Radical  reform of the National Church Institutions (NCIs), including the abolition of the Archbishops’ Council, has been halted after the parliamentary Ecclesiastical Committee deemed the legislation “not expedient”.

Writing to General Synod members last week, the Secretary General of the Archbishops’ Council, William Nye, relayed that the Legislative Committee of the Synod (the body responsible for submitting Measures to Parliament for approval) had decided not to seek to reintroduce the National Church Governance Measure at the July group of sessions in York.

“In light of the Ecclesiastical Committee’s expressed position, and the absence of clarity that amendments would resolve its concerns, the Committee concluded that reintroduction at this time would not be a simple or straightforward matter,” he wrote.

Read it all.

Radical reform of the National Church Institutions, including the abolition of the Archbishops’ Council, has been halted after the parliamentary Ecclesiastical Committee deemed the legislation “not expedient”. #DannyKruger #Parliament https://t.co/CVRGqeqzEU

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 20, 2026

Social media interactions are, by definition, public and social, and not private. Clergy are held to a
higher standard of responsibility in their use of these platforms. Being clergy is an honor, privilege,
and responsibility that comes with influence, but also requires discretion and often sacrifice of our
rights, obligating us to wise self-censorship and self-control. I expect all social media posts by our
clergy to adhere to the highest standard of Christian decorum. All that we do reflects on our Lord,
His Church, our Diocese, and our ministry.
To that end, I first offer five (edited) questions that Archbishop Emeritus Foley Beach requires his
diocese to ask before posting anything…

1. Is it the truth? Along with that, ask: Why is it my responsibility to speak this truth or address
   this situation?
2. Have I talked to the person before I post about the person?
3. Will it benefit all concerned?
4. Do my words reflect well on Jesus Christ and on His Church?
5. Will I someday need to apologize and confess what I have written as a sin?
   These helpful questions can serve as a beginning point and a filter for online interactions. From
   there, I offer a few wise policies, developed by my friend and fellow bishop, Alex Farmer, for the
   clergy of the Gulf Atlantic Diocese. (Again, I have edited these for our situation.)
6. Never post, repost, favorably comment on, or like content that reflects poorly on Christ
   Jesus and his Church, other clergy, or yourself.
7. Follow the same rules of courtesy and mature behavior you would observe in any face-toface interaction.
8. Think about consequences and how your message might be perceived before you post.

Read it all.

I used to think the main damage from social media was to youth mental health. Now I believe that the global destruction of the human ability to pay attention may be even larger.

A meta-analysis shows the damage, to adults as well as teens, from TikTok+https://t.co/YS0dkQTdj0 https://t.co/a8bSMQyW60

— Jonathan Haidt (@JonHaidt) November 15, 2025

First, after five years, a verdict was reached in the trial of Bp Ruch, (Diocese of the Upper Midwest). Our diocese was drawn into that fray last summer, and again in December when verdict was issued, as one of our own, Mr. Alan Runyan, both a hero to us and a godly man, was unfairly denigrated during the proceedings and then again in the final, 71-page verdict.

Having called for an independent audit of all the matters related to the trial, including the trial proceedings themselves, our Standing Committee was compelled to raise concerns with the verdict (to be clear, not with the ruling, we know that is not in our purview) to ensure that these proceedings be included in the audit.

I’m pleased to report that, so far, the ACNA’s executive committee has responded to us largely positively and I am hopeful. We’ll know more from them in the coming week, and we’ll be reporting to you as of March 23rd, or a day or two after.

Throughout all of that, our goal has been that given we have upcoming prominent cases before the province, one including the Archbishop himself, this audit we’ve called for would be able to help restore some confidence that regardless of the outcome of those future trials, they’ll be handled appropriately.

Again, this case matters much to us as a diocese as it involves several of us who are members of the diocese who are involved in these legal proceedings. We want to do what we can as a diocese to try to ensure a fair outcome without crossing the line and tampering with that outcome.

Now, throughout all of this, I’ve heard people say from time to time they’re tired of being asked to “trust the process” when they feel that the process has already been pretty bad and let them down. I just want to say to you all, I do not ask you to trust the process. I ask you to trust the Lord of the process and the Lord of all processes. Even as this works out, knowing that his promise is true, that all things, including mishandled church processes, will under his strong and end up for the good, the true, and the just. Even if we must wait until all things are made new and everything sad is going to come out untrue.

