Almighty God,
who in the passion of your blessed Son
made an instrument of painful death
to be for us the means of life and peace:
grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ
that we may gladly suffer for his sake;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

14 September is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, once known as 'Holyrood Day in harvest'. As summer moves into autumn, this festival extols a holy tree, bearing the fruit of life, standing steadfast at the still point of the turning world https://t.co/4GPLwUHB7c pic.twitter.com/QN4dyO1J8F

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) September 14, 2025

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written,

‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written,

‘He will give his angels charge of you,’

and

‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Begone, Satan! for it is written,

‘You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.’”

Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

–Matthew 4:1-11

Morning everyone I hope you are well. Although it's very wet and windy in the Lakes today ( I've already been out shooting, tomorrow's image), as usual, I'll start the week with a bit of calm and brightness. Morning light across Elterwater. Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/ubf0xlVDWQ

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) September 15, 2025

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Morning everyone hope you are well. A few days rain, and the water levels are already up here at Derwentwater. Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/7m1OgPrLke

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) September 14, 2025

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

–Psalm 24:1-2

Together we watched the sunrise #PeakDistrict pic.twitter.com/NaBQmONLgp

— Sarah Lister (@ABTheAdventure) September 14, 2025

Almighty God, who didst give to thy servant Cyprian boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of the same our Lord Jesus Christ; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Saint Cyprian, pray to God for us! 🙏 pic.twitter.com/zeSdI8B7zG

— Basilica.ro (EN) (@BasilicaNews) September 13, 2023

My God, I love Thee Thyself above all else, and Thee I desire as my last end. Always and in all things, with my whole heart and strength, and with unceasing labour, I seek Thee. If Thou give not Thyself to me, Thou givest nothing: if I find not Thee, I find nothing. Grant to me, therefore, most loving God, that I may ever love Thee for Thyself above all things and seek Thee in all things in this life present, so that at last I may find Thee and keep Thee for ever in the world to come.

–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)

Saturday morning sunrise a rather wet affair 🌈😎 pic.twitter.com/sFfQuOzJaS

— graham ross (@grahamr27165817) September 13, 2025

Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and alighting on him; and lo, a voice from heaven, saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

–Matthew 3:13-17

"There were many golden Saturdays where we would picnic. I remember particularly a day in Highgate Woods – if you had been there, you would have seen two little boys very content, lying one each side of a large stone slab, racing caterpillars." ~A.A.Milne #Saturday pic.twitter.com/WiYFRlrFOP

— A.A.Milne (@A_AMilne) September 13, 2025

Bishops decried the proposed legalisation of assisted dying on Friday, as the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill came to the House of Lords for the first of two days of debate.

“If passed, this Bill will signal that we are a society that believes that some lives are not worth living,” the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, said. It would become, she said, the “state-endorsed position”.

Bishop Mullally, a former Chief Nursing Officer, questioned whether Parliament had properly listened to the advice of medical experts, including professional bodies which have expressed concerns about the legislation.

The Bill also failed in its “central claim” to give people choice about the manner of their death, she said. “A meaningful choice would see the measures in this Bill set alongside easily available, fully-funded, palliative and social-care services. Without a choice offered, this choice is an illusion.”

Read it all.

"A meaningful choice would see the measures in this Bill set alongside easily available, fully-funded, palliative and social-care services. Without a choice offered, this choice is an illusion.” – @bishopSarahMhttps://t.co/y4bKSThSPJ

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 12, 2025

U.S. population growth will slow to a crawl over the next few decades as fertility rates decline and net immigration shrinks because of stricter enforcement, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

Deaths are now projected to exceed births in 2031. Just eight months ago, CBO had projected that threshold wouldn’t be crossed until 2033.  

By 2055, the U.S. population will be about 367 million, up from 350 million today. In January, CBO had projected a 2055 population of 372 million. From 1975 through 2024, U.S. population growth averaged 0.9% annually. By the early 2050s, according to the latest projections, population growth will effectively be zero. 

Read it all.

U.S. population growth will slow to a crawl over the next few decades as fertility rates decline and net immigration shrinks because of stricter enforcement, the Congressional Budget Office said https://t.co/Et12WqCfnk

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) September 10, 2025

By 2050, about 90% of humanoids, or about 930 million units, will likely be used for repetitive, simple, and structured work—primarily industrial and commercial purposes. China is likely to have the highest number of humanoid robots in use by 2050, at 302.3 million, trailed by the U.S. at  77.7 million (up from the previous forecast of 63 million).

