For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things.

I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel. I urge you, then, be imitators of me.

1 Corinthians 4:9-16

Crisp, cooler air, shorter days and leaves turning brilliant shades of gold, orange and red. Add the haunting sound of bull elk bugling across the meadows, and you’ve got the magic of fall at Rocky Mountain National Park.Photo by Jim Garrison https://t.co/ywdqIyAM8b

— U.S. Department of the Interior (@Interior) October 11, 2026

Now you are walled about with a wall; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike upon the cheek the ruler of Israel. But you, O Bethlehem Eph’rathah, who are little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in travail has brought forth; then the rest of his brethren shall return to the people of Israel. And he shall stand and feed his flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

–Micah 5:1-4

These are the in-between days, the cusp of seasons. Autumn is sidling through the branches and hedgerows, daily brushing more of her bronze and gold into the green. Every falling leaf, every misty morning, ushers summer a little further along the lane.📍 Peak District, England https://t.co/7rduAkJqg2

— peaklass (@peaklass1) October 10, 2026

Unity is a big thing for Anglicans – about a third of candidates in the current elections prioritising it in their addresses. The problem is there is no agreement as to where that unity is to be found – and thus any call for ‘unity’ ends up excluding those who take a different approach.

This was seen very clearly in a different vote – which took place this week at the North Lambeth Deanery Synod.

The North Lambeth Deanery is diverse, gentrified and home to the ‘nones’. Stretching south from the Thames, it includes Waterloo and parts of Lambeth, Kennington, Clapham and Brixton. It is made up of twenty churches and eighteen benefices, served by twenty-eight clergy. It is also where two key figures in the battle over the future of the Church of England reside. Revd Dr Bączyk-Bell, a trustee of the liberal grouping Together for the Church of England, is based at St John the Divine, Kennington and Revd Jago Wynne, a director of The Alliance, is the vicar of Holy Trinity, Clapham.

Not only that, neither man holds his theological position in isolation. The Revd Dr Bączyk-Bell is joined in the deanery by Revd Giles Goddard, Revd Sally Hitchiner and a number of others who serve in ‘Inclusive Churches’. While on the orthodox side, Holy Trinity alone has three curates and a self-supporting minister and there are at least two other churches in the deanery which would describe themselves as evangelical. This would suggest the make-up of the deanery synod offers an informed testing ground for controversial topics.

Turning to the events of this week, when [the] Revd Dr Bączyk-Bell placed a long and complicated motion before the deanery synod.

Read it all.

Nothing much ever changes with the revisionist approach in the @churchofengland- ‘unity’ means everyone accepting that truth is plural i.e. everyone being revisionist. Really good from @AnglicanFutures https://t.co/igRcXa1f7J

— Dan Leafe (@DanLeafe1) October 9, 2026

Almost everyone in Israel knows someone who was killed in the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, or in the ensuing war. The scale of those losses remains overwhelming even as we pass three years since the day that shook Jews around the world.

The perseverance is equally humbling. Former hostages held in Gaza and their family members have written bestselling books and released music albums. Grassroots and volunteer organizations have been founded for visiting the wounded in hospitals, caring for children who lost parents, helping rebuild war-affected areas and many other causes related to the massacre. Israel remains among the 10 happiest nations in the world.

Part of this resilience can be traced to the enduring Jewish practices for mourning—practices that focus on dwelling with the loss, not trying immediately to move past it. We rip our clothes on hearing of the death of a family member. We sit shiva, a formal seven days of grief in which mourners stay at home, wear torn clothing, cover mirrors, sit on low stools and silently feel their loss. We recite kaddish, a mourners’ prayer, daily for 11 months.

These are rituals that create a structure for intensely feeling brokenness. And the intensity holds lessons and wisdom that extends to all humans.

Read it all.

Part of Jews’ resilience can be traced to the enduring Jewish practices for mourning—practices that focus on dwelling with the loss, not trying immediately to move past it, writes @RabbiBrander https://t.co/l6P4UKx7k7

— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) October 9, 2026

xercise may be a more powerful tool for pain relief than many people realize, according to a large analysis spanning hundreds of thousands of participants.

Pain often makes movement feel like the wrong choice. Yet a large new analysis suggests that exercise can reduce pain across conditions ranging from osteoarthritis and migraine to neurological disorders, inflammatory diseases, and cancer-related pain.

Researchers at Adelaide University analyzed 157 systematic reviews covering 2,736 randomized controlled trials and 221,279 participants. Across that evidence, exercise was associated with reductions in both acute and chronic pain, making the study the most comprehensive synthesis to date of exercise as a pain treatment.

