Now when they had passed through Amphip’olis and Apollo’nia, they came to Thessaloni’ca, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and for three weeks he argued with them from the scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded, and joined Paul and Silas; as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

–Acts 17:1-4

Early Morning Autumn Lanes. Just 7°C and chilly. Rabbits. pic.twitter.com/1kYnPUfRvx

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) September 16, 2022

She was always reticent about her personal opinions about people and policies. She was reluctant even to divulge whether she had a favourite hymn, knowing that she would be condemned ever afterwards to hear it on every occasion.

During the Diamond Jubilee in 2012, in a speech at Lambeth Palace the Queen was explicit about her own view of the role of the Church of England in a multicultural country. ‘The concept of our established church is occasionally misunderstood and I believe commonly underappreciated. Its role is not to defend Anglicanism to the exclusion of other religions. Instead, the church has a duty to protect the free practice of all faiths in this country.’

The Queen believed that the ‘Defender of the Faith’ should be the friend and protector of all the faiths which make up the national community. She was an assiduous visitor to temples, gurdwaras and mosques. The idea, however, that you could slip the Christian anchorage in favour of a generalised benevolence to all religions was not one she instinctively favoured. To be simply a ‘Defender of Faith’, rather than the Faith, suggests that one occupies an elevated position in which all faiths are seen as more or less adequate local editions of something vaguely lying beyond them all. Spiritual progress and deeper appreciation of other traditions comes from the serious and disciplined choice of a particular way to follow. The Queen was intensely disciplined in every aspect of her life including in its spiritual dimension. Wherever she was, Sunday worship was a priority.

Read it all.

'The Queen was explicit on numerous occasions that her "inspiration and anchor" was Jesus Christ. Her words reflect a firm personal faith nourished by the experience of prayers and Bible-reading with her mother.'

✍️ Richard Chartreshttps://t.co/VkaAqT0IJI

— The Spectator (@spectator) September 15, 2022

The 120km train ride between the cities of Luoyang and Zhengzhou is a showcase of economic malaise and broken dreams. From the window endless, half-built residential towers pass one after another for the duration of the hour-long journey. Many of the buildings are near completion; some are finished and have become homes. But many more are skeletons where construction ceased long ago. Developers have run out of cash and can no longer pay workers. Projects have stalled. Families will never get their homes.

The train ride through China’s heartland helps to explain one of the country’s biggest crises in recent memory: the public’s loss of confidence in the government’s economic model. For decades the property industry has been symbolic of China’s rise. Private entrepreneurs have made vast fortunes. Average people have witnessed their net worth soar as home values trebled. Local governments have filled their coffers by selling vast tracts of land to developers. An astonishing 70% of Chinese household wealth is now tied up in real estate.

To undermine trust in this model is to shake the foundations of China’s growth miracle. With sweeping covid-19 lockdowns and a crackdown on private entrepreneurs, this is happening on many fronts. But nowhere is it clearer than in the property industry, which makes up around a fifth of gdp….

Read it all.

To undermine trust in the government’s economic model is to shake the foundations of China’s growth miracle https://t.co/jTSwESdVxM

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) September 15, 2022

As I began editing World thirty years ago I was proposing policies regarding poverty-fighting and related issues that became known as “compassionate conservatism.” The magazine reflected that viewpoint. Today, “national conservatism” or “Christian nationalism” has little room for compassion. As World resisted paranoid lines regarding vaccines, masks, and church closings—all part of a big government plot—our resistance became part of a larger conspiracy theory: World had gone woke.

American journalism history has valuable lessons on how to deal with conspiracy mongers. In 1955 wealthy William F. Buckley, Jr. started a magazine, National Review, that invigorated a conservative movement in disarray. Within a few years Buckley as editor had to fight off the John Birch Society, which asserted—among other oddities—that President Dwight Eisenhower was a Communist. Buckley said Birch founder and head Robert Welch inferred “subjective intention from objective consequences”: Because bad things had happened, U.S. policy makers must have intended them to happen.

John Birchers scrutinized book-buying decisions by local librarians and demanded that some books be removed. When National Review opposed the Birch campaign to impeach Earl Warren, the Supreme Court’s chief justice, many subscribers complained. When one donor said he had supported National Review financially and wanted it to support his concerns, Buckley said the magazine was “not for sale.”

Buckley owned the magazine and maintained his emphasis on independence even when the business side, led by publisher Bill Rusher, worried about reader and revenue loss. Rusher said a “substantial fraction” of readers “bled away” during 1962 and 1963. A direct mail campaign flopped as many on the mailing lists sided with the Birchers.

