Parish-church and cathedral choirs are among the beneficiaries of the £438,955 awarded by the Cathedral Music Trust this year.

Among the 27 grants is a Church Choir Award of £8,655 to establish a junior training choir at Lancaster Priory as an “inclusive, high-quality pathway to choristership”; £4,000 to provide singing tuition to choristers at Kendal Parish Church; £3,800 to launch a new junior choir at Holy Trinity, Stratford upon Avon; and £3,700 to enable Halifax Minster to launch a schools singing programme.

Twelve Anglican cathedrals in England and Wales have received awards, several of which will support the salaries of musicians; these include assistant directors of music at Truro, Chelmsford, and Wakefield, and lay clerks at Bradford, Newcastle, and Coventry. Llandaff Cathedral was awarded £22,350 to provide vocal coaching and theory tuition for cathedral choristers, and targeted vocal development for back row singers.

Read it all.

Parish-church choirs are among the beneficiaries of the £438,955 awarded by the Cathedral Music Trust this year. #ChurchNews #ChurchTimes @_cathedralmusic https://t.co/NULMuRHxLp

— Church Times (@ChurchTimes) September 15, 2026

In its latest (fourth) report on AI “misuse”—more essential reading—Anthropic revealed that its most popular models (Claude Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus) are being, or have recently been, misused by a variety of Generative Threat Groups (GTGs) in “seven harm areas: cyber operations, influence operations, surveillance, scams and fraud, biological misuse, conventional weapons development, and distillation.” In each case, AI was making bad human behavior much more effective, until Anthropic spotted what was going on.

The interesting thing is who out there is up to no good. GTG-20006 (Anthropic gives each case a number) was the inevitable Russians, “attacking military intelligence targets in Ukrainian and European governments as well as diplomatic and defense organizations and individuals connected to U.S. foreign policy.” Putin and his little green men have been doing this kind of thing for years, of course. But AI makes the mobile exploitation kit, the credential-stealing tool, and the phishing platform all work better and faster as well as helping evade detection.

I have long shared the view articulated by Gregory Conti, a professor of politics at Princeton, that “even if AI does not end life on Earth, it will destroy our way of life”.…..To understand why Conti is right, you need to grasp the four forces inexorably driving p(Doom) upward above 10 percent: Recursive self-improvement, The unscrupulousness of Sam Altman, The complete confusion in Washington, The utter cynicism in Beijing.

Read it all.

Niall Ferguson: AIpocalypse Now
It’s not just the next 9/11, enabled by AI, that is coming. It’s the next global financial crisis. It’s the next pandemic. It might even be the next world war. What, if anything, can we do about it? https://t.co/DRLqpVxqKF

— Juan Carlos Zapata S. (@jczapata_s) September 14, 2026

For most of modern history, the household was a bundle. Under one roof, families pooled rent and meals, raised children, cared for parents, kept each other company and insured one another against bad luck. Nobody itemized it, and national accounts barely noticed.

Across East Asia, that arrangement is coming apart, and one line item after another has turned into something you pay for. The loneliness economy is the usual name for the result; the unbundling of the family household is the more accurate one.

In South Korea, single-person households are now 36% of the total, the largest category. Japan was at 38% in 2020 and is expected to reach 44% by 2050; Tokyo is already past half.

China’s 2020 census found 125 million people living alone, equal to one in four households. Fertility has fallen in step. South Korea’s rate is 0.80, Hong Kong’s is 0.84 and Taiwan’s births fell 20% in 2025 alone.

The money has followed. Discovery Reports, a Chinese research firm, puts spending by singles in China at more than US$1 trillion in 2025, up about 50% in two years. The “silver economy” serving the elderly is expected to reach 30 trillion yuan, about $4 trillion, by 2035. Pop Mart, the toymaker behind Labubu, reported $5.4 billion in revenue last year, up 185%.

Read it all.