The results challenge the assumption that harder or longer workouts are necessary for pain relief. Lower intensity and shorter duration programs produced greater reductions in pain, while meaningful benefits were also seen in programs totaling less than two hours of exercise per week.

Read it all.

Exercise Can Improve PainA pooled meta-analyses (n=197,392) shows that exercise reduced pain versus control immediately after the intervention (SMD −0.59; 95% CI −0.65 to −0.53; P<0.001). The benefit held across musculoskeletal, inflammatory, neurologic and cancer pain, and for every modality tested.https://t.co/rJKmocxTZl

— Dr. John Cush (@RheumNow) October 8, 2026

It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised up above the hills; and peoples shall flow to it, and many nations shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between many peoples, and shall decide for strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more; but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid; for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken. For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God for ever and ever.

–Micah 4:1-5

Good morning from South Carolina! Isle of Palms pier at sunrise, near Charleston https://t.co/39UwyXw93B

— PC and Company (@PCandCompany2) October 9, 2026

The independent Executive Chair of the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board, Dame Christine Ryan, is to step down after only a year in post, it was announced on Tuesday.

Dame Christine took up the post last October having been chair of Ofsted for five years (News, 3 October 2025). Her remit was to implement safeguarding reforms agreed by the General Synod last year (News, 14 February 2025).

A spokesperson for the Archbishops’ Council thanked Dame Christine “for her contribution to advancing our commitment to independent Church safeguarding”.

The spokesperson continued: “Under her direction as Executive Chair of the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board, we have established a clear vision and much of the detailed design for a new safeguarding structure built on greater independence, accountability, and consistency. This blueprint, subject to final approval, details how the organisation intends to operate in the future.

Read it all.

The independent Executive Chair of the Safeguarding Structures Programme Board, Dame Christine Ryan, is to step down after only a year in post, it was announced on Tuesday. #ChurchTimes #Safeguarding https://t.co/651CKmDVen

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 7, 2026

But after five years of research, I have come to believe that there is something else at play too: a form of social contagion. In a world that appears to treat parents with hostility, where the advantages of raising children are obscured, remaining childless is easier if the same decision is made by everyone around you. As a phenomenon, it can become self-perpetuating.

This extra factor — network effects — can explain the remarkable similarities between falling birth rates across very different places and cultures. It also offers humans a way to reverse the decline by making having children attractive again.

Falling birth rates are often presented as a simple matter of choice. But in research of 10 low-fertility countries by Ester Lazzari and Eva Beaujouan, up to half of men and women end their reproductive years wishing they had more children. While passing peak human will ease the burden on natural resources, the drop in global population is projected to be rapid, ushering in legions of elderly who will strain welfare states and economies. In China, where a one-child policy introduced in 1980 distorted family planning for 35 years, there is now the “4-2-1 problem”, with an only child supporting two parents and four grandparents.

Read it all.

Why people don’t want to have children any more — Camilla Cavendish https://t.co/HShecevPc1

— FT Opinion (@ftopinion) October 8, 2026

Martin Luther King said: “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state”. What happens when religious conscience and the law collide? In a socially diverse Britain, how should we understand peoples faith and religiosity in public life – as exceptionalism, privilege or as a human right?

This discussion includes faith based case law; the purpose of the Lords Spiritual; the assisted dying debate; plans to reform marriage law; and examples of religious dress in legal settings.

Listen to it all (28 minutes).

I’m delighted to be one of the panelists on the ‘Beyond Belief’ episode dedicated to religion and the law. It’s on @BBCRadio4 today at 3.30pm and available on @BBCSounds afterwards. I’m looking forward to hearing what made the edit!#BeyondBelief #Radio4 #Religion #Law https://t.co/cKduskItWS

— Russell Sandberg (@sandbergrlaw) October 6, 2026

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house, and took his place at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw it, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “What is it, Teacher?” “A certain creditor had two debtors; one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he forgave them both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.” Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house, you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

–Luke 7:36-50

Had to go back this morning. It’s just too good. #Franconia https://t.co/9cY8613gsr

— Eric Fisher (@ericfisher) October 7, 2026

“The Green Party’s motion declaring Zionism to be racism touches on questions of profound moral and political complexity. For my own part, I do not believe that Zionism can simply be equated with racism. I recognise the ways in which the policies and actions of successive Israeli governments have contributed to dispossession, inequality and the denial of Palestinian rights, and I believe these must be confronted honestly.

