Read it all.

O God, who by the preaching of thy blessed servant Columba didst cause the light of the Gospel to shine in Scotland: Grant, we beseech thee, that, having his life and labors in remembrance, we may show forth our thankfulness to thee by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today's the feast of St Columba, a 6th Century Irish abbot and missionary to what would become Scotland, who founded Iona Abbey and is the patron saint of the fair city of Derry. Glass by Karl Parsons, made in 1913 for Sulhamstead, Berkshire, now in the Stained Glass Museum, Ely. pic.twitter.com/Pi8UXS9iz4

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) June 9, 2026

O God, the God of all goodness and of all grace, who art worthy of a greater love than we can either give or understand: Fill our hearts, we beseech thee, with such love toward thee that nothing may seem too hard for us to do or to suffer, in obedience to thy will; and grant that thus loving thee, we may become daily more like unto thee, and finally obtain the crown of life which thou hast promised to those that love thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Good Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/soKQgUgyxU

— Juha Auvinen (@Zehov) June 9, 2026

But all this I laid to heart, examining it all, how the righteous and the wise and their deeds are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hate man does not know. Everything before them is vanity, since one fate comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked, to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean, to him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good man, so is the sinner; and he who swears is as he who shuns an oath. This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that one fate comes to all; also the hearts of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. But he who is joined with all the living has hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. For the living know that they will die, but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward; but the memory of them is lost. Their love and their hate and their envy have already perished, and they have no more for ever any share in all that is done under the sun.

Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already approved what you do.

Let your garments be always white; let not oil be lacking on your head.

Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life which he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.

Ecclesiastes 9:1-10

Rise with the sun,
shine with hope.
Each morning is a NEW chapter to write your story.

Good Tuesday lovely people in my phone.

✨️💛#TuesdayFeeling #summer #stormy #weather #GoodVibesOnly #StormHour #jefinuist #outerhebrides #scotland pic.twitter.com/niTZdUINnO

— DaliMach (@frenchscotjeff) June 9, 2026

The security situation in Mexico is “very difficult” as the World Cup approaches, the newly elected Anglican Archbishop of Mexico, the Most Revd Sally Sue Hernández, has warned, in a keynote speech at last week’s annual conference of the Anglican mission agency USPG. The theme was “For Christ is our peace”.

The tournament, hosted by Mexico, Canada, and the United States, begins on Thursday. “The situation is very difficult, with challenges including the presence of drug cartels, forced disappearances, violence against girls and women, the exclusion of indigenous communities, and armed attacks to seize territory from communities that have been displaced from their lands, among others,” said Archbishop Hernández.

“While the World Cup will generate passion, and some economic activity, there will be no profound changes or answers to the true needs of the Mexican people.”

Read it all.

The security situation in Mexico is “very difficult” as the World Cup approaches, the newly elected Anglican Archbishop of Mexico, the Most Revd Sally Sue Hernández, has warned, in a keynote speech at last week’s annual conference of USPG.https://t.co/C5yF8j9mpv

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 8, 2026

On June 3, a debate about the silent genocide of unborn children with Down syndrome exploded on social media. The unlikely catalyst was an X post by YouTube influencer Jesse “McJuggerNuggets” Ridgway. For months, the Ridgways had been producing and posting news of their pregnancy for a massive online audience, including their pregnancy announcement on March 29, a gender reveal (a boy), ultrasounds, and finally, a disturbingly personal video of the grief-stricken couple finding out their baby likely had Down syndrome. 

The journey culminated in Ridgway’s announcement that the couple had decided to abort the baby at twenty-one weeks. (Last year, a preemie born at twenty-one weeks in Iowa survived.) Ridgway listed the health problems his son might have suffered from—heart defects, hearing challenges, learning disabilities, decreased lifespan—and concluded: “Down syndrome isn’t a ‘blessing.’” He assured his “fans” with autism and Down syndrome that “we appreciate you,” but said that the abortion “will be beneficial for our family” and that “thankfully, we had a choice.”

