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:

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

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) December 13, 2025

“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,
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

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) December 13, 2025

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
Window 13
‘Winter Lane’
Artist: SR Badmin pic.twitter.com/To4tmJSySB

— Helen Day (@LBFlyawayhome) December 13, 2025

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.”

Read it all.

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.

Read it all.

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.

@evanhalper and me. https://t.co/hP9RFxmvaL

— Ellen Nakashima (@nakashimae) December 10, 2025

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.

Read it all.

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:

• Violation of Ordination Vows (Canon IV.2.1.3);
• Conduct giving just cause for scandal or offense, including the abuse of ecclesiastical power (Canon IV.2.1.4); and
• Sexual Immorality (Canon IV.2.1.6).

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.
–Ann Astellhttps://t.co/Dbor3Ze0QD

— Church Life Journal (@ChurchLifeND) October 16, 2025

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

Bishop David Bryan Steps Down as Assisting Bishop of the ADOSC

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.

Read it all.

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.

Read it all.

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.

Read it all.

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

Get your Saint of the Day – LIKE our FB Page – https://t.co/E6Hk8Ph3AChttps://t.co/I1znabZE0v pic.twitter.com/FkjcPqWcYP

— The Trinity Crew (@trinityiconsguy) December 11, 2025

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."

-Thomas Merton, an American Trappist monk who died #OTD in 1968
Artwork by @beaheartdesign pic.twitter.com/u2yz1yMDIw

— Jesuit News (@jesuitnews) December 10, 2025

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.

Read it all.

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.

Read it all.

Islamic State Camps Pose a Dangerous Problem for Syria’s Leaders

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

— Aaron Y. Zelin (@azelin) December 10, 2025

Pew Research Center polling finds that key measures of religiousness are holding steady in the United States, continuing a period of relative stability that began about five years ago.  

The shares of U.S. adults who identify with Christianity, with another religion, or with no religion have all remained fairly stable in the Center’s latest polling.

The percentages of Americans who say they pray every day, that religion is very important in their lives, and that they regularly attend religious services also have held fairly steady since 2020.

The recent stability is striking because it comes after a prolonged period of religious decline. For decades, measures of religious belonging, behaving and believing had been dropping nationwide.

Read it all.

New Pew Research Report Reveals that #Religion in America is Steadyhttps://t.co/zv9qEaU1gJ pic.twitter.com/YWA0U5PHrK

— Catholic News World (@catholicnews1) December 10, 2025

“If Christianity be not altogether thoroughgoing eschatology, there remains in it no relationship whatever with Christ.”

–Karl Barth, Epistle to the Romans (Oxford: Oxford University Press,1933), p.314

Almighty God, source of justice beyond human knowledge: We offer thanks that thou didst inspire Karl Barth to resist tyranny and exalt thy saving grace, without which we cannot apprehend thy will. Teach us, like him, to live by faith, and even in chaotic and perilous times to perceive the light of thy eternal glory, Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, ever one God, throughout all ages. Amen.

Karl Barth died this day in 1968:

"I was permitted to be the donkey that carried theology for part of the way." pic.twitter.com/NVxjGwzEup

— Lincoln Harvey (@LincolnHarvey) December 10, 2016

Thou who with thine own mouth hast avouched that at midnight, at an hour when we are not aware, the Bridegroom shall come: Grant that the cry, The Bridegroom cometh, may sound evermore in our ears, that so we be never unprepared to meet him, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

America’s public lands are places that offer quiet, healing, and connection. Whether it’s a sunrise over the Appalachian Mountains or the stillness of a remote desert canyon, these moments remind us of what service protects.

Photo by NPS pic.twitter.com/XHKliyUUGK

— US Department of the Interior (@Interior) December 9, 2025

“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands.

“‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear evil men but have tested those who call themselves apostles but are not, and found them to be false; I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have, you hate the works of the Nicola′itans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.’

–Revelation 2:1-7

Guten Morgen mit einer kleinen Winterimpression, heute aus den Niederlanden.#Advent pic.twitter.com/oNxkiM0QWH

— Thomas Stiegler (@StieglerThomas) December 10, 2025

A growing number of Britons who leave Christianity are turning to paganism or other forms of spiritualism instead of converting to other major religions, a new study has found. 

The survey, released by the Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life, questioned 2,774 adults who self-identified as having “experienced a change in their religious belief,” seeking to provide insight into “how, why, and in what direction Britons are moving between faiths, spiritualities, and non-belief.”

