Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!

–Psalm 24:7-10

Guten Morgen und einen schönen Sonntag ☕️ pic.twitter.com/fPt18nh67n

— Renate Umundum (@RUmundum) September 13, 2026

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

“Or who shut in the sea with doors,
when it burst forth from the womb;
when I made clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

–Job 38:1-11

#Sunrise on Saturday over the Potomac River! @capitalweather @StormHour pic.twitter.com/6eEmWmxFlk

— Jeanne Stuart McVey (@RiverGirl707) September 12, 2026

And all the assembly kept silence; and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brethren, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written,

”After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will set it up,
that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who has made these things known from of old.’

Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols and from unchastity and from what is strangled and from blood. For from early generations Moses has had in every city those who preach him, for he is read every sabbath in the synagogues.”

–Acts 15:12-21

STOYSTOWN, Pennsylvania — Not far from the entrance to the Flight 93 National Memorial, a quiet stretch of hillside rises gently along the Lincoln Highway. If you drive by too quickly, you might miss it entirely. Yet, this plot of Pennsylvania farmland has transformed into a… pic.twitter.com/D0qN5nVNV2

— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) September 11, 2026

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoeni′cia and Samar′ia, reporting the conversion of the Gentiles, and they gave great joy to all the brethren. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up, and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses.”

The apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider this matter. And after there had been much debate, Peter rose and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God who knows the heart bore witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us; and he made no distinction between us and them, but cleansed their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you make trial of God by putting a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

–Acts 15:1-11

Ribblehead at first light 😍

24 stone arches carrying the Settle-Carlisle line across Batty Moss, with the first train due to cross a landscape that railway navvies began shaping more than 150 vears ago.

Built through brutal weather and difficult ground the viaduct remains one… pic.twitter.com/zb7VWXHycj

— North Yorkshire (@visitnorthyork) September 10, 2026

But Jews came there from Antioch and Ico′nium; and having persuaded the people, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city; and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Ico′nium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they believed.

Then they passed through Pisid′ia, and came to Pamphyl′ia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attali′a; and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled. And when they arrived, they gathered the church together and declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples.

–Acts 14:19-28

On Waterfall Wednesday we're sharing this dramatic view of Cauldron Falls in West Burton.

📸 Wendy McDonnell | #YorkshireDales #WaterfallWednesday pic.twitter.com/8yOpvwoGv6

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) September 9, 2026

The Rt. Rev. Chip Edgar, bishop of the ACNA’s Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, has been canonically charged with misconduct a week after he apologized for publicly dedicating a school chapel together with his counterpart in the Episcopal Church.

“I share this with heaviness of heart but in obedience to the truth Christ calls us to proclaim,” wrote the Rt. Rev. Julian Dobbs, acting primate of the ACNA, in an announcement of the charges against Bishop Edgar on September 2.

On August 18, Edgar had joined the Rt. Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, in dedicating St. Timothy’s Chapel at the Porter-Gaud School in Charleston. The bishops, who both sit on the board of the independent Episcopal school, blessed the chapel’s furniture and distributed the Holy Communion to the mixed congregation. Photos of the event circulated widely and prompted a wave of public criticism.

The following week, Edgar expressed regret that his participation alongside Woodliff-Stanley had caused “anger and pain.” In response, Dobbs denounced the event as an occasion of “great offense,” adding that the denomination’s College of Bishops would consider the matter further at their next meeting in September.

Instead, formal charges were filed against Edgar by August 30, according to a September 2 letter from his standing committee. Dobbs’s same-day announcement stated that “the seriousness of the situation led a complement of Bishops” to file the charges, which Dobbs did not describe, but which the standing committee said accused Edgar of conduct giving “just cause for scandal or offense” at the chapel dedication.

Read it all.

New for @Livng_Church: ACNA Bishop Chip Edgar has accepted charges of "scandal or offense" made confidentially after joining his Episcopal counterpart in blessing a school chapel.https://t.co/3k15eoVR5S

— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) September 4, 2026

The joint blessing of a chapel at a historic school by an Episcopal bishop and an Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) bishop has stirred up deep controversy in the ACNA, with an August 26 statement from its acting primate sharply criticizing the service and promising that the church’s College of Bishops would rule on the situation next month.

Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and Bishop Chip Edgar of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina participated alongside each other at the August 18 blessing of St. Timothy’s Chapel, a 600-seat church on the campus of Charleston’s Porter-Gaud School.

Photos of the event circulating on social media show the two bishops leading prayers together, draping a hanging over the chapel’s altar, laughing, and embracing warmly.

Both bishops are members of the independent Episcopal school’s Board of Trustees, and worked together early in their episcopates to resolve remaining tensions from the 2012 division of the original Diocese of South Carolina

“We took our seats on the board and we pretty quickly built trust,” Woodliff-Stanley said. “We’re not naïve; we know there are differences.”

Differences aside, they blessed the chapel jointly. The event included a Eucharist celebrated by the Rev. David A. Madison, Executive Director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools (NAES), of which Porter-Gaud is a member. The school’s chaplain, the Rev. Palmer Kennedy, a priest of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, preached.

Read it all.

Father in heaven, by whose grace the virgin mother of thy incarnate Son was blessed in bearing him, but still more blessed in keeping thy word: Grant us who honor the exaltation of her lowliness to follow the example of her devotion to thy will; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

8 September is the feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. The beginning and end of Mary's earthly life are both traditionally remembered during the harvest season: today was sometimes called 'Latter Lady Day in harvest', to distinguish it from the feast of her Assumption. pic.twitter.com/cLgGtUD3Fp

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) September 8, 2025

And Job again took up his discourse, and said:

“Oh, that I were as in the months of old,
    as in the days when God watched over me;
when his lamp shone upon my head,
    and by his light I walked through darkness;
as I was in my autumn days,
    when the friendship of God was upon my tent;
when the Almighty was yet with me,
    when my children were about me;
when my steps were washed with milk,
    and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!
When I went out to the gate of the city,
    when I prepared my seat in the square,
the young men saw me and withdrew,
    and the aged rose and stood;
the princes refrained from talking,
    and laid their hand on their mouth;
the voice of the nobles was hushed,
    and their tongue cleaved to the roof of their mouth.
When the ear heard, it called me blessed,
    and when the eye saw, it approved;
because I delivered the poor who cried,
    and the fatherless who had none to help him.
The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,
    and I caused the widow’s heart to sing for joy.
I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;
    my justice was like a robe and a turban.
I was eyes to the blind,
    and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the poor,
    and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.
I broke the fangs of the unrighteous,
    and made him drop his prey from his teeth.
Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,
    and I shall multiply my days as the sand,
my roots spread out to the waters,
    with the dew all night on my branches,
my glory fresh with me,
    and my bow ever new in my hand.’

–Job 29:1-20

#Dawn on Tuesday over DC! @capitalweather @KaitlynMcGrath pic.twitter.com/cvwNCrjWSx

— Jeanne Stuart McVey (@RiverGirl707) September 8, 2026

Now the angel of the Lord came and sat under the oak at Ophrah, which belonged to Jo′ash the Abiez′rite, as his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press, to hide it from the Mid′ianites. And the angel of the Lord appeared to him and said to him, “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Pray, sir, if the Lord is with us, why then has all this befallen us? And where are all his wonderful deeds which our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the Lord has cast us off, and given us into the hand of Mid′ian.” And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and deliver Israel from the hand of Mid′ian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Pray, Lord, how can I deliver Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manas′seh, and I am the least in my family.” And the Lord said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall smite the Mid′ianites as one man.” And he said to him, “If now I have found favor with thee, then show me a sign that it is thou who speakest with me. Do not depart from here, I pray thee, until I come to thee, and bring out my present, and set it before thee.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.”

So Gideon went into his house and prepared a kid, and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour; the meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the oak and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. Then the angel of the Lord reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes; and there sprang up fire from the rock and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the Lord vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the Lord; and Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord God! For now I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.” But the Lord said to him, “Peace be to you; do not fear, you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it, The Lord is peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiez′rites.

