It is now seven years since a task group led by the finance chair of the Archbishops’ Council, John Spence, published Resourcing the Future (News, 16 January 2015), a report that proposed a “fundamental shift” in the ways money from the Church Commissioners was distributed to dioceses, warning that those currently deployed had “only a superficial link to growth and have failed the poorest communities” and that “a large amount of money is subsidising decline.”

Under the existing approach at the time, most central funds had been provided under the Darlow formula, which calculated the needs of parishes on the basis of financial need and attendance. This was replaced with the two new funding streams (News, 21 October 2016). Half of the total (£24 million per year at the outset) would be earmarked for the dioceses with the greatest concentration of low-income communities through LInC. The other half, SDF, would be made available to dioceses through grants for which they would have to bid, demonstrating that their project would result in “a significant difference to their mission and financial health”.

The new approach was introduced in 2017, to run until 2026.

The Archbishops’ Council has been challenged to conduct and publish an independent review of SDF. While some dioceses have published evaluations of their projects, including Leicester (News, 3 October 2019) and Portsmouth, many others have not. Mr Spence, who also chairs the SIB, told General Synod in 2019 that by the following year there would be enough evidence for an “objective, thor­ough, and independent review” (Features, 15 November 2019).

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“As a response to the perceived failure of the Church to serve particular communities effectively, SDF projects are of their nature disruptive to the existing church ecology and thus elicit strong positive and negative reactions." https://t.co/QMPFfdZmBR

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 10, 2022

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association reached a tentative agreement on a new collective-bargaining agreement Thursday, ending the league’s 99-day lockout of the players and salvaging a 162-game season, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN.

With the end of the second-longest work stoppage in the game’s history, spring training camps will open Sunday, free-agent signings can begin Thursday night, and baseball will attempt to return to some semblance of normalcy after months of fraught negotiations.

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It's time to play ball!

An agreement is here at last: https://t.co/oO3z9HJ0Ge
MLB's lockout is mercifully over: https://t.co/1nTOrNtqtZ pic.twitter.com/cyGXzo2koG

— USA TODAY Sports (@usatodaysports) March 10, 2022

In 2020, the FRC substantially reformed the code, which was launched in 2010, to impose stricter reporting requirements on investors that had signed up. Since its launch, it has been replicated in other jurisdictions and broadened to include new asset classes.

Signatories have to report on their stewardship activities and are reviewed annually by the FRC to remain on the list.

“Ultimately, what we want to see are concrete examples of stewardship activities and outcomes. Otherwise, its just a bland policy statement of intentions without application,” said Claudia Chapman at the FRC.

“We’re keen to narrow the gap between what is reported and what is done, and for the most part we are comfortable that those included on the list are doing what they say.”

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UK stewardship code adds 74 new signatories https://t.co/kpBki6AXex

— Finance News (@ftfinancenews) March 10, 2022

The Archbishop of Westminster and dozens of other clergymen from the Christian Leadership of London have written to Prime Minister Boris Johnson urging him to extend the visa programme to all Ukrainian refugees.

The letter, sent on Wednesday, said the group was “encouraged” by the Government’s family sponsorship programme and “welcomed the intention to establish a pathway to humanitarian sponsorship”.

But they called for “urgency” and to “act swiftly and without delay”, criticising the visa forms process.

“How can mothers with young children, the elderly and the disabled, who have travelled a thousand miles, be expected to complete online application forms in a language foreign to them?”, the letter reads.

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Religious leaders urge PM to extend Ukrainian visa scheme https://t.co/u6hYSic49k

— The Independent (@Independent) March 10, 2022

News coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine has touched on religious dimensions of the longstanding conflict between the two countries. Russia and Ukraine are home to some of the world’s largest Orthodox Christian populations, but the Orthodox Church of Ukraine gained independence from the Russian Orthodox Church in 2019 amidst the ongoing political turmoil. Now, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church has sought to justify the invasion, although other Russian Orthodox clergy have expressed opposition to the war.

