O Christ our God, who wilt come to judge the world in the manhood which thou hast assumed: We pray thee to sanctify us wholly, that in the day of thy coming we may be raised up to live and reign with thee for ever.
Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar, window 16
— Helen Day (@LBFlyawayhome) December 16, 2025
‘First Snow’
Artist: Rowland Hilder pic.twitter.com/AkcfC1jiJL
“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. As were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they did not know until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of man. Then two men will be in the field; one is taken and one is left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one is taken and one is left. Watch therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the householder had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have watched and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
–Matthew 24:32-44
Guten Morgen mit einer kleinen Winterimpression, heute aus Budapest.#Ungarn pic.twitter.com/KkUD7lOWmk
— Thomas Stiegler (@StieglerThomas) December 16, 2025
“Where among our bishops, are those with the courage to act from love?” the Dean of Bristol, the Very Revd Mandy Ford, asked on Sunday, as the House of Bishops prepares to finalise decisions on the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) process.
She joined the Dean of St Edmundsbury, the Very Revd Joe Hawes, who — alongside organisations campaigning for greater inclusivity for LGBTQ+ people — last week called on the Bishops to change their minds (News, 11 December).
On Tuesday, the Bishops are due to confirm decisions announced in October, which would effectively forestall the introduction of stand-alone services of blessing for same-sex couples and maintain the current ban on clergy entering same-sex civil marriages (News, 17 October).
Temperature rises ahead of Bishops’ formal vote to put the brakes on same-sex marriage https://t.co/Wjh3LQN2up
— Simon Sarmiento (@simonsarmiento) December 15, 2025
More than a thousand people gathered at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14th, the first night of Hannukah, to watch the lighting of a menorah. Children wearing face paint crowded a petting zoo. Families held balloons and bubble wands. Yet as the sun began to dip, two men dressed in black and wielding long-barrelled firearms shot into the crowd from positions just outside the beach-side park where the event was taking place. They murdered at least 15 people and injured dozens more, including two police officers.
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, confirmed the massacre was a “targeted attack on Jewish Australians”. He labelled the attack “a terrorist incident”; that designation gives authorities additional powers to question and detain suspects. The dead include Eli Schlanger, a prominent local rabbi and the organiser of the event.
Listen to this story
AI Narrated
MORE THAN a thousand people gathered at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14th, the first night of Hannukah, to watch the lighting of a menorah. Children wearing face paint crowded a petting zoo. Families held balloons and bubble wands. Yet as the sun began to dip, two men dressed in black and wielding long-barrelled firearms shot into the crowd from positions just outside the beach-side park where the event was taking place. They murdered at least 15 people and injured dozens more, including two police officers.
Anthony Albanese, Australia’s prime minister, confirmed the massacre was a “targeted attack on Jewish Australians”. He labelled the attack “a terrorist incident”; that designation gives authorities additional powers to question and detain suspects. The dead include Eli Schlanger, a prominent local rabbi and the organiser of the event.
The attack is one of the worst shootings in modern Australian history, even if the final toll will take some days to come clear. And but for the immense courage of bystanders, it might have been even more lethal. One video shows a man in a white T-shirt creeping up on one of the gunmen from behind a car, then wrestling the attacker’s rifle away from him. “That man is a genuine hero,” said Chris Minns, the premier of New South Wales. “I’ve got no doubt that there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery.”
The attack is one of the worst shootings in modern Australian history, even if the final toll will take some days to come clear. And but for the immense courage of bystanders, it might have been even more lethal https://t.co/3PxXmMvLYN
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 14, 2025
Photo: AFP via Getty Images pic.twitter.com/OpyEkjiKcn
Sydney’s Anglican Archbishop Kanishka Raffel calls on Sydney to embrace our Jewish neighbours in love, friendship and support and to reject antisemitism, violence and hatred.
Archbishop Raffel says this is the way of Jesus.
