O God of light and love, who illumined thy Church through the witness of thy servant William Temple: Inspire us, we pray, by his teaching and example, that we may rejoice with courage, confidence and faith in the Word made flesh, and may be led to establish that city which has justice for its foundation and love for its law; through Jesus Christ, the light of the world, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

“When I pray, coincidences happen, and when I don’t, they don’t.” William Temple, Archbishop of Canterbury 1942-44, remembered here and around the country today. https://t.co/sttRYctN9g

— Lambeth Palace (@lambethpalace) November 6, 2019

O God of truth and peace, who didst raise up thy servant Richard Hooker in a day of bitter controversy to defend with sound reasoning and great charity the catholic and reformed religion: Grant that we may maintain that middle way, not as a compromise for the sake of peace, but as a comprehension for the sake of truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Tuesday 3rd is the Lesser Festival of Richard Hooker, we celebrate with Holy Communion at 9.00am. Hooker (25/3/1554 – 2/11/1600) was an English priest in the Church of England, Anglican divine, and an influential theologian.More at https://t.co/8vBz4UHBAU#AllWelcomeAlways https://t.co/j2EngXD2cB

— All Saints Hertford (@AllSaintsHertf) November 1, 2026

Professors John Craven and Robin Gill are to be thanked for bringing to our attention in their report, Wasted Money in a Diminishing Church (News, 23 October), the serious financial issues that will face the Church of England over the next few years, and the unsustainable deficits faced by many diocesan boards of finance (DBFs). This is why the church economy will be the subject of a major debate early in the new General Synod.

So much of their report is inaccurate or unrealistic, however, that I fear that it will skew that debate in unhelpful directions. I, therefore, want to push back in three areas.

First, the report reaches a strange conclusion. The authors decide that the way to address what they diagnose as fundamentally a financial problem is to make the deanery the heart of the Church’s administrative life.

Most area deans, however, want to be pastors, not middle managers, and I can readily see why. With an eviscerated diocesan structure, area deans would have to take on, alongside their parochial responsibilities, duties now fulfilled by archdeacons and bishops.

Read it all.

📉 Philip North takes issue with three aspects of a new report that warns that the C of E is heading for financial disaster #ChurchTimes #Comment #Opinion https://t.co/gdFJMCZqAD

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 30, 2026

A plea for a new national plan to care for crumbling church buildings is on the agenda of the first meeting of the new General Synod.

A diocesan-synod motion from Blackburn is posited on the argument that cash-strapped parishes cannot be expected from donations and grants alone to foot the estimated £1-billion bill for outstanding church maintenance work.

Instead, the Synod will be asked to call for the national Church of England institutions to create a “national strategy for the preservation, maintenance, and development of our buildings”.

Updates on safeguarding and the clergy well-being covenant, as well as an overview of church finances, make up the rest of the short agenda for the two-day group of sessions.

Before the hundreds of newly elected and returning members begin debate in Church House, Westminster, they will attend a eucharist in Westminster Abbey on the morning of 17 November.

Read it all.

A plea for a new national plan to care for crumbling church buildings is on the agenda of the first meeting of the new General Synod. #ChurchNews #GeneralSynod https://t.co/fmBCiA3gi8

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 29, 2026

The next Suffragan Bishop of Jarrow, in Durham diocese, is to be the Revd Dr Jitesh Patel, Assistant Director and Lecturer in Theology at St Mellitus College, East Midlands, Downing Street announced on Friday.

He succeeds the Rt Revd Sarah Clark, who was translated to Ely this year (News, 30 January).

Dr Patel was educated at Jesus College, Oxford, and obtained a Ph.D. through the Lambeth Research Degrees in Theology programme. He trained at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, before being ordained deacon in 2010, and priest in 2011.

He served his title at Christ Church, Abingdon, in the diocese of Oxford; in 2015, he became Associate Vicar of St Jude’s, Southsea, in the diocese of Portsmouth. From 2018, he was the Diocesan Director of Contextual Training in Leicester diocese, as well as Assistant Curate (Associate Vicar) of Holy Trinity with St John the Divine, Leicester, a post that he still holds. In 2019, he was appointed to his current post at St Mellitus.

Read it all.

