The laity are now more confident in expressing their faith, and there is “strong evidence” of a change in culture, according to a progress report on the implementation of recommendations made five years ago.

In a debate in the General Synod on Wednesday afternoon, members told stories of encouraging initiatives from around the country before voting overwhelmingly to take note of the report.

Introducing the progress report, the Bishop of Gloucester, the Rt Revd Rachel Treweek, said that the implementation of the Setting God’s People Free initiative, commissioned by the Archbishops’ Council and presented to the Synod in February 2017 (News, 27 January 2017), had helped the whole Church to focus on its identity. Every baptised Christian was a unique follower of Christ, irrespective of their background, ability, or age, she said: “It is about who we are.” Nor was it simply about greater social action. “That’s really important, but only part of it.”

After a short film telling stories of what faith meant to a handful of Christians in different contexts around the country, Dr Nick Shepherd, the project director spoke. The aim of Setting God’s People Free was better enabling the whole people of God to live out their faith, he said; and this was becoming “a firmer reality”.

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“I want to encourage members of Synod: this works. It doesn’t cost anything. Anyone can use it. And it is as encouraging to the encouragers as for those coming for the process. The important dynamic of being called and sent is central to the model.” https://t.co/HRguMLLpsc

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 10, 2022

John the Baptist was not being unreasonable when he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Luke 7:20) And when the disciples on the road to Emmaus said to their traveling companion, the recently crucified Jesus, “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel” (24:21)—Jesus revealed to them that their hopes has been met in ways they couldn’t have imagined until that very moment.

The question is not whether we will deconstruct, but what we will deconstruct.

Will it be the wood, hay, and stubble that is destined to burn up and burn out? Or will it be our own souls? Sometimes the people we think are “deconstructing” are just grieving and asking God where he is at a moment like this. That has happened before.

By contrast, sometimes the people who appear most confident and certain—who are scanning the boundaries for heretics—are those who have given up belief in the new birth, in the renewal of the mind, and in the judgment seat of Christ. For them, all that’s left is an orthodoxy grounded not in a living Christ, but in a curated brand.

And that may be the saddest deconstruction of all.

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"If our moral ideals are strong but we reassure ourselves with a false version of reality, we will end up seeing through our own delusions—and others certainly will." –@drmoore https://t.co/gCdgiAAF3m

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) February 11, 2022

The General Synod has given unanimous backing to a call for the Government to ensure the protection of child survivors of trafficking after hearing of fears that the Nationality and Borders Bill could leave more children unprotected and at risk.

Members voted 331 in favour, with no votes against and no abstentions, both to acknowledge the ‘leading role’ that the Government has played internationally in challenging slavery – while calling on the Government to ensure the proper protection of minors who are trafficked and enslaved.

The Synod also voted to encourage all dioceses, deaneries and parishes in the Church of England to raise awareness of modern slavery. Members further called on people to pray for the victims and survivors of slavery and trafficking and all those organisations who work to help and support them.

General Synod member Alistair Bianchi, introducing the debate at the Synod, said progress that had been made in tackling modern slavery and protecting children who have been trafficked risked being endangered as a result of measures in the Nationality and Borders Bill.

There are ‘considerable concerns’ that the lack of attention paid specifically to protecting children in the Bill – currently before Parliament – could have a negative impact both on child survivors of trafficking and children subject to the immigration system who are at risk of exploitation, he told the Synod

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Nationality and Borders Bill risks endangering progress made on protection of child survivors of trafficking and modern slavery, Synod hears https://t.co/smCyfLna9Z

— General Synod (@synod) February 9, 2022

Despite rising consumption and dwindling inventories, producers have been slow to restore output to pre-pandemic levels. Spending on exploration and production has remained near its lowest level since the start of the shale drilling boom. The number of rigs drilling in North America also reflects the pullback.

Fuel consumption is likely to rise into the summer driving season, and as air traffic picks up. Demand is also rising internationally as more economies reopen after Covid-19 restrictions. The International Energy Agency has said it expects global demand for oil in 2022 to exceed pre-Covid-19 levels.

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Gasoline prices are up sharply and the cost of a barrel of crude could reach $100 this year. A look at the market forces driving those prices higher. https://t.co/SmLLqEqgOh

— WSJ Markets (@WSJmarkets) February 10, 2022

It was just before Christmas, and Jean H. Toal, then the chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court, was in a bind. She needed an emergency order drawn up, but the courthouse in Columbia, the state capital, was empty. She was relieved to reach someone who assured her, “Chief, I got it.”

It was J. Michelle Childs, then a state circuit court judge who had made a name for herself as one of the most adept on the bench.

“Within an hour she came back to me, and she had a complete order with footnotes and everything,” Judge Toal, now retired, recalled of the day more than a dozen years ago. “Days later, she delivered her child. So, she was über-pregnant and it was right at Christmas time, but she had her work ethic on full steam, as she always did.”

The memory sums up the reputation of Judge Childs, now a Federal District Court judge in South Carolina, who rose through the ranks of state schools, local government and the South Carolina legal system to the short list of potential Supreme Court nominees for President Biden, who has pledged to nominate a Black woman to replace Justice Stephen G. Breyer.

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A Court Candidate With No Ivy On Her Resume

▫Long-shot contender whose background may prove helpful
▫@EricaLG @EricaLG▫https://t.co/e0jOis1zRR @nytimes #frontpagestoday #USA pic.twitter.com/V9aVZIx8O3

— (@ukpapers) February 10, 2022

Lord Boateng, Chair of the Archbishops’ Commission on Racial Justice, told General Synod members that it was ‘chilling’, ‘wounding’ and a ‘scandal’ that there had been no action on a ‘long list’ of recommendations over the years to tackle racial injustice.

There is ‘no shortage of policy’ or good intentions in the Church of England, he said, but there is a ‘shortage of delivery’. Racism is a ‘gaping wound in the body of Christ,’ he said.

Paying tribute to the work of the Church of England’s Anti-Racism Taskforce, he said its report From Lament to Action, published last year, revealed a ‘chilling’ failure by the Church to implement recommendations made over the years on racial justice.

“The most chilling thing about this report, the most concerning thing about this report, are the appendices, the long lists of previous recommendations which have not been implemented, promises made that have not been fulfilled. It is chilling, it is wounding, it is a scandal, and it has to be addressed,” he said.

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“It is chilling, it is wounding, it is a scandal and it has to be addressed.”
– Lord Boateng

The Church of England must adopt a ‘strong strategy’ to tackle racial inequality, @synod told.

Find out more on our website.https://t.co/2FG6AetI7z

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) February 8, 2022

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.

Heavy skies – Isle of Bute, late last year.
Using @LumixUK G9 & Samyang 7.5mm.

I want to go back there! #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/dDqOoRjmZI

— Sean Rhodes (@Sean_A_Rhodes) February 10, 2022

Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection; outdo one another in showing honor. Never flag in zeal, be aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in your hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints, practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

–Romans 12:9-21

Narrow Lanes. 4°C on a chilly , sunny morning. Hares on the bank. pic.twitter.com/ww4GUVeq90

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) February 10, 2022