–Judges 6:11-24

Volop zon vandaag. Fijne zondag😀 #zonsondergang #reflectie pic.twitter.com/OqPYGKfv21

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) August 2, 2026

Merciful God, whose servant Joseph of Arimathaea with reverence and godly fear did prepare the body of our Lord and Savior for burial, and did lay it in his own tomb: Grant, we beseech thee, to us thy faithful people grace and courage to love and serve Jesus with sincere devotion all the days of our life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

🔸 July 31 – Saint Joseph of Arimathea 🔸

Today, we commemorate Saint Joseph of Arimathea. As recorded in the New Testament, he was a wealthy member of the Jewish Sanhedrin and a secret disciple of Jesus Christ who assumed responsibility for His burial after the Crucifixion.… pic.twitter.com/ZIzJh71xmK

— Orthodox Christian (@orthodox_33ad) July 31, 2026

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him; but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”

–Matthew 28:16-20

If there's one place that makes you want to stop and admire nature for a few extra minutes, then The Nut in Stanley, Tasmania, is just such a destination.

As the sun sets, the colossal basalt rock formation stands majestically against the sea, creating a scene that is both… pic.twitter.com/mLnLcinFUk

— JohnNguyen 🔆 (@ThuyTrang108) August 1, 2026

Then sang Deb′orah and Barak the son of Abin′o-am on that day:

“That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
    that the people offered themselves willingly,
    bless the Lord!

“Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
    to the Lord I will sing,
    I will make melody to the Lord, the God of Israel.

“Lord, when thou didst go forth from Se′ir,
    when thou didst march from the region of Edom,
the earth trembled,
    and the heavens dropped,
    yea, the clouds dropped water.
The mountains quaked before the Lord,
    yon Sinai before the Lord, the God of Israel.

“In the days of Shamgar, son of Anath,
    in the days of Ja′el, caravans ceased
    and travelers kept to the byways.
The peasantry ceased in Israel, they ceased
    until you arose, Deb′orah,
    arose as a mother in Israel.
When new gods were chosen,
    then war was in the gates.
Was shield or spear to be seen
    among forty thousand in Israel?
My heart goes out to the commanders of Israel
    who offered themselves willingly among the people.
    Bless the Lord.

“Tell of it, you who ride on tawny asses,
    you who sit on rich carpets
    and you who walk by the way.
To the sound of musicians at the watering places,
    there they repeat the triumphs of the Lord,
    the triumphs of his peasantry in Israel.

“Then down to the gates marched the people of the Lord.

“Awake, awake, Deb′orah!
    Awake, awake, utter a song!
Arise, Barak, lead away your captives,
    O son of Abin′o-am.
Then down marched the remnant of the noble;
    the people of the Lord marched down for him against the mighty.
From E′phraim they set out thither into the valley,
    following you, Benjamin, with your kinsmen;
from Machir marched down the commanders,
    and from Zeb′ulun those who bear the marshal’s staff;
the princes of Is′sachar came with Deb′orah,
    and Is′sachar faithful to Barak;
    into the valley they rushed forth at his heels.
Among the clans of Reuben
    there were great searchings of heart.
Why did you tarry among the sheepfolds,
    to hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the clans of Reuben
    there were great searchings of heart.
Gilead stayed beyond the Jordan;
    and Dan, why did he abide with the ships?
Asher sat still at the coast of the sea,
    settling down by his landings.
Zeb′ulun is a people that jeoparded their lives to the death;
    Naph′tali too, on the heights of the field.

–Judges 5:1-18

A beautiful warm glow across the fields this morning as a new day begins. #Shropshire pic.twitter.com/aj6A0w9s3o

— Steven Keating (@Aneedtopaint) July 31, 2026

Now Deb′orah, a prophetess, the wife of Lap′pidoth, was judging Israel at that time. She used to sit under the palm of Deb′orah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of E′phraim; and the people of Israel came up to her for judgment. She sent and summoned Barak the son of Abin′o-am from Kedesh in Naph′tali, and said to him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, commands you, ‘Go, gather your men at Mount Tabor, taking ten thousand from the tribe of Naph′tali and the tribe of Zeb′ulun. And I will draw out Sis′era, the general of Jabin’s army, to meet you by the river Kishon with his chariots and his troops; and I will give him into your hand.’” Barak said to her, “If you will go with me, I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.” And she said, “I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the road on which you are going will not lead to your glory, for the Lord will sell Sis′era into the hand of a woman.” Then Deb′orah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. And Barak summoned Zeb′ulun and Naph′tali to Kedesh; and ten thousand men went up at his heels; and Deb′orah went up with him.