Downing Street has today announced that the Reverend Dr Jitesh Patel has been appointed the next Suffragan Bishop of Jarrow following approval by His Majesty the King. Jitesh will be Consecrated at York Minster on 8 December. Read more here: https://t.co/UcY4iOijru https://t.co/XOTU6kw0lN

— Diocese of Durham (@DioceseofDurham) October 23, 2026

The Church of England’s Deputy Lead Bishop for Housing has spoken of the ‘ambition and determination’ needed to break the cycle of homelessness as she attended a special summit on tackling rough sleeping.

The Bishop of Hull, Eleanor Sanderson, joined the Chief Executive of Church Urban Fund, the Rt Rev Rob Wickham, (pictured with Bishop Eleanor, above) and other faith representatives at the Rough Sleeping Summit hosted in Downing Street.

The event brought together businesses, charities, civil society organisations and local leaders, to commit to local and national action to end rough sleeping through the provision of homes, jobs and practical support. 

Ending rough sleeping was the Prime Minister’s first pledge when he entered Downing Street, and he announced a further £432 million yesterday to be set out in the Budget later this week, towards this goal.

Read it all.

“This ministry fosters hope, dignity and a sense of belonging for everyone in our communities.”The Bishop of Hull joined the Chief Executive of Church Urban Fund, the Rt Rev Rob Wickham, at the Rough Sleeping Summit hosted in Downing Street.📰 https://t.co/GxBdeVapv5. https://t.co/k7LUiBns29

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) October 27, 2026

Southwell Minster will run out of funds next year, and needs £20 million “just to catch up on works that have not been done over many years”, the Dean, the Very Revd Stephen Evans, warned on Friday.

It could face closure, he said, describing the situation as “the most critical point in the Minster’s history”.

Dr Evans took up his post in April this year, following the retirement of the previous Dean, the Very Revd Nicola Sullivan, in July 2024 (News, 12 July 2024), and the interim tenure of Canon Neil Evans (no relation). The 2024 accounts had been produced 156 days late, he said, and it was during the “forensic process” of trying to close the accounts for 2025, and approach the end of 2026, that the true extent of the problem had become clear.

There are still no accounts for 2025. The Dean said that a succession of interim finance staff had been one of many factors that had contributed to the situation with the accounts, but that, overall, this was “just a sad tale of a cathedral among many other cathedrals” running out of money. 

Read it all.

God, the giver of life,
whose Holy Spirit wells up within your Church:
by the Spirit’s gifts equip us to live the gospel of Christ
and make us eager to do your will,
that we may share with the whole creation
the joys of eternal life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Divine geometry. Peterborough cathedral all lit up yesterday. https://t.co/o2i6Du5rZP

— Andy Marshall 📸 (@fotofacade) October 23, 2026

The Bishop of Leicester is seeking to ban election materials containing a picture of a religious building that “suggests a close connection” between a candidate and the place of worship or the religion associated with it. 

Rt Rev Martyn Snow has tabled the amendment to the Representation of the People Bill, which refers to the use of churches or other religious buildings to imply endorsement. The proposals and briefing documents do not single out a particular party.

On the Faith in the Public Square Substack, the bishop and social policy advisor Florence Gildea said in recent years there had been “more leaflets – of all colours: red, yellow, blue and turquoise – with candidates posing in front of church buildings”.

They set out concerns about compliance with charity law, of churches being seen to endorse parties or candidates, as well as how church leaders or congregations will often only know images had been used “when a leaflet drops on the floor, leaving no means of recourse”.

The article highlighted the principle of elected politicians representing all their constituents, akin to the parish priest having a duty of spiritual care to all parishioners; not giving “the impression that they are aligned with a particular religion and that followers of that faith could expect to receive preferential treatment if the candidate were elected”.

Read it all.

An amendment banning the publication of election material containing a picture of a religious building that “suggests a close connection” between the candidate and the building — or the religion associated with it — has been tabled by Bishop of Leicesterhttps://t.co/KXQlWrGsRP

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) October 19, 2026

Keep us, O Lord, constant in faith and zealous in witness, after the examples of thy servants Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, and Thomas Cranmer; that we may live in thy fear, die in thy favor, and rest in thy peace; for the sake of Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

16 Oct 1555: Bishops Hugh Latimer & Nicholas Ridley burnt at the stake in #Oxford #otd https://t.co/oEhw5eIe9k

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) October 16, 2026

The cost of long vacancies in sees was among the issues discussed by the House of Bishops at its meeting this week.

The meeting, held from Monday to Wednesday, focused on “discussion of emerging work and matters of common concern across the Church”, a summary provided by Church House, Westminster, said.