#Asia’s $1 trillion singles economy is not simply a demographic crisis or a retail boom. Much of it reflects family functions becoming paid services, while care, emergency support and social insurance remain stubbornly hard to unbundle. #LonelinessEconomyhttps://t.co/ufYz5N1MdD

— Asia Times (@asiatimesonline) September 14, 2026

Peter Green’s translation of the Odyssey keeps Homer’s repeated epithets and formulaic phrases fully intact. Achilles remains “swift-footed” whether he is fighting or sitting in his tent. Green’s English is plain and meant to be read aloud; he preserves the repeated epithets and formulaic phrases precisely because the repetition itself is part of the point. Read Green and you will hear “wine-dark sea” and “rosy-fingered dawn” exactly as Homer repeated them. 

Robert Fagles took the opposite approach. Uncomfortable with straight repetition, he worked to make the epithets contribute to the drama of each moment. Where Homer has Hector carry his “shining helmet” unchanged from line to line, Fagles makes the helmet flash repeatedly, until the device starts to feel more like a cinematic lighting effect than a Homeric formula.  

More recently, Emily Wilson made the choice consciously rather than instinctively. She explained to the Chicago Review of Books that repetition means something different depending on who is listening: in Homer’s oral culture, repetition signaled that something is important and worth listening to and remembering. Back in 2017 she shared in that same interview her belief that in a literate culture like ours, the same repetition reads instead as unimportant, something to skip. She therefore chose to preserve the feeling of Homer’s repetition through variation, rather than reproduce the exact words. Dawn still appears as often as she does in the Greek, and each appearance keeps the recurring imagery of roses, flowers, pinkness, fingers, and newness, but the phrasing changes from occurrence to occurrence. 

Wilson has since reconsidered that decision. After finishing her Iliad and living longer with the Homeric material, she returned to the Odyssey and began an entirely new translation. In a March 2026 talk at the University of Iowa titled “Realms of Gold: Re-translating Homer in the Twenty-First Century,” and in subsequent interviews, she has said that her experience has changed her understanding of repetition: she now sees more clearly how repeated phrases create patterns across the poem and help readers recognize connections between scenes. She is allowing herself more lines and syllables than in the first version precisely so that more of those repetitive elements can remain. The fact that she is willing to redo one of the most successful and widely read translations of the last decade because of this shift is rare and revealing. 

Read it all.

Homer Against the Attention Economy – Public Discourse
https://t.co/X74jw8MZ7O

— rogueclassicist ~ david meadows (@rogueclassicist) September 11, 2026

Gracious God, reveal to thy church the depths of thy love; that, like thy servant Catherine of Genoa, we might give ourselves in loving service, knowing that we have been perfectly loved by thee; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

"Everything comes from love,
all is ordained for the salvation of man,
God does nothing without this goal in mind."

– St. Catherine of Siena pic.twitter.com/JcCOAggoYX

— ‘The Warning’ (@jainelsonwinck) September 13, 2026

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

Guten Morgen ☕☕☕ pic.twitter.com/Vl0gNwPrD3

— Die Kellner's (@andreas_kellner) September 15, 2026

Let me dwell in thy tent for ever!
    Oh to be safe under the shelter of thy wings!Selah
For thou, O God, hast heard my vows,
    thou hast given me the heritage of those who fear thy name.

–Psalm 61:4-5

Met wat kleurtinten sloot de dag mooi af. Fijne dinsdag😀 #zonsondergang pic.twitter.com/iLG7NNyM5z

— Tjark Dieterman (@DietermanTjark) September 15, 2026

The Prime Minister has pledged to change what he calls the “unacceptable” law that prohibits Roman Catholic and Jewish Prime Ministers from advising the Crown on ecclesiastical appointments.

In a statement to the House of Commons on Thursday of last week, Andy Burnham, who is the first Prime Minister to be a Roman Catholic on taking office (News, 4 September), said that the restrictions were an “antiquated and archaic anomaly”.

