Lyrics: I look from afar: and lo, I see the power of God coming, and a cloud covering the whole earth. Go ye out to meet him and say: Tell us, art thou he that should come to reign over thy people Israel? High and low, rich and poor, one with another. Hear, O thou shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a sheep. Stir up thy strength, O Lord, and come. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.

O Lord Jesus Christ, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise make ready your way, by turning the hearts of the disobedient toward the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world, we may be found a people acceptable in your sight; for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Guten Morgen ☕️💕wünsche euch einen besinnlichen
3. Adventssonntag 🎶🌸🌟🎄
🌟 Stille und Ruhe bringen die ganze Welt ins rechte Maß zurück 🌟
Laotse pic.twitter.com/biiZhj25He

— Renate Kleine (@RenateKleine) December 15, 2024

For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire, and darkness, and gloom, and a tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and a voice whose words made the hearers entreat that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less shall we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. His voice then shook the earth; but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heaven.” This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of what is shaken, as of what has been made, in order that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.

–Hebrews 12:18-29

Ladybird Artists Advent Calendar, window 15

Artist: CF Tunnicliffe
(What to Look for in Winter, 1959) pic.twitter.com/bInI8PVimS

— Helen Day (@LBFlyawayhome) December 15, 2024

Judge eternal, throned in splendor, who gavest Juan de la Cruz strength of purpose and mystical faith that sustained him even through the dark night of the soul: Shed thy light on all who love thee, in unity with Jesus Christ our Savior; who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Happy Feast Day of St John of the Cross.

Icon in Segovia, illustrating John’s Spiritual Canticle pic.twitter.com/FqrWnISoAB

— Audrey Hamilton (@AudieHamilton) December 14, 2024

Grant, O Lord, that we who once again prepare for the commemoration of the coming of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ, may so direct our hearts to the fulfillment of thy law, that he may now accept our hosannas, and in the life to come receive us in the heavenly Sion; where with thee and the Holy Ghost he liveth and reigneth, ever one God, world without end.

🌲 Ich wünsche allen einen
geruhsamen 2. ADVENT!🕯️🕯️ pic.twitter.com/tgDrltj0bx

— Christine Maria S. (@gitanasolcris) December 8, 2024

I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast drawn me up,
    and hast not let my foes rejoice over me.
 O Lord my God, I cried to thee for help,
    and thou hast healed me.
 O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from Sheol,
    restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.

–Psalm 30:1-3

Mon petit paradis des Alpes, Crans-Montana 🏔️☀️❄️💙🇨🇭#suisse #switzerland @valaiswallis @MySwitzerland_e @cransmontana pic.twitter.com/aLDCAWUgay

— Délèze Dominique (@DelezeD) December 14, 2024

“I know there are other bishops who felt the Archbishop of Canterbury should resign because I spoke to them in the days before,” [Bishop Helen-Ann] Hartley, 51, says. “So when I made the initial call, I fully expected one or two colleagues to come out and say, ‘we agree with the Bishop of Newcastle’. When, instead, there was this wall of silence, I was pretty exposed and did feel frozen out.

“I had a few private contacts, ‘hope you’re OK’, ‘just let me know if you want a cup of tea’, ‘thoughts and prayers’ but I really wanted colleagues — some colleagues at least — to speak out publicly to support my interventions.”

Confident, engaging and thoughtful, with a ready smile, Hartley confesses to feeling “a degree of vulnerability” after recent events. So much so that, in London this week to attend the House of Lords, she has been avoiding the Bishops’ robing room.

“I don’t feel able to go into the Bishops’ robing room at the moment on my own. You might say that’s an overreaction but I don’t feel confident enough to go into that room with colleagues present. So I’ve asked for my robes to be moved. And I’m really sad that’s the case but I have to look after myself in this too. I hope it’s temporary.”

Read it all (registration or subscription).