“I am also concerned that this motion may leave many Jewish people feeling misunderstood, marginalised or unwelcome within a political movement that should be committed to the full participation and equal dignity of all communities. 

“At the same time, we should recognise what Zionism means for many Jews: a profound longing for safety, belonging and self-determination, shaped by centuries of persecution and the Holocaust. That history cannot simply be dismissed. Nor can acknowledging it be allowed to obscure the equal dignity and rights of Palestinians. Both peoples have legitimate claims to safety, freedom and a future in which they can flourish.

“This matters particularly in Britain….”

Read it all.

‘Antisemitism is evil, it must be confronted wherever it appears’The Bishop of Willesden, Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy, the Church of England’s Lead Bishop for Interfaith Engagement and Vice-Chair of the Commission on Interfaith Relations, spoke at the Standing Strong: Extinguish Antisemitism rally in London earlier this week.Read the full address at: https://t.co/Rmkhfn7r55@Lustherev #antisemitism #interfaith #HopeNotHate

— Woolf Institute (@Woolf_Institute) May 15, 2026

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has officially condemned gambling since its earliest years. Throughout the 20th century, prophets and apostles preached against the spiritually corrosive vice, and the Church encouraged members to oppose pro-gambling ballot initiatives. But the last time a senior Church leader addressed gambling at its General Conference—the Church’s semiannual global broadcast and most prominent pulpit—was in 2005. The long silence from the conference pulpit may have allowed some members to convince themselves that the Church had softened its stance—or that their Kalshi habit was not a religious issue at all.

The silence ended this past Saturday, when President D. Todd Christofferson, a senior leader in the Church’s highest governing body, used his General Conference address to condemn gambling. His remarks were well researched: He recited various statistics about the industry’s expansion, and spelled out the ruinous social consequences. He detailed the popular forms of online gambling and even offered a quick survey of the bets you can make on prediction markets—including the timing of the Second Coming. (“Where do you go to collect on that bet?” he wondered.)

But then Christofferson arrived at the real point of his talk.

“For us as Latter-day Saints, overarching all other concerns is the fact that gambling is morally wrong,” he said. “Gambling is built on the desire to obtain something for nothing. Its structure requires that any gain comes at others’ expense. It’s hard to reconcile that with the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.” He went on to say that Christians should be wise stewards of their God-given resources, and that “gambling produces nothing of value and enriches only its purveyors.”

He also addressed those in his audience who believe that they can gamble casually without becoming addicted. “Since your recreational gambling may lead a weaker brother or sister into temptation, just don’t do it,” Christofferson said. “Every soul is precious.”

Read it all.

This past weekend, senior Latter-day Saint leader @ChristoffDTodd did something that has become surprisingly rare: He made an unapologetic moral argument against gambling.I wrote about the religious leaders pushing back against the sports-betting boom. https://t.co/0FeDCYVV07

— McKay Coppins (@mckaycoppins) October 6, 2026

Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil upon their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
They covet fields, and seize them;
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
Therefore thus says the Lord:
Behold, against this family I am devising evil,
from which you cannot remove your necks;
and you shall not walk haughtily,
for it will be an evil time.
In that day they shall take up a taunt song against you,
and wail with bitter lamentation,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
he changes the portion of my people;
how he removes it from me!
Among our captors he divides our fields.”
Therefore you will have none to cast the line by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.

“Do not preach”—thus they preach—
“one should not preach of such things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”
Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
Is the Spirit of the Lord impatient?
Are these his doings?
Do not my words do good
to him who walks uprightly?
But you rise against my people as an enemy;
you strip the robe from the peaceful,
from those who pass by trustingly
with no thought of war.
The women of my people you drive out
from their pleasant houses;
from their young children you take away
my glory for ever.
Arise and go,
for this is no place to rest;
because of uncleanness that destroys
with a grievous destruction.
If a man should go about and utter wind and lies,
saying, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,”
he would be the preacher for this people!

I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will gather the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
like a flock in its pasture,
a noisy multitude of men.
He who opens the breach will go up before them;
they will break through and pass the gate,
going out by it.
Their king will pass on before them,
the Lord at their head.