The “restrictions set out in the Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 and the Jews Relief Act 1858 prevent persons professing the Roman Catholic and Jewish faiths only from advising the Sovereign on appointments to the Church of England and Church of Scotland”, he said.

As such, Mr Burnham had transferred his constitutional responsibility for advising the Sovereign on church appointments to the Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Alex Norris.

Read it all.

EXC: Legislation to remove the constitutional bar on Catholics advising the King on Church of England appointments being introduced in the Commons tomorrow

It’s our first Catholic prime minister’s first billhttps://t.co/ojXo0L6Yuv

— Patrick Maguire (@patrickkmaguire) September 14, 2026

MPs have voted against proposals to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, bringing the latest effort to change the law to an end.

Following a debate in which both sides made emotional speeches, the House of Commons voted 286 to 270 – a majority of 16 – against the proposed legislation.

The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill would have allowed adults with fewer than six months to live to apply to be given help to end their own life, subject to certain safeguards.

A similar bill in the last parliamentary session was supported by MPs before stalling in the House of Lords. The decision from MPs on Friday rules out the prospect of changes to the law on assisted dying in the short term.

Read it all.

The assisted suicide Bill is dead. After two years of debate, MPs have rejected it by 286 votes to 270.

A victory for vulnerable people — and a reminder that bad legislation becomes harder to defend the more closely it is scrutinised, writes @AdamPollockhttps://t.co/d7JZTQ5iiU

— The Critic (@TheCriticMag) September 12, 2026

Among the growing fears about artificial intelligence, one threat has proved particularly alarming: the possibility that A.I. could be used to create a new wave of biological weapons.

In April, biosecurity experts warned that it was disturbingly easy to get advice from chatbots about making pathogens more dangerous. In June, scientists and A.I. executives signed an open letter calling for new controls on the fabrication of DNA because A.I. can now speed up the design of toxins and viruses.

In August, scientists reported that they had used A.I. to build viruses not seen in nature. And on Thursday, Anthropic announced that it had blocked several attempts to use its models by people who might have been trying to weaponize pathogens.

Dario Amodei, the chief executive of Anthropic, followed up with a call on Saturday to slow down the development of A.I., with a set of proposals to keep it safe.

Read it all.

A.I. Queries From Abroad Raise Fears of a Biological Weapons Race
Today’s chatbots aren’t likely to help lone actors invent a deadly pathogen, experts say. But newer models, trained in biology, may need stronger safeguardshttps://t.co/x3XhW9s4ph

— Emily Turrettini (@textually) September 14, 2026

The trial of Archbishop Steven Wood concluded September 11, 2026, following five days of testimony from 38 witnesses. The Court expects the process of reviewing the transcript, receiving submissions, and deliberating could take up to 101 days, with an opinion due no later than December 21, 2026. The Court’s full statement is here.

The story keeps getting messier and messier and the questions about ACNA leadership keep multiplying–“The ACNA officially communicated a false narrative about our efforts, stating repeatedly that we had not approached any bishops but went directly to the media. Bishops who knew…

— Kendall Harmon (@KendallHarmon6) November 8, 2025

Today is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (‘Holyrood day in harvest’, as it was sometimes called in the Middle Ages), so here’s a fourteenth-century translation of the Crux Fidelis, a verse of the sixth-century hymn Pange Lingua:

Steddefast Crosse, inmong alle other,
Thou art a tree mikel of prise;
In brawnche and flore swilk another
I ne wot non in wood no ris.
Swete be the nalis, and swete be the tree,
And sweter be the birdin that hangis upon thee.

That is:

Steadfast cross, among all others
Thou art a tree great of price;
In branch and flower such another
I know not of, in wood nor copse.
Sweet be the nails, and sweet be the tree,
And sweeter be the burden that hangs upon thee.

