Make us tender and compassionate towards those who are an overtaken by temptation, considering ourselves, how we have fallen in times past and may fall yet again.  Make us watchful and sober-minded, looking ever unto thee for grace to stand upright, and to persevere unto the end; through thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

In many early medieval calendars, 7 August – halfway between midsummer and the autumnal equinox – marks the start of a new season. It's the first day of autumn, when the earth is rich with the abundance of the harvest. Some Anglo-Saxon harvest poetry: https://t.co/mVAnDVogNv pic.twitter.com/cX2FDn65P6

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) August 7, 2026

O God, who art faithful to thy people and dost not permit them to be tempted above that they are able, but with the temptation also makest a way of escape that they may be able to bear it: We humbly entreat thee to strengthen us thy servants with thy heavenly aid and keep us with thy continual protection; that we may evermore wait on thee, and never by any temptation be drawn away from thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Rainbow behind the Nubble Lighthouse this evening!
—
August 3, 2026
York Beach, Maine pic.twitter.com/t88NXjWyqK

— Rob Wright Images (@RobWrightImages) August 4, 2026

Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church: open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace; through Jesus Christ, your Son or Lord, who is alive and remains with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Onder de bewolking door schitteren. Fijne woensdag😀 #zonsondergang #reflectie pic.twitter.com/RfFBxKuwWo

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) August 5, 2026

Almighty and merciful God, it is only by your grace that your faithful people offer you true and laudable service: Grant that we may run without stumbling to obtain your heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

The colours in the sky sky this morning, just stunning. #Nature pic.twitter.com/BU3SyGGUBj

— Steven Keating (@Aneedtopaint) August 4, 2026

Almighty God,
who sent your Holy Spirit
to be the life and light of your Church:
open our hearts to the riches of your grace,
that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit
in love and joy and peace;
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.

refresh#forest pic.twitter.com/2srP8byIWa

— Portmann Carrick (@PortmannCarrick) 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

O Lord God, suffer us not to lean to our own wisdom, nor to believe as blind flesh fancieth, nor to seek salvation where superstition dreameth; but let our faith only be grounded on Thy Word, and give us grace truly to believe in Thee, with all our heart to put our trust in Thee, to look for all good things of Thee, to call upon Thy blessed Name in adversity, and with joyful voices and more merry hearts to praise and magnify it in prosperity.     

–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)

💚🧡 Welcome August 🧡💚
I hope this month will bring you kindness, joy and
beautiful memories ☺️
River Great Ouse in Ely. pic.twitter.com/8qr4mmlHZc

— Veronica in the Fens 🧚🏼‍♀️ My Heart in Nature (@VeronicaJoPo) August 1, 2026

Cathedral attendance figures rose for the fifth year in succession in 2025 and rebounded consistently after the Covid pandemic.

Attendance overall remained lower than in 2019, but Easter attendance drew level with pre-pandemic figures for the first time.

A total of 32,600 people attended weekly services at Church of England cathedrals in 2025, as opposed to 36,800 in 2019. Sunday attendance was up among adults in 2025 — eight per cent higher than in 2024, when weekly attendance had risen by one tenth (News, 5 September, 2025).

Christmas attendance in 2025 was up by six per cent, and there was a five-per-cent rise in Easter attendance. But child mid-week attendance was still 38 per cent lower in 2025 than in 2019.

Read it all.

⛪️ Attendance overall remained lower than in 2019, but Easter attendance drew level with pre-pandemic figures for the first time. #Cathedrals #ChurchTimes #ChurchNews https://t.co/JYVoteZgi8

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) July 31, 2026

O God, by whose grace thy servant Ignatius, enkindled with the fire of thy love, became a burning and a shining light in thy Church: Grant that we also may be aflame with the spirit of love and discipline, and may ever walk before thee as children of light; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever.

Today's the feast of St Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits and author of the Spiritual Exercises. Glass of the 1880s by Nathaniel Westlake in St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. pic.twitter.com/7iYqRlTvhd

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) July 31, 2026

Almighty Father, who by thy Son Jesus Christ hast taught us to beware of false prophets: Have mercy upon thy Church, we beseech thee, to deliver it from all evil; and give us faithful pastors and teachers who shall truly fulfill thy command and preach nothing contrary to thy Holy Word; that we thy people, being instructed, nurtured and comforted by thy heavenly truth, may bring forth fruit to thy glory; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

In the Victorian language of flowers, the blue hydrangea was said to symbolise, rather harshly, boastfulness and a cold heart. A favourite in floral arrangements for ballrooms and assembly halls, it became associated with the vain coquette admired only for her appearance. pic.twitter.com/dWPglUvcq6

— VenetiaJane's Garden (@VenetiaJane) July 31, 2026

What we have realised, over the last five years, as Save the Parish has got off the ground and started to ask the questions that should have been asked decades ago, is that what we are in danger of losing is not just some old buildings, or the clerical stipend, or one mode of training over another, but the essence of the Church of England itself.

