Presidential guards in Niger have seized President Mohamed Bazoum and blockaded his residence, as well as key ministries, sources say.

The African Union, the UN, the EU and the United States have all condemned their actions.

President Bazoum is a key western ally in the fight against Islamist militancy in West Africa.

Crowds in the capital Niamey have taken to the streets of in support of the president.

Read it all.

Breaking: Reports are coming in that Niger's president Mohamed Bazoum is being held in a coup attempt. The African Union has condemned the "attempted coup d'etat", describing it as "unacceptable".

Read the latest here:https://t.co/EMjaGab8vK

— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) July 26, 2023

God’s wrath against sin does not mean … that he is likely to fly off the handle at the most trivial provocation, still less that he loses his temper for no apparent reason at all. For there is nothing capricious or arbitrary about the holy God. Nor is he ever irascible,malicious, spiteful or vindictive. His anger is neither mysterious nor irrational. It is never unpredictable but always predictable, because it is provoked by evil and by evil alone.

–John R W Stott, The Cross of Christ (Downer’s Grove, InterVarsity Press, 2006), p.173

Okay, quick thought on atonement: I have honestly never found the critique of Penal Substitution from its alleged inability to foster a life of discipleship to be moderately compelling. Easiest argument against it is John Stott's volume, "The Cross of Christ." pic.twitter.com/huHoJ0mtpX

— Derek Rishmawy (@DZRishmawy) July 19, 2018

The Gulf Stream is a mighty river in the ocean that powers past South Carolina with such force and momentum that it sucks water away from our coast, lowering our sea level by as much as 3 feet.

It’s also part of a much larger conveyor belt of warm and cool waters called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, a current system that moderates the Northern Hemisphere’s climate like a radiator in a car.

But because of a rapidly warming planet, the AMOC system could collapse between 2025 and 2095, researchers said in a new study published in the journal Nature Communications that’s raising alarms across the globe.

Read it all.

Gulf Stream and Atlantic ocean current system could collapse, causing seas to rise in SC https://t.co/8tFTs5toVv via @postandcourier

— Sandra Bundy (@SandraBundy) July 26, 2023

What happens when churches go vague on theology and detailed on politics? With the National Council of Churches (NCC), currently celebrating its 75th anniversary, we have the answer.

Have you ever heard of the NCC? If you are under age 60, likely not. But for decades it was the premier liberal voice for Protestant Christianity in America. In 1958 President Dwight Eisenhower laid the cornerstone on the new building in New York that would house the NCC and other Protestant agencies, in a tribute to their wide influence. Newspapers boasted that the new 19-story Interchurch Center, built with help from the Rockefellers, would house 37 Protestant denominations representing 40 million Americans and 144,000 congregations. Occupants included the Methodists, Presbyterians, Reformed Church, and American Baptists, and a host of mainline Protestant agencies.

For decades, the NCC had hundreds of employees and large budgets, and the council commanded respect as a pillar of American civil society. It was for public religion what the American Bar Association was for lawyers. It still has 37 member denominations. But, like those denominations, it is a shell of its former self, with a small staff and budget. What remains of the NCC is nestled in a small suite in the Methodist Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. What happened?

Read it all.

But other churches can learn lessons from the NCC’s demise: Be firm on doctrine and careful on political activism.⁦@WNGdotorg⁩ https://t.co/PcxwyDD6Wc

— @markdtooley (@markdtooley) July 26, 2023

Almighty God, heavenly Father, we remember in thanksgiving this day the parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary; and we pray that we all may be made one in the heavenly family of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, for ever and ever.

July 26 is the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary and grandparents of Christ. pic.twitter.com/jBAbtBUTvp

— Tradical (@NoTrueScotist) July 26, 2023

Deliver me, O God, from a slothful mind, from all lukewarmness, and all dejection of spirit. I know these cannot but deaden my love to Thee; mercifully free my heart from them, and give me a lively, zealous, active, and cheerful spirit; that I may vigorously perform whatever Thou commandest, thankfully suffer whatever Thou choosest for me, and be ever ardent to obey in all things Thy holy love.

–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)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care if we perish?” And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?” And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?”

–Mark 4:35-41

Sunrise over the Holy City! #chswx pic.twitter.com/J4fpTNso9Q

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 26, 2023

Last week, Keir Starmer confirmed that a Labour Government would continue the current Government’s policy of the two-child benefit cap. This policy limits the payments that families in receipt of Universal Credit receive to only their first two children and was introduced in 2014 to ensure that ‘people on benefits face the same choices as those in work’.

