The Church of England’s latest cathedral statistics show continued growth in 2024, with weekly attendance rising to 31,900, an increase of eleven per cent compared to 2023. The rise was driven particularly by midweek services, which saw a 15 per cent increase in adult attendance and a 16 per cent increase in child attendance, although still lower than the pre-pandemic figure. 

Easter services attracted 50,200 worshippers, a 12 per cent increase year-on-year, while Holy Week attendance reached 90,200. However, Christmas attendance dipped slightly to 121,100, down three per cent from 2023, and Advent services saw a similar decline. 

Visitor numbers continued to climb, reaching 9.87 million in 2024 – surpassing pre-pandemic levels for the first time. Cathedrals also hosted 6,000 public and civic events, including 370 graduation ceremonies, with a total attendance of 1.74 million. 

Musical life in cathedrals flourished, with 2,120 choristers and lay clerks (adult professional singers), and 2,070 voluntary choir members meaning figures are now above pre-pandemic levels. The total number of cathedral choirs also reached a record high of 207.

Read it all.

BREAKING:
The Church of England’s latest cathedral statistics show continued growth in 2024, with weekly attendance rising to 31,900, an increase of eleven per cent compared to 2023.

"By most measures, attendance, participation, and engagement were higher in 2024 than in…

— English Cathedrals (@engcathedrals) August 29, 2025

Tolkien later wrote that he began creating his Middle Earth mythology – the foundation for the future “The Lord of the Rings” – while “in grimy canteens, at lectures in cold fogs, in huts full of blasphemy and smut, or by candlelight in bell-tents, even some down in dugouts under shell fire.”

Yes, the man who survived days huddled in shell craters and trenches in France would later write, in a blank page in an Oxford student’s exam book, these famous words: “In a hole in the ground there lived a Hobbit.”

Tolkien and Lewis remain stunningly popular – in print and on digital screens. A graphic novel by John Hendrix, “The Mythmakers: The remarkable fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien,” will soon become a feature-length animated film. Netflix recently began filming the latest movie and cable-television production based on “The Chronicles of Narnia,” the seven novels Lewis wrote for children and families. Another film linked to “The Lord of the Rings” – “The Hunt for Gollum” – is scheduled for 2026 release.

Loconte stressed that the faith woven into the works of Lewis and Tolkien was a sharp contrast to the despair and doubt found in many classic books after “The War to End All Wars,” which killed 16 to 22 million soldiers and civilians.

Read it all.

#Tolkien, #Lewis and great post-World War I myths https://t.co/Iepqr5gWB0

— Religion Unplugged (@ReligionMag) August 21, 2025

I fully recognize that many, if not most, readers don’t share my view that each embryo — and each unborn child with Down syndrome — is a human life worthy of protection under the law. But I would ask you to put aside thoughts of the law for just a moment and think carefully about the culture we’re creating, from the beginning to the end of life.

What happens when we make a transition from understanding that suffering is an inevitable part of the human condition, one that rallies people to love and care for the people they love (or even to love and care for people they don’t know), to it being somebody’s fault — perhaps it’s the parents who wrongly brought you into this world or your own fault for hanging on too long?

It is understandable and deeply human to want to bring all aspects of our health as much into our control as possible. Terminally ill patients often face horrifying levels of pain. We should try to treat that pain as best we can. Vulnerability is terrifying, but it is also inescapable. In our quest for health and fitness, we are fighting a delaying action. There is no earthly victory over decay and death.

Yet at each stage of life, we can fool ourselves into believing we possess more control than we really do. If we test to control the beginning of life and die by suicide to control the end of life, the negative side of movements like what has come to be known as MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) is to teach you that your health is under your control throughout your life.

Read it all.

What It Really Means to Choose Life https://t.co/1ZKwZLRQ99

— Anders Carlgren (@AndersCarlgren) August 25, 2025

A potentially invasive crab species has landed in coastal South Carolina, from Hilton Head, though the Charleston area and up to Myrtle Beach.

State regulators are asking the public to report sightings of blue land crabs, which can cause damage to crops and other animals by digging deep holes in search of water.

Historically found in Brazil, the Caribbean and South Florida, blue land crabs are thicker and bulkier than the blue crabs found in coastal waters and served in local restaurants. Despite their name, they range in shades of blue and purple to orange and have one claw that’s larger than the other.

The burrowing creatures resemble a “fiddler crab on steroids,” said S.C. Department of Natural Resources crustacean researcher Daniel Sasson.

For a long time, it was thought the crabs’ northernmost range was the middle of Florida, Sasson said. That has changed.

Read it all.

‘Fiddler crab on steroids’: SC agency on the lookout for a new invasive (and edible) species https://t.co/WvvYRopXRa

— The Post and Courier (@postandcourier) September 2, 2025

Almighty God, we remember before thee this day the blessed martyrs of New Guinea, who, following the example of their Savior, laid down their lives for their friends; and we pray thee that we, who honor their memory, may imitate their loyalty and faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today we remember Lucian Tapiedi, who was among 333 Christians who lost their lives in New Guinea during the occupation of the island by Japanese forces in 1942.

Tapiedi is one of ten 20th-century martyrs whose statues above the Abbey's Great West Door. pic.twitter.com/HJqGGJNxBn

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) September 2, 2025

O Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow after us, that we may continually be given to good works; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

A warm welcome to September and happy Tuesday, friends #ScotlandisNow #StormHour #photography #photooftheday #landscape #OutAndAboutScotland #landscapephotography @VisitScotland @ScotsMagazine #STVSnaps #ThePhotoHour #beautiful pic.twitter.com/o4ue1ZLInG

— Mike Wood (@MikeMikwd) September 2, 2025

And as Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the maids of the high priest came; and seeing Peter warming himself, she looked at him, and said, “You also were with the Nazarene, Jesus.” But he denied it, saying, “I neither know nor understand what you mean.” And he went out into the gateway. And the maid saw him, and began again to say to the bystanders, “This man is one of them.” But again he denied it. And after a little while again the bystanders said to Peter, “Certainly you are one of them; for you are a Galilean.” But he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know this man of whom you speak.” And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had said to him, “Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

–Mark 14:66-72

Morning Tracks. 15°C and blue skies. Rabbits. pic.twitter.com/yzSFTUUhAb

— Yorkshire Wolds Weather (@WeatherWolds) September 2, 2025