Who are we? What is the unique ecology of the Church of England, which we love so dearly that we have got up and come here on a Saturday morning?

“If the Church of England were to fail,” said John Keble, “it should be found in my parish.”

Or, listen to Justin Welby, who, I concede isn’t often quoted by Save the Parish: “you could lose the House of Bishops tonight…[and] it’d be a couple of years before there was any noticeable impact on the Church of England. Whereas if you got rid of all the parishes and the churchwardens and the laypeople it would be noticeable in about one second.”

Well, we are here for the parishes and the churchwardens and the laypeople today. And for the priests. (I do declare an interest…)

Read it all.

Last night people from across the country – lay and clergy; Evangelical, High Church, Solidly Middle, Anglo Catholic; Tory, LibDem, Labour – gathered to pledge to Save the Parish.

Alison Milbank, @revstrott, and I all shared our thoughts – have a watch!https://t.co/nV43HmzWee pic.twitter.com/DuCnbEYNkt

— Marcus Walker (@WalkerMarcus) August 4, 2021

More than a thousand people queued to join a prayer gathering at a church in East London as temperatures soared above 30 degree Celsius on a Monday evening in early July. 

SAINT, the church community which meets at Hackney Church, hosted an evening of sung worship and prayer in collaboration with two other Anglican churches in London, King’s Cross Church (KXC) and IMPRINT Church, the parish church of St Mary Woolnoth, St Edmund the King and St Clement Eastcheap in Bank, City of London. 

This was the latest in a series of similar evenings, which the trio of churches gather for six times per year, entitled the Joint Prayer Gathering. 

Read it all.

More than a thousand people queued to join a prayer gathering at a church in East London recently.

The Joint Prayer Gathering is an initiative from a trio of churches, hosting evenings of sung worship and prayer six times a year.

Read more at https://t.co/IBjgTB5mvN.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) July 30, 2026

It was in 1787 that he first decided to put down a motion in the House of Commons about the slave trade. This nefarious traffic had been going on for three centuries, and the West Indian slave-owners were determined to oppose abolition to the end. Besides, Wilberforce was not a very prepossessing man. He was little and somewhat ugly, with poor eyesight and an upturned nose. When Boswell heard him speak, he pronounced him ‘a perfect shrimp’, but then had to concede that ‘presently the shrimp swelled into a whale.’ In 1789 Wilberforce said of the slave trade: “So enormous so dreadful, so irremediable did its wickedness appear that my own mind was completely made up for the abolition…. let the consequences be what they would, I from this time determined that I would never rest till I had effected its abolition.

So abolition bills (which related to the trade) and Foreign Trade Bills (which would prohibit the involvement of British ships in it) were debated in the commons in 1789, 1791, 1792,194, 1796 (by which time Abolition had become ‘the grand object of my parliamentary existence’), 1798 and 1799. Yet they all failed. The Foreign Slave Bill was not passed until 1806 and the Abolition of the Slave Trade Bill until 1807. This part of the campaign had taken eighteen years.

Next, soon after the conclusion of the Napoleonic wars, Wilberforce began to direct his energies to the abolition of slavery itself and the emancipation of the slaves. In 1823 the Anti-Slavery Society was formed. Twice that year and twice the following year, Wilberforce pleaded the slaves’ cause in the House of Commons. But in 1825 ill-health compelled him to resign as a member of parliament and to continue his campaign from outside. In 1831 he sent a message to the Anti-Slavery Society, in which he said, “Our motto must continue to be PERSEVERANCE. And ultimately I trust the Almighty will crown our efforts with success.” He did. In July 1833 the Abolition of Slavery Bill was passed in both Houses of Parliament, even though it included the undertaking to pay 20 million pounds in compensation to the slave-owners. ‘Thank God,’ wrote Wilberforce, that I have lived to witness a day in which England is willing to give 20 million pounds for the abolition of slavery.’ Three days later he died. He was buried in Westminster Abbey, in national recognition of his FORTY-FIVE YEARS of persevering struggle on behalf of African slaves.

