting from memory a child’s poem from the 19th century.

Tension in the room eased.

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Farmers' anger melts thanks to co-op that's bridging Amish, modern worlds in Clarion County https://t.co/hAUoXzDZEt

— Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (@PittsburghPG) February 8, 2021

Simon Linton is a Paramedic Team Leader for South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust. Despite having Covid-19 and battling increasing work pressures, Simon’s faith has actually been strengthened.

He said: “Prayer is such an effective and powerful blessing which I am so blessed to have. I find prayer to really focus my mind during such difficult times which gives me hope that my future is safe in God’s hands.

“This has given me such an increased level of peace. I would say that Covid has deepened my faith as it has challenged me to read His Word more and I have had a greater understanding about his promises for me.”

Unwell for three weeks in March-April last year, Simon has seen increasing numbers of patients needing help.

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The #paramedic who finds ‘hope’ in prayer on the #Covid19 frontline https://t.co/LzJ1Y00aDO #prayer #religion #pandemic #compassion

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) February 9, 2021

Church of England Bishops have joined an NHS-backed campaign calling on congregations, communities and individuals to play their part in encouraging everyone who is offered a Covid-19 vaccine to take up the opportunity, and to have access to accurate information.

With concerns over misinformation and significant numbers indicating mistrust, including in some UK BAME communities, the bishops were speaking as part of a united churches campaign called Give Hope, which launched on Sunday.

The Archbishop of York, together with the Bishops of Dover, Durham and Truro added their voices to a video which was launched on Sunday, together with members of other churches and groups.

It is hoped that faith communities will use their networks to share trustworthy information about vaccines, helping to bust myths and reassure those who have been offered a vaccine of the true levels of associated risk.

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Bishops have joined an @NHSuk-backed campaign launched over the weekend calling on congregations, communities and individuals to play their part in encouraging everyone who is offered a Covid-19 vaccine to take up the opportunity.https://t.co/XRcOeJ4S0O

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) February 8, 2021

#OTD in 1709 @EpworthOld rectory, where 5 yr old John Wesley lived, caught fire. The family managed to escape, but John was trapped inside. A human ladder was formed to rescue him. All the family survived and Wesley truly was ‘a brand plucked from the burning’@MethodistHerit pic.twitter.com/u8qMGVmuuM

— Museum of Methodism (@museummethodism) February 9, 2021

Nearly every product in American homes, from lightbulbs to couches, windows and Wi-Fi routers, conforms to standards and measurements of a global system established to ensure quality and seamless operation.

Industrial standards, created by the U.S. and its allies over decades, form an invisible matrix of rules that underpin the global marketplace. Mundane though it may sound, this uniformity is critical to international trade in how it guarantees that bolts, USB plugs and shipping containers can all be used interchangeably world-wide. The standards reflect the consensus of international panels long dominated by Western technical experts.

China now wants to take the lead in fields of the future. To the consternation of many Western countries, Beijing is employing state funding and political influence to try to define the norms for all manner of cutting-edge technologies that span telecommunications, electricity transmission and artificial intelligence.

“Dominance of technical standards underpinning information and communications technologies and other emerging fields is integral to Beijing’s ambitions,” said Congress’s U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in its annual report in December.

China’s efforts are driven by the desire to outdo the West, as well as amass profits.

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Western nations have long steered the global standards for nearly every modern product. China now wants to grab the wheel. https://t.co/WaFFU21z6h

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) February 7, 2021

WATCH: After sharing her story in a powerful Super Bowl ad, Jessica Long speaks with @LesterHoltNBC about her journey to becoming the second-most decorated Paralympian in U.S. history. https://t.co/Kng2IfvoJ1

— NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt (@NBCNightlyNews) February 9, 2021

Do take the time to watch it.

Deliver us, O God, from injustice, envy, hatred and malice; give us grace to pardon all who have offended us, and to bear with one another even as thou, Lord, dost bear with us, in thy patience and great loving-kindness.

A stunning sunrise early at Whisby, Lincoln #sunrise #snow #Snowuk #snowmageddon #beastfromtheeast2 #iphonephotography pic.twitter.com/dZHdAUTxjk

— Andrew Scott Photography (@scotty_photos) February 9, 2021

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life which is in Christ Jesus,

To Timothy, my beloved child:

Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I thank God whom I serve with a clear conscience, as did my fathers, when I remember you constantly in my prayers. As I remember your tears, I long night and day to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lo′is and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you. Hence I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control.

Do not be ashamed then of testifying to our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel in the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not in virtue of our works but in virtue of his own purpose and the grace which he gave us in Christ Jesus ages ago, and now has manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. For this gospel I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, and therefore I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am sure that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus; guard the truth that has been entrusted to you by the Holy Spirit who dwells within us.

–2 Timothy 1:1-14

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— Alfredo Mangano (@alfredalgralu1) February 9, 2021