This included work being done on episcopal appointments. Bishops noted “the cost of long vacancies and shared experiences of identifying and encouraging candidates for episcopal ministry”. Nine sees are currently vacant, and, in recent years, the failure of the Crown Nominations Commission to appoint, the withdrawal of candidates, and suspension of bishops have resulted in suffragan bishops’ serving as acting bishops for longer periods of time.

In the General Synod, members have been raising concerns about the functioning of the system, and the backlog. In 2024, Archbishop Welby spoke of “unprecedented demand in the senior appointments system”.

Read it all.

The cost of long vacancies in sees was among the issues discussed by the House of Bishops at its meeting this week #ChurchTimes #ChurchNews https://t.co/WfrWu2brU0

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) October 15, 2026

For 150 years the story of Western Christianity has been one of decline and withdrawal. Even as Christians we have come to inhabit that narrative ourselves. We have leadenly accepted those who have told us that the only way is down and have mocked those who speak the language of renewal and growth. But every two hundred years, the French crop up and remind us that the fire of the Gospel is inextinguishable. Joan of Arc led the way in the fifteenth century, Vincent de Paul in the seventeenth, John Vianney and Teresa of Lisieux in the nineteenth, and now in the twenty first, it is a generation of teenagers and young adults who are heralding a time of change. They are seeking a deeper and more authentic truth than the consumer agenda can offer. And they are finding it in Jesus. The Holy Spirit is moving. Pope Leo on the way home from France described it as a Rebirth.

There is plenty of evidence that the wind is changing here also. Many of you are telling me about new families and especially young adults simply turning up in your churches, often starting with online exploration of the Gospel. A few Sundays ago I went to two churches where every year they have presented ten to fifteen Year 6 children for Confirmation. This time they were joined by ten adults in each church, passionate in their newfound Gospel faith. And that story is an increasingly common one across the county. There is a rebirth.

Which poses a challenge for an institutional church. Do we believe it? And are we ready for it? In northern Europe we have become so inured to the language and methodologies of decline that our imaginations have become dulled. Many congregations simply cannot picture their churches being thriving and full of people. A mindset of scarcity and anxiety has gripped them. That’s why we waste so much of our time arguing over money rather than storing up treasure in heaven. If in the Church of England we cannot believe in a rebirth, then the Spirit will simply find other vehicles for renewal.

But I think that in the Diocese of Blackburn, we do believe and are increasingly ready for what the Spirit is doing in our nation. Just four weeks ago we had the most mind-blowingly fabulous weekend of mission. Almost every parish and benefice across the Diocese planned a weekend of events with the unashamed intention of inviting people in to hear the Gospel. Our Centenary events, from a crazy Big Day Out in Blackpool, to the wonderful Diocesan Conference, to our plans for the Centenary Eucharist on November 12^th, have had levels of engagement that reveal profound faithfulness and purpose amongst clergy and lay leaders.

And that has zeal has been demonstrated over the past two years as we have discerned God’s will for our new Diocesan vision, Joyful Followers of Jesus….

Read it all.

Philip North Announced as Next Bishop of Sheffield https://t.co/gl3oXFdubQ @c_of_e #AnglicanNews #religion #uk #episcopate https://t.co/KPVLKKfngg

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) January 31, 2017

The consecration of Canon Tim Lomax to be Suffragan Bishop of Warwick, in the diocese of Coventry, which was previously scheduled for 6 November, has been postponed after complaints.

A statement from the diocese, issued on Monday, said that the decision “follows advice that further enquiries should be undertaken following complaints which were received after the announcement.

“It should be stressed that at this early stage no findings have been made and no conclusions have been reached. Sufficient time will now be given for this assessment to be conducted. We are committed to taking seriously the experiences of all those involved, and I want to assure you that all concerned are receiving appropriate support…

Read it all.

NEW: The consecration of Canon Tim Lomax to be Suffragan Bishop of Warwick (previously scheduled for 6 November) has been postponed after complaints were received after the announcement of his appointment. No findings have been made. https://t.co/U0LPmwikWJ

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) October 12, 2026

O God, our heavenly Father, who didst raise up thy faithful servant Robert Grosseteste to be a bishop and pastor in thy church and to feed thy flock: Give abundantly to all pastors the gifts of thy Holy Ghost, that they may minister in thy household as true servants of Christ and stewards of thy divine mysteries; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Robert Grosseteste (1168-1253), Bishop of Lincoln, proposed that God created light in a central point with matter attached. As this light expanded in all directions like a bubble, the attached matter stretched causing it to take form. It’s eerily similar to Big Bang cosmology. https://t.co/SwXImtDUZC

— Dominion Mandate Scientist (@Romans8Shaman) August 15, 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

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

“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

…[Today] marks the third anniversary of the most devastating attack on Jews in modern times. In its aftermath there were celebrations on the streets of London.