“The next archbishop has to … deal with the systemic issues of dysfunction both in the institution & its central capacity, but also in the House of Bishops in terms of cultures around power, privilege & entitlement that persist”https://t.co/9KKWui8SAe

— HouseofSurvivors (@HseofSurvivors) December 13, 2024

Noting that recent advances in artificial intelligence and the existence of large-scale experimental data about human biology have reached a critical mass, a team of researchers from Stanford University, Genentech, and the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative says that science has an “unprecedented opportunity” to use artificial intelligence (AI) to create the world’s first virtual human cell. Such a cell would be able to represent and simulate the precise behavior of human biomolecules, cells, and, eventually, tissues and organs. 

“Modeling human cells can be considered the holy grail of biology,” said Emma Lundberg, associate professor of bioengineering and of pathology in the schools of Engineering and Medicine at Stanford and a senior author of a new article in the journal Cell proposing a concerted, global effort to create the world’s first AI virtual cell. “AI offers the ability to learn directly from data and to move beyond assumptions and hunches to discover the emergent properties of complex biological systems.” 

Lundberg’s fellow senior authors include two Stanford colleagues, Stephen Quake, a professor of bioengineering and head of science at the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, and Jure Leskovec, a professor of computer science in the School of Engineering, as well as Theofanis Karaletsos, head of artificial intelligence for science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Aviv Regev executive vice president of research at Genentech.

Read it all.

Towards the #AI virtual cell, which would represent one the most extraordinary achievements in life sciencehttps://t.co/f4sLd0SBeB @CellCellPress @StephenQuake @czi @cziscience @_bunnech pic.twitter.com/xi5YNYyaQ7

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) December 12, 2024

God wants us to understand the depth and breadth of our transgressions against him and come face to face with the utter lostness of our plight. He wants us to own our sad and sorry situation, understanding that our sin offends him and that his wrath is upon us. That without Jesus we are held captive by the Enemy. 

I know what it’s like to be held captive by a sad and sorry situation. Decades ago, when a reckless dive left me paralyzed at the age of 17, my world went dark. My despair seemed like a bottomless pit. I was lost to life as I once knew it—riding horses, playing sports, and hiking through the beauty of God’s creation. But now? I felt enslaved by a life sentence of quadriplegia.   

Lying in the rehabilitation hospital after my injury, I wanted to end my life. Unable to do even that, I determined to end my life spiritually. I told my mother to shut the door and close the drapes. I wanted to shut out the light—shut out the whole world. I was lost. 

Only when we appreciate the fact that we are lost can we fully celebrate being found. Perhaps that’s why James says, “Grieve, mourn, and wail” over your sin and God “will lift you up” (4:9,10). 

Read it all.

Advent calls us out of our despair, writes Joni Eareckson Tada.

Sitting in the dark helps us truly appreciate the light.https://t.co/sZstQnGIQ9

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) December 12, 2024

A single cell.

A global business worth billions.

A trade that can bring rewards—or human costs that cannot be measured.

The human egg is a precious resource, exchanged in markets open, gray or black. To tell its story, we follow a teenage girl in India, lured into selling her eggs; a model in Argentina whose genetic makeup is prized; a mother in Greece, told by police that her eggs were stolen; and two “egg girls” from Taiwan who have put themselves at risk to earn money in the US.

Read it all.

Women around the world are increasingly part of a very human global supply chain.

In @BW investigation, we learned how they’re paid—and sometimes exploited—in the multibillion-dollar fertility industry. I made this key takeaways free to read:https://t.co/ax7Nco65xc

— Marika Katanuma (@marikakatanuma) December 13, 2024

Loving God, who for the salvation of all didst give Jesus Christ as light to a world in darkness: Illumine us, with thy daughter Lucy, with the light of Christ, that by the merits of his passion we may be led to eternal life; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit livest and reignest, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

'Tis the year's midnight, and it is the day's,
Lucy's, who scarce seven hours herself unmasks.'

Today is St Lucy's Day, which was once the date of the winter solstice – the saint of light in the darkest days of winter. This luminous medieval St Lucy is from Minster Lovell. pic.twitter.com/WxLDeJaxAC

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) December 13, 2024

O Heavenly Father, whose most dearly beloved Son has come once to save the world, and will come again to judge the world: Help us, we pray thee, to watch like servants who wait for the coming of their lord.  May we abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost; and, having this hope, may we purify ourselves by thy grace, even as Christ is pure.  Grant this, O Father, for his sake and for the glory of thy holy name.

