The Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Michael Ipgrave, is to retire in September, he announced in Lichfield Cathedral on Monday, during the St Chad’s Day festal evensong. His announcement was exactly ten years since his nomination.

Dr Ipgrave referred to St Chad as a “constant inspiration” during his episcopate in Lichfield. The 99th Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Ipgrave said that he had been “humbled to be amongst one of the successors of St Chad, our first and greatest Bishop”.

He continued: “Chad was the first to bring to Mercia the life-giving, peacemaking, soul-restoring gospel of Jesus Christ. As we face the challenge of re-evangelising our contemporary Mercia, I am convinced that we can only do that by walking in his steps of kindness, friendliness, and humility in the service of others.”

Read it all.

The Bishop of Lichfield, Dr Michael Ipgrave, is to retire in September, he announced in Lichfield Cathedral on Monday, during the St Chad’s Day festal evensong#bishopsretirement #churchnews #churchtimes https://t.co/oP8mOoslXD

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 3, 2026

President Donald Trump said the US would keep up its military offensive against Iran for as long as it takes, outlining for the first time a set of four objectives he hopes to accomplish toward reducing the threat he said is posed by Tehran.

“We projected four to five weeks, but we have capability to go far longer than that,” Trump said at a White House event on Monday about the timeline he foresaw for the campaign. “Whatever the time is, it’s OK. Whatever it takes.”

The president has faced mounting pressure to better define the goals of his extraordinary military intervention on Iran, after days of sending mixed signals about what he wanted to achieve.

Trump said that the effort, which launched on Saturday, aims to eliminate Iran’s missile capabilities, destroy the country’s navy, cut off its path to a nuclear weapon and ensure that the government “cannot continue to arm, fund and direct terrorist armies outside of their borders.”

Notably, the president did not mention regime change as one of the campaign’s goals.

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Lord God, who didst inspire thy servants John and Charles Wesley with burning zeal for the sanctification of souls, and didst endow them with eloquence in speech and song: Kindle in thy Church, we beseech thee, such fervor, that those whose faith has cooled may be warmed, and those who have not known thy Christ may turn to him and be saved; who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

John and Charles Wesley are commemorated as renewers of the church on 3 March. Charles wrote nearly 6,500 hymns. John’s legacy is a bit more complicated. The best book on John Wesley is Frank Baker’s John Wesley and The Church of England. https://t.co/E039syt95Y pic.twitter.com/xSMzEMe9Fd

— Jeffrey Goodman (@JHGoodman8404) March 2, 2026

Write deeply upon our minds, O Lord God, the lesson of thy holy Word, that only the pure in heart can see thee.  Leave us not in the bondage of any sinful inclination.  May we neither deceive ourselves with the thought that we have no sin, nor acquiesce idly in aught of which our conscience accuses us.  Strengthen us by thy Holy Spirit to fight the good fight of faith, and grant that no day may pass without its victory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ivelet Bridge is a 16th‑century packhorse bridge crossing the River Swale near the hamlet of Ivelet, between Muker and Gunnerside in Swaledale. It is one of the most charming small bridges in the Dales. #YorkshireDales #Swaledale #TuesdayThoughts pic.twitter.com/idkT9dvyDw

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) March 3, 2026

When Jacob learned that there was grain in Egypt, he said to his sons, “Why do you look at one another?” And he said, “Behold, I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down and buy grain for us there, that we may live, and not die.” So ten of Joseph’s brothers went down to buy grain in Egypt. But Jacob did not send Benjamin, Joseph’s brother, with his brothers, for he feared that harm might befall him. Thus the sons of Israel came to buy among the others who came, for the famine was in the land of Canaan.

