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The official news service of the Episcopal Church.
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Presiding Bishop Michael Curry releases Easter message for 2024

4 horas 39 minutos atrás

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry on March 28 released his annual Easter message, saying by video that he is grateful for all the prayers as he recovers from his latest medical procedures.

“Just two weeks ago, my medical team approved me to drive locally and to resume short domestic flights. I can’t tell you how much your prayers have sustained me and my family through this medical journey. Prayer matters. We don’t always know how. We don’t always know or understand the outcome,” Curry said in his message.

“But prayer matters, and it makes a difference. Over the last several months, I have not known how this would all work out. But I’ve been very aware, and in some particular moments, consciously aware of being upheld in prayer by you. Without consciously deciding to do it, I actually found myself praying some words from Psalm 31, which says, ‘Into your hands, I commend my spirit.’”

Curry, who turned 71 on March 13, is in the final year of his nine-year term as presiding bishop. He has spent much of the past year facing a series of health crises and receiving medical treatment. Curry most recently underwent surgery on March 1. He has been working from his home in Raleigh, North Carolina, at a reduced capacity.

The full Easter message follows.

Hello to my beloved family in Christ. I want to take this opportunity, first of all, on behalf of my wife, Sharon, and our family, to thank you. To thank you for your prayers, to thank you for your well wishes, your expressions of support and kindness. We are equally thankful for the blessing of remarkable medical care and pastoral support. As you may know, I’ve been working a bit from home—at a reduced level, to be sure, but I’m gradually increasing that.

Just two weeks ago, my medical team approved me to drive locally and to resume short domestic flights. I can’t tell you how much your prayers have sustained me and my family through this medical journey. Prayer matters. We don’t always know how. We don’t always know or understand the outcome.

But prayer matters, and it makes a difference. Over the last several months, I have not known how this would all work out. But I’ve been very aware, and in some particular moments, consciously aware of being upheld in prayer by you. Without consciously deciding to do it, I actually found myself praying some words from Psalm 31, which says, “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.”

Before surgeries and treatments, through some long nights, difficult days, “Into your hands, I commend my spirit.” These words are part of a prayer that is Psalm 31 in the Hebrew scriptures. The late night service of Compline uses that psalm as a prayer before going to sleep at night.

Luke’s Gospel records Jesus praying these very words, that psalm, on the cross, when he had a sense of what lay before him, but could not know the outcome. He didn’t know with any certainty if and how God would act. He didn’t know, as the old preachers used to say, Good Friday’s always happened, but Sunday’s always coming. He didn’t know with any certainty that resurrection would become real and not a mere metaphor.

But as he died into the unknown, he did one thing: He threw himself completely into the hands of God. “Father, into thy hands, I commend my spirit.”

And in that moment, after saying that, Luke’s Gospel says, he breathed his last. And though he died, death did not have the last word, though he did die. He died into the hands of God and slipped out of the grip of death.

And as we now know, on the third day he rose again, and he lives. As William Cowper said in a poem that later became a hymn, “God moves in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform, he plants his footstep in the sea and rides upon the storm.”

So God love you. God bless you. May the God who rides upon our storms and raised Jesus of Nazareth from the dead hold us all, the entire human family and all of God’s grand and glorious creation in those almighty hands of love. Have a blessed Holy Week and Easter.

Global Partnerships’ video series features voices from Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem

5 horas 12 minutos atrás

[Office of Global Partnerships] Starting on Easter Day and continuing through the Easter season, clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem will offer reflections and teaching on the Sunday Gospel readings as part of a seven-video series from The Episcopal Church’s Office of Global Partnerships.

The series is called “Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus: An Easter Journey with Palestinian Christians.”

“The goal of this series is to help us explore and understand the Easter Gospels through a unique voice and lens — that of Palestinian Christians,” said the Ven. Paul Feheley, The Episcopal Church partnership officer for the Middle East.

The first video will be available on Easter Day, March 31, beginning at sunrise in Jerusalem (roughly 12:30 a.m. Eastern time), and will feature the Most Rev. Hosam Elias Naoum, bishop of the Diocese of Jerusalem and primate of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.

