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(Church Times) Security taking priority over poverty, USPG conference hears

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.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, - Anglican: Latest News, Ethics / Moral Theology, Mexico, Poverty, Sports

(First Things) Jonathon Van Maren–When Eugenics Goes Viral

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.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, Anthropology, Children, Death / Burial / Funerals, Ethics / Moral Theology, Health & Medicine, Life Ethics, Marriage & Family, Pastoral Theology, Theology

(Telegraph) The terrifying rise of schoolboys making AI girlfriends

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).

Posted in Anthropology, Ethics / Moral Theology, Pastoral Theology, Psychology, Science & Technology, Teens / Youth

Roland Allen in his own words on Mission and Saint Paul

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

Posted in Books, Church History, Missions, Theology: Scripture

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Roland Allen

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.

Posted in Church History, Evangelism and Church Growth, Missions, Spirituality/Prayer

A prayer for the day from the Church of England

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.

Posted in Uncategorized

From the Morning Scripture Readings

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

Posted in Theology: Scripture

A prayer for the day from the ACNA prayerbook

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.

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Scripture Readings

“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

Posted in Theology: Scripture

Remembering D-Day–Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s D-Day Prayer on June 6, 1944

“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.

Posted in America/U.S.A., Australia / NZ, Canada, France, History, Military / Armed Forces, Office of the President, Spirituality/Prayer

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Ini Kopuria

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.

Posted in Anglican Church of Melanesia, Church History, Spirituality/Prayer

A doxology from Thomas Ken to begin the day

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.

Posted in Liturgy, Music, Worship, Spirituality/Prayer, The Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

From the Morning Bible Readings

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



Posted in Theology: Scripture

(Church Times) Andrew Davison on the phrase ‘In Jesus Christ, our Lord’ in the creed

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.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, Christology, Theology, Theology: Scripture

(RU) Richard Ostling–Chatbots And The Soul: Has AI Transformed Religion?

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.

Posted in Religion & Culture, Science & Technology

(PC) John Lennox: The world’s foremost Christian apologist on the story he almost never told

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.

Posted in Apologetics, Theology

(ACNA) ACNA College of Bishops Unanimously Approves Episcopal Election Customary

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.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, - Anglican: Latest News, Anglican Church in North America (ACNA)

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Saint Boniface

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.

Posted in Church History, England / UK, Spirituality/Prayer

A prayer for the day from the Euchologium Anglicanum

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.

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer, The Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

From the Morning Bible Readings

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

Posted in Theology: Scripture

(Church Times) Regulate new funerary methods, Law Commission recommends

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.

Posted in Church of England, Death / Burial / Funerals, England / UK, Ethics / Moral Theology, Parish Ministry

(WSJ) Phoenix Is a Data-Center Mecca—and Test Case for How to Pay for AI’s Power Needs

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.

Posted in America/U.S.A., City Government, Corporations/Corporate Life, Energy, Natural Resources, Politics in General, Science & Technology, Urban/City Life and Issues

(Economist Cover) How to fight back against Gen-Z socialism

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.

Read it all.

Posted in * Economics, Politics, Economy, Ethics / Moral Theology, Globalization

(CT) It Takes a System–African mission hospitals prove their value for kingdom work

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.

Read it all.

Posted in Africa, Health & Medicine, Malawi, Missions, Religion & Culture, Theology: Evangelism & Mission

A Prayer for the Feast Day of John XXIII

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.

Posted in Church History, Spirituality/Prayer

A prayer for the day from Saint Hillary of Poitiers

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.

Posted in Spirituality/Prayer, The Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit

From the morning Bible Readings

Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to the sons of men that God is testing them to show them that they are but beasts. For the fate of the sons of men and the fate of beasts is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and man has no advantage over the beasts; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from the dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the spirit of man goes upward and the spirit of the beast goes down to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that a man should enjoy his work, for that is his lot; who can bring him to see what will be after him?

–Ecclesiastes 3:16-22

Posted in Theology: Scripture

ACNA announces Appointment of Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Funmi Ojetayo in the Proceedings Concerning Archbishop Stephen D. Wood

[Mr Funmi Ojetayo’s] professional experience includes senior legal positions with Florida A&M University, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and the Florida Department of Management Services. As Deputy General Counsel for the Department of Management Services, he led the agency’s litigation function and provided counsel on significant legal matters. He currently serves as a Partner at Allen, Norton & Blue, P.A., in Tallahassee, Florida, where his practice focuses on labor and employment litigation and appellate advocacy.

In addition to his legal training, Mr. Ojetayo holds a Master of Divinity degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He completed his pastoral residency at Incarnation Anglican Church in Tallahassee in 2022 and currently serves as Discipleship Pastor at Four Oaks Church East.

While under consideration for the appointment, Mr. Ojetayo disclosed that he has a brother who serves as a rector within Bishop Julian Dobbs’ diocese. As Mr. Ojetayo has no personal involvement in the matters under review, and his appointment is based on his professional qualifications and experience, the province deemed this not to be a conflict of interest.  

Read it all.

Posted in America/U.S.A., Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), Ethics / Moral Theology, Law & Legal Issues, Ministry of the Ordained, Pastoral Theology, Religion & Culture, Women

(Church Times) Changemakers conference in Norfolk explores ‘reimagining rural churches

Success had hinged on the churchwarden at the time — Nigel Boldero, an “absolute force of nature” with a background in project delivery, Mr Whitehead said. There was now a “greater expectation of professionalism” from the Lottery, he said, which could pose challenges — given skills shortages in some areas.

Mr Whitehead said that the Community Changemarkers conference had conveyed “a real sense of optimism, of hope”. He continued: “I feel really strongly that there is value in the small, value in these rural places, which might not be measurable in terms of numbers of people in church on a Sunday, but is measurable in the depth of commitment people have to tending their churchyards, to giving money to restoring the tower or the clock, or whatever it might be.”

There was, he said, a tendency to look down on, or make fun of, the rural. “We get Dibleyfied, basically,” he said. “I think there is life in the rural church, and I think, where you can find it and you can spread it, that that kind of thing is infectious.”

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Posted in Church of England (CoE), Parish Ministry

(CT) Thomas Kidd–Adoniram Judson: Enduring All Things for the Gospel

doniram and Ann Judson were among the first formally commissioned American missionaries. Arriving in Burma (today’s Myanmar) in 1813, the Judsons labored for six years before they saw anyone convert to Christianity. Determined and diligent, they made extraordinary progress in learning native languages. Then, 11 years into their Burmese ministry, the Judsons’ world collapsed.

In 1824, long-simmering tensions between the British Empire and the Burmese king exploded in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). The Judsons themselves sometimes had a difficult relationship with British authorities in South Asia. But in 1824, all English speakers in Burma fell under suspicion as possible spies. Judson knew plenty of British diplomats and merchants, but he was no spy.

Burmese authorities did not believe him. On June 8, 1824, police in the royal city of Ava arrested Judson, marched him to a judge, and convicted him without a trial. The Burmese committed him to the “death prison,” a small, dank building with about a hundred prisoners. The death prison had little ventilation and teemed with rats, roaches, and rotten smells.

During the day the prisoners languished in chains, but at night their captors devised additional means of preventing escape. These measures amounted to unremitting torture. Jailers passed a long bamboo stick between Judson’s legs and those of a lineup of prisoners. They chained the prisoners’ legs to the pole and lifted their bodies in the air, while the men’s shoulders remained on the ground. They left them in that excruciating position all night. Ann frantically sought to secure Judson’s release, but he remained in prison for 17 months.

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Posted in Church History, Missions, Myanmar/Burma