Read it all.

South Carolina Bishop Chip Edgar’s Diocesan Convention address–'after five years, a verdict was reached in the trial of Bp Ruch, (Diocese of the Upper Midwest). Our diocese was drawn into that fray last summer, and again in December when verdict was issued, as one of our own,… pic.twitter.com/zQKnUkz3al

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 20, 2026

Bishop Chip Edgar stressed the importance of intentional Christian formation in both his sermon and his address during the 2026 Convention of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, which was held March 13-14, in Myrtle Beach. The theme of the gathering was “Becoming Fully Mature in Christ.”  Hosted by Trinity Church and conducted at both the church, and the Marina Inn, the convention brought together more than 350 clergy and delegates from across the coastal and eastern parts of the state to hear from the Bishop, receive updates from various ministries, approve the budget, and elect individuals to serve in various offices….

Read it all and please note that you can view videos, read talks, and access other documents shared at the convention by visiting the convention resources page. 

Anglican Diocese of South Carolina Gathers in Myrtle Beach for 2026 Convention; “Becoming Mature in Christ”–Bishop Chip Edgar stressed the importance of intentional Christian formation in both his sermon and his address during the 2026 Convention of the Anglican Diocese of South… pic.twitter.com/In4eeLdbDy

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 20, 2026

Merciful God, who didst call Cuthbert from following the flock to be a shepherd of thy people: Mercifully grant that we also may go without fear to dangerous and remote places, to seek the indifferent and the lost; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Today's the feast of St Cuthbert, 7th Century monk and hermit of Lindisfarne, here in glass by Caroline Townshend, 1907, in Newcastle Anglican Cathedral. His medieval shrine in Durham Cathedral was a major site of pilgrimage, and he's considered the patron saint of Northumbria. pic.twitter.com/gYuVZEtNvc

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) March 20, 2026

O Lord Jesus Christ, who didst feed the multitude by the lakeside, using the humble gifts of a boy’s generous impulse, and a disciple’s faith in thy power: Help us in thy Church to call forth such generosity in others, and strengthen our faith that the hungry millions can be fed; for thy name’s sake.

Good morning from Cambridge. Wonderful magnolias in flower everywhere #FlowersOnFriday #magnolia pic.twitter.com/BGsZl0mTrG

— Sandy De Born (@SandyDeBorn) March 20, 2026

And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child away, and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” So the woman took the child and nursed him. And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son; and she named him Moses, for she said, “Because I drew him out of the water.” One day, when Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. He looked this way and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. When he went out the next day, behold, two Hebrews were struggling together; and he said to the man that did the wrong, “Why do you strike your fellow?” He answered, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid, and thought, “Surely the thing is known.” When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh, and stayed in the land of Mid’ian; and he sat down by a well.

–Exodus 2:9-15

The first day of astronomical spring 🌷

Warmer days, later sunsets, colours in bloom.

📸: Sam Moore pic.twitter.com/yLsFTlITSA

— South Downs National Park (@sdnpa) March 20, 2026

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

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.

Read it all.

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.

Read it all.

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.

Read it all.

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

The Scottish Parliament’s rejection of a Bill to legalise assisted dying has been welcomed by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Revd Rosie Frew, and by Christian campaigners in the country.

On Tuesday evening, Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) rejected, by 69 votes to 57, the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, which had been introduced by Liam McArthur MSP. The Bill sought to allow an assisted death for terminally ill adults who had decision-making capacity and had six months or less to live.

In a statement issued shortly after the vote, Ms Frew said: “I recognise that the outcome will be a disappointment to many, but it was clear that the safeguards included did not offer sufficient protection.

“We have been consistent in our position that we need to prioritise the development of excellent palliative care services that are universally available and fully funded. Without that, had the Bill passed, we would fear that many vulnerable people might have seen an assisted death as their only realistic option.”

Read it all.

The Scottish Parliament’s rejection of a Bill to legalise assisted dying has been welcomed by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Rt Revd Rosie Frew, and by Christian campaigners in the country#churchnews #churchtimes https://t.co/NhNTeIZ6GR

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 18, 2026

A senior adviser to the Nigerian president has rejected claims that Christians are being specifically targeted in violence across Nigeria, insisting the country is facing a broader security crisis rather than religious persecution.

