Sales of organic vegetable is gradually picking up in the Nilgiris owing to the changing mindset of people towards healthy eating.

This week, Google sent an email to some Google Ads advertisers warning that they may lose access to use Customer Match with their ads cause harm to users or create a poor user experience. Google said they are updating their customer match policy effective January 13, 2025, to enforce this. Google also posted this over here.

Navah Hopkins posted about this notice on LinkedIn after she received an email from Google about this update. The email says:

On January 13, 2025, Google will update its Customer Match policy to state that customers may lose Customer Match access if their ads have the potential to cause harm to users or create a poor user experience. We may take the following considerations, among others, into account when making this determination.

What are those considerations? Google wrote:

• User feedback
• Prevalence or severity of abuse
• Repeated violations of the Customer Match policy

Google added that "violations of this policy will not lead to immediate account suspension without prior warning. A warning will be issued, at least seven days, prior to any suspension of your account."

Here is the email:

Navah Hopkins added, "Google customer match allows advertisers to take customer lists and apply them for targeting and seed purposes in Google Ads. This is a great way to ensure folks get exactly the right messaging as well as giving us an option to exclude our existing customers from prospecting campaigns."

She explained what harm might be:

The first and most important consideration is using someone's email without their consent. I would take this signal from Google that gambling with privacy rules is getting harder.

Second, ad creative needs to pass the "not a creep" check. This means:
1. You're not targeting kids.
2. You're not making it seem like the ad is for any one specific user.
3. You're not including people in a target list who outright told you they didn't want to see your ads.

Third, and most importantly, violating customer match rules will get your account suspended. Don't mess around with it.

Forum discussion at LinkedIn.

Tune in this week to Stewardship Calling as host Bill Marianes talks with Fr. Evan Armatas about his new book, Reclaiming the Great Commission. In his book, Fr. Evan provides a roadmap for parishes to diagnose and remove barriers and get back on track.

Frederica shares the story of St. Gregory the Illuminator of Armenia on his feast day.

Frederica Mathewes-Green ponders the tremendous amount of work it took to weave fabric by hand, and how it felt to be clothed in someone’s labor; what we miss, by living entirely amid machine-made things.

Fr. John shares from St. Paul's second letter to Timothy 2:1-10.

Fr. Steven believes that practicing and proclaiming the Orthodox faith itself is the answer to our current societal unrest.

Much of what passes for Orthodox teaching by certain extremist internet personalities is destructive, dangerous, and not Orthodox.

During a persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Licinius, Leontius and several of his companions came before the Imperial governor in Nikopolis of Armenia, and declared themselves as Christians. They were whipped and thrown into prison, where they were given no food or drink; but a Christian noblewoman secretly brought them water, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them in their cell to comfort them. Such was the power of their faith that, at their trial, two of their jailers proclaimed their conversion to Christianity. Many others came forward in the same way, until the company of Christians numbered forty-five in all. The judge ordered that they all have their arms and legs hacked off and that they then be burned to death.

They are mentioned by name in Acts 6:5. St Prochorus became Bishop of Nicomedia and reposed in peace. St Nicanor was stoned to death in Jerusalem. St Timon became Bishop of Bostra in Arabia and ended his life in martyrdom by fire at the hands of the pagans. St Parmenas died in peace in Jerusalem.

During a persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Licinius, Leontius and several of his companions came before the Imperial governor in Nikopolis of Armenia, and declared themselves as Christians. They were whipped and thrown into prison, where they were given no food or drink; but a Christian noblewoman secretly brought them water, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them in their cell to comfort them. Such was the power of their faith that, at their trial, two of their jailers proclaimed their conversion to Christianity. Many others came forward in the same way, until the company of Christians numbered forty-five in all. The judge ordered that they all have their arms and legs hacked off and that they then be burned to death.

During a persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Licinius, Leontius and several of his companions came before the Imperial governor in Nikopolis of Armenia, and declared themselves as Christians. They were whipped and thrown into prison, where they were given no food or drink; but a Christian noblewoman secretly brought them water, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them in their cell to comfort them. Such was the power of their faith that, at their trial, two of their jailers proclaimed their conversion to Christianity. Many others came forward in the same way, until the company of Christians numbered forty-five in all. The judge ordered that they all have their arms and legs hacked off and that they then be burned to death.

He came from a noble Northumbrian family in Britain, and was tonsured a monk in 653 at Lerins in Gaul. In 669 he was made Abbot of the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul in Canterbury. He traveled to Rome in 671 to be instructed in monastic practice according to the Rule of Saint Benedict (of Nursia). Returning to Northumbria he established two new monasteries, the first to follow St Benedict's Rule in the British Isles. He went to Rome once again in 678-679, this time bringing back the archcantor of St Peter's, who taught the monks of St Benedict's monasteries the chant and liturgical practices used in Rome.   Under the holy abbot's guidance, these monasteries became flourishing centers of Christian worship, scholarship and art. The Venerable Bede (May 26) was one of his disciples. Saint Benedict reposed in peace in 689 or 690, having greatly strengthened the Church and the Christian faith in Britain.

During a persecution of Christians in the reign of the Emperor Licinius, Leontius and several of his companions came before the Imperial governor in Nikopolis of Armenia, and declared themselves as Christians. They were whipped and thrown into prison, where they were given no food or drink; but a Christian noblewoman secretly brought them water, and an angel of the Lord appeared to them in their cell to comfort them. Such was the power of their faith that, at their trial, two of their jailers proclaimed their conversion to Christianity. Many others came forward in the same way, until the company of Christians numbered forty-five in all. The judge ordered that they all have their arms and legs hacked off and that they then be burned to death.

