The Church of England has released a new video which dramatises the church life of one woman at Christmas.

The film, set to dramatic music, shows her consecutive experiences within different churches at Christmas time — from first appearing in a nativity play as a baby, through childhood, marriage, family life, and finally into widowhood. In this last scene, she is seen sitting alone at the end of a service. Her sadness is turned to joy as she is encouraged by members of the congregation to join in carols and mince pies outside.

It ends with the message: “Wherever you are on life’s journey, you’re invited to church this Christmas.” This is the theme of the Church’s advent campaign this year: Follow The Star: The great invitation, for which a variety of resources were published last week, including daily reflections, a short liturgy, and printed and online materials for the festive season (News, 2 December).

A C of E press release accompanying the film, which went live on Sunday, explains that the campaign, which is featured across its social-media channels, is “geared towards people who might not normally — or ever — attend church”.

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The Church of England has released a new video which dramatises the church life of one woman at Christmas. Watch it here https://t.co/6LsFzRpBmN

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 5, 2022

The Economic Innovation Group report is the most detailed effort yet to steer that selection, by trying to balance the needs of left-behind areas with their potential for an economic rebirth. It measures that potential using data on regions’ industrial composition and economic complexity, along with two key human ingredients for innovation: the number of working-age science and technology graduates and the number of patent authors in an area.

To measure need, the report looks at the share of a region’s prime-age adults who are not employed or are looking for work, two measures of so-called “brain drain” — the flight of college graduates from an area — and the distance from a “superstar” city like New York or Chicago.

The top 10 cities on the list are a mix between higher potential (like Phoenix and Salt Lake City) and higher need (like a pair of Ohio cities, Toledo and Akron). Many are college towns, Mr. Fikri noted, that are not quite large enough to have yet sustained a thriving industrial sector that grows out of scientific research.

Greenville, S.C., tops the list with a score balanced almost evenly between potential and need, followed by Provo, Utah, and Tucson, Ariz.

The report’s researchers say their data suggests policymakers could — and should — spread the hubs across various areas with different bases of technological expertise and differing levels of need, in hopes of maximizing both the advancements and the regional economic gains they produce.

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Innovation Hubs Aim to Lift Distressed Areas. Congress Just Has to Fund Them https://t.co/b5pSZTkNjb "20 newly created research centers could revitalize struggling economies and accelerate new technologies" #RiseOfRest @InnovateEconomy pic.twitter.com/r22B8zYErk

— Steve Case (@SteveCase) December 5, 2022

In the 1950s, when the term “teenager” had been popularised, it brought to mind trouble. Spotty youths who engaged in risky behaviour outside the house—getting drunk, pregnant or into car crashes—were “the number one fear of American citizens”, wrote Bill Bryson in his memoir, “The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid”. Today, the risks American teens face come from within. Boys are now more likely to kill themselves than to be killed in a motor crash. Girls are nearly 50% more likely to injure themselves in a suicide attempt than to face an unplanned pregnancy. Suicide is the second-biggest killer of ten- to 18-year-olds, after accidents.

The rise in youth suicide is part of a broader increase in mental-health problems among the young. This preceded the pandemic but was probably accelerated by it. In 2021 nearly half of American high-school students said that they had experienced persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness in the past year, up from 26% in 2009; one in five seriously considered suicide, up from 14%; and 9% attempted to end their life, up from 6%…. Although the rates for 15- to 19-year-olds are not unprecedented (there was a similar peak in the early 1990s), the rates for ten- to 14-year-olds are higher than ever before.

The fact that it has become more acceptable for young people to discuss their feelings has surely contributed to some of the changes, such as the rise in self-reported sadness. Better screening may also play a role. But neither explains the most alarming data: suicide rates. Attempts, injuries and deaths have all risen among young Americans over the past decade. Last year, no age group saw a steeper rise than men aged 15 to 24, according to preliminary data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (cdc).

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Good, sobering article on the rise in youth suicide. Includes: "Although girls are much more likely to contemplate ending their lives, or injure themselves in attempting to do so, teen boys are nearly three times as likely to die from suicide".https://t.co/5auK3L9m8l

— Richard V. Reeves (@RichardvReeves) December 4, 2022

Cultivate quietness in word, quietness in deed, likewise in speech and gait; and avoid impetuous eagerness. For then the mind will remain steady, and will not be agitated by your eagerness and so become weak and of narrow discernment and see darkly; nor will it be worsted by gluttony, worsted by boiling rage, worsted by the other passions, lying a ready prey to them. For the mind, seated on high on a quiet thrown looking intently towards God, must control the passions. By no means be swept away by temper in bursts of anger, nor be sluggish in speaking, nor all nervousness in movement; so that your quietness may be adorned by good proportion and your bearing may appear something divine and sacred. Guard also against the signs of arrogance, a haughty bearing, a lofty head, a dainty and high-treading footstep.