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser for information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, made the comments to Premier Christian News as he began a state visit to the UK, the first by a Nigerian leader in almost four decades.

The visit comes amid growing international scrutiny over attacks on Christians in Nigeria. More than 200 MPs have urged Keir Starmer to raise concerns about religious freedom when he meets President Tinubu in Downing Street on Thursday.

Last month, a US government report described Nigeria as the most dangerous place in the world to practise the Christian faith, warning that jihadist networks exploit weak enforcement and limited accountability to carry out sustained violence.

Meanwhile, the persecution watchdog Open Doors says nearly 3,500 Christians were killed in Nigeria last year, out of the 4,849 killed around the world.

However, Onanuga strongly rejected the idea that violence is targeted specifically at Christians.

Read it all.

It is, Rowan Williams assures me, a coincidence that his new book will be published three days after the installation of Sarah Mullally as Archbishop of Canterbury. “I will not be attending,” he says. “You don’t want to be Marley’s ghost.”

Yet, fittingly – since that book takes solidarity as its theme – this priest, poet and critic is keen to empathise with Mullally, the first female Archbishop, in the weight of challenges she faces. “Every archbishop starts, like every president or prime minister: with expectations being thrown at them,” he recalls of his time at Lambeth Palace from 2002 to 2012. “Realising you’re not going to be able to meet them is part of the job. It is no walk in the park.”

Williams, who now lives in Cardiff with his theologian wife Jane, comes across as gentler, kinder and more self-deprecating than I remember him from his episcopal tenure. He used to make regular headlines, his every utterance and act picked apart. His 2011 dismissal of David Cameron’s “Big Society” initiative as “painfully stale” had the Conservative benches in uproar. Today, as we sit talking in a book-lined reception room at his publisher’s London office, he stands out from the colourful backdrop in his black clerical shirt and trousers, with a simple cross hanging round his neck. Those monkish eyebrows remain as untamed as ever.

The two biggest issues in Mullally’s in-tray, Williams tells me, are the same ones he tried but failed to settle during his turbulent decade in post: women’s ordination and what he refers to as “the same-sex question”. With the first, he feels, at least in England, “some of the bitterness has gone out of it”. Not, though, in much of the 85-million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion, over which the Archbishop of Canterbury also presides, with some provinces muttering about schism. “I honestly don’t know whether the Communion will survive,” he says bluntly.

Read it all.

"Is he saying that British public life has lost its moral centre? “Yes,” he replies, boldly and without any caveat. “Increasingly, we permit and collude with dishonourable forms of behaviour, and we don’t seem very concerned about that.”" Rowan Williams: ‘I don’t know whether the…

— Mark Lambert (@sitsio) March 17, 2026

Cyril interprets this “breath of life” to be the Holy Spirit, and argues that God’s breathing of the Spirit into the first human demonstrates that we were created to exist in intimacy with God. We were created to partake of the divine nature, to participate in the divine, and so to attain the beauty of likeness with God.

Sin disrupted this intimacy. Cyril describes the fall, not as a descent into depravity and sinfulness, but as a loss of the Holy Spirit. Through the exercise of the freedom God gave us, humankind shrank from intimacy with the divine and so lost the Holy Spirit.

Cyril argues that one of the central purposes of the Incarnation was our recovery of intimacy with God through the Holy Spirit, and it is this recovery that Jesus’ baptism accomplishes. Through the Incarnation, the Son of God made man becomes the Second Adam, and at his baptism, the Second Adam receives the Holy Spirit, not for his own sake, but for the sake of all humanity.

Read it all.