The post has been viewed over 24 million times and has garnered 18,000 mostly negative comments. Many were livid at Ridgway’s openly eugenic justification for having his unborn son destroyed; hundreds posted stories, photos, and videos of their loved ones with Down syndrome, expressing their gratitude for their love, lives, and contributions. The photos put faces to society’s most endangered population—as Ridgway pointed out in his post, around 90 percent of babies diagnosed with Down syndrome are killed in the womb.

Read it all.

This is unspeakably evil, but I give the guy credit for speaking about it directly in public. Most of our eugenic killing simply goes on on the down low, which is how throwaway culture flourishes. When brought to light, they can be named for what they are. https://t.co/CLhEitDBTu

— Charlie Camosy (@CCamosy) June 4, 2026

Nineteen-year-old Olivia’s profile picture shows a demure and innocent-looking young woman with long blonde hair styled in beachy waves. She’s wearing a short, cleavage-exposing nightdress and her biography says she’s “deeply caring, supportive and attentive” and “sleeps on the floor… until you call her. Then silence. Obedience”.

While Olivia may appear to be an online dater looking for love, she isn’t real – not in the conventional sense of the term. This prospective love match is actually one of a growing trend of “AI girlfriends”: realistic-looking artificial intelligence “bots” created by “companion apps” – services that are being advertised on online games played by children and on platforms they watch, such as YouTube.

New research has revealed that one in five boys aged 12-16 is either in or knows of a boy their age who is in a romantic relationship with an AI companion. A report carried out by men’s organisation Male Allies UK and published last month spoke with more than 1,000 boys aged 12-16 in focus groups in 37 schools – public and state, grammar and comprehensive, and across a range of Ofsted ratings – up and down the country. Peer-to-peer focus groups were set up where boys could speak freely, with the aim of diving into their behaviour and attitudes, and it was the boys who wanted to talk about AI technologies. The findings make stark reading: eight in 10 boys (85 per cent) have had a conversation with a chatbot, with 43 per cent saying they talk to bots so they can ask questions without feeling embarrassed. More than a quarter (26 per cent) say they like the attention and connection over real-life equivalents, and (36 per cent) admitted that they prefer speaking to AI chatbots rather than to their family and friends at times.

Read it all (subscription).

🦔One in five boys aged 12 to 16 is in or knows someone in a romantic relationship with an AI chatbot, according to a Male Allies UK study of over 1,000 boys across 37 UK schools. 85% have talked to chatbots and 26% prefer the attention to human connections.
The top companion…

— Hedgie (@HedgieMarkets) June 8, 2026

In little more than ten years St. Paul established the Church in four provinces of the Empire, Galatia, Macedonia, Achaia and Asia. Before AD 47 there were no churches in these provinces; in AD 57 St. Paul could speak as if his work there was done, and could plan extensive tours into the far west without anxiety lest the churches which he had founded might perish in his absence for want of his guidance and support.

The work of the Apostle during these ten years can therefore be treated as a unity. Whatever assistance he may have received from the preaching of others, it is unquestioned that the establishment of the churches in these provinces was really his work. In the pages of the New Testament he, and he alone, stands forth as their founder. And the work which he did was really a completed work. So far as the foundation of the churches is concerned, it is perfectly clear that the writer of the Acts intends to represent St. Paul’s work as complete. The churches were really established. Whatever disasters fell upon them in later years, whatever failure there was, whatever ruin, that failure was not due to any insufficiency or lack of care and completeness in the Apostle’s teaching or organization. When he left them he left them because his work was fully accomplished.

This is truly an astonishing fact. That churches should be founded so rapidly, so securely, seems to us today, accustomed to the difficulties, the uncertainties, the failures, the disastrous relapses of our own missionary work, almost incredible. Many missionaries in later days have received a larger number of converts than St. Paul; many have preached over a wider area than he; but none have so established churches. We have long forgotten that such things could be. We have long accustomed ourselves to accept it as an axiom of missionary work that converts in a new country must be submitted to a very long probation and training, extending over generations before they can be expected to be able to stand alone. Today if a man ventures to suggest that there may be something in the methods by which St. Paul attained such wonderful results worthy of our careful attention, and perhaps of our imitation, he is in danger of being accused of revolutionary tendencies.

