Almost 3 in 5 teenage girls reported feeling so persistently sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row during the previous year that they stopped regular activities — a figure that was double the share of boys and the highest in a decade, CDC data showed.

Girls fared worse on other measures, too, with higher rates of alcohol and drug use than boys and higher levels of being electronically bullied, according to the 89-page report. Thirteen percent had attempted suicide during the past year, compared to 7 percent of boys.

Sharon Hoover, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Maryland’s School of Medicine and co-director of the National Center for School Mental Health, said she was struck by “the magnitude of the increases and the gender difference.”

Hoover and others pointed out it is unclear whether the data is influenced by other factors — if girls were more aware of depressive symptoms than boys, for instance, or more inclined to report them — or whether girls are simply far worse off.

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Teen girls across the United States are “engulfed in a growing wave of violence and trauma,” according to federal researchers who released data Monday showing increases in rape and sexual violence, as well as record levels of feeling sad or hopeless. https://t.co/CQZfSuGOvb

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 13, 2023

The average age of people who identify as Christian in England and Wales has topped 50, as most younger adults now identify as non-religious, according to new census data.

In 2021, the median age of those identifying as Christian was 51, compared with 45 just a decade ago, according to a breakdown of religion by age and sex in England and Wales from the Office of National Statistics.

That median age marked the oldest average age among most religious groups among these two U.K. countries.

While in 2011 over two in 10 who identified as Christian were 65 or older, that number is now three in 10, while the percentage of those ages 21-25 who identify as Christian has declined from 5.1% to 3.9%.

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Average age of people in England, Wales identifying as Christian climbs above 50: census https://t.co/56NtoUGUE5

— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) February 12, 2023

It is the Quadrilateral that sets out the basis of our belief. It is the Marks of Mission that set out the objects of our action.

The Instruments of Communion are much less important. They’re about, simply, organisation. They set out how we relate.

They are: first, the Lambeth Conference of Bishops which first occurred in 1867. Second, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in post-reformation form from the 1530s and going on developing, but in origin from 597 AD. Third, the Anglican Consultative Council from the 1960s and fourth the Primates’ Meeting from the late 1970s.

The Instruments have grown and changed over the years. They’ve responded to changes caused by wars, colonialism, decolonizing, corruption and failure, heresies and schisms, technological and scientific advance. They have never had the character of Synods with either doctrinal or ethical authority over the Communion, but they do have moral force.

But history shows us that when times change, so must the Instruments of Communion. The post Second World War era is ending. It is collapsing around us, as we sit here.

The international order is ending. Wars and technological destruction are growing. Climate change is increasing. The power of international bodies like the UN is failing. Commerce and modern economics is losing the fight to grow faster than the populations and to meet increasing needs.

Not least because of human selfishness. The future of this world, the world in which we live, the world in which the church lives, is for shaping.

It may be wonderful and generous particularly if the 2 billion Christians act as one, declare the beautiful, support the generous, love one another. We can play our part as the Anglican Communion. A crucial part. That is God’s call. Bless. Be a blessing to the world around us.

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“The task of the church has been, since the first Pentecost, to declare the marvellous works of God and to call people to live out their trust in Christ.”

Archbishop Justin Welby gives his Presidential Address at the start of #ACC18.#AnglicanCommunion pic.twitter.com/C9oQ73Sl6F

— Anglican Communion (@AnglicanWorld) February 12, 2023

State laws tend to allow the gambling industry to regulate itself, which means that these companies are expected to identify and exclude their steadiest customers. This has been as unsuccessful as one might expect; as much as 50 percent of revenue comes from “problem gamblers,” while one study showed that in 1998, only 4 percent of gambling revenue from video lottery games came from “responsible” gamers. Just as tobacco companies would go out of business if people used their products responsibly, gambling wouldn’t be a multibillion-dollar industry if it weren’t for addicts.

Marijuana has a more complicated legacy, especially because it has real (but rather modest) benefits for medicinal use. However, careful analyses show that marijuana legalization has contributed to a rise in opioid-related deaths, especially when dispensaries can legally sell all sorts of cannabis products. Permitting dispensaries also increases referrals for addiction treatment, which is unsurprising considering that higher-potency products are more dangerous. The best evidence we have suggests that marijuana is harmful to teenage brains as they develop and that more teenagers use marijuana when it is legalized in their state.

The industries that profit off addiction want to frame the question of access around “responsible use” and occasionally suggest that some people might have a genetic predisposition to addiction. This individualistic framing allows them to avoid talking about how much effort they’re putting into making their products as accessible as possible. Even more important, it elides the question of whether we are all better off when it’s easier to start an addiction and harder to escape one.

There’s a richer and more compelling vision, one that is drawn from philosophical traditions across the ages. It recognizes that our life together isn’t merely a series of contracts we negotiate, and that our ability to make good decisions isn’t based simply on our rationality. Virtue is not simply doing good deeds, but also a set of dispositions and habits that must be practiced in order to flourish. Just as people can be sucked into addictions, we can also work to develop the virtues inside us so that we can be kind, generous, and self-controlled throughout our lives.

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America Has Gone Too Far in Legalizing Vice https://t.co/b8WnbgFO49

— Matt Lewis (@mattklewis) February 13, 2023

"PUT SOME RESPECT ON OUR NAME." — @tkelce pic.twitter.com/CFBTbK7exT

— ESPN (@espn) February 13, 2023

On Thursday night, Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs won his second N.F.L. Most Valuable Player Award, cementing him as the most accomplished passer of a new crop of young quarterbacks dominating the league. Three days later, he added the second Super Bowl victory of his career, throwing for 182 yards and three touchdowns to beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35.

The game concluded a tumultuous season for the N.F.L. in which Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field from a cardiac arrest during a game and high-profile hits to Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa renewed criticisms of how the league handles players’ health, especially concussions.

Mahomes fought through the playoffs with an injury of his own, a high ankle sprain sustained in the divisional round last month that was aggravated in the second quarter Sunday.

Philadelphia dominated the first half. Yet, with Kansas City facing a 10-point deficit to begin the third quarter, Mahomes marshaled a resilient performance in a game noteworthy for pitting him against another emergent passer, Jalen Hurts, in the first Super Bowl contested between two Black starting quarterbacks.

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Set us free, O heavenly Father, from every bond of prejudice and fear: that, honoring the steadfast courage of thy servants Absalom Jones and Richard Allen, we may show forth in our lives the reconciling love and true freedom of the children of God, which thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Absalom Jones, Priest, 1818

Founder of the Free Africa Society & African Episcopal Church of St Thomas, he became the 1st African American Episcopal priest, ordained in 1804

Portrait by Raphaelle Peale (1810), Public Domain via Wikimedia pic.twitter.com/TM99a4R05M

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) February 13, 2023

Almighty God, look mercifully upon your people, that by your great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and for ever.  Amen.

Morning everyone, hope you are well. Early morning light over St James Church Buttermere. Have a great day. #lakedistrict @keswickbootco @ShowcaseCumbria pic.twitter.com/juA3YghVA4

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) February 13, 2023

I thank him who has given me strength for this, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful by appointing me to his service, though I formerly blasphemed and persecuted and insulted him; but I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life

–1 Timothy 1:12-16

Good morning you lovely lot😊Happy Monday everybody, I hope you have a fantastic day whatever your plans are.
😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊
Pic – Whitby – North Yorkshire pic.twitter.com/3ZzlYUrlUd

— A View from Yorkshire (@yorkshire_from) February 13, 2023