“The forecast for household usage is much more conservative, with only 80 million humanoids in homes by 2050,” Jonas says. “We are not going to see a robot in every home overnight.”

Creating a general-purpose humanoid that is capable of doing a vast array of useful tasks at home will require technological progress in both hardware and AI models, which should take about another decade. To get those humanoids into homes, prices need to decline significantly, in parallel with regulatory and societal acceptance of this use of humanoids.

“Once we get to that stage, humanoid volume and penetration should pick up quickly,” Jonas says.

Read it all.

Humanoids: A $5 Trillion Market #ArtificialInteligence #AI Morgan Stanley sees #Robots taking over the jobs of real humans as a business opportunity 👍 #Humanoids pic.twitter.com/4u7fVI6D47

— Tom Boyle (@tomboylefilms) June 4, 2025

The striking and appropriate terms in which the prophet Isaiah depicts the character and offices of the Messiah, have procured for him, by way of eminence, the title of the Evangelical Prophet. He exhibits a glowing but faithful picture of the character of Christ, and all the humiliating and all the triumphant events of his life. In the chapter which contains my text, the prophet has dipped his pencil in the softest colours, and draws a portrait of the Saviour, which, while it conveys to us the most exalted ideas of his character, is calculated to awaken our tenderest and liveliest sympathy.

Blessed feast of John Henry Hobart. May there be a revival of the Old High Church school in our lifetime! He is a true gem of the Anglican tradition. pic.twitter.com/sEknWdQnns

— David Szomor (@curiouscurate) September 12, 2024

Revive thy Church, Lord God of hosts, whensoever it doth fall into complacency and sloth, by raising up devoted leaders, like thy servant John Henry Hobart whom we remember this day; and grant that their faith and vigor of mind may awaken thy people to thy message and their mission; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates John Henry Hobart, Bishop of New York, 1830 https://t.co/DyN9Wilf33

Hobart was the 3rd Episcopal Bishop of New York (1816-30) and helped promote the extension of the Episcopal Church in Central & Western New York pic.twitter.com/g81IC4bW64

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) September 12, 2020

O Gracious God, whose blessed Son set forth thy love towards mankind, in his miracles of healing and mercy, making both the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak: Grant that our ears may be opened to thy Word, and our tongues loosed to proclaim it to others, and to further the spreading of thy gospel among all nations; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

A bright good morning to you!☀️#HappyFriday#FlowersOnFriday#Dahlia 🌼 pic.twitter.com/qgj1tIcVYd

— Margaret O'Connell🌻 (@MargaretOC6) September 12, 2025

In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said, “The voice of one crying in the wilderness: Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair, and a leather girdle around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then went out to him Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sad’ducees coming for baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit that befits repentance, and do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

–Matthew 3:1-12

Morning everyone I hope you are well. Millbeck Farm overshadowed by the Langdale Pikes. Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/CJzqQe4L86

— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) September 12, 2025

From there:

I got up and turned on the TV, and there was just this big black hole in the World Trade Center. And there was just smoke billowing out of it. I called my sister Cathy I said, “You might wanna wake up, turn in your TV and take a look at what they’re showing.” The commentator’s saying that it’s an American Airlines plane. And I casually asked Cathy, I said, “Do you know where Betty is?” And she says, “Betty’s supposed to be flying out of Boston.” And I said, “Do you think Betty is on that plane?” We just didn’t know. So I left a phone call on her cellphone, just asking her when she’s landed or anywhere you’re on the ground, to just give us a call and tell us you’re okay. And there was no call from Betty. I called American Airlines, and it was only then that it was confirmed that Betty was on the flight.

I just want to add, through your passing, Betty, our family’s gotten very very close. Dad, who’s quite stoic, doesn’t really say a whole lot, man of the family, one day told us that he cries himself to sleep. Even to this day, he just keeps staying up watching TV, hoping somehow that you’ll reappear. And we’re all still waiting for that phone call from you to tell us that you’re okay. We just miss you a whole lot.

You may find the transcript of Betty Ong’s conversation reporting the hijacking from the American airlines plane here.

On September 11, 2001, New York — and the nation — faced the unimaginable. Now, 24 years later, the spirit of unity that helped us recover and rebuild can inspire a whole new generation.