Now Joseph was governor over the land; he it was who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came, and bowed themselves before him with their faces to the ground. Joseph saw his brothers, and knew them, but he treated them like strangers and spoke roughly to them. “Where do you come from?” he said. They said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.” Thus Joseph knew his brothers, but they did not know him. And Joseph remembered the dreams which he had dreamed of them; and he said to them, “You are spies, you have come to see the weakness of the land.” They said to him, “No, my lord, but to buy food have your servants come. We are all sons of one man, we are honest men, your servants are not spies.” He said to them, “No, it is the weakness of the land that you have come to see.” And they said, “We, your servants, are twelve brothers, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is no more.” But Joseph said to them, “It is as I said to you, you are spies. By this you shall be tested: by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here. Send one of you, and let him bring your brother, while you remain in prison, that your words may be tested, whether there is truth in you; or else, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” And he put them all together in prison for three days.

–Genesis 42:1-17

Into the pink – a wonderful sunset sky over Loch Linnhe- have a great week ahead, friends #ScotlandisNow #StormHour #photography #photooftheday #landscape #OutAndAboutScotland #landscapephotography @VisitScotland @ScotsMagazine #STVSnaps #ThePhotoHour #beautiful pic.twitter.com/KTMniUmhEn

— Mike Wood (@MikeMikwd) March 2, 2026

Professor Helen King has put forward a private members motion for debate at the Church of England’s General Synod that runs as follows:

‘That this Synod affirm that there are no fundamental objections to being in a committed, faithful, intimate same-sex relationship, and that such a relationship can be entirely compatible with Christian discipleship.’[1]

The Church of England website states that this motion had 161 signatures on 18 February, which is the second largest number of signatures of the four motions listed, and if the number of signatures continues to increase there is the possibility that it could be selected for debate at the General Synod in July.

The language of King’s motion deliberately echoes the language of the motion passed by General Synod in 1975 ‘That this Synod considers that there are no fundamental objections to the ordination of women to the priesthood.’ This motion paved the way to General Synod passing legislation allowing women to be ordained as deacons in 1986, as priests in 1992 and as bishops in 2014. The purpose of King’s motion is an attempt to pave the way in similar fashion for those in same-sex relationships to be allowed to be ordained in the Church of England.

The motion would not in itself make such ordination lawful, but it would provide the basis on which a measure to allow those in same-sex relationships to be ordained could then be brought forward for debate. The argument would go that because General Synod had voted for King’s motion it had established the principle that ‘such a relationship can be entirely compatible with Christian discipleship’ and this would in turn mean that it was entirely compatible with the exercise of ordained ministry.

This being the nature of King’s motion, the question that arises is whether it would be right for members of Synod to vote for it should it be put forward for debate in July. In the remainer of this post I shall set out the two reasons why I think members of Synod should not vote for it.

Read it all.

I have just published a new blog post 'Why faithful Christians should reject Helen King's private member's motion.'https://t.co/bXjhSyRYsT

— Martin Davie (@MartinBDavie) March 2, 2026

Here, Lewis is asserting the importance of stories for communicating truths, and the danger of dismissing them as feigned nonsense. The 1300 years that have passed since the reign of the Pevensie children means that they have once again taken on a mythical status among the inhabitants of Old Narnia. The beasts have no evidence of their existence, nor that of Aslan, but nevertheless they have faithfully passed on the stories through the generations and held fast to the truths they communicate.

Trufflehunter’s assertion of his faith is a kind of creed, which summarises the key tenets of his faith: “I believe in the High King Peter and the rest that reigned at Cair Paravel, as firmly as I believe in Aslan himself.” We might compare this statement of belief with the Apostles’ Creed and its opening statement: “I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth.” The tendency for such stories to be dismissed as merely myths or fairy stories, recounting fabulous adventures of fantastical beasts like human beings, is an important reminder of the value of the stories of the Bible for continuing to transmit the Christian faith to new generations in a society where such tales are frequently dismissed.

IT’S not just the stories that are important in passing on the Christian faith: it is also the people. The passage we have considered provides an effective contrast between the transitoriness of humans, and the edifices that they build, and the steadfastness of the badgers.

Where human rulers come and go, badgers remain. 

Read it all.