Buckley stuck with his principles and wrote to Barry Goldwater, “It is essential that we effect a clean break” with the Birch Society.

Read it all.

LONG FORM: A Wrinkle in Journalism History https://t.co/B4aSuubIg0

— Marvin Olasky (@MarvinOlasky) September 14, 2022

take the time to watch it all.

The chaplain service will start at 9am…Wednesday 14th September…and run until Sunday 18th September. They will be with the crowd during day-light hours.

The chaplains will be identifiable by their Hi-Vis vests with Faith Team printed on them.

They will move along with the crowd and will introduce themselves, have conversations and, only if requested, pray with people.

The Church of England is working in partnership with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport to organise this collaborative chaplaincy.

Read it all.

pic.twitter.com/U5ph5hcVdg

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 14, 2022

Gracious God, reveal to thy church the depths of thy love; that, like thy servant Catherine of Genoa, we might give ourselves in loving service, knowing that we have been perfectly loved by thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Catherine of Genoa, Mystic and Nurse, 1510 https://t.co/31PDuksZIN

Image: Catherine of Genoa depicted in The Mother of Sorrows window (Harry Clarke, 1926), now in @NGIreland. Photos: Sailko, CC BY 3.0; CC BY 4.0 via https://t.co/MtmziQYxPc pic.twitter.com/mehoftHmWw

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) September 15, 2022

We bring to you, O Lord, our poverty of soul to be transformed by your beauty; our waywardness of passion to be tamed by your love; our stubbornness of will to be conformed to your commandments and our coldness of heart to be enkindled by your grace; now and for ever. Amen–Catherine of Genoa (1447-1510)

Sunrise – Kyleakin, Isle of Skye #Scotland 15/09/22 @VisitScotland @ThePhotoHour @StormHour @angie_weather pic.twitter.com/1idfa2MZE0

— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) September 15, 2022

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and every one’s fetters were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And he called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out and said, “Men, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their wounds, and he was baptized at once, with all his family. Then he brought them up into his house, and set food before them; and he rejoiced with all his household that he had believed in God.

But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported the words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go; now therefore come out and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now cast us out secretly? No! let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens; so they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison, and visited Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they exhorted them and departed.

–Acts 16:25-40

Morning everyone hope you are well. Sunrise over Rydal Water. Have a great day. #lakedistrict @keswickbootco @ShowcaseCumbria pic.twitter.com/UT2Q2zWsYF

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) September 15, 2022

The Rev. Henrietta Rivers can name the handful of male pastors who helped shape her approach to ministry. But perhaps the most influential person to impact her pastoral career was a woman — N.C. Williams, an instructor at the predominantly Black and now closed Charles A. Brown High School.

Rivers recalls how Williams would tell the freshmen students that their worth didn’t come from their material possessions. She also taught the importance of being proud of one’s African American heritage.

“She allowed us to see our human value,” said Rivers, 55, who now preaches a similar message to middle school students in her role as chaplain at Porter-Gaud School.

Read it all.

SC Anglican Diocese's first Black female priest reflects on symbolism of moment | Features | https://t.co/UK6ZVNAItY https://t.co/pvKaDWpgKy

— Margo Ellis (@margo_usmc) September 14, 2022

Around one-in-five U.S. adults (19%) say they have personally bet money on sports in some way in the last 12 months, whether with friends or family, in person at a casino or other gambling venue, or online with a betting app, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.

The survey comes more than four years after the Supreme Court effectively legalized commercial sports betting in the United States. As of this month, 35 states and the District of Columbia have authorized the practice in some form, with Massachusetts becoming the latest state to do so in August.

Despite the growth of commercial sports betting in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2018 ruling, the most common way that Americans bet on sports is with friends or family, according to the Center’s survey, which was fielded July 5-17 among 6,034 adults. Some 15% of adults say they have bet money on sports with friends or family in the last 12 months, such as in a private betting pool, fantasy league or casual bet. Smaller shares say they have bet money on sports in person at a casino, racetrack or betting kiosk in the past year (8%) or that they have done so online with a betting app, sportsbook or casino (6%). All told, 19% of adults have bet money on sports in at least one of these ways in the past year.

Read it all.