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"If, then, disobedience in reference to reason is the generating cause of sin, how shall we escape the conclusion, that obedience to reason — the Word — which we call faith, will of necessity be the efficacious cause of duty?"

Clement of Alexandria, Instructor, 1.13 pic.twitter.com/ZTQ1sN55z5

— Ｐｈｉｌｉｐ　Ｄｅｒｒｉｄａ (@PhilipDerrida) November 29, 2022

O Lord, who didst call thy servant Clement of Alexandria from the errors of ancient philosophy that he might learn and teach the saving Gospel of Christ: Turn thy Church from the conceits of worldly wisdom and, by the Spirit of truth, guide it into all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Clement of Alexandria, Teacher and Apologist, 213 https://t.co/7e6Ujwk4MS

Image: Illustration of Clement in "Les vrais pourtraits et vies des hommes illustres grecz, latins et payens" (1584) by André Thevet (Public Domain, via Wikimedia) pic.twitter.com/arwCGSWaxT

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) December 5, 2022

O Gracious God and most merciful Father, who has vouchsafed us the rich and precious jewel of thy holy Word: Assist us with thy Spirit that it may be written in our hearts to our everlasting comfort, to reform us, to renew us according to thine own image, to build us up into the perfect building of thy Christ, and to increase us in all heavenly virtues. Grant this, O heavenly Father, for the same Jesus Christ’s sake.

What do you know about the heritage of the Geneva Bible? Read this guest blog post by Jonathan Edwards to learn more: https://t.co/7UFa06K1DL pic.twitter.com/M6J534OFJC

— Christian History Magazine (@ChristiaHistory) December 3, 2022

Turn thou to me, and be gracious to me;
for I am lonely and afflicted.
Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me out of my distresses.
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.

–Psalm 25:16-18

"Reflection"
Hawks Nest State Park#NewRiverGorge #AlmostHeaven #WestVirginia #ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/n6819FqFJX

— Thomas R Fletcher (@ThomasRFletcher) December 5, 2022

Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and the comfort of your holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Guten Morgen ☕️💕 wünsche allen einen besinnlichen
2. Adventssonntag 🌟🌲🌟 pic.twitter.com/UMvzAYMWhc

— Renate Kleine (@RenateKleine) December 4, 2022

Let me sing for my beloved a love song concerning his vineyard: My beloved had a vineyard on a very fertile hill. He digged it and cleared it of stones, and planted it with choice vines; he built a watchtower in the midst of it, and hewed out a wine vat in it; and he looked for it to yield grapes, but it yielded wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, between me and my vineyard. 4 What more was there to do for my vineyard, that I have not done in it? When I looked for it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes? And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard. I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured; I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down. I will make it a waste; it shall not be pruned or hoed, and briers and thorns shall grow up; I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are his pleasant planting; and he looked for justice, but behold, bloodshed; for righteousness, but behold, a cry!

–Isaiah 5:1-7

Good morning 🌎 have a wonderful Sunday everyone ❄️ looks like we may witness the first snow of the year #goodmorning #photo #scotland #photooftheday #sundayvibes @StormHour @ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/Abqa3an198

— Dr.P_78Glasgow (@AbhaPaulina) December 4, 2022

The Dutch, too, had spent the past four years resetting under a coach who plays the kind of soccer that Berhalter has always tried to emulate. The Netherlands manager, Louis van Gaal, is considered to be one of the finest tacticians in the world. And 10 minutes into the match, his team reminded the Americans why with a stunning buildup to its opening goal.

Memphis Depay’s strike came at the end of a 20-pass move that started with a gentle ball back from Van Dijk to his own goalkeeper and couldn’t have been more Dutch if it had been grown in a tulip field.

Over the course of 61 seconds, Van Gaal’s players eluded the American pressing game, dribbled away from tackles, and seemed to find a passing solution every time they looked up. Van Gaal’s Netherlands had been accused repeatedly of straying from Dutch soccer principles, but the players’ movement as they carved up the U.S. could have come straight from an orange textbook.

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Left it all out there. Proud of you, @USMNT. pic.twitter.com/4spE3FsNZT

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 3, 2022

Loving God, who didst call Francis Xavier to lead many in India and Japan to know Jesus Christ as their Redeemer: Bring us to the new life of glory promised to all who follow in the Way; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today the Church of England commemorates Francis Xavier, Missionary, Apostle of the Indies, 1552 https://t.co/cUjqmG9VHx

Image: The Miracles of Francis Xavier by Peter Paul Rubens, 1617/18, in the Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien. Public Domain via the Google Art Project pic.twitter.com/CdFmJMamj7

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) December 3, 2022

Help us, O Christ, to seek your truth and bear it; to learn your truth and love it, to tell your truth and live it, and to defend your truth and die in it. Amen.