☀️🍀Guten Morgen am Freitag, den 13. ☀️🍀
Es soll ein Glückstag für euch alle sein! pic.twitter.com/oDR8qpVyKV

— Brigitta Neurauter (@BrigittaNeurau2) December 13, 2024

‘But I trust in thee, O Lord,
I say, “Thou art my God.”
My times are in thy hand’

–Psalm 31:14-15a

Het zonnetje lijkt opnieuw achter de wolken te blijven. Fijne vrijdag🙂 #natuur #landschap #herfst #Wijkbijduurstede #Nederrijn #zonsopkomst #mooieluchten pic.twitter.com/DOajYlLL8s

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) December 13, 2024

The Church of England is facing “one of the biggest existential crises . . . since the Reformation”, in the wake of the Makin Review into abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Jonathan Gibbs, said on Tuesday.

Speaking after voting in favour of a diocesan synod motion that expressed no confidence in the Archbishops’ Council’s oversight of safeguarding (News, 10 December), he suggested that the lack of a national, pastoral response to the strength of emotion elicited by the report had been a “significant omission”.

“In many people’s views, and I think I would share it, this is one of the biggest existential crises that the Church of England has faced since the Reformation,” he said. “For that reason, I think there is a real need for what I would call a pastoral response, acknowledging that hurt and pain, particularly of victims and survivors, but that so many people are feeling.”

This was happening at a diocesan and local level, he said, but required a national response, too. “I think we are going through a period of collective trauma over this, above all for victims and survivors but also for the whole Church, and I think it’s a shame that there hasn’t been that broader response from the Archbishops’ Council.”

Read it all.

The Church of England is facing “one of the biggest existential crises . . . since the Reformation”, in the wake of the Makin Review into abuse perpetrated by John Smyth, the Bishop of Rochester, Dr Jonathan Gibbs, said on Tuesday https://t.co/NEXbzaYMoz

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) December 11, 2024

You may listen directly here

Or you may download it there.

Bacchiacca (1494 – 1557)
Saint John the Baptist in the Wilderness pic.twitter.com/6CXlpnuAiE

— Solas (@solas_na_greine) June 15, 2024

Now that Mr Assad has fled to Moscow, the question is where will liberation lead. In a part of the world plagued by ethnic violence and religious strife, many fear the worst. The Arab spring in 2010-12 taught that countries which topple their dictators often end up being fought over or dominated by men who are no less despotic. That is all the more reason to wish and work for something better in Syria.

There is no denying that many forces are conspiring to drag the country into further bloodshed. Syria is a mosaic of peoples and faiths carved out of the Ottoman empire. They have never lived side by side in a stable democracy. The Assads belong to the Alawite minority, which makes up about 10-15% of the population. For decades, they imposed a broadly secular settlement on Syrian society using violence.

Syria’s people have many reasons to seek vengeance. After 13 years of civil war in a country crammed with weapons, some factions will want to settle scores; so will some bad and dangerous men just released from prison. Under the Assads’ henchmen, many of them Alawite and Shia, Sunnis suffered acts of heinous cruelty, including being gassed by chlorine and a nerve agent.

Syria’s new powerbrokers are hardly men of peace. Take the dominant faction in the recent advance. Until 2016 Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was known as Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda. Its founder, Ahmad al-Sharaa, had fought the Americans as a member of Islamic State (IS) in Iraq under the nom de guerre Abu Muhammad al-Jolani. HTS and Mr Sharaa swear they have left those days behind. If, amid the chaos, such groups set out to impose rigid Islamic rule, foreign countries, possibly including the United Arab Emirates, will bankroll other groups to take up arms against them.

Read it all (registration or subscription).