The Baptism Of Jesus Christ Icon, Moscow School, c.1408 pic.twitter.com/Mi8ZEcIhTd

— Solas (@solas_na_greine) October 5, 2025

Strengthen, O Lord, we beseech thee, the bishops of thy Church in their special calling to be teachers and ministers of the Sacraments, that they, like thy servant Cyril of Jerusalem, may effectively instruct thy people in Christian faith and practice; and that we, taught by them, may enter more fully into celebration of the Paschal mystery; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop, Doctor of the Church (386)

As a simple priest he instructed catechumens during Lent. His teachings are saturated with Holy Scripture, his primary surviving work is a collection of 23 catechetical lectures for Baptism. The Arians exiled him thrice. pic.twitter.com/hryZPQNQyl

— Memento Mori (@TempusFugit4016) March 18, 2026

O Lord and heavenly Father, who hast given unto us thy people the true bread that cometh down from heaven, even thy Son Jesus Christ: Grant that our souls may so be fed by him who giveth life unto the world, that we may abide in him and he in us, and thy Church be filled with the power of his unending life; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

St Andrews church and the Hopper mausoleum. pic.twitter.com/NfvY9FqRBC

— Jim Scott (@jimscottphoto) March 18, 2026

When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil which we did to him.” So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, “Your father gave this command before he died, ‘Say to Joseph, Forgive, I pray you, the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.’ And now, we pray you, forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept when they spoke to him. His brothers also came and fell down before him, and said, “Behold, we are your servants.” But Joseph said to them, “Fear not, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus he reassured them and comforted them.

So Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his father’s house; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. And Joseph saw E′phraim’s children of the third generation; the children also of Machir the son of Manas′seh were born upon Joseph’s knees. And Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die; but God will visit you, and bring you up out of this land to the land which he swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.” Then Joseph took an oath of the sons of Israel, saying, “God will visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here.” So Joseph died, being a hundred and ten years old; and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

–Genesis 50:15-26

Good Morning and what a glorious sunrise 🌅 A happy Wednesday – have a great day! #treeclub🌳 pic.twitter.com/6KUnw4qkcz

— Terry (@No1GhostDog) March 18, 2026

If a local airfield wasn’t available, a makeshift one would need to be set up to fly equipment in and the material out. And ground forces and aircraft would need to be prepared to head off Iranian drone and missile attacks. A quick response force would need to be on hand in case more troops had to rush to the scene, former military officials said.

Richard Nephew, a former Iran director at the National Security Council, said any operation would be “very large and very complicated.” He said you would need upward of 1,000 personnel to perform the operation at one site.

“I’m worried about the drone strikes, IED and similar traps, contamination risks, and the long time we’d need to have people on-site,” Nephew said. 

Nephew said if time was short, the U.S. could also seek to dilute the material on-site by mixing it with natural uranium or destroy it, although that could cause chemical contaminations in the area.

Eyal Hulata, a former head of Israel’s National Security Council who is a senior international fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said if the war ends without the U.S. taking care of the fissile-material stockpile or an underground tunnel network where Iran could start enriching again, known as Pickaxe, “it’s a serious problem.”

“But the U.S. and Israel will need to figure out a path to deal with them one way or the other.”

Read it all.

President Trump has said preventing Iran from ever developing nuclear weapons is a central aim of the war he is waging. In the absence of regime change that could mean seizing the country’s fissile material.

Here's what it would take: https://t.co/KJlSfnjqYP

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 16, 2026

When the former Archbishop of Canterbury the Rt Revd Justin Welby spoke recently about his mental health (Quotes, 6 March), his honesty was striking.

Speaking to Gyles Brandreth on the podcast Rosebud, he reflected on the failures surrounding the Church of England’s handling of abuse allegations, and revealed that he had sought professional help. “I’ve been seeing a psychotherapist for a considerable period of time, and a psychiatrist: very helpful,” he said. He went on to say that therapy was not about excusing mistakes, but about confronting them honestly: “It’s not about saying, ‘Oh, it didn’t matter,’ . . . quite the reverse. How does one live with such a failure?”

That candour should have been welcomed. Instead, it prompted a deeply damaging column in The Daily Telegraph by Celia Walden, who asked: “What’s the point of God if even Justin Welby is seeing a therapist?”

Reading her article left me shocked, distressed, and very upset at such ignorance about mental health. I felt shamed and triggered. As a serving clergyman who has lived with serious mental-health challenges, I felt guilty and embarrassed simply for seeking help. Her column was extremely damaging, heartless, and cruel, and lacked any compassion for clergy and people of faith who live with mental illness. It implied that faith alone should replace therapy: a view that is both wrong and pastorally reckless.

Read it all.