Each anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect and affirm our promise to never forget.… pic.twitter.com/RyxScc5MLu

— 9/11 Memorial & Museum (@Sept11Memorial) September 10, 2025

“The cloudless sky filled with coiling black smoke and a blizzard of paper—memos, photographs, stock transactions, insurance policies—which fluttered for miles on a gentle southeasterly breeze, across the East River into Brooklyn. Debris spewed onto the streets of lower Manhattan, which were already covered with bodies. Some of them had been exploded out of the building when the planes hit. A man walked out of the towers carrying someone else’s leg. Jumpers landed on several firemen, killing them instantly.

“The air pulsed with sirens as firehouses and police stations all over the city emptied, sending the rescuers, many of them to their deaths. [FBI agent] Steve Bongardt was running toward the towers, against a stream of people racing in the opposite direction. He heard the boom of the second collision. “There’s a second plane,” someone cried.”

–Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (New York: Random House [Vintage Books], 2006), pp.404-405

Moments from this morning's 24th anniversary commemoration pic.twitter.com/IQ0uE31Bua

— 9/11 Memorial & Museum (@Sept11Memorial) September 11, 2025

Almighty God and Father who wills that all people may flourish and have abundance of life, be with us especially on this day when we remember such destruction, darkness, devastation, death and terror; help us to honor the memory of those whose lives were utterly cut short, and to believe that you can make all things new, even the most horrible things. Redeem and heal, O Holy Spirit, grant us perspective, humility, light, trust and grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today we will lead the world in commemorating the 24th anniversary of 9/11. Twenty-four years after the day that changed our world forever, we will come together to read aloud the names of those lost. Join us live: https://t.co/XXLaBbugOb pic.twitter.com/J5cJDK1lla

— 9/11 Memorial & Museum (@Sept11Memorial) September 11, 2025

The new cover of Time Magazine pic.twitter.com/fd5GY7uhV4

— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) September 11, 2025

God, our strong deliverer: We bless thy Name for the grace given to Harry Thacker Burleigh, who didst lift up in song the struggles of thy people. Let that Spirit of love which spurred him draw us and thy whole Church to raise our distinct voices into one great harmony of praise; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Harry T. Burleigh (b. 1886) was a pioneering composer, singer & leader in New York’s “cultural & political environment well before the Harlem Renaissance.” He introduced Dvořák to African American music & “led the way for both Black & white composers…in the early 20th century.” pic.twitter.com/DtZ9tRYSAR

— ChristinaProenzaColes (@ProenzaColes) August 8, 2024

O Almighty God, who hast revealed thyself in him who veiled his Godhead that he might unveil thy glory, and hast made him the eternal sacrifice and only priest of men: Grant that by the power of thy Holy Spirit the veil on our hearts may be taken away, and we may look on him who loved us and gave himself for us, and so be changed into the same image from glory to glory, until at last we shall see him with unveiled face, for evermore.

Farm on the hill ~ a beautiful morning amongst my flocks pic.twitter.com/o2u9kbM5ev

— Alison O’Neill ~ Shepherdess (@woolismybread) September 10, 2025

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. Even if I am to be poured as a libation upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.

I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. I have no one like him, who will be genuinely anxious for your welfare. They all look after their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But Timothy’s worth you know, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me; and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself shall come also.

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphrodi′tus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, for he has been longing for you all, and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious. So receive him in the Lord with all joy; and honor such men, for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete your service to me.

–Philippians 2:12-30

Guten Morgen ☁️☀️🍃🌸☁️ pic.twitter.com/b0gqdBqegE

— Brigitta Neurauter (@BrigittaNeurau2) September 11, 2025

Severe hardship in Britain is being “normalised”, the foodbank charity Trussell warns.

Its second Hunger in the UK report, published on Wednesday, suggests that 14.1 million people experienced food insecurity last year through a lack of money — a rise from 11.6 million in 2022, when the last survey was carried out.

The survey also found that 61 per cent of households that reported going without food did not obtain any form of charitable food support. Trussell defines food insecurity as “going without or cutting back on quality or quantity of food due to a lack of money”.

When asked why they had not sought such support, more than half (55 per cent) said that they did not feel that they should because they were not facing financial hardship. One third (32 per cent) did not think that they were in enough need, and one quarter (23 per cent) thought that others were in greater need.

Read it all.