% of U.S. adults who say they have bet money on sports in the following ways in the past 12 months:
▪️ With friends or family: 15%
▪️ In person at a casino, racetrack or betting kiosk: 8%
▪️ Online with a betting app: 6% https://t.co/qLV42CmcwF pic.twitter.com/nftJNHTj05

— Pew Research Center (@pewresearch) September 14, 2022

A looming US railway strike has already halted shipments of a critical fertilizer ingredient at a time when American farmers need it the most.

Rail officials are no longer shipping ammonia, an important component of about three quarters of all fertilizer, because it would be dangerous if the hazardous material was stranded during a potential rail strike, according to the Association of American Railroads. Ammonia is used in explosives as well as being an essential nutrient for plants.

While the average consumer rarely thinks about fertilizer, it can make or break crop production. Global food prices have touched records in recent months as inflation ripples through economies and hunger levels rise. The cost of growing food in the US is set to rise by the most ever in 2022.

Any rail disruptions would come at a time of peak demand. After the latest crop is harvested, North American farmers will need to apply fertilizer to replenish nutrients in the soil that are lost during the growing season. The chemicals are already scarce because plants have shut down in Europe due to the energy crisis there, and the war in Ukraine is hampering shipments.

Read it all.

NYT top #economy #railstrike #labourmarket #unions #workers pic.twitter.com/VY2djSuG3i

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) September 14, 2022

And where did this come from? This way of being a monarch that was more about service than rule?

At her Coronation, as I’ve already heard said several times, in perhaps one of the most poignant moments of the service, she steadfastly walked past the throne upon which she would sit and knelt at the altar, giving her allegiance to God before anyone else gave their allegiance to her.

Echoing those comforting words of scripture from the Book of Lamentation, which is itself a book written out of the heart of the profoundest grief and tragedy, the Queen said this in one of her Christmas broadcasts –

“Each day is a new beginning… I know that the only way to live my life is to try to do what is right, to take the long view, to give of my best in all that the day brings, and to put my trust in God.”

And let’s not forget that today is September the 11th, a day etched into the corporate memory of the world as we remember another day of horror and sadness when so many died.

And this is what we do. As we remember, as we grieve and mourn in our families, across our world, and in the household of our nation we tell our stories. And how do we make sense of the end of life and of death? How do we live our lives well in the time that is remaining to us? Well, we can do no better than follow the example of Her Late Majesty the Queen, who each day put her trust in God. There’s nothing sensational or mystical about this. The Christian life is a life of simple discipline where each day we choose to live a certain way. Each day we choose to love our neighbour as ourselves. Each day we choose to love God.

Read it all.

Standing at the head of The Queen's coffin as she Lies-in-State is the Westminster Cross

It is the processional cross most often used at church festivals and special services in Westminster Abbey. It is made from silver gilt and was first used in the Abbey on Christmas Eve 1922 pic.twitter.com/KV8urtuQTs

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) September 14, 2022

Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (‘Holyrood day in harvest’, as it was sometimes called in the Middle Ages), so here’s a fourteenth-century translation of the Crux Fidelis, a verse of the sixth-century hymn Pange Lingua:

…Steadfast cross, among all others
Thou art a tree great of price;
In branch and flower such another
I know not of, in wood nor copse.
Sweet be the nails, and sweet be the tree,
And sweeter be the burden that hangs upon thee.

…This verse is used in the liturgy several times through the course of the year, and at different seasons its poetry will resonate in subtly different ways. This tree is like no other, and it bears at once both flower and fruit; what kind of tree you picture as you sing this verse will depend on what your eyes are seeing in the world around you. The hymn is sung in the spring, on Good Friday and at the cross’ first feast in May, and at that time of year the image of a flowering tree evokes blossom and the spring of new life; and it’s sung again at this feast in the autumn, when trees are laden with fruit (their own ‘burden’), and the image instead speaks of fruitfulness, sustenance, the abundance of divine gift. Imagery of Christ as the ‘fruit’ of the cross is common in the liturgy of Holy Cross Day, perhaps in part because of the time of year when it falls. One purpose for the image is to draw a contrast with the fruit of the tree in Eden, to link the sin and the redemption, the sickness and the remedy: as one medieval antiphon puts it, ‘Through the tree we were made slaves, and through the Holy Cross we are made free. The fruit of the tree seduced us; the Son of God redeemed us.’

The manuscript in which this little English translation of Crux Fidelis is preserved belongs to Merton College, Oxford….

Read it all.

