Merciful Lord,
you know our struggle to serve you:
when sin spoils our lives
and overshadows our hearts,
through the ministry of your Spirit come to our aid
and turn us back to you again;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen (slightly edited; KSH).

A Misty Start. 8°C with just a glimmer of the sun. Rooks pic.twitter.com/BnFKvmL52w

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) March 27, 2022

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

–John 6:35-40

Good morning all, i hope you are well and have a lovely sunday whatever you do and that the sun will shine on you #sundayvibes #SundayMorning #sunrise #yorkshire pic.twitter.com/taStQQ23Al

— David Oxtaby (@Disc_light) March 27, 2022

With another pandemic surge possibly on the way, vaccination for the coronavirus in the United States has all but ground to a halt, with initial doses and boosters plummeting to the lowest levels since the program began in late December 2020.

On Wednesday, the seven-day average of vaccinations fell to fewer than 182,000 per day, according to data compiled by The Washington Post. That is lower than at any time since the first days of the program.

The daily total has been in free fall for the past six weeks. On Feb. 10, the nation was averaging more than 692,000 shots a day. Booster shots have been more common than first or second doses since October, and the low rates have long caused concern among some experts.

Now, with authorities bracing for a possible increase in covid-19 cases caused by the BA.2 subvariant, 65.4 percent of Americans are fully vaccinated and just 44 percent have received a booster shot. That is substantially less than the totals in many Western European nations — which nevertheless have seen a sharp rise in cases in recent weeks and months.

Read it all.

With another wave possibly coming, covid vaccination in the US has all but ground to a halt, plummeting to the lowest level since shots became available in December 2020. ⁦@britsham⁩ ⁦@dtkeating⁩ ⁦@rizzoTK⁩ ⁦@LennyMBernstein⁩ https://t.co/Nfu91JEckb

— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) March 26, 2022

Loving God, who hast made us all thy children by adoption in Jesus Christ: May we, following the example of thy servant Richard Allen, proclaim liberty to all who are enslaved and captive in this world; through Jesus Christ, Savior of all, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

The Episcopal Church also commemorates Richard Allen, First Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, 1831 https://t.co/tzlzQwTAO7

Image: Engraving, c.1831, of Bp. Richard Allen, 14 Feb 1760 – 26 Mar 1831, in the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution (CC0) pic.twitter.com/Py06TTsNju

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 26, 2022

Defend us, O Lord, with your heavenly grace, that we may continue yours for ever and daily increase in your Holy Spirit more and more, until we come to your everlasting kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Rills and runnels; the Vinalopo River makes use of both as it makes it way, inexorably, southwards. #ThePhotoHour #naturaleza #nikond750 #Alicante pic.twitter.com/XrjHOq5tvf

— Kevin Rendall (@KevinRendall) March 26, 2022

On the holy mount stands the city he founded; the LORD loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling places of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.

–Psalm 87:1-3

Lovely misty sunrise at Poolbeg this morning. Have a great Saturday folks #dublin #sunrise @ThePhotoHour @the_full_irish_ @irishdaily_ @Indo_Travel_ @StormHour @deric_tv @GoToIrelandCA pic.twitter.com/F3lIZTd9UF

— Kevinnolanphoto (@Kevinnolanphot1) March 26, 2022

The effect of the pandemic on cathedrals in England has been revealed as annual figures showed a 64 per cent drop for in-person worshippers in 2020, when the country spent months in lockdown and cathedrals and churches were closed.

Most cathedrals adapted quickly to move services online, and, although emergency government funding helped cathedrals to survive their catastrophic loss in income, it is still today a “challenging environment” for most, the Dean of Leicester, the Very Revd David Monteith, warned, particularly as cathedrals now face huge rises in energy bills.

He urged people to continue to support cathedrals. “Cathedrals across the country are working hard to welcome back more visitors and worshippers, and the picture has improved in the time since this data was gathered,” he said. “But it remains a challenging environment, not least because of current utility cost increases.

Read it all.

Annual figures reveal effect of lockdown on cathedrals https://t.co/y4v5ZukF4B

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 25, 2022

The story of religious change in America, especially religious disaffiliation, is often cast as the result of independent decisions made by a rising generation living by a different set of values. But new evidence paints a much more complicated picture than the traditional narrative of generationally driven disaffiliation. Young adults today have had entirely different religious and social experiences than previous generations did. The parents of millennials and Generation Z did less to encourage regular participation in formal worship services and model religious behaviors in their children than had previous generations. Many childhood religious activities that were once common, such as saying grace, have become more of the exception than the norm.