Minister of Bondi Anglican Martin Morgan says they sheltered people in the church last night, who were terrified, running for their lives.
In a The Pastor’s Heart special, Archbishop Raffel is joined by minister of Bondi Anglican Church Martin Morgan and Messianic Jew Ben Pakula (also an Anglican Minister) in praying for those family and friends and the Bondi community, impacted by the gunman opening fire – leaving 16 dead including a 10 year old girl.
“How many women have shed tears over the way their sexuality has been misused by others? God will hold us accountable for dishonoring the image of others,” Archbishop Kanishka Raffel of Sydney preaches at #gafcon23. pic.twitter.com/J6ZMu3rM0r
— Jeff Walton (@jeffreyhwalton) April 20, 2023
The speed of the board’s work, which by canon involves investigating by “hear[ing] the accusations and such proof as the accusers may produce,” suggests that the formal complaint and its affidavits could have been sufficient to establish probable cause. The standing committee of Wood’s Diocese of the Carolinas had suggested that the board use an outside firm to conduct a fuller investigation, but the board appeared to reach its conclusion on its own.
With the board’s indictment, Archbishop Wood will face a prosecutor of Bishop Dobbs’ choice and will be tried before the denomination’s Court for the Trial of a Bishop. The court consists of two adult members, two priests, and three bishops. Its senior-most bishop, who serves as its president, is the Rt. Rev. David Bryan, who has served as suffragan in the Diocese of the Carolinas since 2016.
While the next procedural steps toward trial are clear, its timeline is not. Speaking at a provincial Q&A session on December 12, Bill Nelson, the denomination’s chancellor, emphasized that the court could only hear one case at a time, and would not be able to turn to the Wood matter until the conclusion of the trial of the Rt. Rev. Stewart Ruch (Diocese of the Upper Midwest). A verdict in that matter is due December 16.
“I can’t tell you any further right now what the court’s timetable will be, but … the Wood matter will be the next matter to be considered. And we will just post updates on timing as they become available,” Nelson said. In the Ruch matter, 13 months elapsed between the Board of Inquiry’s indictment and the court’s first scheduling order, and 15 more will have passed by the time of the verdict.
Wood has been canonically indicted on charges of violation of ordination vows, conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, and sexual immorality. #Anglican #ACNA #news
— The Living Church (@Livng_Church) December 15, 2025
https://t.co/6nctiH3q9c
Almighty God, who didst call thy servant Nino to be thine apostle to the people of Georgia, to bring those wandering in darkness to the true light and knowledge of thee; Grant us so to walk in that light, that we may come at last to the light of thine everlasting day; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Nino of Georgia, Missionary, c. 332 https://t.co/Ijp40jgJBG
— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) December 15, 2022
Image: Icon of St Nino in Svetitskhoveli Cathedral, Mtskheta, Georgia. Photo by Kober, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons pic.twitter.com/qsSwyZfVkx
O Lord Jesus Christ,
who at your first coming sent your messenger
to prepare your way before you:
grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise so prepare and make ready your way
by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world
we may be found an acceptable people in your sight;
for you are alive and reign with the Father
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.
Guten Morgen!
— Bettina (@c17791ef97be4cc) December 15, 2025
Ich wünsche euch nach einer kalten Nacht einen sonnigen Tag!
Moritzburg, teileise gefroren, das Wassergeflügel kann noch planschen. pic.twitter.com/llQLcIZ3kU
“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one opens.”‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut; I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie–behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and learn that I have loved you. Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the earth. I am coming soon; hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. He who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God; never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
–Revelation 3:7-13
Morning everyone I hope you are well. We might have had over 3 inches of rain in the past 24 hours in Ambleside, but I'm still starting the week with a bit of brightness. Earlier in the month descending Birk Knott towards Blea Tarn. Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/0edsIaKGg9
— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) December 15, 2025
O Lord Jesus Christ, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise make ready your way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient toward the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world, we may be found a people acceptable in your sight; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Tomorrow is the Third Sunday of Advent and everyone is welcome to join us at our services:
— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) December 13, 2025
8.00am Holy Communion – Nave
10.00am Matins – Quire
11.15am Sung Eucharist – High Altar
3.00pm Evensong – Quire (streamed live)
6.00pm Sung Eucharist – St Margaret's Church
For more… pic.twitter.com/BVE7T3Kco2
“In that day I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old;
that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and all the nations who are called by my name,”
says the Lord who does this.
“Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant them upon their land,
and they shall never again be plucked up
out of the land which I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
–Amos 9:11-15
The countdown continues. 3rd Sunday in Advent already. pic.twitter.com/oFR0d9aPiB
— Bernadette Eakin (@BernadetteEakin) December 13, 2025
Loving God, who for the salvation of all didst give Jesus Christ as light to a world in darkness: Illumine us, with thy daughter Lucy, with the light of Christ, that by the merits of his passion we may be led to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) December 13, 2025
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks.
Today is St Lucy's Day, which was once the date of the winter solstice – the saint of light in the darkest days of winter. This luminous medieval St Lucy is from Minster Lovell. pic.twitter.com/hvnXM0k9N2
O Lord God, heavenly Father, who through thy Son hast revealed to us that heaven and earth shall pass away: We beseech thee to keep us steadfast in thy Word and in true faith; graciously guard us from all sin and preserve us amid all temptations, so that our hearts may not be overcharged with the cares of this life, but at all times in watchfulness and prayer we may await the return of thy Son and joyfully cherish the expectation of our eternal salvation; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sunrise sky over the Wooden Bridge, Clontarf this morning. pic.twitter.com/j6R8iF9sMJ
— Sryan Bruen Photography (@sryanbruenphoto) December 13, 2025
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. Remember then what you received and heard; keep that, and repent. If you will not awake, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you. Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy. He who conquers shall be clad thus in white garments, and I will not blot his name out of the book of life; I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
–Revelation 3:1-6
Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar
— Helen Day (@LBFlyawayhome) December 13, 2025
Window 13
‘Winter Lane’
Artist: SR Badmin pic.twitter.com/To4tmJSySB
A complaint against the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, was “not taken forward or appropriately followed up”, Lambeth Palace said in a statement on Thursday.
The claim related to the diocese of London’s and Bishop Mullally’s handling of an abuse allegation, Premier Christian News reported on Monday. The complainant, referred to as Survivor N, filed the complaint in March 2020.
The statement from Lambeth Palace said that, “due to administrative errors and an incorrect assumption about the individual’s wishes, the complaint was not taken forward or appropriately followed up.”
Bishop Mullally, who is now the Archbishop-elect of Canterbury (News, 3 October), said in a separate statement that Survivor N had been “let down by the processes of the Church of England.
“While his abuse allegations against a member of clergy were fully dealt with by the Diocese of London, it is clear that a different complaint he subsequently made against me personally in 2020 was not properly dealt with.”
A complaint against the Bishop of London, the Rt Revd Sarah Mullally, was “not taken forward or appropriately followed up”, Lambeth Palace said in a statement on Thursday#churchnews #churchtimes https://t.co/1i96m3OSl7
— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 11, 2025
As the United States leans on solar power to meet soaring energy needs, its reliance on a Chinese-made component has created a mounting security threat, according to energy industry executives and congressional investigators who warn it can be weaponized to trigger blackouts.
Research shared exclusively with The Washington Post reveals how deeply dependent U.S. power companies are on Chinese inverters. These devices are used by large solar installations to help transform energy harnessed from the sun into a current that is compatible with the power grid.
More than 85 percent of the utilities surveyed confidentially by the research group Strider Technologies are using inverter devices made by companies with ties to the Chinese government and military. Many cybersecurity experts warn that the devicesare vulnerable to hacking that can set off cascading outages.
