Blessings for same-sex couples can take place within existing church services from this Sunday, after the House of Bishops formally commended the Prayers of Love and Faith at a meeting on Tuesday.

A statement on Tuesday afternoon revealed that the Bishops had voted 24-11, with three recorded abstentions, in favour of commending the collection of prayers, which were first published in draft form in January….

Two marathon debates in the General Synod, in February and November, ended with votes approving the Bishops’ plan to commend the blessings, despite threats of legal action if they were to go ahead….

The blessings have only being sanctioned for use within regular services, and not as a stand-alone service. In the Synod in November, an amendment calling on the Bishops to consider a trial period for stand-alone services was carried, albeit narrowly….

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Blessings for same-sex couples can take place within existing church services from this Sunday, after the House of Bishops formally commended the Prayers of Love and Faith at a meeting on Tuesday. https://t.co/4MuuNMnPpc

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 12, 2023

Maternity services could close at one of two London hospitals due to fewer births, the NHS said.

NHS North Central London said it needed to cut the number of maternity units in its area due to declining birth rates.

It has launched a public consultation, proposing to close either the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead or Whittington Hospital in Archway.

Concerns have been raised but NHS bosses said “nothing has been pre-decided”.

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Fewer births may force London maternity services to close https://t.co/LM6P0G5lMH

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 12, 2023

Homeownership has become a pipe dream for more Americans, even those who could afford to buy just a few years ago.

Many would-be buyers were already feeling stretched thin by home prices that shot quickly higher in the pandemic, but at least mortgage rates were low. Now that they are high, many people are just giving up.

It is now less affordable than any time in recent history to buy a home, and the math isn’t changing any time soon. Home prices aren’t expected to go back to prepandemic levels. The Federal Reserve, which started raising rates aggressively early last year to curb inflation, hasn’t shown much interest in cutting them. Mortgage rates slipped to about 7% last week, the lowest in several months, but they are still more than double what they were two years ago.

Typically, high mortgage rates slow down home sales, and home prices should soften as a result. Not this time. Home sales are certainly falling, but prices are still rising—there just aren’t enough homes to go around. The national median existing-home price rose to about $392,000 in October, the highest ever for that month in data that goes back to 1999.

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"It is now less affordable than any time in recent history to buy a home, and the math isn’t changing any time soon."@ginaheeb: https://t.co/8LZYrIAleG pic.twitter.com/LPIdKWGDAU

— Eric Wallerstein (@ericwallerstein) December 12, 2023

The Chinese military is ramping up its ability to disrupt key American infrastructure, including power and water utilities as well as communications and transportation systems, according to U.S. officials and industry security officials.

Hackers affiliated with China’s People’s Liberation Army have burrowed into the computer systems of about two dozen critical entities over the past year, these experts said.

The intrusions are part of a broader effort to develop ways to sow panic and chaos or snarl logistics in the event of a U.S.-China conflict in the Pacific, they said.

Among the victims are a water utility in Hawaii, a major West Coast port and at least one oil and gas pipeline, people familiar with the incidents told The Washington Post. The hackers also attempted to break into the operator of Texas’s power grid, which operates independently from electrical systems in the rest of the country.

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The Chinese military is ramping up its ability to disrupt key American infrastructure, including power and water utilities as well as communications and transportation systems, according to U.S. officials and industry security officials.https://t.co/o1z71pOf0F

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 11, 2023

Most Gracious God, who hast bidden us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before thee; Teach us, like thy servants Francis and Jane, to see and to serve Christ in all people; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Francis de Sales, Bishop, and Jane de Chantal, Vowed Religious, Workers of Charity, 1622 and 1641

Image: Francis de Sales giving the Rule for the Order of the Visitation to Jane de Chantal, by Noël Hallé, C18th, Public Domain via Wikimedia pic.twitter.com/rc6BJtpcHe

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) December 12, 2023

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.

'Say to those who are of a fearful heart, 'Be strong, do not fear! Here is your God''
Isaiah 35: 4 pic.twitter.com/rmuhn38hsX

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) December 11, 2023

My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the Lord

–Psalm 26:12

A beautiful morning ✨ pic.twitter.com/BfiX1SvSNp

— Magdalen College (@magdalenoxford) December 12, 2023