14 September is 'Holyrood Day in harvest', the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. A medieval poem to the Holy Cross, steadfast at the still point of the turning world: https://t.co/4GPLwUH3hE pic.twitter.com/DxIRZ3kjxj

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) September 14, 2022

O God, who by the passion of thy blessed Son didst make an instrument of shameful death to be unto us the means of life and peace: Grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ, that we may gladly suffer shame and loss for the sake of thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today is the Feast of The Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The discovery of the True Cross is dated 14 September 320. The annual commemoration of the event has been celebrated since, in praise of the redemption won by the Christ. pic.twitter.com/0stfpgsYmX

— CatholicNewsIreland (@CatholicNewsIRL) September 14, 2022

Into Thy hands I commend my spirit, soul, body: Thou hast created, redeemed, regenerated them, O Lord of truth: and with me all mine and all things mine: Thou hast bestowed them upon me, O Lord, in Thy goodness. Preserve us from all evil, preserve our souls, I beseech Thee, O Lord: keep us from falling and present us faultless before the presence of Thy glory in that day. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be alway acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeem

Took a long time but it was worth the wait, Saint Mary's Lighthouse this morning for sunrise 😎📸 #StormHour #Sunrise #Weather #Photography pic.twitter.com/jj62N1bAVV

— Coastal Portraits – It's Grim up North (@johndefatkin) September 14, 2022

er.

Then Job answered the Lord:

“I know that thou canst do all things,
and that no purpose of thine can be thwarted.
‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,
things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.
‘Hear, and I will speak;
I will question you, and you declare to me.’
I had heard of thee by the hearing of the ear,
but now my eye sees thee;
therefore I despise myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.”

–Job 42:1-6

Good morning everyone , greetings from Dartmoor ❤️ #Dartmoor #landscapephotography #photography #moors #StormHour #ThePhotoHour @VisitDartmoor @VisitDevon #SonyAlpha pic.twitter.com/2XecXvNjZB

— Gary James (@Gazpics76) September 14, 2022

That same year, it was the year of the European City of Culture for Liverpool, Her Late Majesty came to Liverpool and there was a formal lunch. I was at a table not far away from her. Also at the table with her was a Rwandan woman who had escaped the genocide but lost almost her entire family and seen most terrible horrors. At the end of lunch, the Queen invited her to come and sit next to her, and talked to her for at least 20 minutes, while some of her staff hovered, twitching. And when I spoke to her later, she said, ‘there was healing’.

Both Her late Majesty and His Majesty treat others as special because for both their faith is built on the same rock. The rock of Christ. It is a rock on which we too can stand. There is room on that rock for every human being, however important or unimportant. Our sure hope comes from the fact the monarchy is not in a person, it is in God’s loving grace that he poured upon the Queen and pours upon the King – ‘Thy choicest gifts in store, on him be pleased to pour’.

This is the faith that enabled Her Late Majesty to be such a blessing to us, and to people around the world, an example of wisdom and reconciliation. Some of us will remember seeing on television her visit to Ireland in 2011 when, at the formal state dinner, she opened her speech in the Irish language, and Mary MacAleese, the then President of Ireland, looked at her neighbour at the table and went ’wow’. Or when Her Majesty in 2012, chose quite literally to extend the hand of friendship to Martin McGuinness, despite their differences and painful history – including the very personal history for the Queen of the death of her beloved uncle Lord Mountbatten as a result of an IRA attack in 1979. She was able to offer her hand because she stood on the rock of Christ.

She knew that every person is part of the flock, she saw every one of her subjects and every person she met as part of God’s treasured people. She knew that even in the shadow of the valley of death the Good Shepherd was with here. She knew that throughout this country’s darkest days and greatest victories, the hand of the Lord seeks us out and guides us. His Majesty knows the same. We have continuity, we have stability through grace.

Her life made sense in the light of Jesus Christ, her Lord and Saviour. So does that of His Majesty.

Read it all.

An online book of condolence is available on our website where you can send a tribute to Her Majesty The Queen:

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) September 11, 2022

Economists said that the Consumer Price Index data cemented the case for a third straight, unusually large three-quarter percentage point Fed rate increase at the central bank’s meeting next week, and stocks swooned as investors began to speculate that officials could opt for an even more drastic full percentage point adjustment.

“Inflation remains hot, financial conditions have seen some improvement and the labor markets are humming along,” Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro, wrote in a research note following the release. “If the goal is to slow things down and create some pain, the Fed is failing by its own standard.”

The Fed closely watches the core inflation gauge, making its rebound in August a point of particular concern. After cutting out food and fuel, consumer prices climbed by 6.3 percent in the year through last month, up from 5.9 percent in July and more than the 6.1 percent economists had projected.