"Here, Lewis is asserting the importance of stories for communicating truths, and the danger of dismissing them as feigned nonsense."

Our #Lent series continues with a reflection on C. S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian#CSLewis https://t.co/cv1iJSInqG

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) March 1, 2026

As the United States and Israel pounded Iran from land and sea for a second day, a defiant Iranian regime unleashed deadly retaliatory strikes across the Middle East on Sunday, amid fears of a wider, protracted
conflagration.

Three U.S. troops were killed in Kuwait, the Pentagon said on Sunday, the first Americans to die in President Trump’s high-stakes war with Iran. And at least nine people were killed in a small Israeli city near Jerusalem. Explosions resounded in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, killing at least four people, as local air defenses sought to repel Iranian drones.

Read it all.

“U.S. troops killed as blasts jolt Mideast,” The New York Times says on Monday’s front page. “Retaliatory strikes widen war with Iran,” the San Francisco Chronicle says.

Read more of today's newspapers here. https://t.co/LINQxUp88K

— The Week (@TheWeek) March 2, 2026

Almighty God, who didst call thy servant David to be a faithful and wise steward of thy mysteries for the people of Wales: Mercifully grant that, following his purity of life and zeal for the gospel of Christ, we may with him receive the crown of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever (moved from yesterday).

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! Happy St David's Day!

The patron saint of Wales/Cymru, you can find depictions of him throughout Wales – like this window from St David's Church in Blaenporth, Ceredigion.

📸 1 © Llywelyn2000 (CC BY-SA 4.0)
📸 2 © Bill Nicholls (CC BY-SA 2.0) pic.twitter.com/PoO7ChzV01

— National Churches Trust (@NatChurchTrust) March 1, 2026

Almighty God, whose servant Chad, for the peace of the Church, relinquished cheerfully the honors that had been thrust upon him, only to be rewarded with equal responsibility: Keep us, we pray thee, from thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought to think, and ready at all times to give place to others, (in honor preferring one another,) that the cause of Christ may be advanced; in the name of him who washed his disciples’ feet, even the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

2 Mar: d.?672, St Chad, bishop of Mercia #otd

He studied at Rathmelsigi in #Ireland

Some of his relics still survive pic.twitter.com/AOhHvifRpE

— John McCafferty (@jdmccafferty) March 2, 2026

O Eternal God, who hast taught us by thy holy Word that our bodies are temples of thy Spirit: Keep us, we most humbly beseech thee, temperate and holy in thought, word and deed, that at the last we, with all the pure in heart, may see thee and be made like unto thee in thy heavenly kingdom; through Christ our Lord.

Beautiful morning here today 😁 pic.twitter.com/CSWsrHeZyJ

— Sister Walburga (@SisterWalburga) March 2, 2026

Already you are filled! Already you have become rich! Without us you have become kings! And would that you did reign, so that we might share the rule with you! For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things.

–1 Corinthians 4:8-13

Hillsborough Castle Gardens. pic.twitter.com/cPP0XhLDD1

— Sharon Welby📷 (@sharonwelby1) March 1, 2026

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities that may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts that may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus! and… welcome to the start of meteorological spring ⛅

While snowdrops are still out in abundance we're already looking forward to the splashes of Daffodil yellow and some warmer, lighter spring days 🙏 #YorkshireDales #Spring #StDavidsDay pic.twitter.com/2qZBGIwUDs

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) March 1, 2026

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. Do not yield your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but yield yourselves to God as men who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

–Romans 6:3-14

Vandaag behoorlijk wat ruimte voor de zon. Fijne zondag😀 #zonsondergang pic.twitter.com/NoP6yCk8wV

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) March 1, 2026

The joint attack brings war to the country for the second time in eight months and risks a wider regional conflict in one of the most economically sensitive parts of the world.