From the Latin:

Crux fidelis, inter omnes arbor una nobilis:
nulla silva talem profert,
fronde, flore, germine.
Dulce lignum, dulces clavos,
dulce pondus sustinet.

This verse is used in the liturgy several times through the course of the year, and at different seasons its poetry will resonate in subtly different ways. This tree is like no other, and it bears at once both flower and fruit; what kind of tree you picture as you sing this verse will depend on what your eyes are seeing in the world around you. The hymn is sung in the spring, on Good Friday and at the cross’ first feast in May, and at that time of year the image of a flowering tree evokes blossom and the spring of new life; and it’s sung again at this feast in the autumn, when trees are laden with fruit (their own ‘burden’), and the image instead speaks of fruitfulness, sustenance, the abundance of divine gift. 

Read it all.

14 September is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, once known as 'Holyrood Day in harvest'. As summer moves into autumn, this festival extols a holy tree, bearing the fruit of life, standing steadfast at the still point of the turning world. https://t.co/4GPLwUH3hE pic.twitter.com/rGuc7yPzLd

— Eleanor Parker (@ClerkofOxford) September 14, 2026

Almighty God,
who in the passion of your blessed Son
made an instrument of painful death
to be for us the means of life and peace:
grant us so to glory in the cross of Christ
that we may gladly suffer for his sake;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Today marks the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. https://t.co/Tlt2oBqV6L pic.twitter.com/vinTowag3p

— Church in Poland (@ChurchInPoland) September 14, 2026

And after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Come, let us return and visit the brethren in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are.” And Barnabas wanted to take with them John called Mark. But Paul thought best not to take with them one who had withdrawn from them in Pamphyl′ia, and had not gone with them to the work. And there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other; Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. And he went through Syria and Cili′cia, strengthening the churches.

And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was a Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren at Lystra and Ico′nium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews that were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions which had been reached by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they increased in numbers daily.

–Acts 15:36-16:5

Today is #HolyCrossDay, when we celebrate the cross as an instrument of salvation.

Everyone is welcome to join us in the Abbey at 5pm for Evensong with music by Sumsion and Pärt.

Find out more about worshipping with us: https://t.co/rBMbYsebRn pic.twitter.com/qMYrbu8k7J

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) September 14, 2026

God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit
upon your Church in the burning fire of your love:
grant that your people may be fervent
in the fellowship of the gospel
that, always abiding in you,
they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service;
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.

Tower of St. Peter’s, dating back to 13th century
Braunstone, Rutland pic.twitter.com/o9mYkiTqCx

— Zara Handley (@zarahandley) September 13, 2026

Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
Who is the King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle!
Lift up your heads, O gates! and be lifted up, O ancient doors! that the King of glory may come in.
Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory!

–Psalm 24:7-10

Guten Morgen und einen schönen Sonntag ☕️ pic.twitter.com/fPt18nh67n

— Renate Umundum (@RUmundum) September 13, 2026

O Lord, our heavenly Father, by Whose providence the duties of men are variously ordered: grant to us all such a spirit that we may labour heartily to do our work in our several stations, as serving one Master and looking for one reward.  Teach us to put to good account whatever talents Thou hast lent to us; help us to overcome all sloth and indolence; and enable us to redeem our time by zeal and patience; through Thy Son, our Saviour.     

–Frederick B. Macnutt, The prayer manual for private devotions or public use on divers occasions: Compiled from all sources ancient, medieval, and modern (A.R. Mowbray, 1951)

St. Paul’s Church at Jarrow in Northumberland. The chancel is Anglo-Saxon in date, and formed part of the double monastery of Wearmouth-Jarrow founded by Benedict Biscop during the C7th, and also home to the Venerable Bede. 📸 My own. #SteepleSaturday #Jarrow #Northumberland pic.twitter.com/jJSa71NoeZ

— Kevin Wilbraham (@KPW1453) September 12, 2026

Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind:

“Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?
Gird up your loins like a man,
I will question you, and you shall declare to me.