We have long known the importance of formative religious experiences in setting the trajectory of faith commitments throughout life. For as long as we have been able to measure religious commitments, childhood religious experiences have strongly predicted adult religiosity. They still do. If someone had robust religious experiences growing up, they are likely to maintain those beliefs and practices into adulthood. Without robust religious experiences to draw on, Americans feel less connected to the traditions and beliefs of their parents’ faith.

There is little evidence to suggest that Americans who have disaffiliated will ever return. First, the age at which Americans choose to give up their families’ religion—most well before they turn 18—suggests that they have not established a deeply rooted commitment to a set of religious beliefs and practices. Disaffiliated Americans express significant skepticism about the societal benefits of religion, even more than those who have never identified with a religious tradition. They also strongly disagree with the majority of religious Americans, who believe in the importance of raising children in a religious faith. Moreover, having children does not appear to affect religious involvement. Unaffiliated parents are not any more likely to be religiously active than those without children, and most are unconvinced that religion serves as an important source of moral instruction.

Read it all.

New research from @dcoxpolls: Formative religious experiences that were once common have become more of the exception than the norm among GenZers. https://t.co/A8Ieh7GDqX

— AEI (@AEI) March 25, 2022

The House was then given an update on the financial situation in dioceses. The discussion included an assessment of the current and future inflationary environment and discussed possible mitigation opportunities for those affected.

The House then then turned its attention to Bishops and their ministries. Phase One of the most recent consultation was discussed with a summary of the context and key themes that emerged from the conclusion of this phase of the consultation. This was followed by a presentation by the Chair of the Diocese Commissions on the proposed Phase Two of the consultation. The House also reviewed proposals to join up the work of the Diocese Commission and the Transforming Effectiveness work stream to facilitate diocesan collaboration and develop more shared services.

The House then had a substantive discussion on proposed changes to the membership of the Crown Nominations Commission for the See of Canterbury. A full range of views were expressed on potential changes and will be submitted to the Consultation as a formal response from the House of Bishops.

The House was then given an update on the reform of the Clergy Discipline Measure with the House invited to take note and make comments and suggestions in preparation of the final report that will come to the House in May.

Read it all.

Lord, graciously hear us.

Today's prayer is available in plain text and audio formats at https://t.co/Rn4jDVCRSG. pic.twitter.com/ZXVha0PZfe

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) March 25, 2022

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. (Philippians 1:6)

Retirement is a serious business in the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), in a country in which there are minimal or non-existent pensions and inadequate healthcare for senior citizens. It is a particular challenge for clergy, who must often fend for themselves. Mandatory retirement age is 70, and to be sure that everyone was fully aware, and birth certificates have not been lost, each bishop’s retirement date is published every year. Shortly before my 70th birthday, Angela and I were called forward at a meeting of the Provincial Synod and we were each given a one-time cash payment of $1000 as our pension. I tried to object, knowing that for many of the poorer bishops this was a substantial amount of money. I was sure they could make better use of it than I could, but I was told, quite firmly, that was not an option. We expressed our heartfelt thanks and thought again about the importance of preparation for retirement.

The first and perhaps most important question is, “What are we retiring to?” Not “What are we retiring from?” Bishop Dave Bena, a dear friend and mentor, has retired a number of times. He retired from military service (he served with distinction as a Marine and then in the US Air Force), and he retired as the suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany, as my suffragan bishop in CANA, and most recently as the assistant bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Living Word. He is something of an expert on retirement! But he spells it “retire-ment,” declaring that it is an opportunity to change tires and start a new journey.

One of the great blessings of ordained ministry is that while our particular place of service may change, our call to Gospel ministry remains unchanged – it is a lifelong call.

Read it all (quoted by yours truly at the conclusion to my Lenten teaching on a Christian theology of vocation, KSH).

We so appreciated our recent visit with the Interim Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, his wife Angela, and daughter Rachel. Watch for Friday's post of his sermon for tomorrow's Eucharist as well. pic.twitter.com/W8jsl72Qpg

— Trinity School for Ministry (@TS4Ministry) March 30, 2021

Today is the feast of the Annunciation, or ‘Lady Day in Lent’, as it was known in the Middle Ages. As I explored last year, the medieval church considered 25 March to be the single most important date in history: it was both the beginning and the end of Christ’s life on earth, the date of his conception at the Annunciation and his death on Good Friday. To underline the harmony and purpose which, in the eyes of medieval Christians, shaped the divinely-written narrative of the history of the world, 25 March was also said to be the date of other significant events: the eighth day of Creation, the crossing of the Red Sea, the sacrifice of Isaac, and other days linked with or prefiguring the story of the world’s fall and redemption. The date occurs at a conjunction of solar, lunar, and natural cycles: all these events were understood to have happened in the spring, when life returns to the earth, and at the vernal equinox, once the days begin to grow longer than the nights and light triumphs over the power of darkness. The resonances of 25 March reached even unto Middle Earth, as Tolkien aligned the downfall of the Ring to this most auspicious of dates.