–Roland Allen, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours; A Study of The Church In The Four Provinces, Chapter One

Want to come prepared to the 2019 Intersection Conference? @BpToddHunter suggests "The Church and Its Vocation: Newbigin’s Missionary Ecclesiology" by Michael Goheen and "Roland Allen: A Theology of Mission" by Steven Rutt #intersection19 https://t.co/sTGpAN9eCS pic.twitter.com/OY83a8mlMf

— The Telos Collective (@TelosCollective) February 23, 2019

Almighty God, by whose Spirit the Scriptures were opened to thy servant Roland Allen, so that he might lead many to know, live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ: Give us grace to follow his example, that the variety of those to whom we reach out in love may receive thy saving Word and witness in their own languages and cultures to thy glorious Name; through Jesus Christ, thy Word made flesh, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

April 25th 2018 at 6.30pm – The book launch of two new titles by Steven Richard Rutt, Roland Allen: A Missionary Life and Roland Allen: A Theology of Mission.
Further information 👉🏻https://t.co/5k3RTZUvvW
Available Soon 📚https://t.co/eybANEzBDu#LutterworthPress #RolandAllen pic.twitter.com/dpWc2QdXEH

— Lutterworth Press (@LuttPress) April 23, 2018

O God,
the strength of all those who put their trust in you,
mercifully accept our prayers
and, because through the weakness of our mortal nature
we can do no good thing without you,
grant us the help of your grace,
that in the keeping of your commandments
we may please you both in will and deed;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Blue skies meantime.. heavy showers lingering not far away.. Beinn Na Cailleach, Broadford, Isle of Skye #Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 pic.twitter.com/66D4OMO7e3

— James MacInnes (@Macinnesplant) June 8, 2026

Brethren, I beseech you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong; you know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first; and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What has become of the satisfaction you felt? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. For a good purpose it is always good to be made much of, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you! I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

–Galatians 4:12-20

Early morning walk on the beach with some rain and a gifted rainbow.
Good new week lovely people in my phone 🌈#NewWeekNewGoals #MondayMood #summer#GoodVibesOnly #jefinuist #outerhebrides #Scotland pic.twitter.com/XuiJ3dp7Lv

— DaliMach (@frenchscotjeff) June 8, 2026

Grant, O Lord, that the course of this world may be so peaceably ordered by your providence, that your Church may joyfully serve you in quiet confidence and godly peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Was out early this morning in the West Point Foundry Preserve in Cold Spring and spotted a pair of Blue-gray Gnatcatchers frolicking with each other. I've never seen one with its tail up quite this way! 💙🩶💙 #Gnatcatcher #ColdSpring #birdcpp pic.twitter.com/qgcekhmNqe

— Above_96th (@Above96th) June 7, 2026

“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves with purses that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. “Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour.” 

–Luke 12:32-40

“My Fellow Americans:

“Last night, when I spoke with you about the fall of Rome, I knew at that moment that troops of the United States and our Allies were crossing the Channel in another and greater operation. It has come to pass with success thus far.

“And so, in this poignant hour, I ask you to join with me in prayer:

“Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity.

“Lead them straight and true; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness in their faith.
“They will be sore tried, by night and by day, without rest — until the victory is won. The darkness will be rent by noise and flame. Men’s souls will be shaken with the violences of war.

“For these men are lately drawn from the ways of peace. They fight not for the lust of conquest. They fight to end conquest. They fight to liberate. They fight to let justice arise, and tolerance and goodwill among all Thy people. They yearn but for the end of battle, for their return to the haven of home.

“Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.

“And for us at home — fathers, mothers, children, wives, sisters, and brothers of brave men overseas, whose thoughts and prayers are ever with them — help us, Almighty God, to rededicate ourselves in renewed faith in Thee in this hour of great sacrifice.

“Many people have urged that I call the nation into a single day of special prayer. But because the road is long and the desire is great, I ask that our people devote themselves in a continuance of prayer. As we rise to each new day, and again when each day is spent, let words of prayer be on our lips, invoking Thy help to our efforts.