–Micah 2:1-13

On Waterfall Wednesday we’re sharing this view of the falls at Cray.📸 Wendy McDonnell | #YorkshireDales #StepIntoNature #WaterfallWednesday https://t.co/MyMKMtHuhR

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) October 7, 2026

Almighty God, who didst plant in the heart of thy servants William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale a consuming passion to bring the Scriptures to people in their native tongue, and didst endow them with the gift of powerful and graceful expression and with strength to persevere against all obstacles: Reveal to us, we pray thee, thy saving Word, as we read and study the Scriptures, and hear them calling us to repentance and life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

5 Oct 1535, Miles Coverdale (1488-1569) published first authorised English translation of Bible. He drew on work of the martyred William Tyndale. In 1539, he helped with Great Bible, so called due to its size. This was #Bible Henry VIII ordered be placed in every parish church. https://t.co/D9WYMW3uKu

— Revd Nicholas Pye (@RevdPye) October 5, 2026

The word of the Lord that came to Micah of M′resheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samar′ia and Jerusalem.

Hear, you peoples, all of you;
hearken, O earth, and all that is in it;
and let the Lord God be a witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
For behold, the Lord is coming forth out of his place,
and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth.
And the mountains will melt under him
and the valleys will be cleft,
like wax before the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
All this is for the transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not Samar′ia?
And what is the sin of the house of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?

–Micah 1:1-9

Good morning from Vienna💙🎵 Have a great day🌹🌿🍁 Schönen Dienstag! #Volksgarten https://t.co/DjHmVhIeY9

— Elfie Neuberger (@ElfieNeuberger) October 6, 2026

The Bishop of Sheffield, Dr Pete Wilcox, said: “My first thoughts today are with the women whose courage brought this retrial to a conclusion. They have now given evidence, in full, not once but twice. It is unfortunate that that was necessary, and I am acutely conscious of the cost it has had for them. I am also conscious of the distress experienced by many others who have not been part of the criminal proceedings.

“Last year I offered an unreserved apology for the abuse of power and leadership that took place within the Nine O’Clock Service.  Today’s verdict adds to that same picture, and my apology stands in full.

“Last year I also commissioned an independent Safeguarding Practice Review into how the Church responded at the time. We took the decision to delay that review until these outstanding charges had been resolved, so as not to cut across the retrial. With today’s verdict, that review will now begin, and I remain committed to seeing it through, and to acting on its findings.”

Read it all.

Chris Brain, the founder of the Nine O’Clock Service in Sheffield, has been found guilty of one count of rape and four counts of indecent assault, after a second trial. #ChurchTimes #ChurchNews https://t.co/F2OC9HioAn

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 5, 2026

Praise the LORD! O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures for ever! Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD, or show forth all his praise? Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!

–Psalm 106:1-3

Een gekleurde oversteek. Fijne maandag😀 #zonsondergang #reflectie https://t.co/69OH8GTUFf

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) October 5, 2026

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus; and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist, he has been raised from the dead; that is why these powers are at work in him.” For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison, for the sake of Hero′di-as, his brother Philip’s wife; because John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Hero′di-as danced before the company, and pleased Herod, so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” And the king was sorry; but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given; he sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. And his disciples came and took the body and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.

–Matthew 14:1-12

Morning! Happy Sunday. Sharing this daily glimpse into the landscapes and life of the Yorkshire Dales National Park and of moorland at Oxnop in Swaledale.

📸 Wendy McDonnell | #YorkshireDales #StepIntoNature pic.twitter.com/UvcjedQ3KW

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) October 4, 2026

When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the Ba’als, and burning incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught E’phraim to walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of compassion, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one, who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them. They shall return to the land of Egypt, and Assyria shall be their king, because they have refused to return to me. The sword shall rage against their cities, consume the bars of their gates, and devour them in their fortresses. My people are bent on turning away from me; so they are appointed to the yoke, and none shall remove it. How can I give you up, O E’phraim! How can I hand you over, O Israel! How can I make you like Admah! How can I treat you like Zeboi’im! My heart recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender. I will not execute my fierce anger, I will not again destroy E’phraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, and I will not come to destroy.

–Hosea 11:1-9

#SteepleSaturday comes from St Mary’s, Buckden. With thanks to @HelenRo88542779, @katephillips29 and @barry_wizard for featuring Buckden in recent posts. Hadn’t heard of it before. Lovely place, very interesting. pic.twitter.com/iznTxAgyC8

— Sandy De Born (@SandyDeBorn) October 3, 2026

This project was motivated and shaped by Tyndale’s theology. At its heart is the belief that God reveals himself through scripture. God is not “man’s imagination” — something that we can create in our own minds — but “only which he saith of himself. . . God is but his word: as Christ saith.” Through scripture, God reveals himself to us.