The reasoning behind the policy does not stand true, as 58 percent of families affected by the limit are in fact households with at least working adult. The cap has instead had a detrimental impact on the lives of families across the country, and the Child Poverty Action Group estimates that the policy is pushing approximately one million children into poverty for prolonged periods.

Child poverty increases the likelihood of lower educational outcomes, as well as poorer mental and physical health. Those who experience it are also more likely to require support from public services later in life, negating any short-term benefits to the country’s finances that continuing to implement the cap would have. Removing the two-child limit would be the most cost-effective way of reducing the number of children living in poverty and would immediately lift an estimated 250,000 children out of poverty.

Read it all.

'My hope is that this Bill will bring an end to this cruel policy'@BishopPaulB urges the Labour and Conservative parties to back his Private Members’ Bill on abolishing the two-child benefit caphttps://t.co/H1FUnetFDb

— Politics.co.uk (@Politics_co_uk) July 24, 2023

A record number of children are living in temporary accommodation, as the level of homelessness in England soars.

The housing department revealed on Tuesday that 104,510 households were in temporary accommodation by the end of March this year — a 25-year high.

The total number of children in the same situation is at the highest level since records for that measure began in 2004, with 131,370 children living in temporary accommodation.

Read it all.

A record number of children are living in temporary accommodation, as the level of homelessness in England soarshttps://t.co/KOTwx7L29i

— The Times and The Sunday Times (@thetimes) July 25, 2023

Evangelicals have very good retention rates — even in the last decade nearly three quarters were still part of the same faith tradition as adults. The overall retention decline for evangelicals is just five percentage points. For mainline it’s much worse. They started right around the same level as evangelicals (76%), but now it’s just 58%. That means that if you found five people who were raised in the mainline, two of them would no longer be mainline today.

Black Protestants have also seen a noticeable decline. It was 87% who stayed in the tradition. Now it’s just 71% — a 16-point decline. Catholics are in a similar boat, too. They started out pretty high at 85%; now that number is 67%, which means that about one-third of folks raised Catholic are no longer part of the church.

As previously discussed, the nones are doing better at retention, though, going from a low point of 36% in the 1970s to 66% in the last decade. That is obviously a partial explanation for why the overall share of Americans who identify with no religion has continued to rise. Their boat has become less leaky, and they have to replace fewer people who leave. For most Christian groups, there are more holes forming in the hull every year.

But so far, we’ve only discussed retention rates, not where people go when they leave their childhood religion behind. Let’s take a closer look at that now….

Read it all.

The development is owed partly to a rebound in immigration as the United States has eased pandemic-related restrictions, cleared processing backlogs and enacted more permissive policies. Labor supply has also received a boost as some demographic groups — including women in their prime working years — have returned to the job market in bigger numbers than anticipated, pushing their employment rates to record highs.

That influx has made the Fed’s job a little less painful. Hiring has been able to chug along at a solid clip without further overheating the labor market because job seekers are becoming available to replace those who are getting snapped up. Unemployment has held steady around 3.5 percent, and some data even suggests that staffing is becoming less strained. Wage growth has begun to slow, for instance, and workers are no longer pulling such long hours.

“Monetary policy is part of the story to get demand moving towards supply, but any help we can get from supply increasing, that’s good news,” John C. Williams, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said in an interview with The Financial Times this month.

Read it all.

The expanding supply of workers has allowed the Fed to accept the faster-than-expected hiring without slamming the brakes on the economy even more aggressively.

A Flood of New Workers Has Made the Fed’s Job Less Painful. Can It Persist? https://t.co/mvAz3MCsYF

— Sean Graf (@seangraf) July 24, 2023

O gracious God, we remember before thee this day thy servant and apostle James, first among the Twelve to suffer martyrdom for the Name of Jesus Christ; and we pray that thou wilt pour out upon the leaders of thy Church that spirit of self-denying service by which alone they may have true authority among thy people; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

25 July is the feast of St James, patron saint of pilgrims. In medieval art he's often depicted dressed as a pilgrim, with all the necessary equipment for a pilgrimage – broad-brimmed hat, staff, scrip, and scallop-shells.