“Give us strength, too — strength in our daily tasks, to redouble the contributions we make in the physical and the material support of our armed forces.

“And let our hearts be stout, to wait out the long travail, to bear sorrows that may come, to impart our courage unto our sons wheresoever they may be.

“And, O Lord, give us faith. Give us faith in Thee; faith in our sons; faith in each other; faith in our united crusade. Let not the keenness of our spirit ever be dulled. Let not the impacts of temporary events, of temporal matters of but fleeting moment — let not these deter us in our unconquerable purpose.

“With Thy blessing, we shall prevail over the unholy forces of our enemy. Help us to conquer the apostles of greed and racial arrogances. Lead us to the saving of our country, and with our sister nations into a world unity that will spell a sure peace — a peace invulnerable to the schemings of unworthy men. And a peace that will let all of men live in freedom, reaping the just rewards of their honest toil.

“Thy will be done, Almighty God.

“Amen.”

You can listen to the actual audio if you want here and today of all days is the day to do that. Also, there is more on background and another audio link there.–KSH.

82 years ago #OTD 6 June 1944, the D-Day Landings had just begun, and the Liberation of Europe was underway. Part of the memorial in English, French and German outside the D-Day Story, Portsmouth. When I visited I found myself unexpectedly very moved, especially by the walls of… pic.twitter.com/T9xRmE3Pqo

— Simon Knott (@SimoninSuffolk) June 6, 2026

Loving God, may thy Name be blest for the witness of Ini Kopuria, police officer and founder of the Melanesian Brotherhood, whose members saved many American pilots in a time of war, and who continue to minister courageously to the islanders of Melanesia. Open our eyes that we, with these Anglican brothers, may establish peace and hope in service to others, for the sake of Jesus Christ; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

To God the Father, who first loved us, and made us accepted in the Beloved; to God the Son, who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood; to God the Holy Ghost, who sheddeth the love of God abroad in our hearts: to the one true God be all love and all glory for time and for eternity.

Behold, what I have seen to be good and to be fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life which God has given him, for this is his lot. Every man also to whom God has given wealth and possessions and power to enjoy them, and to accept his lot and find enjoyment in his toil—this is the gift of God. For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

–Ecclesiastes 5:18-20

Christ’s lordship is good because of what Christ as Lord rescues us from; because of all that follows from being under Christ’s rule and care. It matters whose kingdom you belong to. The lordship of Christ delivers us from death’s rival claim (Romans 14.8-9; 1 Corinthians 15.15-26).

That  idea of a lord as protector may not speak so directly to us today, but it is central to the theology of the New Testament. As Karl Barth wrote, it belongs to “divine mercy” for us to have Christ as Lord, and in that way to be delivered “from all other lordships”. Not for nothing does a famous passage from Romans end its list of vanquished impediments to life in God with invocation of Christ as Lord: “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8.38-39).

The cost of confessing allegiance to “one Lord” was not lost on early Christians. Martyrs, burned alive or sent to the lions, demonstrated the consequences of belonging to only one lord, when that lord was not Caesar. The benefits, however, were not lost on them: “He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1.13-14).

Read it all.

“Working through the Creed, clause by clause, we find that every line of it turns out to be good news.”

In the first part of a new occasional series, @@AP_Davison encourages believers to look for the good news in every clause of their profession of faith https://t.co/ySN2ZORMtg

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) April 26, 2026

The new encyclical comes as the culmination of various articles during recent weeks about AI’s implications for religion. Here’s a sampling of materials to consider alongside Leo’s magnum opus. 

Ross Douthat, author of the 2025 classic “Believe: Why Everyone Should Be Religious,” wrote in his May 10 New York Times column that A.I., with its virtual “machine God,” poses the most fundamental questions about our human identity, consciousness, will, and reason. He sees three possible responses.

For many, A.I. is “a win for atheism and a blow against religious ideas of soul and spirit,” with our minds seen as “just computers.” Others think religion is enhanced when the mystery of our personal consciousness becomes more profound and humanity more exceptional. A third attitude is simply becoming more uncertain about everything. 