Around the time of the split between the Ukrainian and Russian churches, we published a blog post based on data from a Pew Research Center survey of Central and Eastern Europe conducted in 2015 and 2016. The analysis found that even before the split between the two churches, a plurality of Orthodox Ukrainians (46%) looked to the leaders of the Ukrainian national church (either the patriarch of Kiev or the metropolitan of Kiev and all of Ukraine) as the highest authority of Orthodoxy, while just 17% saw the patriarch of Moscow as their spiritual leader. The patriarch of Moscow received higher levels of support in eastern Ukraine than in western Ukraine, consistent with a broader geographic pattern of views toward Russia within Ukraine at the time of the survey.

Prayers will be led by the island’s bishop and the Manx Youth Band and the Manx Concert Brass will conclude a minute’s silence by playing the Ukrainian National Anthem.

Organiser Claire Christian MHK said coming together to “demonstrate the strength of the Manx nation’s support for the Ukrainian people and world peace” was the “right thing to do”.

“In doing so, the people of the Isle of Man can join the chorus of voices around the globe condemning Russia’s aggression and calling for peace,” she said.

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A candlelit vigil will be held in the Isle of Man's capital to show support for the people of Ukraine. https://t.co/LRxk0ogzJu

— BBC Isle of Man (@BBCIsleofMan) March 8, 2022

O Lord our God, grant us, we beseech thee, patience in troubles, humility in comforts, constancy in temptations, and victory over all our spiritual foes. Grant us sorrow for our sins, thankfulness for thy benefits, fear of thy judgment, love of thy mercies, and mindfulness of thy presence; now and for evermore.

Sunrise today taken with my phone. What a beauty! Have a good day everyone 😊😍👋 pic.twitter.com/F7XJJ5QLxr

— Sue Pleb Leam (@Essjayleam) March 10, 2022

And when he returned to Caper′na-um after some days, it was reported that he was at home. And many were gathered together, so that there was no longer room for them, not even about the door; and he was preaching the word to them. And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and when they had made an opening, they let down the pallet on which the paralytic lay. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “My son, your sins are forgiven.” Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, “Why does this man speak thus? It is blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question thus in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your pallet and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— “I say to you, rise, take up your pallet and go home.” And he rose, and immediately took up the pallet and went out before them all; so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

–Mark 2:1-12

Save us, Lord, while we are awake; protect us while we sleep; that we may keep watch with Christ and rest with him in peace.

Christ healing the paralytic at Capernaum, 1780
by Bernhard Rode pic.twitter.com/e0FUQqeBxe

— Kalina Boulter (@KalinaBoulter) January 19, 2019

Announcing the awards, the Archbishop said, “The world around us is not as it should be. There is grave injustice and we currently face war in Europe, while Covid-19 continues to cause much grief. But we do not despair. Our faith in Jesus teaches us that we are justified in maintaining hope. One thing which feeds that hope is the work and service of the people we recognise today.”

25 of the recipients and their families and colleagues were at Lambeth Palace today to celebrate the awards, where they joined in a special service of Evening Prayer. The Archbishop added, “Many of those receiving an award have worked quietly, discreetly and are known only to a few. They have worked for justice and reconciliation, for the relief of poverty, for the extension of the Kingdom of God, for the advancement of education for all, for understanding between denominations and faiths, for authenticity in worship and prayer on behalf of this broken world. These awards represent an opportunity to acknowledge their valuable work. I present them on behalf of the Church of England but also, I hope, on behalf of people of goodwill everywhere.”

The current Lambeth Awards began in 2016. Recipients are recognised for contributions to community service, worship, evangelism, interfaith cooperation, ecumenism and education.

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At a dark time, my spirits are lifted by the public recognition of these wonderful people. I’m especially thankful for David Wilkinson, Principal of St. John’s Durham, for his outstanding contribution to faith and science.https://t.co/Y1H6BMMwWl@lambethpalace #faithandscience

— Robert Innes (@Bishop_Europe) March 9, 2022