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

“Or who shut in the sea with doors,
when it burst forth from the womb;
when I made clouds its garment,
and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed bounds for it,
and set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,
and here shall your proud waves be stayed’?

–Job 38:1-11

#Sunrise on Saturday over the Potomac River! @capitalweather @StormHour pic.twitter.com/6eEmWmxFlk

— Jeanne Stuart McVey (@RiverGirl707) September 12, 2026

The Man Behind the Red Bandana from Drew Gallagher on Vimeo.

From there:

I got up and turned on the TV, and there was just this big black hole in the World Trade Center. And there was just smoke billowing out of it. I called my sister Cathy I said, “You might wanna wake up, turn in your TV and take a look at what they’re showing.” The commentator’s saying that it’s an American Airlines plane. And I casually asked Cathy, I said, “Do you know where Betty is?” And she says, “Betty’s supposed to be flying out of Boston.” And I said, “Do you think Betty is on that plane?” We just didn’t know. So I left a phone call on her cellphone, just asking her when she’s landed or anywhere you’re on the ground, to just give us a call and tell us you’re okay. And there was no call from Betty. I called American Airlines, and it was only then that it was confirmed that Betty was on the flight.

I just want to add, through your passing, Betty, our family’s gotten very very close. Dad, who’s quite stoic, doesn’t really say a whole lot, man of the family, one day told us that he cries himself to sleep. Even to this day, he just keeps staying up watching TV, hoping somehow that you’ll reappear. And we’re all still waiting for that phone call from you to tell us that you’re okay. We just miss you a whole lot.

You may find the transcript of Betty Ong’s conversation reporting the hijacking from the American airlines plane here.

Every year on 9/11 I take the kids to ground zero to write down names engraved in the memorial. Then we go home and look them up to talk about their stories. Today, my youngest was writing a name when a woman walked up and asked her what she was doing. When she explained, the… pic.twitter.com/Xd8ZknmOX1

— Samantha Steele Ponder (@samponder) September 12, 2026

This site is intended as a place to remember and celebrate the lives of those lost on September 11, 2001. It includes Guest Books and profiles for each of those lost.

It is well worth your time to explore it thoroughly today.

September 11, 2001, as reported the next day by the New York Times: pic.twitter.com/DH6QUFnDgo

— Michael Beschloss (@BeschlossDC) September 11, 2026

“The cloudless sky filled with coiling black smoke and a blizzard of paper—memos, photographs, stock transactions, insurance policies—which fluttered for miles on a gentle southeasterly breeze, across the East River into Brooklyn. Debris spewed onto the streets of lower Manhattan, which were already covered with bodies. Some of them had been exploded out of the building when the planes hit. A man walked out of the towers carrying someone else’s leg. Jumpers landed on several firemen, killing them instantly.

“The air pulsed with sirens as firehouses and police stations all over the city emptied, sending the rescuers, many of them to their deaths. [FBI agent] Steve Bongardt was running toward the towers, against a stream of people racing in the opposite direction. He heard the boom of the second collision. “There’s a second plane,” someone cried.”

–Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (New York: Random House [Vintage Books], 2006), pp.404-405

11 Sept 2001: Al-Qaeda conducts #terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers in New York City and the #Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia by flying planes into the buildings. A fourth plane crashed in rural Pennsylvania. The White House or #Capitol was the likely target of that… pic.twitter.com/GxvhseKBbL

— Today In History (@URDailyHistory) September 11, 2026

Almighty God and Father who wills that all people may flourish and have abundance of life, be with us especially on this day when we remember such destruction, darkness, devastation, death and terror; help us to honor the memory of those whose lives were utterly cut short, and to believe that you can make all things new, even the most horrible things. Redeem and heal, O Holy Spirit, grant us perspective, humility, light, trust and grace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Please note the following changes to our hours of operation as we commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

Thursday, September 10: The #911Museum will close at 3 p.m.