A March 26 report from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University suggests AI and robotics may be a factor in the 21st-century decline in religious affiliation. These scholars observe that “historically, people have deferred to supernatural agents and religious professionals to solve instrumental problems beyond the scope of human ability” that now “may seem more solvable” through technology. 

Then this unsettling phenomenon. As Religion Unplugged reported on May 21, a Barna Group poll found that 30% of adults, and 34% of practicing Christians, agree “strongly” or “somewhat” that “spiritual advice from artificial intelligence is just as trustworthy as advice from a pastor,” a confidence that reaches 44% with the “Millennial” generation. Naturally, clergy members are far more skeptical. 

Read it all.

C.S. Lewis predicted AI in That Hideous Strength. N.I.C.E., that’s AI. Fans know what I’m talking about.

AI’s problem is not going to be its inability to do anything, but that it ruins everything. It creates a cultural problem. It sterilizes everything and makes nothing… pic.twitter.com/AIelvWRgdf

— Jeremy Wayne Tate (@JeremyTate41) February 16, 2026

A crucial turning point in your life came when you encountered a Nobel Prize winner as an undergraduate student. Tell us that story. 

I always played Socrates, and still do, asking people questions. So I plunged in and asked this person about the research that he’d done to win the Nobel Prize. Then I said: “Did it ever occur to you when you discovered the intricacies of these processes that there was a mind behind the universe?” He stiffened and said: “No.” The conversation finished – he wasn’t going there. But at the end of the meal, he said: “Lennox, come to my room,” which was not an invitation, but a command. 

To my surprise, he’d invited several other senior people. He sat me down and said: “If you want a career in science, you need to give up this naive faith in God, because it will cripple you intellectually. You’ll never make it. So, give it up now, in front of witnesses.” It was an enormous pressure.

I said: “Tell me, what have you to offer me that’s better than what I have in Christ?” He said: “There’s the philosophy of Henri Bergson.” It was a very bad choice, because Bergson actually thought of converting to Catholicism at one stage. I said: “If that’s all you’ve got, I’ll take the risk. I’ll stay with Christ.” I got up and walked out. 

That moment changed many things for me. It taught me a lot about the unacceptable face of academia and the misuse of authority. I made up my mind that if ever I got to the kind of position I’m in today, as a professor at Oxford, I would never use my position to abuse anybody intellectually. And it did occur to me that if he’d been a Christian and I’d been an atheist, he’d probably have lost his job for doing what he did – such is the non-level playing field.

I resolved, as best as I could, to put arguments for God and Christ into the public space, give them the evidence and let people judge for themselves. And that’s what I’ve been doing for the rest of my life. I suppose it was a preparation for meeting lesser intellects, like that of Richard Dawkins.

Read it all.

Here's my interview with the brilliant Christian apologist @ProfJohnLennox, recorded at his house just outside of Oxford https://t.co/rzareCsBEi

— Sam Hailes (@samhailes) June 5, 2026

The College of Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) today unanimously approved a final version of a new Episcopal Election Customary, completing a significant effort to strengthen the discernment, vetting, and election of bishops across the Province.

The Episcopal Election Customary establishes a consistent framework for episcopal elections across the Province while preserving the historic authority of dioceses to elect their own bishops. The Customary outlines expectations and procedures for dioceses, standing committees, search committees, and provincial leaders, providing greater clarity throughout the discernment and election process.

The Customary was developed through an extensive process of consultation, discussion, and refinement among bishops and church leaders from across the Province. The resulting framework will ensure that candidates for episcopal office complete a robust review process and are subject to thorough vetting and background checks while maintaining the appropriate balance between provincial oversight and diocesan authority.

The Customary, which takes immediate effect, follows commitments made by the College of Bishops in January 2026 to strengthen the processes surrounding episcopal elections, to promote healthy leadership throughout the Church, and inspire greater confidence in the ACNA’s systems of accountability and oversight.

Read it all.