Ipsos polling for the Trussell Trust suggests that 14.1 million people experienced food insecurity last year through a lack of money — a rise from 11.6 million in 2022, when the last survey was carried out.https://t.co/k9zXu83atf

— Madeleine Davies (@MadsDavies) September 10, 2025

The question of who qualifies as an evangelical and how many evangelicals exist worldwide continues to puzzle scholars, church leaders and mission researchers alike. That was the central theme of a Sept. 2 webinar hosted by the World Evangelical Alliance and released publicly Sept. 5, featuring two leading voices in global religious demography.

Dr. Gina A. Zurlo, editor of the World Christian Database and a lecturer at Harvard Divinity School, and Jason Mandryk, longtime editor of Operation World, outlined both the difficulties and the necessity of measuring a movement that is increasingly diverse and shifting rapidly toward the Global South.

Both experts agreed that unlike Catholicism, Orthodoxy, or even Pentecostalism, evangelicalism has no universally agreed-upon definition. This makes the task of counting adherents unusually complex. Yet, they stressed, reliable figures are crucial for understanding how Christianity is changing worldwide.

Mandryk opened with a blunt assessment: “There is no such thing as the evangelical.”

Read it all.

Data from 2 studies show evangelical Christianity’s center of gravity has shifted from the US & Europe to African, Asian & Latin American regions.

Estimated to be approaching 1 billion globally, the evangelical population in China has now surpassed the UShttps://t.co/6B8knAxydH

— Julie Roys (@reachjulieroys) September 10, 2025

n a digitally oversaturated society like ours, distraction is a daily sparring partner. What begins as a quick check of the weather to decide what to wear on a morning run turns into 20 minutes of scrolling political takes or cat videos. Most of us don’t wake up thinking, I’d like to spend two hours watching Seinfeld reruns today, but here we are.

Our devices and internet algorithms are remarkably effective at capturing our attention and redirecting it from whatever we intend. Yet for all the well-earned anxiety about our attention crisis, a troubling tendency in our discourse is to conflate the predicament with concerns about productivity.

We can, and should, care about productivity and attention’s role in it. But when output and efficiency become our primary concern, it distorts the nature of attention. Attention becomes only a means to an end, problematically viewed as merely a “resource.” And the root of this problem is glimpsed in the most basic way we talk about attention: We pay it.

When we pay for something, we expect something beneficial or useful in return. When we pay, we’re the consumer—and we want to know that what we’re paying for is worth the cost. But attention isn’t something we pay. It’s something we should give.

.

We shouldn’t pay attention. We should give it.

That subtle shift in language “transforms how we inhabit our world.” https://t.co/bPt4H7Qhga

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) September 8, 2025

The percentage of U.S. adults who report currently having or being treated for depression has exceeded 18% in both 2024 and 2025, up about eight percentage points since the initial measurement in 2015.

The current rate of 18.3% measured so far in 2025 projects to an estimated 47.8 million Americans suffering from depression. Most of the increase has occurred since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Gallup obtained the most recent results for 2025 Feb. 18-26 and May 27-June 4, 2025, with 11,288 U.S. adults surveyed by web as part of the probability-based Gallup Panel. Respondents were asked, “Has a doctor or nurse ever told you that you have depression?” and if yes, “Do you currently have or are you currently being treated for depression?”

Both metrics are part of the ongoing Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index. The percentage of adults who report having been diagnosed with depression in their lifetime stands at 28.5%, hovering near the record high of 29.0% measured in the first quarter of 2023.

Read it all.

U.S. Depression Rate Remains Historically High https://t.co/P24MAawQa4

— Rasha B Basha (@basharabasha_ra) September 9, 2025

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank thee for thy servant Alexander Crummell, whom thou didst call to preach the Gospel to those who were far off and to those who were near. Raise up, we beseech thee, in this and every land evangelists and heralds of thy kingdom, that thy Church may proclaim the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

⭐Alexander Crummel ⭐A powerful black preacher, scholar and Episcopal priest. After serving as a missionary in Liberia for 20 years, he returned to the U.S. and started the first independent black Episcopal church in 1875. #blackhistorymonth pic.twitter.com/yaqMmefeoI

— The Hope Center (@Hope_Center) February 10, 2021

Almighty and everlasting God, by whose grace we have been admitted into the glory of the new covenant: Grant, we beseech thee, that being delivered from the death of sin and the bondage of the law, we may rejoice in the life and liberty of the Spirit, and evermore find our sufficiency in thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

🌧🍀🍁Guten Morgen 🍁🍀🌧 pic.twitter.com/nqEx87U6yK

— Brigitta Neurauter (@BrigittaNeurau2) September 10, 2025