In Tyndale’s time, scripture was read in Latin. For those who could not understand Latin, the meaning of the Bible needed to be mediated by a priest, according to the authorised teaching of the Church. But this presented a problem. If the Bible is in a language that ordinary people do not understand, how can ordinary people come to know God? Translating the Bible into English breaks down this barrier, giving all people the freedom to read about God for themselves and, crucially, to develop a personal faith.

Inspired by the reforming ideas that were sweeping across Europe, Tyndale deliberately chose, in his translation, words that reflected new ways of understanding personal faith and the Church. Rather than “penance”, he chose “repentance”; “church” became “congregation”; and “priest” became “elder”. He even wrote that “the blessing of a baker that knoweth the truth, is as good as the blessing of our most holy father the Pope” (William Tyndale, Selected Writings, edited by David Daniell; Fyfield Books, 2003).

So, Tyndale’s theology, reflected in his translation, challenged the traditions, structures, and authorised teaching of the Western Church.

Read it all.

James Roberts celebrates 500 years of a publication that changed the world https://t.co/Ivja0uIu3L pic.twitter.com/mV0LZr6Nle

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 2, 2026

The communiqué also announced the failure of negotiations between the church’s Court for the Trial of a Bishop, Edgar’s diocese, and the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic. The two dioceses were attempting to conduct a panel inquiry into the court’s troubled private proceedings during the trial of the Rt. Rev. Stewart Ruch, who was acquitted of episcopal negligence last year.

“Despite good-faith efforts on all sides, the parties were unable to agree on protocols for the panel’s work that would both address the questions raised by the two dioceses and satisfy the Court’s interest in protecting its independence. This effort has therefore concluded,” the communiqué said.

On October 1, the standing committee of Edgar’s diocese called the communiqué’s explanation “insufficient” and published documents detailing correspondence between the panel, the court, and the denomination’s Executive Committee.

According to those documents, negotiations broke down between the court and the six-lawyer panel—including chancellors from the dioceses of the Living Word, Canada, South Carolina, the Gulf Atlantic, and the Mid-Atlantic, and the Rev. Canon Andrew Rowell, chair of the province’s governance committee—when the court declined to provide access to the record of the Ruch trial after failing to gain the consent of Bishop Ruch and both sides’ counsel.

“We are ready to complete the task requested of us, but we are unable to do so without access to the Record of the Trial Court in the Ruch matter. We express deep concern about the practice of closing trials to the public without clearly articulated reasons,” the panel wrote in an August 21 letter to the Executive Committee.

South Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic had been prepared to challenge the court’s view of its independence earlier this year by bringing resolutions to the Provincial Council’s June meeting that aimed to compel the public release of the trial’s transcripts.

Edgar withdrew the resolutions before they came to the floor in favor of attempting the negotiated inquiry, but noted the diocese might reintroduce them to the Council in the event of failure. The Council’s next meeting is scheduled for June of 2027, though special meetings may be called by the archbishop, a majority of the Executive Committee, or by any fifteen Council delegates.

Read it all.

ICYMI on the ACNA Ruch trial review: the chancellor panel, which was drawn from a variety of dioceses, was denied access to the transcripts and trial record and could not move forward without that access. https://t.co/JU5UtpAaGU pic.twitter.com/GjsTslmtPm

— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) October 2, 2026

But thou, O Lord, art enthroned for ever;
    thy name endures to all generations.
Thou wilt arise and have pity on Zion;
    it is the time to favor her;
    the appointed time has come.
For thy servants hold her stones dear,
    and have pity on her dust.
The nations will fear the name of the Lord,
    and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
For the Lord will build up Zion,
    he will appear in his glory;
he will regard the prayer of the destitute,
    and will not despise their supplication.

–Psalm 102:12-17

No edits needed. Craziest foliage colors I’ve ever seen in my life.

📍Pinkham Notch NH pic.twitter.com/iY4qCWikFK

— . (@labry_de) October 1, 2026

Best-selling British author Os Guinness never planned to be a writer. America helped make him one, with a little help from Switzerland. Since then, hundreds of thousands of readers have turned to the Christian public intellectual to understand both their walk with God and their place in the world.

Guinness’s 1998 title The Call, perhaps his most widely recognized book, helps believers discover their God-given purpose in life. The Global Public Square (2013) addresses religious freedom and the role of faith in society. And A Freedom Like No Other, published this year, continues his esteem of the American republic and its constitutional liberty.

But this liberty is also at risk, Guinness cautions. A visit to the US in 1968 began his intellectual relationship with America, as he traveled from Harvard to Berkeley amid political assassinations, race riots, and a liberal counterculture upending traditional values. And as he interviewed leading figures from the right and the left, he came to a startling conclusion.