ACNA College of Bishops Unanimously Approves Episcopal Election Customary https://t.co/36Krz7y1q3 'The Customary, which takes immediate effect, follows commitments made by the College of Bishops in January 2026 to strengthen the processes surrounding episcopal elections, to… pic.twitter.com/IrbhecPBuR

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) June 5, 2026

Almighty God, who didst call thy faithful servant Boniface to be a witness and martyr in the lands of Germany and Friesland, and by his labor and suffering didst raise up a people for thine own possession: Pour forth thy Holy Spirit upon thy Church in every land, that by the service and sacrifice of many thy holy Name may be glorified and thy kingdom enlarged; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Today is the Feast of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr.

Born in Crediton, Devon, he went on to lay the foundations of the Church in Europe.

My home parish is dedicated to him and we celebrate our Patronal this Sunday. pic.twitter.com/wHxpzBe4fZ

— Ninefold Kyrie (@Gda1238) June 5, 2026

O God, who hast made thyself known to us as Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity, in order that we may be informed of thy love and thy majesty: Mercifully grant that we may not be terrified by what thou hast revealed of thy majesty, nor tempted to trespass upon thy mercy by what we know of thy love for us; but that by the power of thy Spirit we may be forever drawn to thee in true adoration and worship; who livest and reignest, one God, world without end.

Happy Friday all. I'm working at the hospital again this pm so looking forward to that and pushing patients around:) pic.twitter.com/Io8L6LRy7F

— David (@Disc_light) June 5, 2026

Guard your steps when you go to the house of God; to draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know that they are doing evil. Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven, and you upon earth; therefore let your words be few. For a dream comes with much business, and a fool’s voice with many words. When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it; for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay. Let not your mouth lead you into sin, and do not say before the messenger that it was a mistake; why should God be angry at your voice, and destroy the work of your hands? For when dreams increase, empty words grow many: but do you fear God.

–Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

Good morning from
Vienna 💙🎵
Happy Friday🌼🌊
Schönen Freitag!#Donaukanal pic.twitter.com/yYwWXdPiUA

— Elfie Neuberger (@ElfieNeuberger) June 5, 2026

the regulation of new funerary methods — including “water cremations” and human composting — has been recommended by the Law Commission of England and Wales.

The independent statutory body, set up to keep the law under review and to make recommendations to the Government, published on Thursday a report on reforming new funerary methods. It was preceded by a consultation paper, published last June, which received 124 responses from faith communities, funeral directors, local authorities, industry bodies, and members of the public.

Currently, the law in England and Wales recognises only burial, cremation, and, though less common, burial at sea. New funerary methods are alternatives to these, such as alkaline hydrolysis (sometimes known as “water cremation”) and human composting, which are not currently covered by any specific legal framework, but which are available in certain other jurisdictions. In Scotland, for example, regulations have recently been made enabling the use of alkaline hydrolysis.

Read it all.

The regulation of new funerary methods — including “water cremations” and human composting — has been recommended by the #LawCommission of England and Wales#funerarymethods #watercremations #humancomposting #churchnews #churchtimes https://t.co/nnqdTBvWWF

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) June 4, 2026

A new style of architecture is rising in the sprawling suburbs of the Sonoran Desert: windowless data centers that hum 24 hours a day and guzzle as much electricity as a midsize city.

As Microsoft and other tech giants expand their footprints in one of the nation’s largest data-center markets, a high-stakes battle is unfolding over how to pay for the massive power-grid upgrades needed to drive the AI revolution. 

Arizona Public Service, the state’s largest utility, sits at the center of the firestorm. APS is proposing a 45% electricity-rate increase for “extra-large energy users,” primarily data centers, and a roughly 14.5% increase for residential customers.

Nearly everyone is unhappy.

Consumer advocates warn the plan would shift the financial risks of the AI build-out to households already struggling with high summer electricity bills and temperatures that often hit triple digits. If the AI boom fizzles or the energy consumption of data centers wanes, they worry residents could be left paying off the infrastructure upgrades years from now.

Read it all.