‘Lady Day in Lent’ is the springtime feast of the Virgin Mary, one of several ‘lady days’ which marked the seasons of the medieval year. There is a vast amount of medieval poetry and art on the theme of the Annunciation, more than you could read or look at in a lifetime, and much of it is exquisite: I’ve posted some of my own favourites under this tag. Over and over again, through many centuries, thousands of poets and artists have tried to imagine this scene, where heaven and earth meet and the fate of the universe hangs upon a young woman’s word.

For today, here’s a lovely little poem about the Annunciation by William Herebert, friar and poet, writing in the early 14th century.

Read it all.

Today is the feast of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, 'Lady Day in Lent'. For the medieval church, March 25 was the single most important date in history: the day which saw both the beginning and the culmination of Christ's life on earth. https://t.co/7lQCefIOvR pic.twitter.com/NS57MoubD1

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) March 25, 2022

We beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts; that we who have known the incarnation of thy Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

On this feast of the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel appears to Mary on Hubert Adderley's reredos of 1926 at Brigstock, Northamptonshire. The crucifix on the altar in front of it seems a precursor of a kind. pic.twitter.com/YW53rcuiKU

— Simon Knott (@last_of_england) March 25, 2022

O Thou who hast prepared a place for my soul, prepare my soul for that place. Prepare it with holiness; prepare it with desire; and even while it sojourneth upon earth, let it dwell in heaven with thee, beholding the beauty of thy countenance and the glory of thy saints, now and for evermore.

A beautiful sunrise at Corfe Castle last Friday morning. For once I'd managed to time a visit to Dorset with good conditions!

Nikon Z6 & 24-200Z@kasefiltersuk 0.6nd Hard Grad & Exposure Blend@StormHour#Dorset pic.twitter.com/qMVtBBOXID

— Stu Meech (@stumeech) March 23, 2022

For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward; but if not of my own will, I am entrusted with a commission. What then is my reward? Just this: that in my preaching I may make the gospel free of charge, not making full use of my right in the gospel.

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews; to those under the law I became as one under the law—though not being myself under the law—that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law—not being without law toward God but under the law of Christ—that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

–1 Corinthians 9:16-27

Good morning & Happy Friday ☀️
One from earlier this week, as didn’t manage to go out for sunrise today. It did look amazing 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Xla6R3gG0g

— Veronica in the Fens 🧚🏼‍♀️ (@VeronicaJoPo) March 25, 2022

St Mary Magdalene, Wandsworth Common, played host to the premiere of ‘A Prayer for Ukraine’ this week, with funds raised going to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Ukraine appeal.

He explained: “How can a composer respond to a global tragedy?

“I suppose by writing music: like everybody I have been shocked and dismayed by the events of recent days.

“The first thing I wanted to do was write music that would respond in my own way.

Read it all and do take the time to listen to it as well.

Given the continuing controversy over these matters, and also over the handling of the allegation against the long-dead George Bell (on which Carey also has much to say), most readers will be tempted to skim through the early chapters, which deal mostly with Carey’s involvement post-retirement with the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, and the World Faiths Development Dialogue.

That is a pity, because Carey was deeply involved in these matters, and casts an interesting light on the tensions that bedevil those who want to assert the continuing importance of faith in international relations and economic development. Given his own background as the first truly working-class archbishop in many centuries, and not a product of public school and Oxbridge, his participation in these circles is testimony to an extraordinary career — something perhaps not always appreciated by his critics. He gives little sense here of any lack of confidence.

Read it all.

The Truth Will Set You Free by George Carey https://t.co/uKbY0hN2C8

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 20, 2022

Borys Zabarko was six years old when the Nazis invaded what is now Ukraine in 1941 and his hometown, Sharhorod, became a Jewish ghetto. Women, children and old men slept in packed rooms with no bathrooms or water, he said. As typhus epidemics raged, the ground was too cold to dig graves, and bodies were thrown on top of each other. Mr. Zabarko’s father and uncle, who fought with the Soviet army, died in combat.

