An international consultation has begun to ask whether Anglicans from around the world should have a greater say in the choice of the next Archbishop of Canterbury.

The consultation, set up by the Archbishops’ Council on Friday, takes up a diocesan synod motion from Canterbury diocese asking it to consider reducing the diocese’s representation on the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC). The Archbishops’ Council proposes reducing the diocese’s quota from six voting CNC members to three.

At the same time, it has put forward the more radical suggestion of increasing the voting members from the Anglican Communion from one to five.

The new-look CNC would thus comprise: a chair appointed by the Prime Minister; two bishops, including the Archbishop of York if he or she is not a candidate; six central members elected by the General Synod (three clergy and three lay); three representatives from the Canterbury diocese; and five representatives from the Anglican Communion. The total number of voting members will increase from 16 to 17. In addition, there are the two non-voting appointments secretaries (the Archbishops’ and the Prime Minister’s); also the secretary-general of the Anglican Communion is a non-voting member.

The CNC’s task is to choose two candidates in order of preference. Voting is by secret ballot and successful candidates must gain at least two-thirds of the votes.

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A concession to Anglicanism's majority, which don't live under the English state church.

Communion is asked: Do you want to help choose the next Archbishop of Canterbury?https://t.co/PZxgJzocnL#anglican #episcopal #church #religion

— Dennis Lennox (@dennislennox) January 17, 2022

Husch Blackwell LLP has been elected to serve as the firm contracted to investigate the allegations of sexual misconduct and mishandling in the Diocese of the Upper Midwest. Husch Blackwell is a national firm and the team engaged for this investigation is based out of their Chicago, Illinois office.

In late June 2021, the Anglican Church in North America was notified that there had been an erosion of trust in the Diocese of the Upper Midwest due to allegations that the Diocese mishandled accusations of sexual misconduct. On July 10, Archbishop Foley Beach announced the Province’s acceptance of a request from the Diocese to take on oversight of the investigation and called for the formation of a Provincial Response Team. The Province is a separate legal entity from the Diocese of the Upper Midwest.

The Provincial Response Team (PRT) of experienced men and women, laity and clergy, began building a process to contract a third-party investigative firm that is trauma-informed, properly experienced, and capable of competently investigating this matter.

The PRT developed a set of criteria, with input from some of the alleged survivors, to vet potential firms. The PRT then began the process of engaging potential investigators based upon those criteria, contacting eleven firms. Out of those contacted, the PRT determined two firms sufficiently met the selection criteria. All alleged survivors known to us were sent the names of these two firms and a summary description of each and were asked to vote or to indicate no preference. These votes, along with the vote of each member of the PRT, resulted in the selection and subsequent engagement of Husch Blackwell. The Province is grateful for the time and energy the other firms gave to us as the PRT considered them.

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The Province has hired a firm to investigate allegations of misconduct in the Upper Midwest. Please join us in praying that this investigation helps bring resolution out of this deeply tragic situation. Learn more about the process and firm at https://t.co/2eqZRlNGkb

— ACNA (@The_ACNA) January 14, 2022

At a time when pastors feel particularly under pressure, here’s some good news from the pews: Evangelical churchgoers are pretty happy with how things are going at their churches.

Most don’t think the sermons are too long; if anything, they’d like to see more in-depth teaching from leaders. They aren’t bothered by too many messages about giving. They don’t think social issues and politics play an outsized role in the teaching.

That’s according to a new survey of evangelical churchgoers in the US, the Congregational Scorecard conducted by Grey Matter Research and Consulting and Infinity Concepts.

Around three-quarters are satisfied with their congregation approach to various areas of church life and wouldn’t want it to change, the survey found.

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Evangelicals are largely happy with their church and its teaching—if anything, they want to see pastors go more in-depth.

New Grey Matter survey: https://t.co/AhIzO2wpba

— kate shellnutt (@kateshellnutt) January 18, 2022

Americans are less inclined now than in recent years to see marriage as critical for couples who have children together or for couples who plan to spend the rest of their lives together. Most U.S. adults have been married at some point in their lives, but those figures are declining. Still, the vast majority of adults who have never been married remain interested in getting married someday.