–Judges 4:4-10

Good morning (Bruernish, Barra, Outer Hebrides) pic.twitter.com/KYitxUENh7

— Neil Thin (@NeilThin) July 30, 2026

O God, heavenly Father, whose Son Jesus Christ enjoyed rest and refreshment in the home of Mary and Martha of Bethany: Give us the will to love thee, open our hearts to hear thee, and strengthen our hands to serve thee in others for his sake; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Today's the feast of St Martha, St Mary and St Lazarus, the Bethany siblings. A roundel by William Wailes, 1857 at Stanground, Peterborough shows them with Christ. Although it's less than a mile from Peterborough Cathedral, Stanground is on the south bank of the Nene so it's in… pic.twitter.com/BEJID4VOjr

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) July 29, 2026

In the first book, O The-oph′ilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me, for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samar′ia and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day’s journey away; and when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

–Acts 1:1-14

Golden sunrise this morning here in Glastonbury. pic.twitter.com/GM6C1O6HNO

— Michelle Cowbourne (@Glastomichelle) July 29, 2026

Now the angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim. And he said, “I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you into the land which I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my command. What is this you have done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you; but they shall become adversaries to you, and their gods shall be a snare to you.” When the angel of the Lord spoke these words to all the people of Israel, the people lifted up their voices and wept. And they called the name of that place Bochim; and they sacrificed there to the Lord.

–Judges 2:1-5

City heat #London pic.twitter.com/xSHCInxYjU

— Jeff Overs (@JeffOvers) July 28, 2026

Then the people answered, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord, to serve other gods; for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed; and the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land; therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”

But Joshua said to the people, “You cannot serve the Lord; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your transgressions or your sins. If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm, and consume you, after having done you good.” And the people said to Joshua, “Nay; but we will serve the Lord.” Then Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen the Lord, to serve him.” And they said, “We are witnesses.” He said, “Then put away the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the Lord, the God of Israel.” And the people said to Joshua, “The Lord our God we will serve, and his voice we will obey.” So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day, and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord which he spoke to us; therefore it shall be a witness against you, lest you deal falsely with your God.” So Joshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.

–Joshua 24:16-28

A rainbow over Oxford following a storm 🌈

📷 Instagram | UmairAtOxford (June, 2026) pic.twitter.com/QTZURKUHjm

— University of Oxford (@UniofOxford) July 26, 2026

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

–Psalm 24:1-2

I became rather fond of sea swimming in Portreath Cornwall. Here is my new sea swimming location in Scotland. The Old Sea Swimming Pool at St Andrews. It looks fabulous. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 pic.twitter.com/FZ5HnwoVCA

— Ferhat Göçemen (@FGocemen31851) July 26, 2026

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.

Today's the feast of St James, Apostle. One of the most easily identifiable of saints in medieval church art, commonly depicted with a scallop shell, pilgrim staff, purse and hat as here on the 16th Century screen at Worstead, Norfolk. 1/3

Worstead: https://t.co/Ckoc8sRcOj pic.twitter.com/qrQGswirhi

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) July 25, 2026

At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem with aid for the saints. For Macedo′nia and Acha′ia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem; they were pleased to do it, and indeed they are in debt to them, for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. When therefore I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been raised, I shall go on by way of you to Spain; and I know that when I come to you I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of Christ.

I appeal to you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. The God of peace be with you all. Amen.

–Romans 15:25-33

One of those "am I really in Dublin" moments. Looking towards a misty Bray and Wicklow Mountains just offshore from Killiney Bay with Goat Boat Tours last week. The water was so calm, it was unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/uLXe7vbz0c

— Sryan Bruen Photography (@sryanbruenphoto) July 25, 2026

When morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death; and they bound him and led him away and delivered him to Pilate the governor. When Judas, his betrayer, saw that he was condemned, he repented and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” They said, “What is that to us? See to it yourself.” And throwing down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and he went and hanged himself. But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since they are blood money.” So they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

–Matthew 27:1-10

Meanwhile, out in Nevada…

Some days deserve a proper sendoff.