“I hardly met any evangelicals who really understood what was going on,” he said in a 2025 interview.

Guinness’s travels led to his first book in 1973, The Dust of Death, a critique of cultural trends in the 1960s. For a man who never planned to be a writer, he proved prolific in the decades that followed, penning more than 30 titles.

Read it all.

Os Guinness Still Challenges Christians to Think

The tumult of the 1960s sparked a literary journey that hasn’t stopped for the prolific social critic.https://t.co/XnmWTZZodU

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) September 30, 2026

(To Be Shared as Helpful)
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

We are writing to you today in response to the Provincial newsletter that was sent out on September 28. The very last issue addressed in this email under the heading of “Follow-up from Provincial Council” was the chancellor-led inquiry that ended prematurely. The following timeline sets yesterday’s announcement in its proper context and reveals an ongoing issue with transparency in our province.

February 20, 2026 – The ADOSC Standing Committee sent a letter to the Executive Committee of the ACNA expressing certain concerns about the lack of transparency in the proceedings and Final Order  in the ecclesiastical trial of Bishop Stewart Ruch. The letter includes a request for the release of the complete transcript of the trial and pretrial proceedings, with appropriate protections of the identities of abuse victims or victims advocates.
March 20, 2026 – Executive Committee responds to the ADOSC Standing Committee letter that it does not have the power to compel the Court to action. In response to our request for the release of the transcript of the trial and proceedings They make no further recommendation, except to contact the Clerk of Court directly.

“The Executive Committee is unable to order the release of trial transcripts, video recordings, motions, and other court documents, as you requested. The Court for the Trial of a Bishop is an independent body elected directly by the Provincial Council and is not under the jurisdiction or direction of the Executive Committee.”

May 4, 2026 – In an email, the Clerk of Court denies the Standing Committee’s request for access to the transcript, and says the College of Bishops will receive the transcript and has the authority to distribute it further.

May 5, 2026 – the Provincial Dean, Provincial Chancellor, and members of the Executive Committee meet with the Standing Committee of the ADOSC and encourage the submission of two resolutions to the Provincial Council regarding the release of the Ruch Trial transcript and the release of the final report of the ongoing Lathrup Investigation. Subsequently, two resolutions are submitted and also endorsed by the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic.

June 18, 2026 – At Provincial Council, an agreement is reached between the Rt. Rev. David Bryan, President of the Court, with the Rt. Rev. Chip Edgar and the Rt. Rev Chris Warner, Bishop of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic, to withdraw the two resolutions in exchange for the formation of a Chancellor’s Panel to conduct a third-party mediated inquiry of the Ruch proceedings. During Provincial Council, the motions are withdrawn and the inquiry is announced.

“I want to say that I fully support this proposed action. Please understand that the court in no way wants to hide its work. In fact, I think Bishop Chip’s algebra teacher would be pleased that we showed our work to the entire College of Bishops. And they’ve been able to review the full transcript. What we’re concerned about is protecting the dignity of the people who participated in the proceedings and honoring the commitments of confidentiality which we had with all of the people that participated in those proceedings. I’m very thankful that we have worked out a way to approach these issues relationally to come together and to have the opportunity to ask questions and to answer questions that I pray will build trust in our province.” – Bp. David Bryan, remarks during Provincial Council, Afternoon Session.

August 21, 2026 – The established Chancellor’s Panel writes to the Executive Committee and the Bishops involved in the agreement stating they could not conduct their work because the Court will not execute the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the work of the Chancellor’s Panel, and will not provide access to the transcript.

“At the end of July 2026, we were provided information indicating that the Court for the Trial of a Bishop will not execute the proposed MOU or provide us access to the Record of the Trial Court in the Ruch matter. As of this writing, that remains our understanding. Accordingly, we are unable at this time to complete the task requested of us.” (see below)

August 24-26, 2026 – Bp. Bryan asks Bp. Ruch and both parties’ counsel to consent to the Chancellors’ inquiry. On all accounts, consent is not granted. Bp. Bryan declares the inquiry is over. (see below)

August 29, 2026 – Despite Bp. Dobbs’ involvement in the establishment of the MOU, Bp. Dobbs and the Executive Committee write to all involved stating they have no oversight over the inquiry and that they understand the issue is closed. – Email from Ms. Deborah Tepley (see below)

September 28, 2026 – The Provincial Office reports that the College of Bishops was informed that:

“…despite good-faith efforts on all sides, the parties were unable to agree on protocols for the panel’s work that would both address the questions raised by the two dioceses and satisfy the Court’s interest in protecting its independence. This effort has therefore concluded.” (see below)

 
With great concern for our province and with hope for greater transparency, we believe that the provincial announcement about the end of the Chancellor’s Inquiry is an insufficient explanation. The encouragement, endorsement, and subsequent announcement of an inquiry by agreed upon and experienced diocesan chancellors with access to all records was a sign of hope for transparency. With its retraction, we are left wondering how trust will be built unless there is follow-through. Before the Ruch trial concluded, the court itself volunteered to “issue its findings and all of the evidence that supports those findings in an order, appropriately redacted where necessary to protect vulnerable individuals” (Response to Resignation Letter, July 23, 2025). We ask only that they would keep their word. Yet we do not lose heart, for we are convinced that all things are possible through our Lord Jesus Christ. Please join us in prayer for the Anglican Church in North America, the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, and our shared mission for the spread of the Gospel.

  With unwavering hope,

  The Standing Committee of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina.

Executive Committee Response, March 20, 2026

Bp. David Bryan, remarks during Provincial Council, Afternoon Session, Thursday, June 18 2026

Chancellor’s Panel Status Report, August 21, 2026

Email from Bp. Bryan, August 26, 2026 

Email from Ms. Deborah Tepley, August 29, 2026

College of Bishops Recap email, Sept 28, 2026

A Clergy Update from the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Standing Committee https://t.co/HXIKcHdUJD #acna #ethics #duprocess #justice #transparency #accountability TK pic.twitter.com/AtymQy8foR

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) October 1, 2026

On a sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the sabbath?” And Jesus answered, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” And he said to them, “The Son of man is lord of the sabbath.” On another sabbath, when he entered the synagogue and taught, a man was there whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. But he knew their thoughts, and he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come and stand here.” And he rose and stood there. And Jesus said to them, “I ask you, is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to destroy it?” And he looked around on them all, and said to him, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

–Luke 6:1-11

High tide on The Gannel and October starting like this! 🌅👌#Cornwall #StormHour #ThursdayVibes #Sunrise pic.twitter.com/YibN01Qbu0

— Kate 🏄‍♀️🌊🤙〓〓🏴‍☠️🤿🪼⛵️⚓️🌅 (@CornwallK8) October 1, 2026

The meaning of death, dust, and of the grave, is transformed, although none of these is taken away. A collect from the Office of compline puts this well: by resting in the sepulchre, Christ “sanctified the grave to be for us a bed of hope”. All that finds its most profound expression in baptism, which is a redemptive entering into the death and burial of Christ, that we might die to sin, and share in his resurrection.

That is rather an upbeat — although entirely serious — approach to salvation: it is a vivification, a sharing in life. Barth also thought about the burial in terms of sin and salvation in a more sombre tone. Christ’s burial, he wrote, showed us God’s attitude to sin: that “there is nothing else to be done with sinful man, except to bury him and forget him.”

Here is not the comforting idea of God as keeping company with us in death. Here, rather, is God’s fierce anger dealing with sin itself. God puts our sinful humanity in the ground with a terrible finality. He does not accommodate himself to sin: he destroys and buries it. Again, baptism makes this clear: there is something about us — our sin, our guilt, the “old man” (or woman: Romans 6.6) — which does not make it out of the baptismal font.

Read it all.

Theology Matters: The Gospel 📖 in All of the Creed: Andrew Davison continues his occasional series #Faith #ChurchTimes @AP_Davison https://t.co/JAu4AGf1v1

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 28, 2026

Thirty years ago in Seattle, I was sad to see a homeless man sleeping in a park at the top level of a double slide. It was a nice playground—I could imagine little brothers enjoying a race down that slide—but as things were, parents and kids stayed away. 

What I witnessed then was nothing compared to what Michael Powell recently reported in The Atlantic about that same park today: 

As I arrived, a drug user squatted next to a child’s slide and relieved himself. Others had set up tents and colonized the park pavilion, where they heated fentanyl on tinfoil and inhaled the fumes with glass pipes. A few went old-school and injected it.

Likewise, I remember Burlington, Vermont, as a beautiful city. But Powell reported the view from City Hall now: “At least 70 users and dealers, many looking hyperkinetic in the way of the strung out.” 

He quoted Shabnam Nolan of the King Street Center, where poor children get tutoring: Why does drug users’ “right to ‘dignity’ violate children’s right to come to our center without seeing blood and needles?”