Since then, two Jewish worshippers have been killed in the Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, two Jewish men attacked in broad daylight in Golders Green and four ambulances owned by a Jewish charity burnt by arsonists.

British Jews are feeling unsafe and besieged. They have encountered a terrible increase in antisemitism, here, in the land of their birth. In some quarters hatred of Israel has become indistinguishable from hatred of Jews. Many are considering leaving Britain.

As British Christians we cannot but feel a responsibility to respond. Without Judaism, there is no Christianity. The bonds are deep. For example, when a Church of England service begins with the words, “O Lord, open thou our lips”, and we respond, “And our mouth shall show forth thy praise”, we are hearing a Jewish prayer that was ancient even at the time of Jesus.

Read it all (subscription).

The Bishop of Hereford has written today’s Thunderer column in The Times. https://t.co/XyQKU2jo2o

— Richard Chapman (@SelsdonChapman) 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

Almighty and everlasting God,
increase in us your gift of faith
that, forsaking what lies behind
and reaching out to that which is before,
we may run the way of your commandments
and win the crown of everlasting joy;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Fall has entered the chat. 🍂Quaking aspens turn beautiful shades of yellow in the fall, shimmering as the sun dances across their leaves.Photo by Jim Grindley https://t.co/Jfuv7y56D7

— U.S. Department of the Interior (@Interior) October 4, 2026

A global campaign has been launched to raise money to protect the “at-risk” cathedral ruins in Coventry.

The original medieval Cathedral of St Michael was built between the late 14th and 15th centuries, but nearly 500 years later, it was destroyed during the Coventry blitz in 1940.

Cathedral leaders said the ruins were never designed to be exposed to the elements and that both the remains and the spire were beginning to deteriorate.

Read it all.

Race to save cathedral ruins as campaign launches https://t.co/DIjcaLt0Ui

— BBC Midlands (@bbcmtd) September 29, 2026

The Rector of St Helen’s, Bishopsgate, in London, the Revd William Taylor, has characterised the bishops of the Church of England as “false teachers” and “clear heretics”, in a sermon published on YouTube last week.

Speaking at St Helen’s on 10 September, Mr Taylor said that it was “quite simply impossible to fathom how a person could get consecrated by a group of bishops who are engaged in any way with the LLF process to move it forward” or remain “in any sense in spiritual fellowship” with them.

He took as his text Titus 3, focusing on St Paul’s injunction to “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them.”

“How can you possibly be allowing somebody who is in fellowship with unfaithful, clear heretics to select your future leaders, to train your new church workers, ordain your new deacons and presbyters, and install your new incumbents?” Mr Taylor said.

Read it all.

City of London churches sever ties with bishopshttps://t.co/xTTRIs8g9B via @ChurchTimes

— Glenna Demeter (@Glennademeter) September 25, 2026

Almighty God, who gavest thy servant Lancelot Andrewes the gift of thy holy Spirit and made him a man of prayer and a faithful pastor of thy people: Perfect in us what is lacking of thy gifts, of faith, to increase it, of hope, to establish it, of love, to kindle it, that we may live in the life of thy grace and glory; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

This Day marks the 400th anniversary of the death of Lancelot Andrewes (25 Sept, 1626), bishop of Winchester, classical scholar, and theologian.

Read about his life, and reassessments of his legacy over the four centuries on #ODNB: https://t.co/IWeIHiQsd1 pic.twitter.com/Z1VK8PdAal

— Oxford Academic (@OUPAcademic) September 25, 2026

I once witnessed a theatre director giving notes to a cast of actors preparing to perform on stage. She said to them: “Imagine, just before you go on, that you’ve forgotten all your lines, forgotten the whole play, forgotten all the work you’ve put into rehearsals and preparation. Forget it all, and then step into the light, into the story.”

But forgetting presupposes the memory you are to forget. For the actor, the truth of their performance arises out of this process of remembering and forgetting. And then you step into the light, into the story. . .

I want to say this is truth reclaimed for meaning, truth as meaning. In John’s Gospel, Jesus says: “For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (18.37) So, the actor’s truth and the Christian’s truth are alike in this respect: it is something we come to belong to; it is how we live our part.