NEW: This one gadget could give China a back door into the U.S. power grid. Inverters are used to convert solar into electric power. Industry execs and congressional investigators warn they can be weaponized.
— Ellen Nakashima (@nakashimae) December 10, 2025
@evanhalper and me. https://t.co/hP9RFxmvaL
What uses of AI are in your life that the rest of us might not yet have?
Yesterday, I stayed up far too late watching a film and afterwards, I added to a table that I’ve made in Copilot, which basically records all the films I love, lists them by date. I add my personal notes, it gives me a link to the film poster. I can keep just saying, What would be a similar one?
It’s possible to ask your AI to do pretty much any knowledge work task — just like you might ask an assistant to organize your life. The more obscure, creative [and] challenging the task you’re going to ask your AI, the better. 1
1 Suleyman also appears to be a keen reader; the bookshelf behind him in Seattle offered a glimpse of his tastes. Titles included the most recent books by Michael Wolff and Robert Kaplan, as well as The Tech Coup: How to Save Democracy from Silicon Valley, and Gaza: An Inquest Into Its Martyrdom.
Have you used AI for autonomous tasks? Has it booked tickets or bought a gift for you? I know this is the promise of Copilot Actions — it’s just not available in my region, so I haven’t been able to try it myself.
We’re still experimenting. It can do it. It doesn’t always get it right. It’s in ‘dev mode,’ so not generally available just yet.
When it does work, it is the most magical thing you’ve ever seen. It essentially types stuff into your browser, clicks on buttons, opens up new tabs. It can look at your history, [and] personalize the purchase or the response to you.
AI is “already superhuman,” says Microsoft AI chief Mustafa Suleyman in a Weekend Interview that touches on medical superintelligence, AI talent wars and Copilot as a companion. https://t.co/sVwI0jOVLA a través de @business pic.twitter.com/JmGRqTAEkX
— maria betancur n (@mariabetancur9) December 12, 2025
MEMORANDUM
December 12, 2025
RE: Presentment of Archbishop Steve Wood
Members of the Anglican Church of North America:
Concerning the Presentment of Archbishop Steve Wood, in accordance with the standards established in and required by Title IV, Canon 4, Section 6, and following other pertinent Canons, the Board of Inquiry finds that there is probable cause to present Archbishop Wood for trial for violation of Canon 2 of this Title and has duly recorded its vote and judgment that the following three charges should be considered in the trial:
This letter shall serve as our public declaration of the same.
In Christ,
Chairman, the Board of Inquiry
ACNA NEWS: Abp. Steve Wood will go to trial. The Board of Inquiry has found probable cause to present him on charges of violation of ordination vows, conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, and sexual immorality. pic.twitter.com/I5wt4JbNdM
— Arlie Coles (@ArlieColes) December 12, 2025
Most Gracious God, who hast bidden us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before thee; Teach us, like thy servants Francis and Jane, to see and to serve Christ in all people; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Pope Francis saw the saintly doctor, Francis de Sales, as a kindred spirit, someone who found joy in spreading the Gospel, and who sought to do so in a manner suited to the tumultuous climate of the times.
— Church Life Journal (@ChurchLifeND) October 16, 2025
–Ann Astellhttps://t.co/Dbor3Ze0QD
Almighty God,
by your Spirit purify our hearts and minds,
that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again as
judge and saviour
we may be ready to receive him,
who is our Lord and our God.
Amen
(slightly edited; KSH).
Morning everyone I hope you are well. A seat with a view. I always wonder how many people have sat here? (I have). Friar's Crag on Derwentwater with views towards Catbells. Have a great day.#LakeDistrict pic.twitter.com/7PMkjh4HPl
— Rod Hutchinson (@lakesrhino) December 12, 2025
In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet to Zerub’babel the son of She-al’ti-el, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehoz’adak, the high priest, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: This people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the LORD.” Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins?
