The next Bishop of St Albans is to be Dr Andrew Rumsey, who has been the Area Bishop of Ramsbury, in the diocese of Salisbury, since 2019, Downing Street announced on Thursday.

He succeeds Dr Alan Smith, who retired last May (News, 10 January 2025).

Dr Rumsey was born, baptised, and grew up in the diocese, where his father served as a parish priest. He was educated at Reading University and King’s College, London, where he completed his Doctor of Theology and Ministry (D.Th.Min.) in 2016 with a thesis “What kind of place is the Anglican parish? A theological description”.

He trained for ministry at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, before his ordination as priest in 1998. He served his title at Holy Trinity and St Michael, Harrow, in London diocese, before parish ministry in Southwark diocese. He was Vicar of Christ Church, Gypsy Hill, from 2001 until his appointment as Rector (2011), then Team Rector (2014), of Oxted, where he served until his consecration as a bishop in 2019.

Dr Rumsey also serves as the Church’s lead bishop for church buildings. 

The next Bishop of St Albans is to be Dr Andrew Rumsey, who has been the Area Bishop of Ramsbury, in the diocese of Salisbury, since 2019, Downing Street announced on Thursday#stalbansdiocese #newbishop #bishopsappointments #churchnews #churchtimes https://t.co/Czv7JBKKHT

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 19, 2026

While headlines, industry hype and employers suggest a near-term revolution that will make workers more efficient and successful, [Daron] Acemoglu offers a more measured—and unsettling—view.

He agrees that recent advances, particularly in “agentic” AI, are moving faster than expected, but that today’s systems fall short when it comes to reliability, reasoning and real-world understanding. That means any sweeping, immediate transformation of jobs and productivity remains unlikely in the near-term. But the uncertainty about what comes next is higher than ever, and Acemoglu warns that tech giants are overwhelmingly focused on replacing workers rather than complementing them. This, Acemoglu says, risks both weaker productivity gains and serious social consequences.

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Nobel Prize–winning economist Daron Acemoglu warns that multiple factors are driving a labor-replacement model, with dire consequences for society https://t.co/XWEYwny4Fa

— Bloomberg (@business) March 18, 2026

‘…some who rightly opposed racial inequality became suspicious of the very word reconciliation. Perkins never did. He would no sooner give up that concept than he would give up the word grace because some television evangelists had used it to excuse their latest sex scandals.

Perkins truly believed what Paul wrote:

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Cor. 5:18–19, ESV throughout)

To those who wanted to honor civil rights and care for the poor but couch their concerns in vague generalities about “the divine,” Perkins thundered, “Jesus!”

And to those who wanted to keep the Jim Crow mentality, just substituting modern complaints for the language their grandparents would use, Perkins stood with the Bible: “Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts” (James 5:4).

Perkins combined preaching the gospel, registering people to vote, advocating for justice and civil rights, and starting neighborhood initiatives to give the poor hope—not only for the life to come but also for escaping poverty now. Yet he never gave up on reconciliation, even with those who hated him.

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Grieving the death of my friend, hero, and fellow Mississippian John Perkins. He stood up to Jim Crow and stood up for Jesus Christ. Enter into the joy of rest brother. I am grateful for you. pic.twitter.com/DIU97sZRJA

— Russell Moore (@drmoore) March 13, 2026

ZENIT spoke with Father Tarcisio Giuseppe Stramare of the Congregation of Oblates of Saint Joseph, director of the Josephite Movement, about Tuesday’s feast of St. Joseph the Worker….

ZENIT: What does “Gospel of work” mean?

Father Stramare: “Gospel” is the Good News that refers to Jesus, the Savior of humanity. Well, despite the fact that in general we see Jesus as someone who teaches and does miracles, he was so identified with work that in his time he was regarded as “the son of the carpenter,” namely, an artisan himself. Among many possible activities, the Wisdom of God chose for Jesus manual work, entrusted the education of his Son not to the school of the learned but to a humble artisan, namely, St. Joseph.

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Happy Solemnity of Saint Joseph 😇🥳🙏

Icon by the hand of Annette Lawrence dmj pic.twitter.com/ftLwfiRuep

— Sister Walburga (@SisterWalburga) March 19, 2026

O God, who from the family of your servant David raised up Joseph to be the guardian of your incarnate Son and the spouse of his virgin mother: Give us grace to imitate his uprightness of life and his obedience to your commands; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

SAINT JOSEPH, EPOUX DE LA BIENHEUREUSE VIERGE MARIE.
« Il l’a sanctifié dans sa foi et dans sa douceur, et il l’a choisi entre tous les hommes. » (Qo 45)
[Guido Reni, 1640] pic.twitter.com/7BtbfoyJmo

— Gloria ! (@Gloria_T_Domine) March 19, 2026

O Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who art thyself the bread of life, and hast promised that he who comes to thee shall never hunger: Grant us faith truly to partake of thee through Word and Sacrament, that we may find refreshment of spirit and be strengthened for thy service; who livest and reignest with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.

Good morning from the #WelshMarches. A perfectly clear sky. The blackbird on the gate started singing at 5.30. pic.twitter.com/g6WH8sZgTM

— Anne O'Brien (@anne_obrien) March 19, 2026

Save me, O God!
For the waters have come up to my neck.
I sink in deep mire,
    where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
    and the flood sweeps over me.
I am weary with my crying;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
    with waiting for my God.

More in number than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
    those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
    must I now restore?
O God, thou knowest my folly;
    the wrongs I have done are not hidden from thee.

Let not those who hope in thee be put to shame through me,
    O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek thee be brought to dishonor through me,
    O God of Israel.

–Psalm 69:1-6

Brenhines Padarn 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 pic.twitter.com/ahYsHzkktI

— Richard Jones (@lluniaurich) March 18, 2026