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.

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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.

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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.

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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