(https://t.co/N8GPbcYWf8, 14th century) pic.twitter.com/4QAS29DE4N

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) July 25, 2023

Almighty God, who in thy Son Jesus Christ hast called us in from the bondage of sin to be servants of righteousness: Give us grace to yield our lives wholly to thine obedience; that, being made free from sin, we may have our fruit unto holiness, and hereafter may be made partakers of the life everlasting; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sunrise view from the @SCaquarium! pic.twitter.com/HgZtUO6yxE

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 25, 2023

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

–Mark 4:21-34

Whitby sunrise. pic.twitter.com/t3UFxFqMsC

— Dave Z Photography (@DaveZ_uk) July 25, 2023

An outstanding candidate for the role of UK patron saint is, I believe, Aidan, the 7th-century Christian missionary bishop who embodies both the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon strains in our national identity.

Originally from Ireland, he was a monk in the Scottish monastery that Columba founded on Iona, from where he was called by Oswald, ruler of the English kingdom of Northumbria, to promote Christianity. He established his episcopal see on the island of Lindisfarne, where he also set up a monastery in 635.

Aidan was a person of deep and genuine humility, described by the early church historian Bede as “a man of outstanding gentleness, devotion and moderation”. He upbraided a monk of “much harsher disposition”, who had first been chosen to evangelise the Northumbrians but had no success, for being too hectoring in his approach.

When a subsequent king, Oswin, gave Aidan a fine horse, he gave it away to the first beggar that he met, preferring to go round his extensive diocese on foot. In Bede’s words: “Whenever he met anyone, whether high or low, he spoke to them.”

Read it all (subscription).

August 31st is the feast of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, “the Apostle of Northumbria”: Irish monk of Iona, missionary to Bernicia, founder-Bishop of Lindisfarne, adviser to King Saints Oswald and Oswine, wonderworker, and Confessor of the Faith—who died on this day in A.D. 651. pic.twitter.com/wxKsay0wry

— Tradical (@NoTrueScotist) August 31, 2018

There is less theater in America these days. Fewer venues. Fewer productions. Fewer performances.

Cal Shakes, a Bay Area favorite that staged Shakespeare in an outdoor amphitheater, is producing no shows this year. Chicago’s Lookingglass Theater, where Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” had its premiere before coming to Broadway, has halted programming until next spring. The Williamstown Theater Festival, known for its star-studded summer shows, has no fully staged productions at its Western Massachusetts home this season.

The coronavirus pandemic and its aftermath have left the industry in crisis. Interviews with 72 top-tier regional theaters located outside New York City reveal that they expect, in aggregate, to produce 20 percent fewer productions next season than they did in the last full season before the pandemic, which shuttered theaters across the country, in many cases for 18 months or more. And many of the shows that they are programming will have shorter runs, smaller casts and simpler sets.

Seattle’s ACT Theater has reduced the length of each show’s run by a week. In Los Angeles, the Geffen Playhouse will no longer schedule performances on Tuesdays, its slowest night. Philadelphia’s Arden Theater Company expects to give 363 performances next season, down from 503 performances the season before the pandemic.

Read it all.

As they struggle to recover after the pandemic, regional theaters in the U.S. are staging fewer shows, giving fewer performances, laying off staff and, in some cases, closing. https://t.co/UzrmbK5BL4

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 23, 2023

You may also find more there and you can listen directly or download it if you prefer.

@NetworkTheatre Jean-Paul Sartre's 'No Exit' (Huis Clos) @CasaLiverpool last night tonight Fri 9 Feb, 7.30pm £9/£7 https://t.co/jbUIKGj5ak or pay on door @speccytheatreco @offtopictheatre @hihtheatre @reviews_chris @IanDHall1 @LiverpoolPhilos #philosophyinpubs #Pips pic.twitter.com/M0RGZAKpwG

— Theatre At The Casa (@CasaTheatre) February 9, 2018

“This memorial is designed to have life and legs,” he said.

Mayor John Tecklenburg called the memorial a “sacred public space” and celebrated its potential to foster healing.

Chris Singleton, son of the late Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, said the memorial was a helpful way forward from tragedy.

Malcolm Graham, brother of the late Cynthia Graham Hurd, said the site is “where love and harmony prevail over hatred and division.”

“Together we can channel our pain into positive action,” he said. “As Cynthia would say, keep the faith, do the work.”

Read it all.