Happy Day of the American West.

Photo of Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. pic.twitter.com/OIn7DaauZF

— US Department of the Interior (@Interior) July 23, 2026

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him. For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached thee fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, therefore, as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

“Therefore I will praise thee among the Gentiles,
and sing to thy name”;

and again it is said,

“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people”;

and again,

“Praise the Lord, all Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him”;

and further Isaiah says,

“The root of Jesse shall come,
he who rises to rule the Gentiles;
in him shall the Gentiles hope.”

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

–Romans 15:1-13

Sunrise July 22, Northern Bay Sands, Bay de Verde Peninsula, #NewfoundlandandLabrador. Driving here you see the scorched trees and the devastation of last summer’s wildfire. I think how devastating for everyone involved and yet the sun rises.
Happy Thursday. #explorenl pic.twitter.com/UdsrMVAsgg

— Connie Boland #querying #fiction (@BolandC) July 23, 2026

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's the feast of St Mary Magdalene. Three scenes from her story in glass at Little Horkesley, Essex by Hugh Powell, 1963: she weeps as Christ is taken down from the cross, she meets the Risen Christ in the garden, and she tells the disciples that she has seen him. pic.twitter.com/0yS8XovHL8

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) July 22, 2026

Then Joshua built an altar on Mount Ebal to the Lord, the God of Israel, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses, “an altar of unhewn stones, upon which no man has lifted an iron tool”; and they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. And there, in the presence of the people of Israel, he wrote upon the stones a copy of the law of Moses, which he had written. And all Israel, sojourner as well as homeborn, with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on opposite sides of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, half of them in front of Mount Ger′izim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at the first, that they should bless the people of Israel. And afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessing and the curse, according to all that is written in the book of the law. There was not a word of all that Moses commanded which Joshua did not read before all the assembly of Israel, and the women, and the little ones, and the sojourners who lived among them.

–Joshua 8:30-35

Sunrise over the Farnes 🙂 pic.twitter.com/MZXcPNYhGD

— Graeme Peacock (@GraemePeacock1) July 22, 2026

As for the man who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not for disputes over opinions. One believes he may eat anything, while the weak man eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who abstains, and let not him who abstains pass judgment on him who eats; for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Master is able to make him stand.

One man esteems one day as better than another, while another man esteems all days alike. Let every one be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. He also who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; while he who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall give praise to God.”

So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

–Romans 14:1-12

Secondly, unless something almost miraculous happens, there will remain deep divisions over where those boundaries of legitimacy are to be drawn and over the implications for church teaching and discipline of drawing them in different places. Related to this are the questions noted above concerning our disagreement about the level of disagreement that we are having to navigate. Here the recent FAOC work must not be forgotten and in particular the implications need to be considered of its strong and clear statement (GS Misc 1406, paper 1, para 139), that 

it is a failure of Christian love for one side to declare what kind of disagreement is being experienced by the other. It must surely be the case that those who disagree with a given decision are themselves determinative of what kind of disagreement is in view, not the content majority. Those who dissent from the majority view or decision get to define the nature of their disagreement: if it is widely held that such-and-such a belief or practice calls into question apostolic communion or ecclesial communion, then the disagreement simply is a first- or second-order disagreement, regardless of whether the majority think it merely strains communion (third order).

This is the deeper problem with the approach of the amendment: it appears that those who conscientiously have come to a position which represents a rejection or expansion or development of traditional teaching seem to be demanding that those who are not convinced by their arguments should nevertheless accept that their view is now within a “legitimate range of theological perspectives” and/or that if a majority can be shown to hold this view as to what is legitimate then church practice needs to adapt to embrace the full range of perspectives. There is an attempt to jump from acknowledgment of an indisputable pluralism in reality (a range of views clearly exists) to a pluralism that recognises that range of views as acceptable, indeed, legitimate.