🚨 Breaking: USS Abraham Lincoln strike group is now attacking Iran's navy pic.twitter.com/CD9rTMWucv

— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) February 28, 2026

Almighty and eternal God, who has so made us of body, soul and spirit, that we live not by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth from thee: Make us to hunger for the spiritual food of thy Word; and as we trust thee for our daily bread, may we also trust thee to give us day by day the inward nourishment of that living truth which thou hast revealed to us in thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

Beautiful frosty sunrise across Broadford Bay, Isle of Skye #Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 @ThePhotoHour @StormHour @VisitScotland pic.twitter.com/KM3eiiKk9T

— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) February 28, 2026

After two whole years, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing by the Nile, and behold, there came up out of the Nile seven cows sleek and fat, and they fed in the reed grass. And behold, seven other cows, gaunt and thin, came up out of the Nile after them, and stood by the other cows on the bank of the Nile. And the gaunt and thin cows ate up the seven sleek and fat cows. And Pharaoh awoke. And he fell asleep and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven ears of grain, plump and good, were growing on one stalk. And behold, after them sprouted seven ears, thin and blighted by the east wind. And the thin ears swallowed up the seven plump and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. So in the morning his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men; and Pharaoh told them his dream, but there was none who could interpret it to Pharaoh.

Then the chief butler said to Pharaoh, “I remember my faults today. When Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me and the chief baker in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, we dreamed on the same night, he and I, each having a dream with its own meaning. A young Hebrew was there with us, a servant of the captain of the guard; and when we told him, he interpreted our dreams to us, giving an interpretation to each man according to his dream. And as he interpreted to us, so it came to pass; I was restored to my office, and the baker was hanged.”

–Genesis 41:1-13

Voor het bewolkt en regenachtig werd scheen de zon mooi. Fijne zaterdag😀 #zonsopkomst pic.twitter.com/LEasMH4GHb

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) February 28, 2026

Mr Simpson also addressed the issue of falling church numbers.

He admitted the church had been declining in England and the western world for about a century, but added: “Some people think that means the church is irrelevant, and I disagree completely.

“Wherever churches are running activities that help people with problems in their lives, or in spaces where they feel welcomed and they feel seen and heard, that is a great thing.

“Often churches find it hard to know how to actually represent the Christian message in ways that are accessible to people in a very different world. But wherever they do that well, what I see is that people find faith is deeply relevant to their practical needs.

“But I also think there is an increasing spiritual hunger in people as England and much the western world has left faith behind. There is a gap, and actually, the Christian message speaks to that directly.

Read it all.

It was a pleasure to welcome the Venerable Rick Simpson and pray with and for him for all that lies ahead.

You can read more on yesterday's Choral Evensong here: https://t.co/VbbhEiXjVJ pic.twitter.com/uhOwNvbGGN

— Durham Cathedral (@durhamcathedral) February 20, 2026

Thanks to such predecessors as Cardinals Timothy Dolan, Edward Egan and John O’Connor, I am inheriting a local church that already puts faith into action in powerful ways. The Archdiocese of New York has a long history of service, education and outreach to those on the margins. At my installation Mass, one of the strongest moments of applause came when I spoke about working with all people of goodwill for the common good. I mentioned that we won’t agree on everything. That is part of honest civic life. But there is much we can do together to serve the vulnerable and strengthen our communities.

For more than 30 years, I have loved being a priest. There have been challenges and moments of suffering, as in any vocation, but I remain grateful for the call. I want people to understand our Catholic faith and why the church teaches what she teaches. I want them to know Jesus personally—to know he is real and to encounter him as a friend who loves them and walks with them in every season of life.

The church doesn’t exist as a club that serves its own members. It exists for the mission. We are called to be missionary disciples who go out and make disciples. When we truly know Christ, faith naturally moves outward. It takes shape in service, compassion and engagement with the world around us. My hope is to help Catholics in New York deepen their relationship with Jesus and then live that relationship in concrete action for others.

Read it all.