Friday, September 11: The #911Museum will remain closed to the public all day so that 9/11… pic.twitter.com/VigSzHl6WS

— 9/11 Memorial & Museum (@Sept11Memorial) September 10, 2026

God, our strong deliverer: We bless thy Name for the grace given to Harry Thacker Burleigh, who didst lift up in song the struggles of thy people. Let that Spirit of love which spurred him draw us and thy whole Church to raise our distinct voices into one great harmony of praise; through the same Jesus Christ, who with thee and the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

American singer, composer, & arranger Henry Thacker “Harry” Burleigh was born #OTD—December 2—in 1866. Burleigh’s arrangements of African American spirituals like “Deep River” became part of the standard repertoire for singers & are still performed to this day. pic.twitter.com/8EhFDHq6Mu

— Carnegie Hall (@carnegiehall) December 2, 2021

O Lord our God, Who hast chased the slumber from our eyes, and once more assembled us to lift up our hands unto Thee and to praise Thy just judgments, accept our prayers and supplications, and give us faith and love.  Bless our coming in and our going out, our thoughts, words, and works, and let us begin this day with the praise of the unspeakable sweetness of Thy mercy.  Hallowed be Thy name.  Thy kingdom come; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

–Robert W. Rodenmayer, ed., The Pastor’s Prayerbook: Selected and arranged for various occasions (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960)

The day the world changed forever 💔

On the 25th anniversary, we hold in our hearts the victims, the brave first responders who ran toward danger & the countless families whose lives were forever changed 💔 pic.twitter.com/xI0DUEkimT

— 🇮🇪 This is Ireland 🇮🇪 (@ThisIsIreland3) September 11, 2026

And all the assembly kept silence; and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brethren, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, as it is written,

”After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will set it up,
that the rest of men may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who has made these things known from of old.’

Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols and from unchastity and from what is strangled and from blood. For from early generations Moses has had in every city those who preach him, for he is read every sabbath in the synagogues.”

–Acts 15:12-21

STOYSTOWN, Pennsylvania — Not far from the entrance to the Flight 93 National Memorial, a quiet stretch of hillside rises gently along the Lincoln Highway. If you drive by too quickly, you might miss it entirely. Yet, this plot of Pennsylvania farmland has transformed into a… pic.twitter.com/D0qN5nVNV2

— ZitoSalena (@ZitoSalena) September 11, 2026

OpenAI has appointed to its foundation’s board a senior US government official who warned that advanced versions of AI could kill “most people” without more robust safeguards.

Paul Christiano, who tests model safety at the commerce department’s Center for AI Standards and Innovation, said on X on Wednesday that the risk of losing control over AI systems “is now acute” and requires more work to align with human interests.

“If we build superintelligence without more robust alignment, I expect we will permanently lose control of it,” he said when announcing his new role at OpenAI. “If that happens then most people could die. I believe we would need domestic and international co-ordination to ensure global consistency and reduce risk to an acceptable level.”

Christiano previously led AI safety at Caisi. He designed and ran government tests on frontier AI models from leading companies and assessed them for national security risks.

Read it all.

Top US official named to OpenAI non-profit board warns advanced AI could be ‘deadly’ https://t.co/5bZXexRldI

— FT World News (@ftworldnews) September 9, 2026

In 1888, George Eastman marketed the Kodak camera with the memorable advertising promise: “You press the button, we do the rest.” Photography, a complicated task requiring considerable technical knowledge, suddenly became accessible to ordinary consumers.  

Eastman created a company that became an early practitioner of welfare capitalism. Eastman issued weekly paychecks and distributed bonuses and profit-sharing payments. In 1919, Eastman gave employees one-third of his personal holdings in Kodak stock, then worth $10 million. The firm later established retirement annuities, life insurance, and disability benefits. Eastman believed that the goodwill and loyalty of employees were important sources of Kodak’s prosperity.  

