Speaking on the closing day of the National Cathedrals Conference, Archbishop Stephen Cottrell praised the ‘precious and important’ contribution of the cathedrals, emphasising their role of service and teaching to their communities.

He said cathedrals had a mission to show the ‘heart of Jesus’ in world of “so much hurt and so much confusion and so much uncertainty.” The heart of Christian teaching and mission is to open the heart of Jesus to everyone, he told the conference.

“Our primary vocation is to be the place that serves and teaches… to be the Church which is aligned with that which is basic and obvious to our Christian faith, which is to show the heart of Jesus to others both from our teaching and preaching and evangelising and through the service that we offer,” he said.

In his speech, the Archbishop urged cathedrals to see themselves as a ‘work in progress’ and to continue asking the ‘hard missional questions’ about how to transmit the Christian faith in a changing world.

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Archbishop @CottrellStephen has encouraged cathedrals to continue to ask the ‘hard missional questions’ about how to transmit the good news of Jesus Christ in a world suffering from confusion and uncertainty.

Read more at https://t.co/lZzP7o3r41.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) May 19, 2022

Archie Norman, chair of Marks and Spencer, said this week: “Some of the descriptors, particularly of animal products, have to be written in Latin and in a certain typeface.” Every sandwich containing butter, he said, requires an EU vet certificate, which means employing 13 vets and budgeting for 30 per cent more driver time.

Six-mile queues at Dover and 18-mile lines at Calais this year were caused by post-Brexit checks, worsened by small numbers of lorries with the wrong paperwork.

We can expect more delays in September, when a new security system may require drivers to leave their vehicles for facial or body scans, and more again next year when trucks will be inspected at the new inland border at Sevington, near Ashford, Kent.

The metaphor of supply “chains” makes the process sound orderly and smooth, but from the first this journey along them was more like an adventure through a wild ecosystem in which we were a prey, dashing between safe habitats such as lorry parks and filling stations, hunted by authorities, legislation and customs rules that sought to charge, delay or stop us.

It was not that the trucks had any deficiency to bother the police or the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency, which regulates haulage in Britain. It was that many drivers loathe and avoid the DVSA, and checkpoints of all kinds in all countries. 

“They’re not on your side. They’re out to get you. It’s like they want to punish you for doing your job,” Ian said. “They want to fine you and take your money.”

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Stunning read on the lonely life of the longdistance lorry drivers. Proud to have as our @ftweekend essay @HoratioClare https://t.co/9l6t6nLE0u

— Alec Russell (@AlecuRussell) May 20, 2022

A couple’s wedding day is traditionally considered one of the most important in life, but churches have become increasingly spared from hosting nuptials.

Marriages in places of worship have hit a record low, new figures revealed on Thursday, accounting for less than a fifth of all ceremonies for the first time.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released data on marriages in England and Wales in 2019, analysed by age, sex, previous marital status and civil or religious ceremony.

It found that in 2019, religious ceremonies accounted for less than one in five (18.7 per cent) of opposite-sex marriages, a decrease from 21.1 per cent in 2018 and the lowest percentage on record; for same-sex marriages, 0.7 per cent of marriages were religious ceremonies.

Researchers said that the reason for the decline was down to “couples choosing to live together rather than marry, either as a precursor to marriage or as an alternative”.

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💍Marriages in places of worship have hit a record low, accounting for less than a fifth of all nuptials

Here's what the data shows 🧵👇https://t.co/dM2KRZwXie

— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) May 19, 2022

The late Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Samuelson once quipped that Wall Street had predicted nine out of the last five recessions. This time, the stock market may be right.

The US economy is starting to show signs of strain under the weight of decades-high inflation and climbing interest rates — raising the risk of a downturn.

Investors are taking note, with equities nosediving this week as earnings gloom at retailers like Walmart Inc. and Target Corp. fueled the growing fears. And the trend could spell trouble for President Joe Biden, whose Democrats must defend thin Congressional majorities in November’s midterm vote.

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The US economy is starting to show signs of strain under the weight of decades-high inflation and climbing interest rates https://t.co/IfVW6MboaM

— Bloomberg (@business) May 20, 2022

Nobody knows how or when the war will end in Ukraine, but it’s clear that right now Russia isn’t winning. According to Western governments and private analysts, Moscow failed to achieve its initial goal of a lightning strike into Kyiv to take down the government. And success for its Plan B, a scaled-down offensive to push Ukrainian forces back in the east and southeast of the country, looks increasingly difficult.

Some things that seemed highly probable at the start of the war, such as the collapse of the Ukrainian state, now are seen as unlikely. Ukraine is in an existential fight, said the chief of the British defense staff, Adm. Tony Radakin in a speech in London on Monday, “and it is going to survive.”

In this latest phase of the war, tank battles are being supplanted by artillery-dominated exchanges. The Russians are undertaking offensives in some places, including in the eastern region of Luhansk. They finally overcame the last remaining Ukrainian holdouts in the southern port city of Mariupol. Elsewhere, the Ukrainians are counterattacking, most notably in the north beyond Kharkiv.

“The war is entering a protracted phase,” Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov told European Union defense ministers on Tuesday. He said there were “many indications of Russia preparing for a long-term military operation,” including engineering and fortification works in the Kherson and Zaporizhya areas.

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Will Ukraine’s military collapse—or will it gain back territory held by Russia? Will Putin use nuclear weapons? Here’s where the war could go next https://t.co/fmuCtvFo0C

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) May 20, 2022

Almighty God, who in a rude and barbarous age didst raise up thy deacon Alcuin to rekindle the light of learning: Illumine our minds, we pray thee, that amid the uncertainties and confusions of our own time we may show forth thine eternal truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

English scholar, clergyman and teacher Alcuin of York died on May 19, 804. Alcuin produced the epitaph for his own gravestone at St. Martin's Church, Tours, which reads “My name was Alchuine, and wisdom was always dear to me.” https://t.co/cb15Pj44aI pic.twitter.com/HUnAxptRD9

— Trivia Encyclopedia (@edpearce080759) May 18, 2022

Glory be to Thee, Most gracious and merciful God, for all the blessings of grace which Thou has given us in thy Son Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins in his precious blood, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and the joyful hope which Thou has laid up for us in heaven. Help me, I pray Thee, that I may never lose any of Thy blessings; but may so live in Thy grace that I may receive the crown of life, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

—The Narrow Way, Being a Complete Manual of Devotion with a Guide to Confirmation and Holy Communion (London: J. Whitaker and Sons, 1893)

Good morning Baltimore! Have a great weekend! #sunrise #Baltimore pic.twitter.com/VkTVWy1AuA

— Paul B DeWolfe (@paulbdewolfe) May 20, 2022

Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD, or show forth all his praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!

–Psalm 106:1-3

No loyalty like it…..#NorthWales #Snowdonia @ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/WgT9SNG8aJ

— Gaz_WelshDroneMan (@welshdroneman) May 20, 2022