"I have never told someone with cancer to refuse chemotherapy and to 'just pray'. I have never suggested that insulin betrays belief. So, why is mental health treated differently?" ✍️ Mark Edwards #mentalhealth #JustinWelby https://t.co/FTUYk6BqKd

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 13, 2026

In my lifetime, American society has been transformed by widespread accommodation of vice. Marijuana has been legalized in many jurisdictions, as has addictive online gambling. Not surprisingly, pot use and regular gambling have increased. In 2025, 17 percent of adults report smoking pot daily, up from 8 percent in 2020. Less than a decade ago, nobody had a sports betting app on his smartphone; today, half of American men between eighteen and forty-nine have opened accounts. And pornography is readily available on the internet, protected as free speech by the Supreme Court.

Social norms have likewise shifted. Open use of ­illegal drugs is widely tolerated. Silicon Valley titans use ketamine and other substances, making a mockery of the restriction of these drugs to medical use only. The New Yorker publishes essays cheering “throuples” and other sexual arrangements. Activists campaign to remove the stigma from “sex work,” which few local governments make efforts to prevent. 

Writing in National Affairs (“The Case for Prohibiting Vice”), Charles Fain Lehman observes that social conservatives have been routed in recent decades. Large-scale social trends run against us. But Lehman thinks we share some of the blame. Too often, those who wish to sustain moral codes accept the dominant terms of public debate, which rest on the notion that people should be free to do as they wish in their private lives, as long as nobody else is harmed….

Lehman advises social conservatives to stop trying to shoehorn their moral judgments into liberal arguments that rest on proofs of harm. We need to talk more frankly about what it means to have a good society, one that promotes human flourishing. And we should not shy away from the obvious truth that a good society discourages vice because it is vicious.

Read it all.

“For most of American history, a libertarianism in private life, restrained only by the harm principle, did not hold sway. American constitutional law accords ‘police power’ to the states, allowing them to pass laws to protect and promote the health, safety, and morals of their… https://t.co/jvv02FoYXU

— First Things (@firstthingsmag) March 10, 2026

A fleet of Currachs (longboats) weaved its way toward the shore, where a young Roman Brit and his family walked. His name was Patricius, the 16-year-old son of a civil magistrate and tax collector. He had heard stories of Irish raiders who captured slaves and took them “to the ends of the world,” and as he studied the longboats, he no doubt began imagining the worst.

With no Roman army to protect them (Roman legions had long since deserted Britain to protect Rome from barbarian invasions), Patricius and his town were unprepared for attack. The Irish warriors, wearing helmets and armed with spears, descended on the pebbled beach. The braying war horns struck terror into Patricius’s heart, and he started to run toward town.

The warriors quickly demolished the village, and as Patricius darted among burning houses and screaming women, he was caught. The barbarians dragged him aboard a boat bound for the east coast of Ireland.

Patricius, better known as Patrick, is remembered today as the saint who drove the snakes out of Ireland, the teacher who used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, and the namesake of annual parades in New York and Boston. What is less well-known is that Patrick was a humble missionary (this saint regularly referred to himself as “a sinner”) of enormous courage. When he evangelized Ireland, he set in motion a series of events that impacted all of Europe. It all started when he was carried off into slavery around 430.

Read it all.

#OTD March 17, 461:
(traditional date)
Patrick, missionary to Ireland and its patron saint, dies. Captured by Irish raiders as a youth, he was enslaved before escaping to Gaul (modern France). Years later, after a vision calling him to return, he preached the gospel to the Irish,… pic.twitter.com/E5lnojcL5d

— ☧ Today in Christian History (@HistoricalRook) March 17, 2026

Almighty God, who in thy providence didst choose thy servant Patrick to be the apostle of the Irish people, to bring those who were wandering in darkness and error 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 everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever.

Today's the feast of St Patrick, 5th Century Romano-British missionary to Ireland. He stands with St George in glass by the Harry Clarke workshop, c1950 in Plymouth Cathedral. He's one of the patron saints of Ireland, particularly associated with the Irish diaspora. pic.twitter.com/Jn7sRLoPve

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) March 17, 2026

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Na een bewolkte start met wat regen werd het een prachtige dag. Fijne dinsdag😀 #zonsondergang pic.twitter.com/6iT6N9IFHS

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) March 17, 2026

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him, and said to them, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days, and have nothing to eat; and if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way; and some of them have come a long way.” And his disciples answered him, “How can one feed these men with bread here in the desert?” And he asked them, “How many loaves have you?” They said, “Seven.” And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish; and having blessed them, he commanded that these also should be set before them. And they ate, and were satisfied; and they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away; and immediately he got into the boat with his disciples, and went to the district of Dalmanu′tha.