The fall of a tyrant must be celebrated. And while Syria faces great uncertainty, a nation exhausted by war could yet choose the long road towards peace. Here is how https://t.co/RMkRxpiWW8 pic.twitter.com/nWqNYtt8Nx

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) December 12, 2024

The US bid to lead the world in artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing is facing a critical hurdle: a shortage of development-ready industrial sites.

Nearly two-thirds of the people involved in securing US industrial sites cited their scarcity as the top factor impeding new projects, in a 2024 survey by the Site Selector’s Guild. And 87 per cent of respondents said resource shortages — including a lack of land, labour and utilities — had affected or compromised project timelines.

“It’s absolutely crazy,” says Josh Bays, a principal at Site Selection Group, which helps companies find US locations. “Most of the low-hanging fruit’s been picked over.” 

Read it all.

US aim to lead on AI threatened by land shortage via @FT
https://t.co/I9nJTyJXnT

— Amb Antonio Garza (@aogarza) December 12, 2024

Most Gracious God, who hast bidden us to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before thee; Teach us, like thy servants Francis and Jane, to see and to serve Christ in all people; that we may know him to be the giver of all good things, through the same, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Here is Saint Francis de Sales to begin the day. pic.twitter.com/2rdoEWITkR

— Brant Law (@Mr_BLaw) December 5, 2024

O God, by whose command the order of time runs its course: Forgive, we pray thee, the impatience of our hearts; make perfect that which is lacking in our faith; and, while we tarry the fulfillment of thy promises, grant us to have a good hope because of thy word; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Winter Morning pic.twitter.com/FpFUK364rp

— PᴇʙʙʟᴇS (@merakime) December 12, 2024

In the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham, son of Uzzi′ah, king of Judah, Rezin the king of Syria and Pekah the son of Remali′ah the king of Israel came up to Jerusalem to wage war against it, but they could not conquer it. When the house of David was told, “Syria is in league with E′phraim,” his heart and the heart of his people shook as the trees of the forest shake before the wind.

And the Lord said to Isaiah, “Go forth to meet Ahaz, you and She′ar-jash′ub your son, at the end of the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Fuller’s Field, and say to him, ‘Take heed, be quiet, do not fear, and do not let your heart be faint because of these two smoldering stumps of firebrands, at the fierce anger of Rezin and Syria and the son of Remali′ah. Because Syria, with E′phraim and the son of Remali′ah, has devised evil against you, saying, “Let us go up against Judah and terrify it, and let us conquer it for ourselves, and set up the son of Ta′be-el as king in the midst of it,” thus says the Lord God:

It shall not stand,
    and it shall not come to pass.
For the head of Syria is Damascus,
    and the head of Damascus is Rezin.

(Within sixty-five years E′phraim will be broken to pieces so that it will no longer be a people.)

And the head of E′phraim is Samar′ia,
    and the head of Samar′ia is the son of Remali′ah.
If you will not believe,
    surely you shall not be established.’”

–Isaiah 7:1-9

The wings of a European Bee-eater…

📍@AkageraPark in #Rwanda #RwOX pic.twitter.com/X0gdbYWrTf

— Will Wilson (@2wsphotography) December 12, 2024

Christians are not alone in valuing life; many Jews, Muslims, and other people of goodwill also affirm the intrinsic goodness of human life. But there is a distinctly Christian conviction at work here, and it is bedrock to our faith: Every human being, from conception to death, is created by God, loved by him, and stands under his protection. 

The claim that innocent human life is inviolable is not primarily a claim about us humans, then, but about our Creator. To murder (or torture or enslave, as the church father Gregory of Nyssa saw as early as the fourth century) is to trespass without authority, to assert rights where one has none. It is to unsay God’s “very good” spoken over a fellow creature, to reject and despise a man or woman whom the Lord has brought into being and for whom Christ died. Inviolability is the upshot of our creation in the divine image. 

Unlike many topics in theology and ethics, this is not an issue on which the church has ever been ambiguous. There were no early church councils to debate the taking of innocent life. It didn’t take centuries of conflict to adjudicate. On the contrary, Christians were known from the start for their adamant rejection of pagan disrespect for those unwanted by their families or deemed socially useless—the unborn and newborn, disabled and elderly. 