— John R W Stott, Issues facing Christians Today (Basingstoke: Marshall, Morgan and Scott, 1984), p. 334

#OTD July 29, 1833:
Death of William Wilberforce, who had done much to end slavery in British possessions.

Persuaded to join the campaign against slavery and faced with evidence of its horrors, he wrote:

"So enormous, so dreadful, so irremediable did the [slave] trade's… pic.twitter.com/Noaw7qZQt2

— ☧ Today in Christian History (@HistoricalRook) July 29, 2026

Let thy continual mercy, O Lord, enkindle in thy Church the never-failing gift of love, that, following the example of thy servant William Wilberforce, we may have grace to defend the poor, and maintain the cause of those who have no helper; for the sake of him who gave his life for us, thy Son our Savior Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Politician William Wilberforce died #onthisday in 1833. He is remembered for taking up the cause of abolishing slavery alongside Prime Minister Charles Grey. He is buried close to the grave of William Pitt in the Abbey’s north transept, and his statue can be found in statesmen's… pic.twitter.com/mY5QlNaZfQ

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) July 29, 2026

O Almighty and merciful Lord, who givest unto thy faithful people the Holy Spirit as a sure pledge of thy heavenly kingdom: Grant unto us this same Spirit, that he may bear witness with our spirit that we be thy children and heirs of thy kingdom; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

🌹 Roses 🌹 Roses 🌹 Roses 🌹 pic.twitter.com/fDyWjoZ5ek

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) July 29, 2026

Significant progress in church safeguarding is being undermined by resistance from senior officers, INEQE, the company auditing safeguarding in every diocese and cathedral, has said.

INEQE said in its 2025 audit that the Church of England was experiencing a “dangerous” period of institutional “drift” regarding future safeguarding structures.

The company also said that unprecedented engagement from more than 10,000 contributors showed “a maturing safeguarding culture, though critical structural inhibitors remain at the senior level”.

The findings are set out in INEQE’s 2025 Annual Report on the Independent Safeguarding Audits of Church of England Dioceses and Cathedrals, alongside two companion reports, Chorister Safeguarding and Victim and Survivor Engagement.

The audit highlighted “tangible” improvements in safeguarding, increasingly understood as a “gospel and theological imperative” rather than as merely an administrative requirement. The report also speaks of growing confidence among individuals in raising concerns without fear of reprisal.

Read it all.

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

Grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that as a tree is known by its fruit, so we may be recognized as thy children by our obedience to thy will.  Help us to put away all hypocrisy and self-seeking, that we may truly set forth thy glory and extend thy kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

On top of the world at An Teallach, #Scotland's great wilderness.
📷Mark Sutherland#Munro #ScottishBanner #ScotlandIsCalling pic.twitter.com/ISJlWGH4ph

— The Scottish Banner (@Scottish_Banner) July 29, 2026

Madison Kuzia Named Chief of Staff

Bishop Chip Edgar has appointed Madison Kuzia to serve as the Diocese’s new Chief of Staff, effective July 15. Madison will continue serving as his Executive Assistant, overseeing the day-to-day operations of the office, leading strategic initiatives, and strengthening the systems that support our ministry. In a note to the clergy Bishop Edgar wrote, “I am confident that Madison’s gifts of leadership, team management, and vision for our operations will have a far-reaching impact, strengthening our team so that we are well equipped to serve you, your congregations, and the mission we share across our Diocese.” Madison and her husband, Elijah, have been married since 2018 and enjoy traveling together, spending time on their family’s farm, and making music.

Read it all.

The Latest Edition of the #Anglican Diocese of #SouthCarolina Enewsletter https://t.co/9iYyYdfDMf #parishministry #lowcountrylife #faith #ACNA #communication Madison Kuzia Named Bishop Edgar's Chief of Staff [diocesan photo] pic.twitter.com/UwgdeknZjn

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) July 28, 2026

Almighty God, beautiful in majesty and majestic in holiness, who dost teach us in Holy Scripture to sing thy praises and who gavest thy musicians Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frederick Handel and Henry Purcell grace to show forth thy glory in their music: Be with all those who write or make music for thy people, that we on earth may glimpse thy beauty and know the inexhaustible riches of thy new creation in Jesus Christ our Savior; who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

28 July 1750. Johann Sebastian Bach died (aged 64). He’s one of the greatest classical composers of all time. His best known works include the Brandenburg Concertos and the Goldberg Variations. pic.twitter.com/ofd5MF7IXb

— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) July 28, 2026

O God, who hast given us not the spirit of bondage, but the Spirit of adoption into thy family: Grant us the witness of thy Spirit within our hearts, testifying that we are thy children; and give us that fellowship with the sufferings of Christ which shall end in our being glorified with him; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Tuesday greetings – if you weren’t here early this morning, unlike the couple pictured, you missed experiencing this sunrise here at Avoca NSW, Central Coast, Australia 🇦🇺
(📸M.Hruby) pic.twitter.com/u9f346s17D

— Anthony Sider (@BudgetDude) July 28, 2026

The campaigning group Save the Parish (STP) has launched its manifesto for the elections to the next General Synod. It is calling for financial resources to be decentralised and redirected towards parish ministry to save “the essence of the Church of England itself”.

Six commitments are outlined in the manifesto, which was launched at St Bartholomew the Great, West Smithfield, in London, on Saturday, by the Rector, the Revd Marcus Walker. He warned of an “existential crisis” facing the Church.

The commitments, based on the group’s “founding priorities of ‘parish’, ‘priest’ and ‘people’”, are to: restore Church Commissioners’ funds to stipendiary parish ministry; direct the parish share to mission and “the cure of souls”; adopt a “charter of care that values our clergy and guards them from mental and physical exhaustion”; renew theological resourcing for theological education “which is ordinand-centred not budget-centred”; adopt a “churchgoers’ charter” that honours the volunteers who hold the parishes together; and reform the Mission and Pastoral Measure.

Fr Walker, who chairs the STP network, said: “If we want there to be a thriving parish system in a generation’s time, we have to get up and do something.

Read it all.

Good point from @WalkerMarcus. It’s the poorer parishes that suffer most from Church funds being diverted into highly paid woke diocesan posts to be Engagement Officers, Diversity Officers, Policy Officers, Media Officers, etc, etc… pic.twitter.com/gZHtv4UCrl

— Harry Phibbs (@harryph) July 25, 2026

Dissatisfaction is the one word that best expresses the state of mind in which Christendom finds itself today. There is a wide-spread misgiving that we are on the eve of momentous changes. Unrest is everywhere. We hear about Roman Councils, and Anglican Conferences, and Evangelical Alliances, about the question of the Temporal Power, the dissolution of Church and State, and many other such like things. They all have one meaning. The party of the Papacy and the party of the Reformation, the party of orthodoxy and the party of liberalism, are all alike agitated by the consciousness that a spirit of change is in the air. No wonder that many imagine themselves listening to the rumbling of the chariot- wheels of the Son of Man. He Himself predicted that ” perplexity” should be one of the signs of His coining, and it is certain that the threads of the social order have seldom been more seriously entangled than they now are.

A calmer and perhaps truer inference is that we are about entering upon a new reach of Church history, and that the dissatisfaction and perplexity are only transient. There is always a tumult of waves at the meeting of the waters; but when the streams have mingled, the flow is smooth and still again. The plash and gurgle that we hear may mean something like this.

At all events the time is opportune for a discussion of the Church-Idea; for it is with this, hidden under a hundred disguises, that the world’s thoughts are busy. Men have become possessed with an unwonted longing for unity, and yet they are aware that they do not grapple successfully with the practical problem. Somehow they are grown persuaded that union is God’s work, and separation devil’s work ; but the persuasion only breeds the greater discontent. That is what lies at the root of our unquietness. There is a felt want and a felt inability to meet the want; and where these two things coexist there must be heat of friction.

Catholicity is what we are reaching after….

–William Reed Huntington The Church Idea (1870)

William Reed Huntington, Pach Brothers Studio, c. 1900 https://t.co/Dl9pQIhLof #smithsonian #pachbrothersstudio pic.twitter.com/l6buAr8gfX

— SI: National Portrait Gallery (Bot) (@si_npg) June 24, 2020

O Lord our God, we thank thee for instilling in the heart of thy servant William Reed Huntington a fervent love for thy Church and its mission in the world; and we pray that, with unflagging faith in thy promises, we may make known to all peoples thy blessed gift of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

The Episcopal Church also today commemorates William Reed Huntington, Priest, 1909

Image: Icon by Tobias Stanislas Haller BSG, via https://t.co/1pTNE0szHz pic.twitter.com/sWcGpkmxnI

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) July 27, 2024

Almighty Lord and everlasting God,
we beseech you to direct, sanctify and govern
both our hearts and bodies
in the ways of your laws
and the works of your commandments;
that through your most mighty protection, both here and ever,
we may be preserved in body and soul;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Beautiful view in Tobermory, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 pic.twitter.com/3pB2iZeVC9

