Advent is not the kind of "preparation" that involves shopping and parties and cards. Such illusions of abundance disguise the true cravings of our weary souls. Advent is preparation for the demands of newness that will break the tired patterns of fear in our lives. Walter Brueggemann.

I could have sworn I saw a cartoon by @nakedpastor.bsky.social of Jesus beating a weapon into a ploughshare the other day and I thought of it this morning in the Isaiah reading but now I cant find where Ive seen it, and Im half wondering whether I dreamt it. 🤔

Happy New Year everyone. ✝️⚓️🎉🎊🎇🎆 #Advent

Our annual #Advent campaign starts on Monday. Do you want to receive weekly Advent emails directly to your inbox? Click here, and sign up to our Exhibition of the Week: thevcs.org/sign-vcs-ema...

seasonal reminder that if someone says they don't drink: -it's none of your business why -hosts should have several non-alcoholic beverage options -the holidays can be a tough period for non-drinkers -many jokes about not drinking are bad -people are burned out and might just be tired

The writers of #Shetland are not messing about. They are making it look totally impossible for the detectives from every angle. Cracking tv. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.

Found a little independent choclatier shop today in Cheadle. Chocolates were divine and the Hot Chocolate was like nothing I had ever tasted before. Incredible. If you're in Cheadle go to Henshaws. Perfection.

William Blake - The ancient of days 1794

Did you know there's a 500-million-year-old species that lives in the deep sea called Paleodictyon, but we only know it from trace fossils and marks on the seafloor and have absolutely no idea what the animal is? It could be a sponge or a foram or a xenophyophore or something totally different.

Winter on the Seine, Lavacourt - 1880 https://botfrens.com/collections/41/contents/9550

NIGHT PRAYER: In the silence of the stars, In the quiet of the land, In the heaving of the sea… Speak Lord. In the stillness of this room, In the calming of my mind Speak Lord. In the voice of a friend, In the words of a stranger… Speak Lord.

One of my nephews and his girlfriend have just told me they are coming up to see me at Christmas and I am so happy I burst out crying.

I love my little doggies so much 🥰💕🐾🐾

Scenes from our Thursday music club. 🎼 Can you name that song?

Its 7 am on a saturday, normally my day off but I have to be somewhere for training at 9.30. I should get up and start moving and getting ready, however I am so warm and snuggly with my terriers Im just gonna stay here for a bit content and smiling to myself at how gorgeous they are.

Ok Bluesky, let’s give this a go: I found this postcard in the back of a photo frame I bought at a London thrift shop. It’s an unsent postcard from a woman called Linda to her parents. The front shows the Kremlin in Moscow and the stamp says 1984 (!). I’d love to return it to Linda - can you help?

the face of a dog who bamboozled the humans into three dinners and is gunning for a fourth

I know an older lady from New York and today she referred to me as "kid" and the way she said it in her accent made me so happy. She's just ace.

Does he even own a suit?

This needs a bit of a push. Please sign and share.

You know what's not fun? Being anemic. 😕

I mean, I know the answer is "when it needs it" but how often should you wash a surplice? And also are they a pain to dry without creases? ✝️⚓️#CofEPeeps

Im currently using podcasts to get housework done as Ive been really busy and the motivation to do chores is zero. Please drop your favourite podcasts below. ⚓️✝️#CofEPeeps

The BBC, quite consciously, sets out to demean and belittle trans people. This is both morally contemptible and in breach of its Charter obligations. We've made it super easy for you to write to the BBC and tell it to stop. Please use - and share with your networks. goodlaw.social/2j5q

The fact any of this is even being entertained shows what a pajama of a PM Starmer is. OK so he goes to court and sues. Where? The case will be thrown out in 15 min in the UK so ok lets say he gets a US court to demand that the UK state broadcaster pay him a billion. And they get it how? Invasion?

At what point does the name change to the Trump files?

My mum has been making needle felted mice for a few years and enjoys challenging herself with new themes and ideas. She's just set up her first exhibition at the stately home she volunteers at, with a family of period mice. Incredible.

People have tried to say that the Green surge is just on social media. Or in a bubble that's just about polls and just about new members. Yet up and down the country - Greens are also winning elections. Huge congratulations to the Canterbury Greens! 💚🎉 Join.greenparty.org.uk

About to send an email that is going to change my life forever. (its a good thing though 🎉)

This is Rudy. He carried out the perfect heist by remembering the four S's: sleep, sneak, steal, skedaddle. 14/10 (TT: rudyrudyroo)

I'm getting reports that a firm is cold calling people "offering grants for renewables and quoting that MARTIN LEWIS had encouraged people to engage with the company." The call is UTTER BOLLOCKS! This is not true. Don't trust them. Politely disengage and don't speak to them.

🙏 A huge thank you to everyone who has backed our campaign to #FixTheFEP. Join our call for better gov support with funeral costs, so more people have the space they need to grieve – without financial stress. ✍️Email your MP, get shareable social posts or just find out more – bit.ly/49mffO2

The sound of my upstairs neighbours dryer makes my tinnitus worse 😩. And I've discovered they have it on nearly all the time. 😭

I love church kneelers and always look for them when I go churchcrawling. I think they are such a wonderful piece of folk art. I was particularly happy to see this delightful trio of guinea pigs in Alberbury church. 💚 #folklore #folkcustoms #history #churches #Shropshire #churchkneelers

My response to the third FAOC report... on clergy exemplarity and Same-Sex Marriage. "Indeed, with the concept of ‘communally regulative understanding of doctrine’, the bishop is rendered powerless, and the bishops as a House are disempowered utterly." ⚓️✝️ #CofEPeeps viamedia.news/2025/11/12/a...

Timeline cleanse with my haircut Terriers 🥰🐾🐾💕

More like Aurora FOMOalis amiright

Protest comes as Brazil's leader Lula says COP30 participants should be 'inspired' by Indigenous peoples.

Hitting like on every northern light photo

Aurora Boreanaz.

Baby pigeon mystery. My pigeon book is here: www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/rosem...

#OtD 11 Nov 1918 250k men and women began a general strike across Switzerland demanding women's suffrage, pensions and a 48-hour week. 95k troops were brought in to break the strike. Women only got the right to vote in 1971 stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8342...

Next time you're stopping by the church, please do come and view our temporary exhibition about the story of Palestine, arranged by @amnestyuk.bsky.social!

We are so far through the looking glass that the man who tried to overthrow an election becomes president, the people who attacked the Capitol are turned into martyrs, & it's the BBC that gets punished - cheered on by the worst news outlets in the UK & the two most dishonest politicians of our age.

This is what the band of the Milky Way would look like at night if your eyes could see radio waves. A hidden beauty. It's a new image created by the Murchison Widefield Array, which scanned the sky in 20 radio "colors" over frequencies from 72 to 231 megahertz. 🧪🔭 www.icrar.org/gleam-x-gala...