After World War II, major American firms adopted the Kodak model of investing in their employees. In The End of Loyalty, former Wall Street Journal reporter Rick Wartzman describes the 1940s and 1950s as a working-class golden age in which firms such as General Motors, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, and Coca-Cola felt obligated to “lend a helping hand to workers” and to “shield them against the vicissitudes of life.”    

Paul Osterman’s important new book, Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment, describes how thoroughly that model has eroded.  

Read it all.

The Unravelling of The American Employment Compact – Public Discourse https://t.co/0Vs231wbO3

— Allen Mendenhall (@allenmendenhall) September 9, 2026

 What is happening?

On October 23, 2025, The Washington Post reported that Archbishop Steve Wood, leader of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), is the subject of a formal presentment—a canonical complaint alleging sexual misconduct and other violations of church canons.

Summary of Allegations

• The presentment, filed October 20, 2025, centers on claims by Claire Buxton, a former children’s ministry director at St. Andrew’s Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
• Buxton alleges that between 2021 and 2024, Wood made inappropriate comments and gestures toward her, culminating in an unwanted advance in April 2024, when he allegedly attempted to kiss her.
• She also reported receiving about $3,500 in unsolicited payments from church funds over a 13-month period.
• Additional accusations in the presentment include plagiarized sermons, bullying of staff, and misuse of church resources.
• On November 7, 2025, The Washington Post reported that a second woman had come forward with allegations of sexual harassment, and the presentment was amended to include her affidavit and additional testimony from former colleagues.

Wood has stated he believes the allegations “lack merit” and has expressed trust in the ACNA’s canonical process.

2. What is the ACNA doing about it?

Upon receiving the presentment, ACNA initiated its disciplinary process, referring the case to a Board of Inquiry to determine whether an ecclesiastical trial is warranted.

November 4, 2025, the ACNA reported that Archbishop Wood took a voluntary, paid leave of absence from his roles as Archbishop and Bishop of the Carolinas. Bishop Ray Sutton, Dean of the Province, was appointed to oversee the Archbishop’s duties during the investigation. To help ensure objectivity in the proceedings, Bishop Sutton formally recused himself from all matters pertaining to Archbishop Wood’s Board of Inquiry and any subsequent disciplinary process, according to the ACNA.

Bishop Sutton appointed Bishop Julian Dobbs, who is serving as Dean of Provincial Affairs, to form a three-member panel of bishops to represent Bishop Sutton in any action he may be required to take in the disciplinary process against Archbishop Wood. This newly formed panel will review and approve the composition of the Board of Inquiry (BOI) to ensure its impartiality, and receive its report.

Wood also announced his retirement as rector of St. Andrew’s, describing it as previously planned.

November 16, 2025, Bishop Julian Dobbs, with the written consent of the five senior diocesan bishops of the College, determined by date of admission, Bishop Julian Dobbs inhibited Archbishop Stephen D. Wood from the exercise or ordained ministry in the Anglican Church in North America, in accordance with the canons of our Church. This inhibition does not determine guilt or innocence, nor does it pre-judge any allegation or any step that may follow. The canons provide for the imposition of an inhibition when it is determined to be in the best interests of the Church to do so. The inhibition document may be found here: [link to inhibition document].

As stipulated in the Constitution of the Anglican Diocese of the Carolinas, Bishop David Bryan, as Bishop Suffragan, is now assuming the duties of Acting Bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas for the duration of this period.

The ACNA has emphasized that Archbishop Wood is accountable to the same canonical standards and disciplinary process as any other leader accused of misconduct.

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The Anglican Church in North America (@The_ACNA) has never put a sitting archbishop on trial.

That changes next week when the trial of Steve Wood begins. He faces charges of sexual immorality, abuse of church power and violating his ordination vows.https://t.co/9dP3rILsAF

— Roys Report (@ReachRoysReport) September 4, 2026