— Ferhat Göçemen (@FGocemen31851) July 27, 2026

Almighty and everlasting God, you are always more ready to hear than we to pray, and to give more than we either desire or deserve: Pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy, forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid, and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask, except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Binnendrijvende wolkjes. Fijne zondag😀 #zonsondergang #reflectie pic.twitter.com/xTygzQbuuS

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) 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

Thou Who sendest forth the light, createst the I morning, makest the sun to rise on the good and on the evil: enlighten the blindness of our minds with the knowledge of the truth: lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us: that in Thy light we may see light, and, at the last, in the light of grace the light of glory.  

–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)

The air is full of the scent of Lavender. Think i will spend the night here 😅 pic.twitter.com/p8HM0sTT8c

— Glenn Hutton (@GlennHutton6) July 25, 2026

(From email;KSH).

Bishop Julian M. Dobbs is pleased to announce the appointment of the Right Reverend Ryan Reed, Bishop Ordinary of the Anglican Diocese of Fort Worth, as Assistant Dean of the Province, effective immediately.

“Bishop Ryan Reed is a man of steady judgment, with a deep commitment to Christ and a sincere love for the Church. Over many years, I have seen Bishop Reed serve faithfully and I have worked alongside him as a senior bishop of our College,” said Bishop Dobbs. “This appointment follows prayerful consideration and consultation with the College of Bishops, and I believe Bishop Reed will serve with wisdom, humility, and the heart of a shepherd.”

This appointment is effective immediately and follows the provisions of the Province’s Canons, which were recently amended and ratified by the Provincial Assembly to establish the office of Assistant Dean. After a season of prayer, the appointment has been made in accordance with those canonical provisions and with the counsel of the College of Bishops.

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Bishop Reed was raised near Houston. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas A&M University, where he was a member of the Corps of Cadets, and a Master of Divinity from Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania.

Ordained to the priesthood in 1997, Bishop Reed has served congregations in Fort Worth, Bridgeport, and Bedford, Texas, and has held a variety of ministerial and administrative leadership positions.

He has served each role with faithfulness, humility, and pastoral wisdom. His willingness to assume this new responsibility reflects his longstanding commitment to the Church, and the Province looks forward to the gifts of leadership, experience, and pastoral care he will bring.

Please join us in prayer, lifting up Bishop Reed, his wife Kathy, their family, and the Diocese of Fort Worth as he undertakes these additional responsibilities. May the Lord grant him wisdom, strength, and grace as he continues to serve Christ and His Church.

Ryan Reed appointed Assistant Dean of the ACNAhttps://t.co/Qp6CusP3fT pic.twitter.com/WIvrfPqMF6

— George Conger (@GeorgeConger8) July 24, 2026

Mr. Goldman’s proposal won’t satisfy those Christians who want America to return to its Protestant roots. One of the most prominent spokesmen for Christian nationalism is Doug Wilson, an Idaho pastor and founder of a college and publishing company. His notoriety derives in part from associations with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and his objections to gay marriage, transgender medicine, abortion and even women’s suffrage.

If forced to navigate between the Scylla of secular civil religion and the Charybdis of Christian nationalism, we might look to the deeply American religion of Presbyterianism. A recent report by the Presbyterian Church in America reaffirms a proposition that American Presbyterians have believed since 1788: that freedom of religion and assembly are crucial for Christian endeavor. At the same time, the PCA approved a paper that, with slight qualifications, rejects Christian nationalism.

A small denomination, with roughly 400,000 members, the PCA took on Christian nationalism after the circulation of these views on social media and in such books as Stephen Wolfe’s “The Case for Christian Nationalism” and James D. Baird’s “King of Kings.” But the most important theme in the PCA report isn’t a direct repudiation of Christian nationalism but an affirmation of religious liberty. Liberal political orders have, “in God’s providence,” secured religious liberty, limited political power and recognized human dignity—and one of government’s duties is “to protect the free exercise of religion, including liberty of conscience.” Government should “not interfere in matters of faith” despite having a responsibility to encourage “piety, justice, [and] public order.”

Read it all.

"A recent report by the [PCA] reaffirms a proposition that American Presbyterians have believed since 1788: that freedom of religion and assembly are crucial for Christian endeavor….[and] with slight qualifications, rejects Christian nationalism." https://t.co/KrOmsIJuLl

— D G Hart (@ReallyOldLife) July 24, 2026