Mr Simpson also addressed the issue of falling church numbers.

He admitted the church had been declining in England and the western world for about a century, but added: “Some people think that means the church is irrelevant, and I disagree completely.

“Wherever churches are running activities that help people with problems in their lives, or in spaces where they feel welcomed and they feel seen and heard, that is a great thing.

“Often churches find it hard to know how to actually represent the Christian message in ways that are accessible to people in a very different world. But wherever they do that well, what I see is that people find faith is deeply relevant to their practical needs.

“But I also think there is an increasing spiritual hunger in people as England and much the western world has left faith behind. There is a gap, and actually, the Christian message speaks to that directly.

Read it all.

It was a pleasure to welcome the Venerable Rick Simpson and pray with and for him for all that lies ahead.

You can read more on yesterday's Choral Evensong here: https://t.co/VbbhEiXjVJ pic.twitter.com/uhOwNvbGGN

— Durham Cathedral (@durhamcathedral) February 20, 2026

Thanks to such predecessors as Cardinals Timothy Dolan, Edward Egan and John O’Connor, I am inheriting a local church that already puts faith into action in powerful ways. The Archdiocese of New York has a long history of service, education and outreach to those on the margins. At my installation Mass, one of the strongest moments of applause came when I spoke about working with all people of goodwill for the common good. I mentioned that we won’t agree on everything. That is part of honest civic life. But there is much we can do together to serve the vulnerable and strengthen our communities.

For more than 30 years, I have loved being a priest. There have been challenges and moments of suffering, as in any vocation, but I remain grateful for the call. I want people to understand our Catholic faith and why the church teaches what she teaches. I want them to know Jesus personally—to know he is real and to encounter him as a friend who loves them and walks with them in every season of life.

The church doesn’t exist as a club that serves its own members. It exists for the mission. We are called to be missionary disciples who go out and make disciples. When we truly know Christ, faith naturally moves outward. It takes shape in service, compassion and engagement with the world around us. My hope is to help Catholics in New York deepen their relationship with Jesus and then live that relationship in concrete action for others.

Read it all.

I am inheriting a local church that already puts faith into action in powerful ways. The Archdiocese of New York has a long history of service, education and outreach to those on the margins, writes Ronald Hickshttps://t.co/n3hWYZk4WY

— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) February 27, 2026

A new annotated edition of the Bible, published by the Bible Society and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC), contains more than 1000 notes, prompts, stories, and features to help its readers to address “the nitty-gritty detail of life”.

Launched last month, the Everyday Faith Bible is designed to help readers to “follow Jesus every day of the week” through practical prompts, contextual notes, features, quotations, and real-life story examples.

It seeks to help people to connect with ancient texts in the 21st century by addressing “how the Bible speaks to the nitty-gritty detail of life in the UK today — from work meetings to football games to family dinners”, the LICC and Bible Society write in their introduction.

Read it all.

A new annotated edition of the #Bible, published by @biblesociety and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, contains more than 1000 notes, prompts, stories, and features to help its readers to address “the nitty-gritty detail of life”.https://t.co/x94ddfmRkL

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 27, 2026

Oh King of grief! (a title strange, yet true,
To thee of all kings only due)
Oh King of wounds! how shall I grieve for thee,
Who in all grief preventest me?
Shall I weep blood? why thou has wept such store
That all thy body was one door.
Shall I be scourged, flouted, boxed, sold?
‘Tis but to tell the tale is told.
‘My God, my God, why dost thou part from me? ‘
Was such a grief as cannot be.
But how then shall I imitate thee, and
Copy thy fair, though bloody hand?
Surely I will revenge me on thy love,
And try who shall victorious prove.
If thou dost give me wealth, I will restore
All back unto thee by the poor.
If thou dost give me honour, men shall see,
The honour doth belong to thee.
I will not marry; or, if she be mine,
She and her children shall be thine.
My bosom friend, if he blaspheme thy name,
I will tear thence his love and fame.
One half of me being gone, the rest I give
Unto some Chapel, die or live.
As for thy passion – But of that anon,
When with the other I have done.
For thy predestination I’ll contrive,
That three years hence, if I survive,
I’ll build a spittle, or mend common ways,
But mend mine own without delays.
Then I will use the works of thy creation,
As if I us’d them but for fashion.
The world and I will quarrel; and the year
Shall not perceive, that I am here.
My music shall find thee, and ev’ry string
Shall have his attribute to sing;
That all together may accord in thee,
And prove one God, one harmony.
If thou shalt give me wit, it shall appear;
If thou hast giv’n it me, ’tis here.
Nay, I will read thy book, and never move
Till I have found therein thy love;
Thy art of love, which I’ll turn back on thee,
O my dear Saviour, Victory!
Then for thy passion – I will do for that –
Alas, my God, I know not what.

–George Herbert (1593-1633)

'when thou dost anneal in glass thy story,
Making thy life to shine within'
(George Herbert)
Sunlight, stained glass and incense combined – a magical moment🤍 pic.twitter.com/gyJ1mVPjfx

— Beatrice Groves (@beatricegroves1) November 23, 2025

Our God and King, who didst call thy servant George Herbert from the pursuit of worldly honors to be a pastor of souls, a poet, and a priest in thy temple: Give unto us the grace, we beseech thee, joyfully to perform the tasks thou givest us to do, knowing that nothing is menial or common that is done for thy sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

“O Thou, whose glorious, yet contracted light,
Wrapt in nights mantle, stole into a manger;
Since my dark soul and brutish is thy right,
To Man of all beasts be not thou a stranger.”

—George Herbert, “Christmas” (I) pic.twitter.com/nOGcn5KQ4E

— Bret van den Brink (@BretVDB) December 25, 2025

O Heavenly Father, subdue in us whatever is contrary to thy holy will, that we may know how to please thee.  Grant, O God, that we may never run into those temptations which in our prayers we desire to avoid.  Lord, never permit our trials to be above our strength; through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

pic.twitter.com/d6kWT2Q1TA

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) February 27, 2026

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’,
and again,
‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.’
So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

–1 Corinthians 3:16-23

Friday Flowers..

My garden spring bulbs are bundles of joy everywhere! 🌱💜 pic.twitter.com/0YJhAiwreK

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) February 27, 2026