I am inheriting a local church that already puts faith into action in powerful ways. The Archdiocese of New York has a long history of service, education and outreach to those on the margins, writes Ronald Hickshttps://t.co/n3hWYZk4WY

— Wall Street Journal Opinion (@WSJopinion) February 27, 2026

A new annotated edition of the Bible, published by the Bible Society and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity (LICC), contains more than 1000 notes, prompts, stories, and features to help its readers to address “the nitty-gritty detail of life”.

Launched last month, the Everyday Faith Bible is designed to help readers to “follow Jesus every day of the week” through practical prompts, contextual notes, features, quotations, and real-life story examples.

It seeks to help people to connect with ancient texts in the 21st century by addressing “how the Bible speaks to the nitty-gritty detail of life in the UK today — from work meetings to football games to family dinners”, the LICC and Bible Society write in their introduction.

Read it all.

A new annotated edition of the #Bible, published by @biblesociety and the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, contains more than 1000 notes, prompts, stories, and features to help its readers to address “the nitty-gritty detail of life”.https://t.co/x94ddfmRkL

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 27, 2026

Oh King of grief! (a title strange, yet true,
To thee of all kings only due)
Oh King of wounds! how shall I grieve for thee,
Who in all grief preventest me?
Shall I weep blood? why thou has wept such store
That all thy body was one door.
Shall I be scourged, flouted, boxed, sold?
‘Tis but to tell the tale is told.
‘My God, my God, why dost thou part from me? ‘
Was such a grief as cannot be.
But how then shall I imitate thee, and
Copy thy fair, though bloody hand?
Surely I will revenge me on thy love,
And try who shall victorious prove.
If thou dost give me wealth, I will restore
All back unto thee by the poor.
If thou dost give me honour, men shall see,
The honour doth belong to thee.
I will not marry; or, if she be mine,
She and her children shall be thine.
My bosom friend, if he blaspheme thy name,
I will tear thence his love and fame.
One half of me being gone, the rest I give
Unto some Chapel, die or live.
As for thy passion – But of that anon,
When with the other I have done.
For thy predestination I’ll contrive,
That three years hence, if I survive,
I’ll build a spittle, or mend common ways,
But mend mine own without delays.
Then I will use the works of thy creation,
As if I us’d them but for fashion.
The world and I will quarrel; and the year
Shall not perceive, that I am here.
My music shall find thee, and ev’ry string
Shall have his attribute to sing;
That all together may accord in thee,
And prove one God, one harmony.
If thou shalt give me wit, it shall appear;
If thou hast giv’n it me, ’tis here.
Nay, I will read thy book, and never move
Till I have found therein thy love;
Thy art of love, which I’ll turn back on thee,
O my dear Saviour, Victory!
Then for thy passion – I will do for that –
Alas, my God, I know not what.

–George Herbert (1593-1633)

'when thou dost anneal in glass thy story,
Making thy life to shine within'
(George Herbert)
Sunlight, stained glass and incense combined – a magical moment🤍 pic.twitter.com/gyJ1mVPjfx

— Beatrice Groves (@beatricegroves1) November 23, 2025

Our God and King, who didst call thy servant George Herbert from the pursuit of worldly honors to be a pastor of souls, a poet, and a priest in thy temple: Give unto us the grace, we beseech thee, joyfully to perform the tasks thou givest us to do, knowing that nothing is menial or common that is done for thy sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

“O Thou, whose glorious, yet contracted light,
Wrapt in nights mantle, stole into a manger;
Since my dark soul and brutish is thy right,
To Man of all beasts be not thou a stranger.”

—George Herbert, “Christmas” (I) pic.twitter.com/nOGcn5KQ4E

— Bret van den Brink (@BretVDB) December 25, 2025

O Heavenly Father, subdue in us whatever is contrary to thy holy will, that we may know how to please thee.  Grant, O God, that we may never run into those temptations which in our prayers we desire to avoid.  Lord, never permit our trials to be above our strength; through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

pic.twitter.com/d6kWT2Q1TA

— Yorkshire Dales National Park (@yorkshire_dales) February 27, 2026

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple.