Even looking at overall inflation, the report’s details offered plenty to worry about.

Read it all.

Rapidly rising rents and grocery prices, unfortunately, more than offset the relief of >90 days of falling gas prices. High inflation remains at levels not seen in over 40 years. https://t.co/OpOBY7X408

— Michael C. Khouw (@Michael_Khouw) September 13, 2022

Listen to it all and there re other options here.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,
Romans 8:1 NIVhttps://t.co/IsIAGZlxhQ. Poster credit: @youversion pic.twitter.com/wvggAViYKa

— John Mmbaga (@johnmmbagaKE) April 5, 2021

For Mr. Putin, the war in Ukraine began as what Council on Foreign Relations President Richard Haass has called a “war of choice.” Mr. Putin could have left Ukraine undisturbed and gone on to rule Russia for many years to come. But having chosen to start the war, he can’t afford to lose it. Radical Russian nationalists are already blaming him for the military failures in Ukraine. The Kremlin is no place for the weak, and the hard men who run Russia could turn on a politically wounded Mr. Putin in a heartbeat. Regardless of public sentiment across Russia, the people closest to Mr. Putin likely still want him to win the war.

The question is what Mr. Putin does next. If he can stabilize the military front until winter sets in, he has several months to prepare for the spring. He might use that time to organize a general mobilization, building a much larger conscript army for another year of conventional combat. But if the front doesn’t stabilize, or if he feels that public resistance to a general mobilization could endanger the stability of the regime, he might look to more drastic options, such as the use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

It is anything but clear how the West would respond. Allowing Mr. Putin to use nuclear blackmail to assert his control over Ukraine would be such a craven act that the moral and political foundations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization would be shaken to the core—and nuclear-armed aggressors elsewhere would take note. Yet the obvious countermove, placing Ukraine under an American nuclear umbrella, risks the greatest nuclear crisis since John F. Kennedy and Nikita Khrushchev squared off over Cuba in October 1962.

So far, American policy has aimed at avoiding the binary choice between abandoning Ukraine and provoking a nuclear confrontation with Russia….

Read it all.

What if Putin Uses a Nuclear Weapon in Ukraine? by @wrmead Putin’s response to Ukraine’s military success could lead to the most dangerous nuclear standoff since the 1962 Cuba Missile Crisis. https://t.co/0Wy002dYZw

— Walter Russell Mead (@wrmead) September 12, 2022

There is a danger that we consign Elizabeth and what she represents of embodied faithfulness to the angels and to history and go forward on our atomised way as a society and a Church into an ever more individualist future, where the only mutual belonging is in our separate identity groups. Instead, let us use that sense of common loss to forge ever-stronger bonds between neighbours, classes, cultures, and nations, and resist the forces that seek to pull us apart. As King Charles said in his first speech, we must instead “help … to bring the marginal to the centre ground”; the needs of Lazarus must be at the heart of our attention. We need strong neighbourhoods and parishes to resist the pressures of globalisation, of racism and hate. The virtues and the faith of the late Queen, far from being old-fashioned and superseded, are what we need for our future, which will only be sustainable if we can co-operate, act sacrificially, and show steadfastness and loyalty.

So we clergy can wear our white vestments of hope with integrity, for in laying Elizabeth to rest and acknowledging the religious resources upon which she drew, we can affirm the value of a Christian monarchy as offering a world of many faiths and cultures a moral umbrella, in which we can imagine together a better world of real justice, peace, and co-operation.

May she rest in peace and rise in glory. And may her faithfulness inspire and steady us in the years to come.

Read it all.

"In laying Elizabeth to rest and acknowledging the religious resources upon which she drew, we can affirm the value of a Christian monarchy as offering a world of many faiths and cultures a moral umbrella." – Alison Milbank https://t.co/WnEAMOzIJD

— Ryan Haecker (@RyanHaecker) September 13, 2022

Moreover, they have put fetters on our feet and have bound your blessed limbs and the temples of God with disgraceful chains. . . . To men who are dedicated to God and attesting their faith with religious courage, such things are ornaments, not chains; nor do they bind the feet of the Christians for infamy but glorify them for a crown. . . .

Let cruelty, either ignorant or malignant, hold you here in its bonds and chains as long as it will, from this earth and from these sufferings you shall speedily come to the kingdom of heaven. The body is not cherished in the mines with couch and cushions, but it is cherished with the refreshment and solace of Christ. . . . Your limbs unbathed, are foul and disfigured with filth and dirt: but within they are spiritually cleansed. . . . There the bread is scarce; but man liveth not by bread alone, but by the word of God. Shivering, you want clothing; but he who puts on Christ is both abundantly clothed and adorned. . . .