The following six videos will be posted on Wednesdays starting April 3 and will include English and Arabic readings of the Gospel passages, as well as insights shared from each speaker.

Access the video series, and read more about it, here.

Alabama congregation donates footwear to homeless people in spirit of Maundy Thursday

5 horas 27 minutos atrás

A homeless person in Huntsville, Alabama, is wearing two different shoes and for the same foot on their feet. The Rev. Rosie Veal Eby explained this is why volunteers at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Huntsville spend part of Maundy Thursday every year donating shoes and other footwear-related items to people at a local homeless shelter. Photo: Rosie Veal Eby

[Episcopal News Service] For the second year in a row, volunteers at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Huntsville, Alabama, spent the morning of this Maundy Thursday distributing new shoes, insoles, shoelaces, socks, magic erasers and shoe polish to people at the First Stop daytime homeless shelter downtown.

The Rev. Rosie Veal Eby, priest associate of the Church of the Nativity and a volunteer at First Stop, told Episcopal News Service that adding a footwear “twist” enhances Maundy Thursday’s foot-washing tradition.

“Maundy Thursday is the day we get that new commandment, that we can show love to our neighbor in so many different ways,” she said. “If your church is called to serve the homeless, then look at what your neighbor needs rather than what you want to give them.”

Foot-washing ceremonies, a tradition enshrined in the Book of Common Prayer, are part of Maundy Thursday observances in Episcopal churches everywhere, re-creating an act of service that Jesus performed for his apostles as “an example, that you should do as I have done.”

In Maundy Thursday services, the Book of Common Prayer recommends foot-washing ceremonies after the Gospel reading and homily. The Gospel readings recount the story of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples. Jesus washes his disciples’ feet in John 13:1-15, and in Luke 22:14-30, Jesus responds to a dispute among the disciples by admonishing them and commanding them to serve, rather than wield authority.

“For who is greater,” Jesus says, “the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.”

Jim Chesney, a parishioner at the Church of the Nativity, told ENS that volunteering to distribute footwear at First Stop last year was “touching” for him. He planned to volunteer again this year, this time with his wife, Valerie. 

“One of the things I think that touched me was the sense of community among the homeless people,” he said. “You don’t necessarily think about that as a community similar to other communities.”

The Church of the Nativity distributed more than 50 pairs of shoes this year. Parishioners donated most of the shoes, but a Fleet Feet store in Huntsville also donated shoes. Eby encouraged parishioners to donate shoes in their size to ensure a wide variety of sizes available. The church also collected other footwear-related items, including shoelaces, insoles and shoe polish, for homeless people who may own shoes that need minor adjustments but are otherwise in good condition.

Volunteers at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Huntsville, Alabama, collect and distribute shoes and other footwear-related items to homeless people every Maundy Thursday during Holy Week. Photo: Rosie Veal Eby

Because homeless people spend a lot of time walking outside in all weather conditions, their shoes end up muddy and need to be cleaned. Last year, while washing and replacing shoes, a homeless Army veteran asked if he could shine Eby’s rain boots because he “was excited to show off his boot polishing skills.”

“One thing that we really take for granted is that most of our folks out on the street spend so much time walking around carrying their clothes and their donations,” she said. “When we get tired of our shoes, many of us donate them, and more than likely they’re a little bit worn out. So, to be able to give a pair of tennis shoes new life by putting new insoles in them, they really mean a lot because our folks walk around a lot.”

Eby said she was inspired to add the shoe polishing component of Maundy Thursday services after reading an article about bishops in the Church of England shining shoes in public.

Eby said she and the volunteers won’t be offering a traditional foot-washing ceremony at First Stop this year. When they offered it last year, many of the homeless people were “extremely standoffish” because they’re self-conscious about their hygiene issues. Even though many homeless shelters like First Stop offer shower and laundry services, not every person can arrive before the shelters are overcapacity for the day. If they aren’t staying at the shelters, many people will instead stay outside at the homeless camp in the city, known locally as “The Slab,” and have limited access to hand washing facilities.