Fundraising efforts, years of design and planning, and delays caused by the COVID pandemic, finally are in the rearview mirror as the Emanuel Nine Memorial Foundation broke ground today, signaling the start of the construction phase of the memorial project.https://t.co/bolJ34ysIL

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) July 22, 2023

Holy Father, who hast nourished and strengthened thy Church by the writings of thy servant Thomas a Kempis: Grant that we may learn from him to know what we ought to know, to love what we ought to love, to praise what highly pleaseth thee, and always to seek to know and follow thy will; 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 Thomas à Kempis, Priest and Mystic, 1471 https://t.co/yMZVsjUlGX

Image: Stained glass depiction of Thomas à Kempis by W.F. Dixon (1884), in The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Photo by JoJan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons pic.twitter.com/yReojAfi2G

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) July 24, 2023

Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
graft in our hearts the love of your name,
increase in us true religion,
nourish us with all goodness,
and of your great mercy keep us in the same;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Early morning view of the Ashley River and Downtown Charleston! #chswx pic.twitter.com/lHebOsCrXo

— Joey Sovine Live 5 (@JoeySovine) July 24, 2023

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven.” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

–Mark 4:1-20

Happy Monday all and hope its a good one! Quite a contrast to yesterday, the rain has stopped and sun out 🙂 #Mondayvibes #Monday #Lancashire @StormHour pic.twitter.com/a7h3uxD4hj

— David Oxtaby (@Disc_light) July 24, 2023

O God, you declare your almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we, running to obtain your promises, may become partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Good Morning All… Enjoy Sunday!

🌼🌱🌼 Wonderful Wildflowers-South Australia 🌼🌱🌼#wildflowers #ThePhotoHour #SundayYellow@wildflower_hour #wildflowerID #botany pic.twitter.com/soz4t3gtiS

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) July 23, 2023

I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

–Romans 12:1-2

Also in #Monochrome The Ship of the Fens looming out of the mist @Ely_Cathedral @ElyPhotographic @StormHour @ThePhotoHour @AP_Magazine @BabylonArtsEly @FascinatingFens @Fen_SCENE @visitely @Elyimagazine #Cambridgeshire @SpottedInEly @ElyIslandPie @Kings_Ely #blackandwhitephoto pic.twitter.com/gDWazrApxO

— Glynis Pierson (@glynpierson) July 23, 2023

But you, most holy Lord, why do you ask her why she weeps? Surely you can see; her heart, the dear life of her soul, is cruelly slain. O love to be wondered at; O evil to be shuddered at; you hung on the wood, pierced by iron nails, stretched out like a thief for the mockery of wicked men; and yet, “Woman,” you say, “why are you weeping?” She had not been able to prevent them from killing you, but at least she longed to keep your body for a while with ointments lest it decay. No longer able to speak with you living, at least she could mourn for you dead. So, near to death and hating her own life, she repeats in broken tones the words of life which she had heard from the living. And now, besides all this, even the body which she was glad, in a way, to have kept, she believes to have gone. And can you ask her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” Had she not reason to weep? For she had seen with her own eyes — if she could bear to look — what cruel men cruelly did to you; and now all that was left of you from their hands she thinks she has lost. All hope of you has fled, for now she has not even your lifeless body to remind her of you. And someone asks, “Who are you looking for? Why are you weeping?” You, her sole joy, should be the last thus to increase her sorrow. But you know it all well, and thus you wish it to be, for only in such broken words and sighs can she convey a cause of grief as great as hers. The love you have inspired you do not ignore. And indeed you know her well, the gardener, who planted her soul in his garden. What you plant, I think you also water. Do you water, I wonder, or do you test her? In fact, you are both watering and putting to the test.

But now, good Lord, gentle Master, look upon your faithful servant and disciple, so lately redeemed by your blood, and see how she burns with anxiety, desiring you, searching all round, questioning, and what she longs for is nowhere found. Nothing she sees can satisfy her, since you whom alone she would behold, she sees not. What then? How long will my Lord leave his beloved to suffer thus? Have you put off compassion now you have put on incorruption? Did you let go of goodness when you laid hold of immortality? Let it not be so, Lord. You will not despise us mortals now you have made yourself immortal, for you made yourself a mortal in order to give us immortality.

And so it is; for love’s sake he cannot bear her grief for long or go on hiding himself. For the sweetness of love he shows himself who would not for the bitterness of tears. The Lord calls his servant by the name she has often heard and the servant knows the voice of her own Lord. I think, or rather I am sure, that she responded to the gentle tone with which he was accustomed to call, “Mary.”

Read it all.

Today is the feast of St Mary Magdalene, once known as 'Maudlintide'. In medieval tradition Mary was famous for her love and her tears, a healing spring of mingled grief and joy, as in this beautifully tender prayer by St Anselm https://t.co/dWjvQBjaQr pic.twitter.com/WyouTQkO09

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) July 22, 2023

Almighty God, whose blessed Son restored Mary Magdalene to health of body and mind, and called her to be a witness of his resurrection: Mercifully grant that by thy grace we may be healed of all our infirmities and know thee in the power of his endless life; who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever.