Phoenix Is a Data-Center Mecca—and Test Case for How to Pay for AI’s Power Needs
State’s largest utility is proposing a 45% electricity-rate increase for data centers and a 14.5% hike for households. No one is happy.https://t.co/m1xMQtoJsq

— Giovanni Staunovo🛢 (@staunovo) June 4, 2026

Something new is stirring on the left. A fresh crop of socialists want to remake the economy with price controls, hefty wealth taxes and a spree of nationalisations. Supercharged by fury over Gaza, they are winning voters at a formidable pace. Many rose to prominence only recently, like Zack Polanski, who leads the Green Party in Britain, or Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York. Others are long-standing political fixtures: the septuagenarian Jean-Luc Mélenchon is on his fourth swing at the French presidency, but thumping support from the 20-somethings of “Generation Z” has put the Elysée back in his sights again.

Call it Gen-Z socialism. Not because all its adherents are young—or because it is new for young people to lean leftward—but because it is the brand of leftism, made for the TikTok era, that today’s young revolutionaries support.

Forget weighty collectivist ideals or seizing the means of production. Gen-Z socialism is a me-first doctrine. Climate change and race, preoccupations of the 2010s and early 2020s, are now much more peripheral concerns. So are social issues, barring Gaza. Angst about inflation, housing and artificial intelligence have replaced all that with something cruder. “This country is awash in wealth,” says Avi Lewis, freshly elected leader of the New Democratic Party in Canada, a country where productivity has been all but flat for a decade. “We can have nice things.” Saying that prices should be capped to keep your bills down while someone else pays for your public services is a seductive, shareable message.

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Gen-Z socialism is wrong about how to fix the problems of capitalism. It must be resisted, because it is a profound threat to prosperity https://t.co/6n1i5xrJV2

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) June 4, 2026

He was a 10-year-old Malawian boy, born in a rural community like so many in sub-Saharan Africa. His family made the journey to Nkhoma Mission Hospital, a hospital in the Lilongwe district, after he began having difficulty breathing. An exam and ultrasound of his heart revealed he was in severe heart failure.

While the team was discussing treatment, his heart suddenly stopped beating. In most African hospitals, that would have been the end of the story. The boy would have died.

But the clinicians at Nkhoma Hospital wouldn’t accept that. Years of investment to raise their standard of care paid off in that moment. Oxygen was ready at the patient’s bedside, along with a defibrillator to shock his heart back into rhythm. Competent ICU nurses and physicians, trained in critical care at a partner hospital in Kenya, were prepared to leap into action. They knew the protocol, acted quickly—and it worked. After the first shock, the boy’s heart started beating again.

An echocardiogram machine provided by donors a year earlier allowed doctors to look inside his failing heart, understand what was happening, and make appropriate treatment decisions. Over the next several days, his heart function began to recover.

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In a cultural moment deeply suspicious of institutions, African mission hospitals prove their value for kingdom work.https://t.co/pJ9nUONBYV

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) June 2, 2026

Lord of all truth and peace, who didst raise up thy bishop John to be servant of the servants of God and bestowed on him wisdom to call for the work of renewing your Church: Grant that, following his example, we may reach out to other Christians to clasp them with the love of your Son, and labor throughout the nations of the world to kindle a desire for justice and peace; through Jesus Christ, who is alive and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

3 June 1963: Pope John XXIII dies at age 81. He was #pope from October 28, 1958 until his death in 1963. He was canonized on April 27, 2014. Pope Francis declared him a saint on July 5, 2013, without the traditional second miracle that was generally required. #History #OTD #ad… pic.twitter.com/w55NvgPSec

— Today In History (@URDailyHistory) June 4, 2026

Keep us, O Lord, from the vain strife of words, and grant us a constant profession of our faith.  Preserve us in the way of truth, so that we may ever hold fast that which we professed when we were baptized into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and may give glory to thee, our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier, now and for evermore.

A early morning fishing boat leaves a light trail as it departs Whitby on the Yorkshire coast a while back. pic.twitter.com/YTBDsp1KLw

— Andrew McCaren 📷 (@AndrewMcCaren1) June 4, 2026