Cornish Coast pic.twitter.com/K6TOORDVGS

— Veritatis Cupitor (@English1Maiden) December 3, 2022

But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first; then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

–1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

Good morning 😍 #SaturdayMorning #WINTER #december3rd #sunrisephotography @ThePhotoHour pic.twitter.com/XiaTqJtQMh

— The Wild Massy 🌳 (@TheWildMassy) December 3, 2022

Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland will make an historic Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan from 3rd – 5th February next year.

The long-awaited visit was due to take place in July of this year, but was postponed after the Vatican announced that Pope Francis would not be able to travel on advice from his doctors. The visit was promised during a spiritual retreat held at the Vatican in 2019, in which South Sudanese political leaders committed to working together for the good of their people.

The three spiritual leaders have often spoken of their hopes to visit South Sudan – to stand in solidarity with its people as they face the challenges of devastating flooding, widespread famine and continued violence. Pope Francis has said: “I think of South Sudan and the plea for peace arising from its people who, weary of violence and poverty, await concrete results from the process of national reconciliation. I would like to contribute to that process, not alone, but by making an ecumenical pilgrimage together with two dear brothers, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.”

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New date confirmed for historic Ecumenical Peace Pilgrimage to South Sudan by Pope, Archbishop and Church of Scotland Moderator #SouthSudan #Reconciliation #Peace #Ecumenism @churchofengland @churchscotland https://t.co/pWd1HpEU8p pic.twitter.com/wGRbOXc6hb

— Martin Browne OSB (@MartinBrowneOSB) December 1, 2022

Men and women in the U.S. differ starkly in their propensity to own a gun and their preferences for the nation’s gun laws. Gallup’s trends show that gun ownership among men has consistently been at least double that of women, and women are much more supportive than men of stricter gun laws.

Since 2007, when Gallup began to track Americans’ personal gun ownership annually, men have been much more likely than women to say they are gun owners, but aggregated biennial data show gun ownership has been more variable among women than men. Gun ownership among women has swelled from the low teens to more than 20% over the past 15 years, while it has remained in the low to mid-40s among men during the same period.

The most recent findings, from 2021-2022, show a 21-percentage-point gender gap in gun ownership, with about twice as many men (43%) as women (22%) saying they personally own a gun.

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Gallup’s trend data show that gun ownership among men has consistently been at least double that of women. https://t.co/ODctUVQOnK

— GallupNews (@GallupNews) December 2, 2022

…when [Gregg] Berhalter leads the U.S. team into its first World Cup knockout match in eight years on Saturday, he will be up against an opponent that has taught him practically everything he knows about soccer. Nearly every fundamental belief that Berhalter holds about how the game should be played was learned during the six years he spent as a player in Holland.

“A lot of my basic ideas of the game are formed around the Dutch style,” Berhalter has said. “That had a huge part of forming who I am.”

Berhalter’s self-styled immersion program started in Zwolle in the Dutch second tier, where he found, like all Americans who travel to the Netherlands, that everyone spoke surprisingly excellent English. When he had questions, there were actually people who could answer them. This would not have been the case in, say, Genoa.

“He was humble, but not shy—he wasn’t afraid to speak in the dressing room about mentality or about work,” says Marco Koorman, a teammate at Zwolle during Berhalter’s first season there. “But when it came to tactics, he was quiet and he listened.”

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U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter will manage his first ever World Cup knockout game on Saturday against the Netherlands, the country where he once spent six years learning how the game should be played https://t.co/C1VmbYXWKg

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 1, 2022

The Archbishop’s Mission Enabler for the North is a new and exciting role which will focus on revitalising parishes and planting new churches across the Northern Province.

The role was made possible following a successful bid to the Strategic Development Fund and will focus on the northern dioceses’ goal to establish hundreds of new worshipping communities over the next decade. It will also have a particular emphasis on working with the most deprived communities and seeking to help the Church become younger and more diverse.

Commenting on the appointment, the Archbishop of York, Stephen Cottrell said, “This is an exciting time in the life of our church and this role has emerged after much prayer and collaboration with Diocesan Bishops and Theological Education Institutions across the Province. Mark brings with him a wealth of experience around empowering individuals and teams to flourish and is passionate about revitalisation of the church in the UK. I very much look forward to working with Mark as we seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit in this pioneering role.”