The researchers conclude that “Britain is not secularising in a straightforward way” but rather “undergoing a re-composition of belief, a shift away from inherited institutional structures towards personalised, practice-based, and wellbeing-oriented forms of faith.”

Forty-four percent of respondents said they left Christianity, while only 17% said they had newly become Christians. Meanwhile, 39% of respondents said they had become an atheist or agnostic. 

“Britain is undergoing a profound reconfiguration of religious identity,” researchers Charlotte Littlewood and Rania Mohiuddin-Agir write in their 50-page report. “Although the 2021 census revealed a historic decline in Christian affiliation, this development does not reflect a disappearance of religion but rather a diversification and personalisation of belief.”

Read it all.

Rising number of Brits leaving Christianity turning to paganism https://t.co/9sy0TOOhDx

— The Christian Post (@ChristianPost) December 9, 2025

At Pennsylvania State University, which has 64,000 undergraduate students, Stephanie Stama, an assistant director at the student psychological services centre, reports that “it is increasingly common for us to hear that students have lost a significant amount of money” in sports betting and that it “is interfering with basic needs like eating and sleeping”. An 18-year-old student at URI, who declined to be named, confesses that he can no longer feel enjoyment from watching sports without the high from betting.

Timothy Fong, a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles sees a similar pattern. Every one of his clients as of late has been an 18- to 24-year-old man seeking help for a sports-betting or cryptocurrency addiction. The financial wreckage can be severe, too. John Simonian, a personal-bankruptcy attorney in Rhode Island, says he never used to see young men filing for bankruptcy, “but now it’s not surprising”. Sports betting, he notices in young clients’ bank statements, is often one part of the equation.

Institutions have had an uneven and clunky response. Between 2021 and 2023 a handful of universities partnered with sports-betting firms directly, receiving cash for sponsorship and naming rights. Most have since ended the agreements. But in America there is the added complication that many campuses are filled with both bettors and those being bet on. March Madness, the annual basketball tournament played by college athletes, is by some accounts the most-bet-on event in the country, with more than twice as much wagered on it as the Super Bowl.

Read it all.

Student-athletes now face a torrent of abuse from losing gamblers. Last year the governing body of American college sport recorded 740 instances of harassment directly attributed to sports gambling https://t.co/X73pIEgdBm

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 8, 2025

We offer thanks, most gracious God, for the devoted witness of Richard Baxter, who out of love for thee followed his conscience at cost to himself, and at all times rejoiced to sing thy praises in word and deed; and we pray that our lives, like his, may be well-tuned to sing the songs of love, and all our days be filled with praise of Jesus Christ our Lord; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

(Moved from yesterday; KSH).

#OTD December 8, 1691:
Richard Baxter, one of England’s most influential Puritan ministers and theologians, died in London. Known for his prolific writing, Baxter authored nearly 200 works, including The Reformed Pastor and The Saints’ Everlasting Rest.

Baxter rejected the idea… pic.twitter.com/qPxHmynFHr

— ☧ Today in Christian History (@HistoricalRook) December 8, 2025

Nicholas Ferrar, like his great friend, George Herbert, was a courtier turned clergyman. Born in London, he was educated at a boarding school in Berkshire and at Clare College, Cambridge. He was appointed to the service of Princess Elizabeth, daughter of James I, who married the Elector Frederick V, and travelled to the continent. In the coming years, Ferrar travelled widely and, a brilliant scholar, learnt to speak Dutch, German, Italian and Spanish, as well as engaging in the study of medicine in Leipzig and Padua.

On his return to England in 1618, Ferrar was involved with the London Virginia Company, which was the family business, and he was also, for a time, a Member of Parliament. In 1626, following ordination as a deacon by the controversial Bishop (later Archbishop) William Laud, there was a major life-change when he and his extended family moved to the manor in Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire and restored St John’s church for their own use. There they lived a life of extreme simplicity, devotion and practical service.

Read it all.

Nicholas Ferrar and his friend the poet George Herbert in 1960s glass by Carl Edwards in Liverpool Anglican Cathedral. Ferrar established the early 17th Century community at Little Gidding in what is now Cambridgeshire. Herbert was prebend of neighbouring Leighton Bromswold. The… pic.twitter.com/8IGVScx6fJ

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) October 29, 2023