After the liberation, Mr. Zabarko said he became convinced that nothing like that would ever happen again.

Now 86, he spent a recent night in the freezing train station in Lviv, in the west of Ukraine, standing on a crowded platform, as he tried to get on a train to escape another war.

“It’s a frightening repeat,” he said by phone from Nuremberg, Germany, where he fled with his 17-year-old granddaughter, Ilona, before eventually settling in Stuttgart. “Again, we have this murderous war.”

Read it all.

For some older Ukrainians, Russia’s invasion has revived painful memories of World War II, in which more than five million people were killed in Ukraine, even if the toll and scale of the current conflict are incomparable.https://t.co/EFteorWoQs

— The New York Times (@nytimes) March 24, 2022

And so his question to all those who have the freedom to speak in the Church and for the Church is ‘who do you really speak for?’ But if we take seriously the underlying theme of his words and witness, that question is also, ‘who do you really feel with?’ Are you immersed in the real life of the Body, or is your life in Christ seen only as having the same sentiments as the powerful? Sentir con la Iglesia in the sense in which the mature Romero learned those words is what will teach you how to speak on behalf of the Body. And we must make no mistake about what this can entail: Romero knew that this kind of ‘feeling with the Church’ could only mean taking risks with and for the Body of Christ – so that, as he later put it, in words that are still shocking and sobering, it would be ‘sad’ if priests in such a context were not being killed alongside their flock. As of course they were in El Salvador, again and again in those nightmare years.

But he never suggests that speaking on behalf of the Body is the responsibility of a spiritual elite. He never dramatised the role of the priest so as to play down the responsibility of the people. If every priest and bishop were silenced, he said, ‘each of you will have to be God’s microphone. Each of you will have to be a messenger, a prophet. The Church will always exist as long as even one baptized person is alive.’ Each part of the Body, because it shares the sufferings of the whole – and the hope and radiance of the whole – has authority to speak out of that common life in the crucified and risen Jesus.

So Romero’s question and challenge is addressed to all of us, not only those who have the privilege of some sort of public megaphone for their voices. The Church is maintained in truth; and the whole Church has to be a community where truth is told about the abuses of power and the cries of the vulnerable. Once again, if we are serious about sentir con la Iglesia, we ask not only who we are speaking for but whose voice still needs to be heard, in the Church and in society at large. The questions here are as grave as they were thirty years ago. In Salvador itself, the methods of repression familiar in Romero’s day were still common until very recently. We can at least celebrate the fact that the present head of state there has not only apologized for government collusion in Romero’s murder but has also spoken boldly on behalf of those whose environment and livelihood are threatened by the rapacity of the mining companies, who are set on a new round of exploitation in Salvador and whose critics have been abducted and butchered just as so many were three decades back. The skies are not clear: our own Anglican bishop in Salvador was attacked ten days ago by unknown enemies; but the signs of hope are there, and the will to defend the poor and heal the wounds.

Read it all.

“I’ve been threatened with death many times, but I should say that as a Christian, I don’t believe in death. I believe in resurrection…A bishop will die, but the Church of God, which is the people, will never perish.”

St. Oscar Romero #24March pic.twitter.com/0S7u15QrtK

— Christopher Lamb (@ctrlamb) March 24, 2022

Almighty God, who didst call thy servant Oscar Romero to be a voice for the voiceless poor, and to give his life as a seed of freedom and a sign of hope: Grant that, inspired by his sacrifice and the example of the martyrs of El Salvador, we may without fear or favor witness to thy Word who abideth, thy Word who is Life, even Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with thee and the Holy Spirit, be praise and glory now and for ever. Amen.

24 Mar 1980: the assassination #otd of St Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador (Arzobispado de San Salvador) pic.twitter.com/kSb19UuguS

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) March 24, 2022

O almighty Father, giver of every good and perfect gift, who hast made the light of thy truth to shine in our hearts: Make us to walk as children of light in all goodness and righteousness, that we may have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Taking in this beautiful view in County Kerry 😍#Ireland #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/tgUlazhXiP

— Emma McArdle | Ireland 🇮🇪 (@McArdlePhoto) March 23, 2022

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you; for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.3This is my defense to those who would examine me. Do we not have the right to our food and drink? 5 Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a wife, as the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?

Do I say this on human authority? Does not the law say the same? For it is written in the law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.” Is it for oxen that God is concerned? Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of a share in the crop. If we have sown spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits? If others share this rightful claim upon you, do not we still more?

Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.

But I have made no use of any of these rights, nor am I writing this to secure any such provision. For I would rather die than have any one deprive me of my ground for boasting.

–1 Corinthians 9:1-15

Daffodils in the sunshine this morning in Glastonbury. pic.twitter.com/5n0fF8Ues5

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) March 24, 2022

The consistory court of the diocese of Ely has refused to grant the petition of Jesus College, Cambridge, for a faculty authorising the removal of a memorial dedicated to a benefactor of the college, Tobias Rustat (1608-94), from the west wall of the Grade I listed college chapel.

The petition, which had been supported by both the Dean of Chapel and the Bishop of Ely, was heard by the Deputy Chancellor, the Worshipful David Hodge QC (News, 25 January). It had been advanced on the basis that any harm caused to the significance of the chapel as a building of special architectural and historic interest by the removal of the memorial was substantially outweighed by the resulting public benefits in terms of pastoral well-being and opportunities for mission.

The college contended that, because of Rustat’s known involvement in the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans, the continued presence of his memorial in such a prominent position, high up on the west wall, created a serious obstacle to the chapel’s ability to provide a credible Christian ministry and witness to the college community and a safe space for secular college functions and events.

Ranged against the college were 65 parties opponent to the petition, represented in court by Justin Gau. Another party opponent, Professor Lawrence Goldman, appeared in person, and two other parties opponent were neither present nor represented. The parties opponent contended that the court should give no weight to the petition since it was the product of a false narrative that Rustat amassed most of his wealth from the slave trade and used moneys from that source to benefit the college.

Read it all.

Detailed report from the hearing here, which concluded that the memorial should stay and that the college should not have allowed a ‘false narrative’ about Rustat to spread uncheckedhttps://t.co/ng90NXgLXm

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) March 23, 2022

As someone with an intense curiosity about world religions, I frequently listened to Christian radio, as well as stations specializing in Buddhism, Hinduism, shamanism, Celtic goddess worship, and several other types of spirituality. Hungry for answers, I searched far and wide.

In January 2015, I was driving along a Hawaiian road while listening to the Scottish-born pastor Alistair Begg on the Christian Satellite Network. Begg was giving an expository sermon called “Itching Ears.” It was about 2 Timothy 4, where the apostle Paul writes that in the end times, people will want their itching ears tickled by false teachers who offer false hope (v. 3). I could tell he was describing people just like me.

God used Begg’s sermon to convict me for the first time in my life. His words pierced my stony heart, and I felt ashamed of my false teachings. When I got home, I told my husband, Michael, that I wanted to start attending a real Christian church. He readily agreed.

After a lifetime of involvement in Christian Science and New Age practices, it took time to clear away the cobwebs of false belief. I realized that I did not trust God to provide for my needs. So instead of prayer and trust in the Lord, I continued relying on divination cards, astrology, psychic readings, horoscopes, and crystals.

Reading the entire Bible changed everything.

Read it all.

What an amazing testimony of God's grace. Bestselling New Age author hears Alistair Begg on the radio and comes to Christ. https://t.co/RUSOx7sTgN

— Trevin Wax (@TrevinWax) March 23, 2022

Four years ago, inside the most prestigious hospital in Tennessee, nurse RaDonda Vaught withdrew a vial from an electronic medication cabinet, administered the drug to a patient and somehow overlooked signs of a terrible and deadly mistake.

The patient was supposed to get Versed, a sedative intended to calm her before being scanned in a large, MRI-like machine. But Vaught accidentally grabbed vecuronium, a powerful paralyzer, which stopped the patient’s breathing and left her brain-dead before the error was discovered.

Vaught, 38, admitted her mistake at a Tennessee Board of Nursing hearing last year, saying she became “complacent” in her job and “distracted” by a trainee while operating the computerized medication cabinet. She did not shirk responsibility for the error, but she said the blame was not hers alone.

“I know the reason this patient is no longer here is because of me,” Vaught said, starting to cry. “There won’t ever be a day that goes by that I don’t think about what I did.”

Read it all.

Nurses are right to watch this with eyes wide open and the potential it has to put a microscope on their profession in a time when it's hard to staff nursing roles.

As a Nurse Faces Prison for a Deadly Error, Her Colleagues Worry: Could I Be Next? https://t.co/patERTQJI0

— Gunnar Esiason (@G17Esiason) March 22, 2022

In January, the head of a group of serving and retired Russian military officers declared that invading Ukraine would be “pointless and extremely dangerous.” It would kill thousands, he said, make Russians and Ukrainians enemies for life, risk a war with NATO and threaten “the existence of Russia itself as a state.”