Mark will work with the 12 dioceses of the Northern Province to produce a bold and achievable strategy supporting step-change in church planting and parish revitalisation, alongside church mission agencies, established church networks and Theological Education Institutions.

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Delighted to announce the appointment of The Revd Canon Dr Mark Powley as Mission Enabler for the North. Mark will work with the 12 dioceses of the Northern Province to produce a bold & achievable strategy supporting parish revitalisation. https://t.co/Uw6hkL9oJH

— Stephen Cottrell (@CottrellStephen) December 1, 2022

The Archbishop of Canterbury has pledged solidarity with Ukrainians during a three-day visit to Kyiv, in which he deplored the suffering inflicted on them during the war, now in its tenth month.

“The people of Ukraine have shown extraordinary courage in the face of Russia’s illegal, unjust, and brutal invasion,” Archbishop Welby said on Wednesday.

“This visit is about showing solidarity with them as they face a profoundly difficult winter.” He said that he was looking forward to meeting church leaders and Christians in Kyiv, “and learning how we can continue to support them amidst the ongoing devastation, loss and destruction of this war”.

The Archbishop spoke after arriving in the Ukrainian capital from Poland, where he said that he had been “deeply moved” by stories told to him by refugees at a crisis centre in Warsaw.

He said: “In this season of Advent, we remember that Jesus was born into conflict and persecution — and became a refugee when his parents fled violence and persecution to seek safety in Egypt.

“I urge Christians in the Church of England and around the world to keep praying for the people of Ukraine in this Advent season — and all people around the world caught up in conflict. Let us keep offering our solidarity and support in every way we can”.

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“The people of Ukraine have shown extraordinary courage in the face of Russia’s illegal, unjust, and brutal invasion. This visit is about showing solidarity with them as they face a profoundly difficult winter" – @JustinWelby https://t.co/XYbwwAJ8KO

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 2, 2022

O great and glorious God, holy and immortal, who searches out the policies of nations and tries the hearts of men: Come, we pray thee, in judgment, upon the nations of the world; come and bring to destruction all that is contrary to thy holy will for mankind, and cause the counsels of the wicked to perish. Come, O Lord, into our hearts, and root out from them that thou seest, and we cannot see, to be unlike the Spirit of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Lord has taken his place to contend,
    he stands to judge his people.

The Lord enters into judgment
    with the elders and princes of his people:
“It is you who have devoured the vineyard,
    the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

What do you mean by crushing my people,
    by grinding the face of the poor?”
                says the Lord God of hosts.

–Isaiah 3:13-15

After two of its clergy were detained by Russian forces last week, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Exarchate of Donetsk has warned they could be victims of torture and has called for their immediate release.

In a Nov. 30 statement labeled as “urgent,” the exarchate voiced their solidarity with the clerics, who serve in the city of Berdyansk, in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region.

The priests are Father Ivan Levytskyi, who serves as abbot of the Nativity of the Holy Theotokos parish, and Father Bohdan Geleta, who assists at the parish.

They were detained several days ago for allegedly housing explosives with the intention to commit “guerilla” activities against the Russian army.

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After two of its clergy were detained by Russian forces last week, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Exarchate of Donetsk has warned they could be victims of torture and has called for their immediate release.https://t.co/dkKTFu9vxr

— Crux (@Crux) December 1, 2022

Back in 2016, Olasky noted that opposing Trump was risky: “Our call for a different Republican candidate will lose us some readers and donors.” Then in 2021, Trump-era tensions played a major role in his exit at World, after serving as editor for nearly three decades.

“Many people continue to stress that we are electing a president, not a preacher,” said Olasky. “I am also aware that God can do many things outside the limitations of what I think about all of this.”

But Olasky stands by his views in “The American Leadership Tradition” about fidelity and character. “From my selfish point of view,” he added, “the whole Trump era has been a vindication of that book.”

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I will take comments on this submitted by email only to KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

Olasky flashback: Back to the evangelical clashes over character and two-party politics https://t.co/U6f27LOBeB

— Terry Mattingly (@tweetmattingly) November 28, 2022

The census was of ‘religious attitudes‘, and not religious practice, so there was no question here about any kind of attendance. This leads to some key observations.

First, there is a large disparity between those identifying as ‘Christian’ and actual regular attendance at churches, on Sundays or midweek. C of E regular attendance is around 850,000, and (according to the work of Peter Brierley) this represents around a quarter of all attendance, which would then be 3.4 million, or just under 6% or the population. That attendance figure is a small part of the 27.5 million identifying as ‘Christian’.