–Haggai 1:1-4
Sunrise on Stob Dubh pic.twitter.com/1VPhV7MJY1
— Paul Willson (@pauljwillson) December 12, 2025
Following the recent developments in the Provincial Office, Bishop David Bryan has been named Acting Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas and, as a result, has resigned as Assisting Bishop for the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. Bishop Edgar had invited Bishop Bryan, with whom he had had a 30+ year relationship as friends and colleagues, to serve on our staff beginning in January of this year. “I’m sad about this on behalf of our diocese,” wrote Bishop Edgar in a note accepting Bishop Bryan’s resignation. “We will pray for you and the Diocese of the Carolinas. I’m grateful for you and your service to us in the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, and for our friendship over the years.” Bishop Mark Lawrence, our Bishop Emeritus, will continue assisting with visitations, and, along with Bishop Edgar, will cover those scheduled for 2026.
The crisis facing the ACNA is fundamentally a crisis of integrity, stemming directly from this unwillingness to speak plainly. For the Church, confession is not merely an institutional duty; it is the covenantal key to healing.
Our tradition holds that true restoration is rooted in specific, humbling admission. The Apostle James lays out the standard for the community of faith:
“Therefore, confess your sins one to another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” (James 5:16, ESV)
The Failure to Confess for Healing
By substituting abstract spiritual language for concrete admissions, the bishops prevent the very healing they pray for. Healing—for the wounded, the Province, and the College itself—requires a clear definition of the injury and the sin. A nebulous confession attempts to bypass the painful process of public truth-telling.
The College’s statement reads like a carefully worded legal brief designed to limit exposure, rather than a pastoral lament seeking forgiveness. This is where the corporate double speak does its deepest damage. By using generalized terms, the bishops are engaging in semantic evasion—a classic tactic of risk management—that seeks to confess only what is legally or institutionally unavoidable. We see a leadership that is prioritizing image control over truth-telling, sacrificing its spiritual integrity for the sake of its organizational stability.
Has the ACNA College of Bishops' effort at confession been undermined by its method of communication? Fr. Randall Graf writes "we needed specific admissions of procedural failures, suppressed information, or concrete acts of omission." https://t.co/kh66Y1hW5z
— Jeff Walton (@jeffreyhwalton) December 10, 2025
A new round of border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia and resurgent fighting in eastern Congo, two conflicts President Trump claimed to have resolved, have shown the constraints of his high-speed pursuit of peace.
Since the start of his second term, Trump has leveraged the economic and military might of the U.S. to get warring parties in several deep-rooted international conflicts to the negotiating table and extract hasty peace deals.
In June, the foreign ministers of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda signed an agreement meant to end a three-decade-long conflict, a deal Trump administration officials said would open the Congo’s mineral-rich east to potentially billions of dollars in U.S. investment.
Weeks later, Trump threatened to suspend talks on lowering high “reciprocal” tariffs for Thailand and Cambodia if the two nations continued fighting over their disputed border. The countries’ leaders, who faced 36% tariffs on all exports to the U.S., agreed to a cease-fire days later and signed a more detailed accord at a ceremony with Trump in October.
A new round of border clashes between Thailand and Cambodia and resurgent fighting in eastern Congo have shown the constraints of President Trump’s high-speed pursuit of peace https://t.co/k8gpJmlUyI
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) December 11, 2025
“But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God’s love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin to be sincere. His sincerity is based on confidence, not in his own illusions about himself, but in the endless, unfailing mercy of God.”
—No Man Is an Island (New York: Houghton Mifflin 2002 paper ed. of 1953 original), p.202
Dec 10 – “Thomas Merton” © icon by Br. Robert Lentz, OFM. Happy Memorial Day Thomas!#thomasmerton #trinitystores
— The Trinity Crew (@trinityiconsguy) December 11, 2025
Get your Saint of the Day – LIKE our FB Page – https://t.co/E6Hk8Ph3AChttps://t.co/I1znabZE0v pic.twitter.com/FkjcPqWcYP
Gracious God, who didst call thy monk Thomas Merton to proclaim thy justice out of silence, and moved him in his contemplative writings to perceive and value Christ at work in the faiths of others: Keep us, like him, steadfast in the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Moved from yesterday; KSH).
"Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy."
— Jesuit News (@jesuitnews) December 10, 2025
-Thomas Merton, an American Trappist monk who died #OTD in 1968
Artwork by @beaheartdesign pic.twitter.com/u2yz1yMDIw
Almighty God, who in many and various ways didst speak to thy chosen people by the prophets, and hast given us, in thy Son our Saviour Jesus Christ, the fulfillment of the hope of Israel: Hasten, we beseech thee, the coming of the day when all things shall be subject to him, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end.
Elliston Newfoundland on one of those Misty days where the coast seems endless. #newfoundland #newfoundlandandlabrador #canada pic.twitter.com/sDqn5Ws3I2
— Gord Follett Photography (@gord_follett) December 10, 2025
“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life.
“‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who conquers shall not be hurt by the second death.’
“And to the angel of the church in Per′gamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword.
“‘I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; you hold fast my name and you did not deny my faith even in the days of An′tipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice immorality. So you also have some who hold the teaching of the Nicola′itans. Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone which no one knows except him who receives it.’
–Revelation 2:8-17
Guten Morgen mit einer kleinen Winterimpression, heute wieder aus Danzig. #Polen pic.twitter.com/Y3jS4Hl7aO
— Thomas Stiegler (@StieglerThomas) December 11, 2025
The next Suffragan Bishop of Grimsby, in Lincoln diocese, is to be the Ven. Jean Burgess, the Archdeacon of Bournemouth since 2023, Downing Street announced on Wednesday.
She succeeds Dr David Court, who retired in July, having served since 2014 (News, 14 February).
Archdeacon Burgess was born in Derby and became a Christian as a teenager through her parish church. She is a former nurse and holds a master’s degree in theology and pastoral studies from Nottingham University. She took the East Midlands Ministry training course, and was ordained priest in 2004.
She served her title at St George and St Mary, Gresley, and a second curacy at St Alkmund and St Werburgh, Derby, of which she became incumbent in 2013. She also served as Derby Diocesan Dean of Women’s Ministry, and in 2016, was appointed an honorary canon of Derby Cathedral.
New Bishop of Grimsby announced https://t.co/hJOKLYdB1k I am pleased to hear of this appointment & look forward to working with Bishop-elect Jean in due course. May God bless her.
— Bishop Patrick (@BishopPMcKinney) December 10, 2025
The arid steppes of northeastern Syria stretch almost uninterrupted to the Iraqi border, the emptiness broken only by the occasional oil derrick, until the road comes to a sprawling prison camp.
A chain-link fence topped with barbed wire surrounds the vast compound, and supply trucks line the route for more than half a mile outside the camp’s gates. This is Al Hol detention camp, where most detainees are family members — wives, sisters, children — of fighters for the terrorist group Islamic State, or ISIS. More than 8,000 fighters themselves are in prisons nearby.
For years, ISIS ruled large parts of Syria and neighboring Iraq, brutally enforcing its strict interpretation of Islamic law. As Kurdish-led Syrian forces backed by the United States battled to reclaim that land, they detained thousands of ISIS fighters and tens of thousands of their relatives.
U.S. forces entrusted their Syrian Kurdish allies with guarding the ISIS detainees and families. But now, the Pentagon is drawing down its troops in Syria, and there are indications that U.S. officials want Syria’s new government to take responsibility for the prisons and detention camps.
Islamic State Camps Pose a Dangerous Problem for Syria’s Leaders
— Aaron Y. Zelin (@azelin) December 10, 2025
The government faces a dilemma over what to do with civil-war-era prisons and detention camps that hold thousands of ISIS fighters and tens of thousands of their family members.https://t.co/T2y5KLVeaN