Read it all.

Why do Christians oppose euthanasia?

Brad East’s answer:https://t.co/cviFstiPVB

— Christianity Today (@CTmagazine) December 11, 2024

A sponge made of cotton and squid bone that has absorbed about 99.9% of microplastics in water samples in China could provide an elusive answer to ubiquitous microplastic pollution in water across the globe, a new report suggests.

Just as importantly, the filter’s production appears to be scalable, the University of Wuhan study authors said in the paper, which was peer-reviewed and published in the journal Science Advances. That would address a problem that has stymied the use of previous microplastic filtration systems that were successful in controlled settings, but could not be scaled up.

If it is successfully deployed on a larger scale in forthcoming research, the filter could change the course of one of the world’s most serious public health crises.

“Microplastic remediation in aquatic bodies is essential for the entire ecosystem, but is challenging to achieve with a universal and efficient strategy,” the study’ authors wrote in the paper.

Read it all.

Cotton-and-squid-bone sponge can soak up 99.9% of microplastics, scientists say | Tom Perkins, The Guardian

Filter performs well in removing plastic pollution from water and Chinese researchers say it appears to be scalable

A sponge made of cotton and squid bone that has… pic.twitter.com/9mgNXypg36

— Owen Gregorian (@OwenGregorian) December 11, 2024

In a glass-walled conference room in San Francisco, Newton Cheng clicked a button on his laptop and launched a thousand copies of an artificial intelligence program, each with specific instructions: Hack into a computer or website to steal data.

“It’s looking at the source code,” Cheng said as he examined one of the copies in action. “It’s trying to figure out, where’s the vulnerability? How can we take advantage of it?” Within minutes, the AI said the hack was successful. 

“Our approach worked perfectly,” it reported back.

Cheng works for Anthropic, one of the biggest AI startups in Silicon Valley, where he’s in charge of cybersecurity testing for what’s called the Frontier Red Team. The hacking attempts—conducted on simulated targets—were among thousands of safety tests, or “evals,” the team ran in October to find out just how good Anthropic’s latest AI model is at doing very dangerous things.

The release of ChatGPT two years ago set off fears that AI could soon be capable of surpassing human intellect—and with that capability comes the potential to cause superhuman harm. Could terrorists use an AI model to learn how to build a bioweapon that kills a million people? Could hackers use it to run millions of simultaneous cyberattacks? Could the AI reprogram and even reproduce itself?

Read it all.

Meet the "Frontier Red Team" at Anthropic, trying to push their latest AI models to do catastrophic things — in order to stop them before it's too late: https://t.co/HBqGx58Vfd via @WSJ

— Sam Schechner (@samschech) December 11, 2024

Ordained in 1989, David began his ministry as a curate in Ecclesall, Sheffield Diocese. He was a priest in Dore before being appointed Rural Dean of Ecclesall in 1997. In 2002 he became the vicar of Christ Church in Winchester and was made an honorary canon of Winchester Cathedral in 2012.

On his appointment, David said: “I can’t tell you how excited I am to be coming to the Diocese of Truro. It’s been an astonishing journey, enriched by so many people I’ve met on the way, people who clearly have been praying; people who’ve been seeking wisdom for the future of the church in Cornwall.

“What a remarkable place this is! I’ve worked in and visited Cornwall many times over the last 30 years and each time have come back feeling refreshed and renewed – both spiritually and physically.

Read it all.

"I am, at heart, a parish priest. I want to continue working for the flourishing of local churches. The local church is vital to a local community."

Rt Rev David Williams has been announced as the 17th Bishop of Truro.