Fewer U.S. adults now than in past years believe it is “very important” for couples who have children together to be married. Currently, 29% say it is very important that such a couple legally marry, down from 38% who held this view in 2013 and 49% in 2006.

Another 31% of U.S. adults currently say it is “somewhat important” for couples with children to be married, bringing the total to 60% who consider it important to some degree. Meanwhile, four in 10 say it is not too (18%) or not at all (22%) important.

In 2006, Americans were more than twice as likely to say it is very important (49%) for couples with children to wed as to say it is not important (23%).

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This is a pretty profound change in a short period of time.
Pct who say it's very important for parents to be legally married:
2006: 49%
2013: 38%
2020: 29%

Is Marriage Becoming Irrelevant? https://t.co/vjKhmdmMFR

— Rich Clark (@VTpollster) December 28, 2020

When Russia invades, Germany and other European countries might at one point run out of gas. That would depend on how energy enters into this conflict. Germany has left itself in this position because successive governments failed to develop a coherent energy policy. Three nuclear plants went offline at the beginning of 2022, as will the last three at the end of this year. With the Greens in government, I see no chance of a policy reversal. The new coalition has ambitious plans for investment in renewables, but the maths does not add up. The energy transition requires unprecedented investment in modern gas-fired power stations as an interim solution. That means Russian gas for the most part. The Greens might kick up a fuss over Nord Stream 2, but I don’t think they will have the gumption to leave the government over a pipeline, and sacrifice their investment programme for renewable energy sources. The deal is done.

When Russia invades, it will be a matter of smoke and mirrors. Russia has no interest in occupying all of Ukraine. It will never invade a Nato country, and try to occupy it. My fear is that Putin may at one point choose to close the Suwalki gap, the stretch of land along the Polish-Lithuanian border that separates the Russian province of Kalingrad from Belarus. That would give Russia direct land access to the southern Baltic Sea, and drive a wedge through the EU. The Baltic States would at this point be geographically isolated from the EU, surrounded by Russia from all sides. This is the scenario depicted in our hypothetical map above. It might also seek to extend its military control of the Black Sea, cutting through the Ukrainian lands that separate it from Transnistria, a Russian-speaking breakaway province in eastern Moldova.

When Russia invades, Germany will appease. Germany will push for minimal sanctions, and only those that don’t damage German exports. They will veto any proposal to cut Russia off from the Swift payment system, if such a proposal were ever made. Nord Stream 2 is safe because neither the EU nor the Biden administration want to upset the Germans. A Republican majority after the mid-term election this November might change the Americans’ policy, but by then the gas will have started to flow.

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When Russia invades, Europe will appease. (Wolfgang Munchau @EuroBriefing on Reaction via Euro Intelligence) https://t.co/C7kpulry5E

— Iain Martin (@iainmartin1) January 17, 2022

Almighty Father, who didst inspire Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the Living God: Keep thy Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Today the Episcopal Church celebrates the Confession of Saint Peter the Apostle https://t.co/PVnOnRvacV

Image: Stained glass in St Mary & St Lambert Church, Stonham Aspal, Suffolk. Photo by Kevin Wailes, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia pic.twitter.com/LANVokqj1v

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) January 18, 2022

Almighty God,
in Christ you make all things new:
transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace,
and in the renewal of our lives
make known your heavenly glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Fantastic in every way, especially if you love gold skies: Adoration of the Magi by Lorenzo Monaco, 1422. Today is his day. pic.twitter.com/w6aRUKqEk8

— Dr. Peter Paul Rubens (@PP_Rubens) November 21, 2021

And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every bird of the air, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea; into your hand they are delivered. Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it and of man; of every man’s brother I will require the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for God made man in his own image. And you, be fruitful and multiply, bring forth abundantly on the earth and multiply in it.”

–Genesis 9:1-7

A frosty early walk for me this morning. Lovely to see the sun shining on the church and blue..ish sky again😊💙. Pleased to be able to say I have managed to do a walk every day of 2022 😁🚶 #Januaryshakeup #100daysofwalking #tuesdayvibe #tuesdaymotivations pic.twitter.com/uE1RJIfX5E

— 🌱🌼Jane Elizabeth (@Bramblings22) January 18, 2022