Today is the feast day of Mary Magdalene. Here, from 1472, one of Carlo Crivelli's wonderful paintings of her, with that signature side-eye. A+ pic.twitter.com/judSoTGjLf

— Dr. Peter Paul Rubens (@PP_Rubens) July 22, 2023

O God, renew our spirits by thy Holy Spirit, and draw our hearts this morning unto thyself, that our work may not be a burden, but a delight; and give us such a mighty love to thee as may sweeten all our obedience. Let us not serve with the spirit of bondage as slaves, but with cheerfulness and gladness, as children, delighting ourselves in thee and rejoicing in thy wishes for the sake of Jesus Christ.

–Robert W. Rodenmayer, ed., The Pastor’s Prayerbook: Selected and arranged for various occasions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960)

Wishing you a wonderful weekend from North Yorkshire 😊 pic.twitter.com/GzRtEoncoC

— Nicky (@Nicky13Johnson) July 22, 2023

Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;

To the end that [my] glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

–Psalm 30:11-12 (KJV)

happy weekend all, looks like its going to rain for pretty much all of it! Here is one from yesterdays walk, i did like the lines in this and also the 3 hay bales, it just caught my eye 🙂 have a good one all 🙂 pic.twitter.com/53716rIBwj

— David Oxtaby (@Disc_light) July 22, 2023

Following on from the broo-ha-ha about Stephen Cottrell’s comments on the problems of calling God ‘Father‘, the latest episode in the debate about God’s sex and pronouns comes from Hereford Cathedral. Last Sunday, their main Communion service began with an Introit which re-writes Psalm 23 with God identified using female pronouns.

The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all I need, She makes me lie down in green meadows, Beside the still waters, She will lead.

She restores my soul, She rights my wrongs, She leads me in a path of good things, And fills my heart with songs.

Even though I walk, through a dark and dreary land, There is nothing that can shake me, She has said She won’t forsake me, I’m in her hand.

She sets a table before me, in the presence of my foes, She anoints my head with oil, And my cup overflows.

Surely, surely goodness and kindness will follow me, All the days of my life, And I will live in her house, Forever, forever and ever.

Glory be to our Mother, and Daughter, And to the Holy of Holies, As it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, World without end. Amen.

There are several things to note about this piece, and its use in the Cathedral. (You can watch its performance at the Cathedral’s livestream on YouTube, but these are deleted after about a week, so I have captured it and posted it on my own channel, and the link is at the end of this piece.)

As I will explore below, it is a central conviction of Christian theology that God does not have a sex—because God is not bodily. To believe that God is sexed is a serious error, and that is why some people argue that we should avoid using the male pronoun for God. The difficulty here is that, because all the human people we know are either male or female, few languages have a commonly used personal pronoun that is not sexed, and that includes the Hebrew (and Aramaic) and Greek that the Bible is written in. Perhaps because of dominance of men in public roles in most pre-modern cultures, until very recently the default choice of generic pronoun has been male, so if the sex of someone was unspecified, then ‘he’ was taken to be inclusive of all. Thus we have used male pronouns for the personal but not sexed God of Christian faith.

Read it all.

What are the theological, pastoral, and institutional issues around the use of 'she' for God at Hereford Cathedral's service? Does the leadership of the Church of England have the courage to resist the tide of gender ideology? https://t.co/ImhRpuOJze

— Dr Ian Paul (@Psephizo) July 21, 2023

A preacher’s daughter and teacher from Columbia, South Carolina, sees a war break out and feels so compelled to serve she leaves school to enlist. She becomes the highest-ranking Black woman of World War II as a lieutenant colonel.

The son of Florence farmers and the youngest of nine siblings moves to Virginia after the loss of his mother. He’s drawn to the Black soldiers stationed at a nearby base and enlists in the Army at 17 years old. He becomes the first Black man to achieve the rank of lieutenant general.

Charity Adams and Arthur Gregg were both raised in South Carolina. They were years apart and their paths never crossed, but they each in their own way have influenced American military history.

Now, their names will stand side-by-side in perpetuity as the namesakes for a Virginia Army fort once named for Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Read it all.

Amid an overhaul of the names of military installations that once honored Confederate figures, a pair of South Carolinians have now been memorialized for their groundbreaking Army careers. These are their stories. https://t.co/UBaYliV55U

— The State Newspaper (@thestate) July 20, 2023