–Mark 8:1-10

A verdant green view to share for St Patrick's Day 🍀

📸 Andy Kay | #YorkshireDales #MondayMotivation #StPatricksDay pic.twitter.com/iitf45cvoZ

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) March 17, 2026

The BBC reported on Monday that 100 Labour MPs had written to the Prime Minister arguing that, if assisted dying legislation does not pass, trust in politics will be undermined.

But the Labour MP Jessica Asato, who opposes the Bill, told the BBC: “The sponsor of the Bill has rejected 99 per cent of suggested improvements and amendments in the House of Lords and so it still contains all the same faults and issues. Any MP that voted to push this Bill through would do so knowing that it is unsafe and would harm vulnerable people.”

A new Whitestone poll of more than 2000 UK adults for Care Not Killing shows that the public wants Parliament to prioritise safety over choice.

Asked if they would support a law that enabled patient choice, but was implemented in a way that put other patients and vulnerable people at risk, respondents opposed the move by 42 per cent to 35 per cent. The proportion of those who “strongly” backed putting safety over choice was more than double the proportion of those who said the opposite (26 per cent to 12 per cent).

Read it all.

As the assisted-dying Bill runs out of debating time in the House of Lords, the Christian Labour peer Lord Rook on Friday tabled three amendments on protecting vulnerable people from coercion and safeguarding young people#HouseofLords #debate https://t.co/2Q3MhOVc5N

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 16, 2026

The question then becomes what status we should give to the acceptance of same-sex sexual relationships by some Anglican churches today.

In the words of C S Lewis, the traditional rule of the Christian Church with regard to sexual ethics has always been ‘either marriage, with complete faithfulness to your partner, or else total abstinence’[9] (marriage here means marriage between a man and a woman). This is the consensual teaching about marriage and sexual ethics that, as Vincent of Lerin puts it, has been held ‘always, everywhere and by everyone’[10] from biblical times onwards, in the same way that belief in the divinity of Christ and his bodily resurrection have been universally taught and accepted.

In the words of Darrin Belousek in his book Marriage, Scripture and the Church:

‘Scripture, consistently, presents a single picture of marriage and approves a single pattern of sexual relations: male- female union. Jesus summarizes this witness: ‘the two’ of ‘male and female’ joined into ‘one flesh.’ The Holy Spirit has woven this pattern of holy union throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, in the form, function, and figure of marriage. Tradition, East and West, also has consistently taught a single standard of sex and marriage: marriage is man-woman monogamy; all sex outside man-woman monogamy is sin. This doctrine has been taught always by the church, beginning with the apostles’ testimony to Jesus teaching; It has been proclaimed throughout the worldwide church, among all people in every place and epoch, as God’s will for sex and marriage; it has been articulated by apologetic writings and theological treatises, transmitted through baptismal catechesis and canonical discipline, celebrated in monastic vows and nuptial rites.’ [11]

Judged against this standard, the acceptance of same-sex sexual relationships (and even same-sex marriages) by some churches in the Anglican Communion has to be viewed as a ‘gross and grievous abomination,’ since it constitutes a departure from a key part of the Catholic and apostolic faith and an endorsement of sin. To put it plainly the churches involved have supported both heresy and immorality.

Furthermore, as the Church of England Evangelical Council report ‘Guarding the Deposit’ notes, the apostolic witness in the New Testament, which has also been accepted ‘everywhere at all times and by all,‘  teaches that:

‘…the Church should make a separation in this world between the people of God and those who practise sexual immorality (1 Cor 5: 1-13).

As Tom Wright notes, Paul teaches that the Church has the ‘God-given right and duty to discriminate between those who are living in the Messiah’s way and those who are not’.

Read it all.

Martin Davie–Assessing two different visions for the future of the Anglican Communion https://t.co/F3so2u4TtA 'The difference between the two views of the future of global Anglicanism put forward by the Nairobi-Cairo Proposals and The Abuja Affirmation is that the former holds… pic.twitter.com/LXTgMmiuOZ

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) March 16, 2026