Read more at https://t.co/OInxVZN8xO.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) December 11, 2024

Almighty God, our sure defense: We give thee thanks for thy servant Frederick Howden Jr. and all military chaplains who provided comfort and inspiration in time of battle; and, following the example of Jesus the Good Shepherd, laid down their lives in the service of others. Inspire and strengthen us, also, for the duties of life still before us, that we may be faithful to the end; through the same Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Today the Episcopal Church commemorates Frederick Howden, Jr., Priest and Chaplain of the Armed Forces, 1942 https://t.co/s2tLUovdkP

Photo courtesy of https://t.co/KplMBQE1V4 / The Names Project, via https://t.co/o8XiuXBT2W pic.twitter.com/SsjOOAfNKO

— The Anglican Church in St Petersburg (@anglicanspb) December 11, 2023

O great and glorious God, holy and immortal, who searches out the policies of nations and tries the hearts of men: Come, we pray thee, in judgment, upon the nations of the world; come and bring to destruction all that is contrary to thy holy will for mankind, and cause the counsels of the wicked to perish.  Come, O Lord, into our hearts, and root out from them that thou seest, and we cannot see, to be unlike the Spirit of thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Guten Morgen ☕️💕 wünsche allen einen attraktiven Tag 🎄🌟
🌟 Der namensgebende Fluss Düssel in der Altstadt von Düsseldorf 🌟 pic.twitter.com/XbzhkN2tT4

— Renate Kleine (@RenateKleine) December 11, 2024

In the year that King Uzzi′ah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim; each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

Then flew one of the seraphim to me, having in his hand a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin forgiven.” And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here am I! Send me.”

–Isaiah 6:1-8

Always look back – another moment of sunrise magic – have a Wednesday, friends #ScotlandisNow #StormHour #photography #photooftheday #landscape #OutAndAboutScotland #landscapephotography @VisitScotland @ScotsMagazine #friend0s #ThePhotoHour #STVSnaps #beautiful #sunrise pic.twitter.com/hjg1ycHFiU

— Mike Wood (@MikeMikwd) December 11, 2024

Fr Luke is currently the Archdeacon of Chichester.  He trained for ministry at the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield.  He served his title at Abertillery with Cwmtillery and Six Bells, Monmouth and, in 2000, was ordained Priest. In 2001 Luke was appointed Minor Canon at St Woolos Cathedral, Newport. From 2003 he served as Rector of St Dunstan with Holy Angels, Cranford, in the Diocese of London and, in 2008, was appointed Vicar of St Gabriel, Pimlico. From 2013 Luke served as Priest-in-Charge and then Rector of Christ Church, St Mary Magdalen and St Peter & St Paul, St Leonards on Sea in the Diocese of Chichester, serving in addition as Priest-in-Charge of St Clement and All Saints, Hastings. In 2019 he took up his current role as Archdeacon of Chichester.

Read it all.

“I am deeply humbled to have been called to serve as the next Bishop of Richborough."

Chichester Archdeacon Luke Irvine-Capel will be the new Suffragan Bishop of Richborough, succeeding Bishop Norman Banks.

Read more at https://t.co/Xm4nAne2SV.

— The Church of England (@churchofengland) December 10, 2024

From the American West to eastern China, more than three-quarters of Earth’s land became persistently drier in recent decades, according to a new United Nations report that called the shift a “global, existential peril.”

Industrial emissions of planet-warming gases were a major culprit, the report said. If nations don’t stop the rise in temperatures, the drying is likely to expose more places to sand and dust storms, wildfires, water shortages, crop failures and desertification.

The report was released on Monday at a U.N. summit taking place this month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where nations are discussing how to stop more habitable surfaces from turning into barren wastelands.

Nearly one in three people live in moisture-deprived areas, up from one in five in 1990, the report said.

Read it all.

Three-Quarters of Earth’s Land Got Drier in Recent Decades, U.N. Says. Human-caused global warming helped increase dry conditions on every continent, scientists said in a new report, as talks on halting desertification were underway in Saudi Arabia. https://t.co/5tA08aJuun

— Andrew Hoffman (@HoffmanAndy) December 9, 2024

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

Karl Barth: 'The fact that God is revealed to us is then grace. Grace is the majesty, the freedom, the undeservedness, the unexpectedness, the newness, the arbitrariness, in which the relationship to God+therefore the possibility of knowing Him is opened up to man by God Himself' pic.twitter.com/wJEVQ3e1oQ

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) August 18, 2021