Early roman-period Nazareth and the sisters of Nazareth convent

First discovered by accident in 1884 – and thereafter informally investigated by workmen, nuns and clergy, for several decades – the archaeological site at the Sisters of Nazareth convent in central Nazareth has remained unpublished and largely unknown to scholarship. However, work by the Nazareth Archaeological Project in 2006–10 showed that this site offers a full and important stratified sequence from ancient Nazareth, including well-preserved Early Roman-period and later features. These include a partially rock-cut structure, here re-evaluated and interpreted on the basis of both earlier and newly recorded data as a first-century ad domestic building – perhaps a ‘courtyard house’ – the first surface-built domestic structure of this date from Nazareth to be published, and the best preserved. The site was subsequently used in the Roman period for burial, suggesting settlement contraction or settlement shift.

Social gathering dialogue between six sisters of the North Family of Shakers, Mt. Lebanon, Columbia County, N.Y.

Advertisement for "The 'Shaker and Shakeress' monthly" on verso of title page (p. [2]).

Mercy, generation to generation; history of the Sisters of Mercy, Diocese of Sacramento, California.

Mode of access: Internet.

Sisters of Silver Creek : a story of western Canada /

Mode of access: Internet.

The Congregation of the Poor Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration : souvenir of the golden jubilee of their foundation : December 20th, 1860-1910 /

Mode of access: Internet.

The new month of Mary, or, Reflections for each day of the month on the different titles applied to the Holy Mother of God in the Litany of Loretto : principally designed for the month of May /

Mode of access: Internet.

Sermons, panegyrics, and miscellanea /

Mode of access: Internet.

Flexible social organization and high incidence of drifting in the sweat bee, Halictus scabiosae.

The very diverse social systems of sweat bees make them interesting models to study social evolution. Here we focus on the dispersal behaviour and social organization of Halictus scabiosae, a common yet poorly known species of Europe. By combining field observations and genetic data, we show that females have multiple reproductive strategies, which generates a large diversity in the social structure of nests. A detailed microsatellite analysis of 60 nests revealed that 55% of the nests contained the offspring of a single female, whereas the rest had more complex social structures, with three clear cases of multiple females reproducing in the same nest and frequent occurrence of unrelated individuals. Drifting among nests was surprisingly common, as 16% of the 122 nests in the overall sample and 44% of the nests with complex social structure contained females that had genotypes consistent with being full-sisters of females sampled in other nests of the population. Drifters originated from nests with an above-average productivity and were unrelated to their nestmates, suggesting that drifting might be a strategy to avoid competition among related females. The sex-specific comparison of genetic differentiation indicated that dispersal was male-biased, which would reinforce local resource competition among females. The pattern of genetic differentiation among populations was consistent with a dynamic process of patch colonization and extinction, as expected from the unstable, anthropogenic habitat of this species. Overall, our data show that H. scabiosae varies greatly in dispersal behaviour and social organization. The surprisingly high frequency of drifters echoes recent findings in wasps and bees, calling for further investigation of the adaptive basis of drifting in the social insects.

Sibgroups: supporting siblings of children on the autism spectrum

A clinical psychologist describes four sibling support groups (Sibgroups) set up in Berkshire and Scotland. These were weekly groups for brothers and sisters of children on the autism spectrum. The article provides details of the content of the sessions and the instruments used to measure participants' views on autism and their relationship with their brother of sister. It also provides ideas on how to elicit their views and on the areas in which they may require knowledge and support.

The Byzantine Church of the Nutrition in Nazareth rediscovered

Although Nazareth has usually been seen by scholars as a relatively minor Byzantine pilgrimage centre, it contained perhaps the most important ‘lost’ Byzantine church in the Holy Land, the Church of the Nutrition ‐ according to De Locis Sanctis built over the house where it was believed that Jesus Christ had been a child. This article, part of a series of final interim reports of the PEF-funded ‘Nazareth Archaeological Project’, presents evidence that this church has been discovered at the present Sisters of Nazareth convent in central Nazareth. The scale of the church and its surrounding structures suggests that Nazareth was a much larger, and more important, centre for Byzantine-period pilgrimage than previously supposed. The church was used in the Crusader period, after a phase of desertion, prior to destruction by fire, probably in the 13th century.

St. Vincent's manual : containing a selection of prayers and devotional exercises.

Mode of access: Internet.

A catechism of Scripture history /

Mode of access: Internet.

The Brothers of Holy Cross /

Mode of access: Internet.

Endangered ancestress revisited: Sarah's miraculous motherhood and the restoration of Eden

The paper examines the ‘endangered ancestress’ theme in Genesis, in which the matriarchs, Sarah and Rebecca, are passed off to alien rulers as the sisters of their respective husbands, in Sarah’s case twice. Rather than viewing these incidents as clumsy duplication, the paper reads them as a literary device in a continuous narrative. The paper argues that when read in this way, these incidents serve to underline the singular status of Sarah in contrast to Rebecca and subsequent matriarchs. Sarah is shown to be the unique foremother of Israel. Alone of all her sex, she represents a pristine new beginning, analogous to human beginnings in Eden.