Morwenna Ludlow

UK set to limit asylum seekers to temporary stays Shabana Mahmood is expected to say the era of permanent protection for refugees is over, in major changes to the UK's asylum and immigration system.

Weakening sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers via temporary status ignores all the terrible lessons of the C20th about the vulnerability of these people and the readiness of governments to treat them as less than human. 1/2
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Arrived into Frankfurt after a long Eurostar journey and delighted to be working with Revd Dr Kai Funkschmidt from the Institute for Ecumenical Studies and Research this weekend for the Many Cultures, One Body conference representing @churchesengland.bsky.social #intercultural #ecumenical

Illustration in black and white of a hippo like creature, walking upright through stormy weather with eyes shut

After living through the Nazi & atomic bomb eras, Tove Jansson writings would often encompass fearful ideas about loss of a familiar world. However she would balance this with characters who encompassed #kindness & #community, even in the darkest times #WomensArt #WorldKindnessDay

It’s the BBC v Trump, Farage and co. Who in their right mind would want to be its new boss? | Marina Hyde Public life is a minefield and the best and brightest just don’t want to know. How convenient for foes of the most trusted news organisation in the world, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

“More and more, the nature of high-profile public service is repelling the best and the brightest. That is the great tragedy of our age – and the great opportunity for those who were never in it to serve the public in the first place.”

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The second instalment of Fr Thomas Sharp walking you through those FAOC Living in Love and Faith docs viamedia.news/2025/11/11/a...

Want a younger brain? Learn another language A vast study suggests that being multilingual can slow down cognitive ageing.

'people who are multilingual are half as likely to show signs of accelerated biological ageing than are those who speak just one language.'

Good thing that schools, universities and governments are so actively promoting modern languages then, isn't it? 1/2

This is a very fine department and the suspension of the single honours programme in Theology and Religion is an extremely serious blow. Please consider signing this petition.

Perhaps the BBC could offer Trump one of his beloved deals: they'll apologise for broadcasting sections of his speech, if he apologises for trying to overthrow an election, lying about the result, pressuring election officials, urging a crowd to "fight like hell" & pardoning those who did just that.

"It would be precocious to say that the Generation of the Somme would condemn our hagiographic ritual, or support it. All that can really be said is that they would recognise our discomfort with what remembrance looks like."

We Can Make an Impact. Stop the removal of undergraduate Theology & Religion at the University of Nottingham

The University of Nottingham's latest round of financial restructuring involves suspending our Theology & Religion BA course with a view to its permanent closure. Please support our staff and students by signing this petition c.org/MQVjrMwXq8

Is doctrine “something generally static, generally serene, a quiet lake in which even its dynamism is limited to the occasional wave breaking on the shoreline of its boundaries”? Er, no, says Fr Thomas Sharp viamedia.news/2025/11/10/a...

The bursary for RE teacher training will be withdrawn for 2026-27, worsening the national RE teacher shortage.
#TeamRE Please support our campaign to reverse this decision.
Full details: natre.org.uk/news/please-support-our-campaign-to-reverse-the-decision-to-remove-the-itt-bursary-for-re/

New diocese of Exeter created in 1050, partly on account of Exeter easier to defend… from attacks by pirates!

it’s officially book promo time! so, hey, i wrote this book; it comes out in a week! would you mind signal boosting and asking your library to buy it? if you’d like a copy, the code AUFLY30 will get you 30%off.

In other news I seem to have inadvertently taught my child to ask their Religious Studies teacher how things relate to the outcomes of the council of Nicaea if they don’t know an answer or want to stall for time. So that’s fun.

The writer/editor is a position within the Center’s Religion research team, which seeks to promote a deeper understanding of religion and spirituality. The Religion research team conducts surveys, demographic analyses and other social science research in the United States and around the world, studying people’s religious beliefs and practices as well as their views on related issues, including religion’s role in public life. The ideal candidate will have a strong data journalism mindset, with the ability to translate complex quantitative findings into clear and engaging narratives that are nonpartisan and non-advocacy. This position will be embedded within the Religion research team, where the writer/editor will work collaboratively to shape the team’s research agenda, including identifying key research questions; contributing to survey development; and synthesizing findings into accessible and compelling storylines. The writer/editor will also evaluate drafts of research reports to determine whether there are shortcomings in the analysis; edit, rewrite and reorganize drafts as necessary to improve flow and clarity; and work with researchers and designers to create appropriate charts and tables. In addition, the writer/editor will provide guidance and training to the Religion team’s researchers and serve as a writing resource. Following the release of reports, the writer/editor may help disseminate research to the public through the Center’s social media channels, videos, newsletters, and virtual or in-person gatherings, always adhering to the Center’s independent, nonpartisan, non-advocacy stance. 

Please repost:

We're looking for an excellent writer/editor with strong data journalism skills to join the religion team at @pewresearch.org.

pewtrusts.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Center...

How Jane Austen’s landscapes mapped women’s lives Austen’s cities, seaside resorts, country estates and naval towns remind us that geography is never neutral.

theconversation.com/how-jane-aus...

Me too — it lies in wait like a treat to be savoured throughout the week.

[Exit King.]

Slide through for a simple breakdown of the latest LLF update.

🚨PLEASE SHARE - setbacks like this show that we need as many people pushing for inclusion as possible

#churchofengland #livinginloveandfaith #equalmarriage

Thanks!

#NAPS North American Patristic Society folks! Can you remind me if there’s a meeting in 2027 as well as 2026? (I’ve lost track of decisions about the “fallow year” and am trying to plan ahead! 😀 )

Kemi Badenoch wants to end ‘rip-off degrees’ – but I wouldn’t have created Horrid Henry without mine | Francesca Simon I studied Old and Middle English. Although I didn’t know it, I couldn’t have chosen a better subject to train me to become a children’s author, says author Francesca Simon

“Perhaps Kemi would be a better leader if she’d dropped engineering for religious studies or psychology.”
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Next email: “how to use AI to detect your students’ use of AI in assessments!”

"The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the convinced Communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction and the distinction between true and false no longer exist." #HannahArendt

The Department of Theology at Loyola University Maryland invites applications for the position of assistant professor, tenure-track, in the area of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.

loyola.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/External/job...

Female Kingfisher sat up nicely while hunting along Hannafore beach yesterday.
#Cornwall #birding #birds #Naturelovers #birdphotography
#Naturephotography
#Wildlifephotography

Wisdom, moral imagination, an enlarged sympathy for those who live or have lived differently from yourself. This is what you get from studying the Humanities. So quite important, actually.

I once did a continental European viva: large panel of examiners, room full of candidate’s colleagues, family & friends. 2 hours in, a panel member on Teams (unwittingly) nearly reduced me to hysterics: camera pointing at his ear; he rose & sank in his seat throughout his report, seemingly unaware.

Robert Buckland: Leaving the ECHR would be a grave mistake | Conservative Home Withdrawal from the ECHR would upset the delicate political balance in Northern Ireland, compromise our extradition and security arrangements, and damage our moral authority abroad. Above all, it woul...

Full article is available here via @conservativehome.bsky.social: conservativehome.com/2025/10/05/r...