—Read it all.

“No one can have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his mother.”

St. Cyprian pic.twitter.com/aOc3Obb16x

— Parousia (@Thewarning9) September 6, 2022

Almighty God, who didst give to thy servant Cyprian boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of the same our Lord Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Episcopal Church celebrates Cyprian of Carthage, Bishop and Martyr, 258 https://t.co/Sc1E5woQ7C

Image: Window in St Cyprian's Clarence Gate. Photo by Lawrence OP (CC BY-NC 2.0), via Flickr pic.twitter.com/HxVmqHtZA4

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) September 13, 2022

Glory be to Thee, O Lord, my Creator. Glory be to Thee, O Jesus, my Redeemer. Glory be to Thee, the Holy Ghost, my Sanctifier, my Guide, and Comforter. All love, all glory, be to the high and undivided Trinity, Whose works are inseparable, and Whose dominion endureth world without end; to Thee, to Thee alone, and to Thy Son, and Holy Spirit, be glory for ever and ever.

–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)

Good morning 😄 #sunrise #tuesdayvibe #dublin @ThePhotoHour @StormHour pic.twitter.com/auCNfZ0yoX

— The Wild Massy 🌳 (@TheWildMassy) September 13, 2022

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Laz′arus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Laz′arus also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus.

The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written,

“Fear not, daughter of Zion;
behold, your king is coming,
sitting on an ass’s colt!”

His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Laz′arus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign. The Pharisees then said to one another, “You see that you can do nothing; look, the world has gone after him.”

–John 12:9-19

Good morning lovely people , wishing you a fine Tuesday . Widemouth Bay , early morning , just me on the beach 🏖, lovely #Cornwall #WidemouthBay #seascape #beaches #StormHour #ThePhotoHour #SonyAlpha #waves #SonyLens #skies @VisitCornwall pic.twitter.com/LMOQlyT9CM

— Gary James (@Gazpics76) September 13, 2022

It is clearly evident and without doubt that the Queen’s Christian faith was genuine, and often gave clear and sincere expression in those remarkable Christmas broadcasts.

She spoke unashamedly of her trust in God and of the example and teaching of Jesus Christ whom she sought to follow as best she could – indeed, of that faith she said she had no regret.

Her focus on family, on community, on reaching across divisions and differences were evident to us through these short yet meaningful festive messages.

For 70 years, she reigned as our Queen.

She has been present amongst us as a follower of Christ and a member of his Church. And for that and much else beside, we give thanks to God together here this day.

Read it all.

#HerMajesty #QueenElizabeth https://t.co/1YeVAWvO9r

— Church of Scotland (@churchscotland) September 12, 2022

Contrast the Post summary with this language from her majesty’s 2011 talk, as transcribed by the BBC.

Jesus was born into a world full of fear. The angels came to frightened shepherds with hope in their voices: ‘Fear not’, they urged, ‘we bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ‘For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour who is Christ the Lord.’

Although we are capable of great acts of kindness, history teaches us that we sometimes need saving from ourselves — from our recklessness or our greed.

God sent into the world a unique person — neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive.

Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God’s love.

That’s a bit more specific, isn’t it? Year after year, Queen Elizabeth stressed that her faith was at the heart of her life and work. Was this a valid and important part of her (news) story?

Read it all.

“God sent into the world a unique person: neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive. Those are words from the Queen’s Christmas speech in 2011.” From Saturday’s Requiem for HM the Queen: https://t.co/jD6LQm829x pic.twitter.com/fp30dRY4yk

— All Saints Margaret Street (@ASMSLondon) September 12, 2022

The leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, Archbishop Eamon Martin, said that it had always been very clear to him that Queen Elizabeth II was a woman of deep personal faith, particularly through her public speaking.

“She was unafraid to be a strong, personal and courageous witness to the teachings of Christ,” he said.

“Here was a woman who lived her faith – who served the Lord at every moment of her life and who really wrote faith into everything that she thought, said and did.”

Archbishop Martin said that he always always believed the Queen was someone who practiced her faith, who regularly went to church, and was “clearly steeped in the word of God”.

Read it all.

Religious leaders reflect on the Queen's Christian faith https://t.co/wt4qExe9vD

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) September 11, 2022