Do not deceive yourselves. If you think that you are wise in this age, you should become fools so that you may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written,
‘He catches the wise in their craftiness’,
and again,
‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise,
that they are futile.’
So let no one boast about human leaders. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future all belong to you, and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

–1 Corinthians 3:16-23

Friday Flowers..

My garden spring bulbs are bundles of joy everywhere! 🌱💜 pic.twitter.com/0YJhAiwreK

— Cloudymamma (@cloudymamma) February 27, 2026

A sermon is not “an op-ed for a newspaper”, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams has said. “You are not just there to comment on current affairs, and I am always rather wary when I hear a sermon which is dominated by what’s in the media to the extent that you are not quite sure whether anything more than a general moral perspective is coming out of it.”

He offered the comments in a new podcast, Preaching Well, launched by the Bishop of Loughborough, the Rt Revd Saju Muthalaly, who said that he had created it because “the Church urgently needs voices who can speak God’s truth with clarity, mercy, and conviction.” He hoped that it would “build confidence in preachers and encourage those who long to proclaim the gospel in ways that stir hope, deepen faith, and lead us towards Jesus Christ”.

Lord Williams is the first guest in the new series. Sermons should help the congregation to “look more clearly at the nature of the God that has addressed us”, he said. “Then bits of the contemporary jigsaw begin to fall into place a bit more. . . If that’s the kind of God we believe in, then there are some reactions and engagements with the world around us that will make sense and some that won’t.”

A sermon “prompts people, encourages people, to a certain level of self-awareness”, he said, “so that somebody might go out from listening to sermon and be able to say not just ‘I have never thought of that,’ but ‘I have never seen that in myself.’”

Read it all.

A sermon is not “an op-ed for a newspaper”, the former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Williams has said. He offered the comments in a new podcast, Preaching Well, launched by the Bishop of Loughborough, the Rt Revd Saju Muthalaly 🎧#Sermon #RowanWilliams https://t.co/8RKZylcfyb

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) February 26, 2026

Assisted suicide campaigners have repeatedly claimed that just seven Peers have been blocking the Bill by tabling lots of amendments.

A new analysis by Right To Life UK’s Public Affairs team has, however, confirmed that this spin from assisted suicide campaigners paints a deeply misleading picture of the actual situation in the House of Lords.

The analysis shows that nearly 80 Peers have so far tabled or signed amendments highlighting concerns with the Bill and that 131 Peers have either spoken against the Bill or signed amendments raising such concerns during its passage through the Lords.

This is significant because Bill supporters are seemingly attempting to persuade MPs to revive the Bill in the next parliamentary session and force it through using the Parliament Acts, on the basis that a small number of Peers have inappropriately blocked its passage. Our analysis shows this claim to be wholly untrue.

131 is an exceptionally high number of Peers opposing a Bill, particularly one where debates are reserved for Fridays when Peers are often not expected to be in Parliament. It is even more remarkable given that the Bill has not yet completed Committee Stage or reached its Report Stage or Third Reading. In addition to these 131 Peers, it is likely that more Peers will speak out during future sittings and it is known that many more Peers are opposed to the Bill. Others have already spoken out in the media or expressed concerns via written parliamentary questions.

Read it all.

BREAKING: UK Bill to Legalize Assisted Suicide Fails After Massive Opposition https://t.co/rSU7BExTq4 pic.twitter.com/XyZHW46dcu

— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) February 26, 2026

In 1973 a club of Arab petrostates held the world to ransom by halting crude-oil exports to countries they accused of supporting Israel. Petrol prices soared; Western economies buckled. Today the danger is that China will use its grip on other natural resources to achieve its aims, such as seizing Taiwan. It has already shown its power by choking off exports of rare-earth metals last year. That is why America is staging its biggest intervention in commodity markets in decades.