(An interesting comparison is football viewing and attendance. In 2020/21, a record breaking 26.8m people or 40% of the population watched a live Premier League match at some point during the year. During football season match days, total attendance at matches of the first four divisions is 720,000—so the Christian faith is still far more popular, in terms of commitment and affiliation, than football!)

So the question is, what did people mean by saying they identified as Christian? For some, they will be aware of the heritage of Christian values which has shaped our culture—but I suspect for most, particularly those who are older, the term is effectively equivalent to ‘decent’, ‘moral’, ‘respectable’, or even ‘traditional British’.

This is very different from any reasonable working definition of ‘Christian’. In the gospels, it is clear that the core of Jesus’ message is ‘The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand—repent and believe the good news!’ (Mark 1.15). We might express this in contemporary terms: ‘the kingly, ruling presence of God is on its way; change the direction of your life, and trust your life to me.’ St Paul sums up Christian commitment as confessing that ‘Jesus is Lord’ (Rom 10.9, 1 Cor 12.3), that is to say, it is to Jesus we owe the faithful allegiance of our lives as we receive the forgiveness, hope and confidence that he offers through his life, death and resurrection. As an ordained Christian minister, I confess I am much more concerned with how many people are Christian in this sense, than how many tick a box on a census form!

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Good article, and I think a secular country needs to hear the challenge of this paragraph. https://t.co/zzTKST5FFc pic.twitter.com/hZjl79R08C

— Phill Sacre (@phillsacre) December 1, 2022

Elevators across Ukraine’s capital are stocked with emergency supplies in case the power fails. Banks have sent messages to customers to assure them their money is safe in the event of prolonged blackouts. The National Philharmonic played on Tuesday night on a stage lit by battery-powered lanterns, and doctors last week performed surgeries by flashlight.

This is Kyiv, a modern, thriving European capital of 3.3 million people, and now a war-torn city struggling with shortages of electricity, running water, cellphone service, central heating and the internet.

One popular cafe has created two menus — one featuring heated food like homemade pasta for when it has power, a second offering cold dishes like Greek yogurt with granola and applesauce when it doesn’t. At another restaurant, a chef cooked on a sidewalk grill as two young men warmed their hands over the coals. The sun sets early, before the school day is done, so children hold flashlights while waiting for their parents to arrive in total darkness to pick them up.

Generators of all sizes rattle and roar across the city, where municipal officials estimate that 1.5 million people are still without power for more than 12 hours a day.

Read it all.

"Kyiv residents grind on, showing up for work, caring for family, chipping in to help others in need & even allowing themselves a few indulgences. [A] masseuse who works in central Kyiv, said she was surprised that not a single client had canceled."https://t.co/syTX0NriUf

— Veronica Windholz 📚 (@rereadsclosely) December 1, 2022

Mark Seed now runs a community food project in Trowbridge, east Cardiff.

BBC Wales analysis of new Census data suggests six of Wales’ most deprived communities are in the city.

A charity warns that struggling households do not just appear in areas long associated with poverty and policy needs to focus on people not places.

Trowbridge lies in what Mr Seed calls an “arc of poverty” from east to west of the Welsh capital, with issues endemic in his area.

“I’m still shocked by the fact that we have people who are eating pet food,” he said.

Read it all.

People in Cardiff 'eating pet food' as cost of living rises https://t.co/TiJt4NWaT0

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 1, 2022

Keep us, O Lord, while we tarry on this earth, in a serious seeking after thee, and in an affectionate walking with thee, every day of our lives; that when thou comest, we may be found not hiding our talent, nor serving the flesh, nor yet asleep with our lamp unfurnished, but waiting and longing for our Lord, our glorious God for ever and ever.

Well hello December, you can carry on like this. Which direction to look was a problem today on Glastonbury Tor as the mists flowed across the Somerset levels and town. pic.twitter.com/1XV5ac0zyj

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) December 1, 2022

Therefore when we could bear it no longer, we were willing to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the gospel of Christ, to establish you in your faith and to exhort you, that no one be moved by these afflictions. You yourselves know that this is to be our lot. For when we were with you, we told you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction; just as it has come to pass, and as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent that I might know your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor would be in vain.

But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith; for now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. For what thanksgiving can we render to God for you, for all the joy which we feel for your sake before our God, praying earnestly night and day that we may see you face to face and supply what is lacking in your faith?

–1 Thessalonians 3:1-10

Downtown Summerville is all lit up for the holidays, and the air definitely feels like it today!

We are waking up to 30s and 40s under a clear sky.@WCBD #chswx #chsnews pic.twitter.com/5q0yQF8ITL

— Josh Marthers (@joshmarthers) December 1, 2022