The Burlington Mayor’s Office website warbles about “harm reduction,” which means opening a $2 million center (with funding from the state legislature) so addicts can use their drugs in private. And yet, Powell talked with one mother of three young children who has a fentanyl dealer for a next-door neighbor. “Everyone talks about needle exchange and harm reduction,” she said. “I mean, okay. But it’s like my children and I are living in the zombie apocalypse.”

Read it all.

What Went Wrong in America’s Addiction Recovery Policy?

From west to east, many cities are enabling the slow suicide of vulnerable people. How did we get here?https://t.co/AwLD8K0Zkn

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) September 30, 2026

The federal government’s budget deficit is the amount by which spending exceeds revenue; in 2026 that is projected to be $2.1 trillion. The government’s budget debt is the total amount owed to creditors; in 2026 that is projected to be $32 trillion. Those are big numbers. If you personally owed someone $32 trillion, you (and your creditor) might be a bit concerned. 

Obviously, the U.S. government has more resources than you do, so we need a different gauge. The most often-used measure compares the size of the debt to GDP, which measures the total amount of production in the country. The CBO estimates that in 2026, the debt-to-GDP ratio will be around 101 percent. (The only time it was higher—106 percent—was at the end of World War II.) If the U.S. government wanted to pay off its entire debt right now, it would need all of the income generated in the entire economy this year. That seems very alarming until you remember that the government doesn’t have to pay off its entire debt this year. If you have a home mortgage, it is likely that the value of your debt exceeds your current income, but you aren’t worried because you do not have to pay off the entire debt today. 

Nevertheless, when the size of government debt is equal to the size of the GDP, many people get worried. Reinhart and Rogoff, for example, showed that when debt-to-GDP ratios are higher than 90 percent, economic problems arise. But a country with the economic size and power of the current United States can presumably weather a higher ratio than the norm. Theoretically, there is a debt-to-GDP ratio that will create problems even in the largest economy in the world, but we have no way of precisely determining that limit from the experience of smaller countries in the past. 

While it is hard to estimate the effect of the existing debt-to-GDP ratio, the trajectory of that ratio is noteworthy.

Read it all.

Bad news – we cannot grow our way out of the debt. pic.twitter.com/5fWs28zRIX

— Marc Goldwein (@MarcGoldwein) September 24, 2026

Wine and new wine
take away the understanding.
My people inquire of a thing of wood,
and their staff gives them oracles.
For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray,
and they have left their God to play the harlot.
They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains,
and make offerings upon the hills,
under oak, poplar, and terebinth,
because their shade is good.

Therefore your daughters play the harlot,
and your brides commit adultery.
I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot,
nor your brides when they commit adultery;
for the men themselves go aside with harlots,
and sacrifice with cult prostitutes,
and a people without understanding shall come to ruin.

Though you play the harlot, O Israel,
let not Judah become guilty.
Enter not into Gilgal,
nor go up to Beth-a′ven,
and swear not, “As the Lord lives.”
Like a stubborn heifer,
Israel is stubborn;
can the Lord now feed them
like a lamb in a broad pasture?

E′phraim is joined to idols,
let him alone.
A band of drunkards, they give themselves to harlotry;
they love shame more than their glory.
A wind has wrapped them in its wings,
and they shall be ashamed because of their altars.

–Hosea 4:11-19

Good morning from the tip of Africa and heading for 32°C. #sunrise 06:23 pic.twitter.com/4lwJwbK4y6

— Judy Stevens (@JudeStevens) September 30, 2026

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) has once again rejected proposals for prayers and liturgy to be developed for same-sex couples, despite pleas from its outgoing Archbishop, Dr Thabo Makgoba.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Africa since 2006. A motion from the diocese of False Bay, in Western Cape, asked the Church’s Provincial Synod, which met in Benoni, Ekurhuleni last week, to develop prayers for couples in same-sex unions. The motion was lost by seven votes, 78-71, with ten abstentions.

Dr Makgoba, who has been Primate since 2008, has called repeatedly for the inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community. He appealed to the Synod: “We pray for trees, we pray for cars, we pray for avocados!”

A second motion, from the diocese of Johannesburg, proposed compiling a separate liturgy to serve what it called the “grave pastoral need” of the LGBTQ+ community, but this was also lost.

Read it all.

The Anglican Church of Southern Africa 🇿🇦 has again rejected two proposals for special prayers and liturgy to be developed for same-sex couples, despite pleas from its outgoing Archbishop, Dr Thabo Makgoba. #ChurchNews #ChurchTimes https://t.co/I7xTdsLljH

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 28, 2026