To many Russians, that seemed like a far-fetched scenario, since few imagined that an invasion of Ukraine was really possible. But two months later, as Russia’s advance stalls in Ukraine, the prophecy looms large. Reached by phone this week, the retired general who authored the declaration, Leonid Ivashov, said he stood by it, though he could not speak freely given Russia’s wartime censorship: “I do not disavow what I said.”

In Russia, the slow going and the heavy toll of President Vladimir V. Putin’s war on Ukraine are setting off questions about his military’s planning capability, his confidence in his top spies and loyal defense minister, and the quality of the intelligence that reaches him. It also shows the pitfalls of Mr. Putin’s top-down governance, in which officials and military officers have little leeway to make their own decisions and adapt to developments in real time.

The failures of Mr. Putin’s campaign are apparent in the striking number of senior military commanders believed to have been killed in the fighting. Ukraine says it has killed at least six Russian generals, while Russia acknowledges one of their deaths, along with that of the deputy commander of its Black Sea fleet. American officials say they cannot confirm the number of Russian troop deaths, but that Russia’s invasion plan appears to have been stymied by bad intelligence.

Read it all.

Almighty God, who willest to be glorified in thy saints, and didst raise up thy servant Gregory the Illuminator to be a light in the world, and to preach the Gospel to the people of Armenia: Shine, we pray thee, in our hearts, that we also in our generation may show forth thy praise, who hast called us out of darkness into thy marvelous light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Today the Episcopal Church celebrates Gregory the Illuminator, Bishop & Missionary of Armenia, c.332 https://t.co/e69zZWu5Ku

Image: Byzantine mosaic of Gregory in the Church of Theotokos Pammakaristos, now Fethiye Mosque Istanbul. Photo: G. Dall'Orto, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia pic.twitter.com/Z9N8uLQ9QX

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) March 23, 2022

Though we cannot love you as we ought, O Lord, let us love you as we are able, that guided by your light and kept by your power, we come at the last, into your glorious presence. Amen.

"Fly Away" ….. A peaceful scene in a troubled world #PrayForPeace @StormHour @ThePhotoHour #Weather pic.twitter.com/RGl0oaiDHZ

— simon c woodley (@simoncwoodley) March 23, 2022

If any one imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if one loves God, one is known by him.

–1 Corinthians 8:2-3

The West McDonnell Ranges out of Alice Springs in the NT, Australia. #outback #ThePhotoHour #StormHour pic.twitter.com/CFADsbkvQ0

— Peter S (@suggpixc) March 23, 2022

The European Union surprised the world—and itself—with its unified response after Vladimir Putin ordered his tanks into Ukraine on February 24th. Unprecedented sanctions and new security policies swiftly appeared. But as the war grinds into its second month and Russian missiles and shells continue to rain down on Ukrainian cities, European resolve has begun to wane. That is the stark assessment of Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister. “What we saw in the beginning of the war was the rise of the European Union as a powerful player that can bring change,” Mr Kuleba told The Economist. “What I see in the last ten days in the European Union is backsliding back to its normality where it cannot decide on strong and swift action.”

Mr Kuleba’s remarks were made on March 22nd by video link from an undisclosed location inside Ukraine. He highlighted two trials facing his country: Russian aggression on one side, and Western hesitancy on the other. The stakes remain as existential as ever, despite Russia’s initial setbacks on the battlefield. Russia’s shelling rings louder than its words. “There is no correlation between diplomatic dynamics and the dynamics on the battlefield,” Mr Kuleba said. Ukraine’s ability to prevail against its larger neighbour rests on three pillars, he argues: Ukrainian stamina, weapons supplies and Western sanctions. “We always realised that there would be no country fighting shoulder to shoulder with us, that it would be the cross that we have to bear. But to help us, countries can do two things: send us necessary weapons and impose sanctions.”

Western sanctions have already made an impact. “Almost every tenth sentence [Russian negotiators] say is about sanctions,” Mr Kuleba said. “It’s a pain for them.” But not yet painful enough. Many of the toughest-seeming measures have turned out to be what the minister calls “half-measures”.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

After a strong start the EU has slid “back to its normality where it cannot decide on strong and swift action”, Ukraine’s foreign minister says https://t.co/XzRfuRIuJb

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) March 22, 2022