He came from a noble Northumbrian family in Britain, and was tonsured a monk in 653 at Lerins in Gaul. In 669 he was made Abbot of the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul in Canterbury. He traveled to Rome in 671 to be instructed in monastic practice according to the Rule of Saint Benedict (of Nursia). Returning to Northumbria he established two new monasteries, the first to follow St Benedict's Rule in the British Isles. He went to Rome once again in 678-679, this time bringing back the archcantor of St Peter's, who taught the monks of St Benedict's monasteries the chant and liturgical practices used in Rome.   Under the holy abbot's guidance, these monasteries became flourishing centers of Christian worship, scholarship and art. The Venerable Bede (May 26) was one of his disciples. Saint Benedict reposed in peace in 689 or 690, having greatly strengthened the Church and the Christian faith in Britain.

He was a nobleman, related to the imperial houses of Persia and Armenia. When these two houses went to war with one another, Gregory withdrew to Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he heard the Gospel proclaimed and came to faith in Christ. There he also married and had two sons. After his wife's death he returned to his homeland and served in the court of Tiridates, king of Armenia. When the king discovered that Gregory was a Christian, he subjected the Saint to many tortures, finally having him cast into a pit full of mire and poisonous reptiles. But Gregory was miraculously kept alive in the pit for fourteen years, during which a widow secretyly provided for his needs. King Tiridates, still cruelly persecuting the Christians in his land, eventually went mad and became like a wild animal. In a dream, the king's sister was told that her brother would only be restored to sanity when Gregory was freed from the pit. This was done, and Gregory healed and baptised his persecutor. At the king's request, Gregory was made bishop of Armenia. As bishop he brought countless thousands to faith in Christ and is counted as the Enlightener of Armenia. In old age he retired into ascetical life, and reposed in peace.

He came from a noble Northumbrian family in Britain, and was tonsured a monk in 653 at Lerins in Gaul. In 669 he was made Abbot of the Monastery of Saints Peter and Paul in Canterbury. He traveled to Rome in 671 to be instructed in monastic practice according to the Rule of Saint Benedict (of Nursia). Returning to Northumbria he established two new monasteries, the first to follow St Benedict's Rule in the British Isles. He went to Rome once again in 678-679, this time bringing back the archcantor of St Peter's, who taught the monks of St Benedict's monasteries the chant and liturgical practices used in Rome.   Under the holy abbot's guidance, these monasteries became flourishing centers of Christian worship, scholarship and art. The Venerable Bede (May 26) was one of his disciples. Saint Benedict reposed in peace in 689 or 690, having greatly strengthened the Church and the Christian faith in Britain.

He was a nobleman, related to the imperial houses of Persia and Armenia. When these two houses went to war with one another, Gregory withdrew to Caesarea in Cappadocia, where he heard the Gospel proclaimed and came to faith in Christ. There he also married and had two sons. After his wife's death he returned to his homeland and served in the court of Tiridates, king of Armenia. When the king discovered that Gregory was a Christian, he subjected the Saint to many tortures, finally having him cast into a pit full of mire and poisonous reptiles. But Gregory was miraculously kept alive in the pit for fourteen years, during which a widow secretyly provided for his needs. King Tiridates, still cruelly persecuting the Christians in his land, eventually went mad and became like a wild animal. In a dream, the king's sister was told that her brother would only be restored to sanity when Gregory was freed from the pit. This was done, and Gregory healed and baptised his persecutor. At the king's request, Gregory was made bishop of Armenia. As bishop he brought countless thousands to faith in Christ and is counted as the Enlightener of Armenia. In old age he retired into ascetical life, and reposed in peace.

Fr. Andrew unpacks three metaphors used by St. Paul in 2 Timothy 2:1-10.

Since it is well known that he is a priest from the "Old Country," Fr. Joseph may want to be careful about offending the Farmer in the Dell or Mr. MacDonald. (This is Part 2, from Christ the Savior Church, Chicago.)

After sharing three commentaries on the Prologue of St. John, Fr. Anthony talks about the pattern of sound and how it works to perfect us and our community in Christ. This was first shared via Fr. Anthony's "My Fool Head" YouTube livestream on 04 December 2021. The Jonathan Pageau interview he couldn't remember was with Samuel Andreyev; "Patterns and Meaning in Music". Enjoy the show!

Fr. Michael follows up last week's podcast ("Error to the Right") with a discussion about the warning to the Laodicean Christians to not be lukewarm (Revelation 3). "We are all sick, blind, naked, wretched, but it's only the lukewarm who don't think they are."

Fr. Michael talks about the changeability of our bodies in our endeavor to live in holiness. "We may be a mess, but we are God's mess, and He loves us."

Our baptismal garment gives a profound responsibility throughout our lives to live in a way that shines with the divine glory—that radiates the light of Christ to a world so filled with darkness, death, and despair.

Fr. Philip LeMasters explains the parable of the Wedding Feast which shows us that Christ came to save the entire world through union with him.

Fr. Ted calls us to take up our Cross during Lent by intensifying our efforts to grow more deeply in the image of Christ.

Fr. Evan interviews Fr. Chris Rowe and answers questions about introducing Orthodoxy to outsiders, the Orthodox situation in Guatemala, etc.

getting it to run DOOM is only a matter of time #

The Creed which we profess states that God created things "visible and invisible." Fr Tom reminds us that there is an invisible warfare constantly being waged on us, and we must be prepared by putting on the whole armor of God.

Jesus is given various titles in the New Testament: Teacher, Master, Lord and others. Fr Tom reminds us that, as Orthodox Christians, we must strive to approach God for not only who He really is, but who we really are too. (Thirty-first Sunday after Pentecost)

Fr. Gregory Hallam sermon on July 8, 2018.

Fr. Emmanuel Kahn reflects on two healings by one Lord Jesus Christ.