Rather than the truth being raw, or coherent with other truth statements, or somehow correspondent with reality out there, the truth is a memory of an encounter with meaning, something to which we can belong and which re-members us in turn. In short, it’s personal. More, it’s a Person.

Whether or not you try to record this truth on paper is ultimately immaterial. But you must record it in your heart.

Read it all.

‘The love we share at Christmas is a refuge. It replenishes our depleted batteries and allows us to go out again into the world’: The 2023 Country Life Christmas message, by Revd Colin Heber-Percy https://t.co/Vedsc9ywQX pic.twitter.com/97trNbTmlt

— Country Life (@Countrylifemag) December 25, 2023

O Lord, we beseech you mercifully to hear the prayers
of your people who call upon you;
and grant that they may both perceive and know
what things they ought to do,
and also may have grace and power faithfully to fulfil them;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

From Hamnøy looking out to Reine, Lofoten 😍 Photo Olivia Leefe #Norway 🌈 pic.twitter.com/OTBGMAmKMT

— Elusive Moose (@elusive_moose) September 23, 2026

For the First World War, he analyses three poets: Rupert Brooke, for whom the war was relief from an empty life, void of meaning; then Siegfried Sassoon, who wrote: “I died in hell — (They called it Passchendaele)”; and finally, Wilfred Owen, who in his “Anthem for Doomed Youth” wrote of “these who die as cattle”. The Second World War with the death of millions, the Nazis, the Holocaust, the Soviet Gulag, and the obscenity of death by atomic bomb — all of this undercut Christian moral and social values based on the faith. Existential angst and helplessness replaced churchgoing.

The 1960s brought massive social and technological challenges, which eroded support for the Church. Hayward describes how faith became to be regarded as the past, not the future. There was a widespread loss of trust in all institutions. Football came to replace church as the centre of community. For Hayward, the final critical event was when the churches were closed when they were most needed, in the pandemic.

Ironically, Hayward wisely sees that the pandemic and the lockdown gave the Church a chance to reset. People had space and silence to ask themselves what life was for, what their life was. People started to go on Alpha courses, return to church on Sundays, become interested in spirituality, not just religion, feel a deep need to care for the poor, needy, the homeless, and to look again to Jesus Christ and his teaching. Hayward gently concludes that when a tide goes out, the tide flows back, perhaps even more powerfully.

Read it all.

📙 Review: Lyle Dennen considers a hopeful commentator #BookReviews #ChurchTimes https://t.co/mwQx2fQF7E

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 22, 2026

The Bishop of Lincoln, the Right Reverend Stephen Conway, has resigned amid an ongoing investigation into an allegation of sexual assault.

It follows his arrest in February.

Conway’s resignation, which will formally come into effect on 1 October, was confirmed in a statement from the Church of England.

Read it all.

Bishop of Lincoln resigns amid sex assault inquiry https://t.co/y4tPSjkZXd

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) September 21, 2026

God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit
upon your Church in the burning fire of your love:
grant that your people may be fervent
in the fellowship of the gospel
that, always abiding in you,
they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Tower of St. Peter’s, dating back to 13th century
Braunstone, Rutland pic.twitter.com/o9mYkiTqCx

— Zara Handley (@zarahandley) September 13, 2026

O Lord, our heavenly Father, by Whose providence the duties of men are variously ordered: grant to us all such a spirit that we may labour heartily to do our work in our several stations, as serving one Master and looking for one reward.  Teach us to put to good account whatever talents Thou hast lent to us; help us to overcome all sloth and indolence; and enable us to redeem our time by zeal and patience; through Thy Son, our Saviour.     

–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)

St. Paul’s Church at Jarrow in Northumberland. The chancel is Anglo-Saxon in date, and formed part of the double monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow founded by Benedict Biscop during the C7th, and also home to the Venerable Bede. 📸 My own. #SteepleSaturday #Jarrow #Northumberland pic.twitter.com/jJSa71NoeZ

— Kevin Wilbraham (@KPW1453) September 12, 2026

Almighty God, who called your church to bear witness that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself: help us to proclaim the good news of your love, that all who hear it may be drawn to you; through him who was lifted up on the cross, and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Walk this way…🌳💚#ThickTrunkTuesday #Trees #TreeClub pic.twitter.com/HcEZUbYaG2

— Margaret O'Connell🌻 (@MargaretOC6) September 1, 2026