Thirdly, as noted in the first proposed amendment, part of the remit of the new group set up by the bishops is “pastoral reassurance”. This points to the fact that our disagreements over the previous two areas are such that some form of ecclesial reconfiguration will most likely prove to be necessary if any way is to be found, within the Church of England, for opposing views to be able to be officially approved and for the opposing sides in votes such as that this week in Synod, to be able to co-exist well, even flourish. This might be understood as institutionally enabling some recognised form of principled pluralism that comes to terms with both the pluralist reality and the impossibility of sufficiently widespread acceptance of that pluralism being formally accepted as legitimate within the current episcopal and synodical structures. 

It was the refusal of the bishops to seriously address these matters of “pastoral reassurance” or “good differentiation” that in large part contributed to the winding up of the LLF/PLF process. We could continue with a “head in the sand” refusal to grapple with the ecclesiological implications of our deep disagreements about discipleship and about the legitimate range of discipleship options the Church of England can recognise and bless. The experience of this last, short debate in this recent Synod is, however, a further pointer to the fact that if we do not face this question head-on and with honesty and theological rigour early in the new Synod then, barring a sea-change one way or the other in the election results, and perhaps also now in the House of Bishops, we are simply preparing for continued unresolvable conflict and pain in the next five years.

Read it all.

Andrew Goddard on the Helen King motion discussion at CofE General @synod 'This is the deeper problem with the approach of the amendment: it appears that those who conscientiously have come to a position which represents a rejection or expansion or development of traditional… pic.twitter.com/U3ZkfLUbBN

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 20, 2026

But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things; for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things; and the anger of the Lord burned against the people of Israel.

Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-a′ven, east of Bethel, and said to them, “Go up and spy out the land.” And the men went up and spied out Ai. And they returned to Joshua, and said to him, “Let not all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai; do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are but few.” So about three thousand went up there from the people; and they fled before the men of Ai, and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six men of them, and chased them before the gate as far as Sheb′arim, and slew them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.

Then Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the evening, he and the elders of Israel; and they put dust upon their heads. And Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord God, why hast thou brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and will surround us, and cut off our name from the earth; and what wilt thou do for thy great name?”

The Lord said to Joshua, “Arise, why have you thus fallen upon your face? Israel has sinned; they have transgressed my covenant which I commanded them; they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, and lied, and put them among their own stuff. Therefore the people of Israel cannot stand before their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become a thing for destruction. I will be with you no more, unless you destroy the devoted things from among you. Up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow; for thus says the Lord, God of Israel, “There are devoted things in the midst of you, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies, until you take away the devoted things from among you.”

–Joshua 7:1-13

On the seventh day they rose early at the dawn of day, and marched around the city in the same manner seven times: it was only on that day that they marched around the city seven times. And at the seventh time, when the priests had blown the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout; for the Lord has given you the city. And the city and all that is within it shall be devoted to the Lord for destruction; only Rahab the harlot and all who are with her in her house shall live, because she hid the messengers that we sent. But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction, and bring trouble upon it. But all silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are sacred to the Lord; they shall go into the treasury of the Lord.” So the people shouted, and the trumpets were blown. As soon as the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people raised a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. Then they utterly destroyed all in the city, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and asses, with the edge of the sword.

–Joshua 6:15-21

While the people of Israel were encamped in Gilgal they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the month at evening in the plains of Jericho. And on the morrow after the passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. And the manna ceased on the morrow, when they ate of the produce of the land; and the people of Israel had manna no more, but ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.

When Joshua was by Jericho, he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man stood before him with his drawn sword in his hand; and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us, or for our adversaries?” And he said, “No; but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and worshiped, and said to him, “What does my lord bid his servant?” And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Put off your shoes from your feet; for the place where you stand is holy.” And Joshua did so.

–Joshua 5:10-15

A hazy Peak District sunset – the low sun lighting the swaying grasses, the barn full of gathered hay and swooping swallows, and the quiet country lane stretching away into the still-warm fields. These are my memories of summer as a child and I love that they're still my present… pic.twitter.com/K2mSWv8gd8

— peaklass (@peaklass1) July 17, 2026