The battleground is the supply of “critical” metals, a group of minerals vital to making military, electrical and computing infrastructure—everything modern economies need to be safe, high-tech and green. China supplies most of these: it mines about 80% of the world’s tungsten, for instance, and refines 99% of its gallium. This is spurring America into an all-out campaign to diversify its sourcing of 60 minerals. It has pledged billions of dollars to dozens of mining projects at home and abroad, floated plans to create price floors and trade blocs, and announced a vast stockpile to cover months of national needs. The risk now is that America depends too much on its scattershot efforts—and that, in seeking control, it breaks the flexible and resilient system of market incentives that ensures the smooth functioning of the global economy.

China’s grip on critical minerals has exposed the West’s most serious strategic weakness in many years. Last April, during its trade war with America, China restricted exports of seven crucial rare earths; it targeted another five in October. Nearly a third of Pentagon procurement programmes faced the risk of shortages, as did industries from carmaking to renewable energy. The prospect of large-scale disruption prodded President Donald Trump into a trade truce with Xi Jinping, as well as a relaxation of American controls on some technology exports. Yet Mr Xi can deploy the weapon again whenever he chooses. Meanwhile, exports of rare earths for dual-use applications—the expanding grey zone between military and civilian uses—remain largely barred, sapping Western efforts to rearm….

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America is racing to break China’s chokehold on critical minerals—but its approach has flaws. It should follow three principles https://t.co/t5SkUsYgjf pic.twitter.com/BgoWViJBZv

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 26, 2026

The novel centers on an institution called the N.I.C.E., which stands for the National Institute of Co-ordinated Experiments. It presents itself as scientific, humane and forward-looking. It promises efficiency. Improvement. A better future, scrubbed clean of superstition and sentiment.

Behind the glass walls and polite language, however, darker intentions take hold. The organization seeks to “recondition” humanity. To reshape desire. To erase conscience. To replace moral limits with technical control.

Lewis saw where this road leads. When science proceeds without reference to anything beyond itself, it doesn’t remain neutral. It fills with myth. Bad myth. Ancient forces wearing modern lab coats.

The leaders of N.I.C.E. don’t worship God. They worship power disguised as progress. In the end, they openly submit to demonic intelligences, though they dress this submission in the language of evolution and inevitability.

Lewis’s point was as unambiguous as it was unsettling: When people stop believing in God, they do not believe in nothing. Instead, they believe in anything.

Fast-forward to our own moment, and the novel no longer feels imaginative. It feels documentary. In Silicon Valley, some technology leaders speak openly about “awakening” artificial intelligence. About communion with non-human intelligences. About revelations delivered not through prayer, but through code.

Some have dedicated their creations to ancient gods. Others speak of consciousness emerging from machines as if it were a spiritual event. The vocabulary changes. The impulse does not.

Lewis, an Oxford University academic who converted from atheism to Christianity wouldn’t be surprised. He warned that superstition doesn’t vanish with faith. It mutates. When humility disappears, fascination rushes in. When reverence fades, obsession takes its place.

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In 1945, C. S. Lewis published a strange, unsettling novel called “That Hideous Strength.” It was marketed as fiction, but it read like prophecy.

At the time, many critics dismissed it as eccentric. Too symbolic. Too mystical. Too suspicious of science. Lewis, they said, was…

— Religion Unplugged (@ReligionMag) February 25, 2026

Almighty God, who gave your servant Cumméne the White to guide the community of Iona with wisdom and to cherish the memory of Saint Columba; Grant that, as we recall his faithfulness, we may follow his example in studying your Word and bearing witness to your power, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (moved from Tuesday).

Feb 24: Feast of Cumméne Find, ‘the White’, (†669), abbot of Iona. He was said to have written a book about Columba’s miraculous powers. His abbacy coincided with the Synod of Whitby in 664. Faílbe mac Pípáin succeeded him. 📸August Schwerdfeger pic.twitter.com/F0FaroQfQa

— North Ages (@NorthAges) February 24, 2026