In Alabama, an estimated 3,434 people are unhoused on any given night, according to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. In Huntsville, the state’s most populous city with almost 222,000 people, the homeless population is estimated to be about 600, although the number is likely higher. Nationwide, at least 580,000 people are experiencing homelessness.

“If you claim Christ and if you’re not doing anything, then chances are you need to look at yourself and look at what Christ commanded us to do,” Chesney said. “This isn’t an easy problem to solve, but there’s always more we can do to help homeless people.”

Eby said Episcopalians can effectively assist homeless people by building partnerships with existing local agencies that support community needs, such as after-school programs, homeless shelters and substance abuse centers.

“Oftentimes, people tend to want to go in and start a new ministry so they can fix something that they think is broken, when in that neighborhood or that area, that need is already being addressed. Yet they’re probably low on resources, so that collaboration is vital,” she said. “I hope more churches will get involved in doing these kinds of initiatives, because it’s a nice and practical way of bringing Maundy Thursday to the people.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

The archbishop of Canterbury offers ecumenical Easter letter

5 horas 49 minutos atrás

[Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury] The Most Rev. Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, has offered an ecumenical Easter letter to Anglican partners and to heads of churches around the world.

In it he referenced John 21:15-17, in which the risen Jesus asks Peter three times whether he loves him and then tells him to “feed my lambs” and “tend my sheep.” Welby said, “So the master commanded, and so the church has, in his footsteps, tried to do these last two millennia, and so it will continue to do.”

But in contrast, he said, “how complicated, incomplete and unsatisfactory that pastoral witness and care of the church has often proved to be! We have, time and again, turned bread into stones, wine into bitter gall, fire into torture and death. We have, over the centuries, turned on each other. We have neglected, ignored and persecuted in the name of love.”

Welby noted the special suffering he had witnessed during visits to Jerusalem in October and Ukraine in January, adding, “For all the people caught up in these conflicts, just as for anyone injured and traumatized by violence, it must seem as if there can no end to it all, no resurrection.”

He concluded, “But still, even in the midst of all of this, there is hope, because we know that God is there before us, in Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep. Christians live the realism of knowing that human ambitions, time and again, run into sand, and yet at the same time they also share profoundly the vision of hope Christ’s triumph over death brings to all people. So we cannot allow despair to poison our outlook on the world. It is a time of terrible conflict and danger, but our faith is in Christ the peacemaker and reconciler.”

Read the entire message here.

 

 

 

Jerusalem’s Christian leaders send Easter messages

6 horas 1 minuto atrás

[Episcopal News Service] The leaders representing a variety of Christian faith groups in Jerusalem, called the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem, have issued an Easter message in which they recognize “the intense suffering that surrounds us here in the Holy Land, as well as in many other parts of the world,” even as they “proclaim to the world the Good News of Christ’s Resurrection, first announced by angels nearly two millennia ago at the empty tomb here in the Holy City of Jerusalem.”

They offered special greetings “to those of the faithful in Gaza who have been bearing especially heavy crosses over the past several months. These include those taking refuge inside St. Porphyrios and Holy Family Churches, as well as the courageous staff and volunteers of the Anglican-run Ahli Hospital, along with the patients they serve.”

The leaders also repeated their “denunciation of all violent actions in the present devastating war, especially those directed against innocent civilians, and we reiterate our call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire.”

The message also included a plea “for the speedy distribution of humanitarian aid; the release of all captives; the unimpeded access of fully-equipped doctors and medical staff to tend the sick and injured; and the opening of internationally facilitated negotiations aimed at ending and moving beyond the present cycle of violence.”

Noting that all the faith groups they represent do not celebrate Easter on the same date — most Christians will be celebrating Easter on March 31,while Orthodox churches will mark the observance on May 5 — the leaders said they came together to offer a unified message.

Read the entire message here.

Easter message from the World Council of Churches

6 horas 32 minutos atrás

[World Council of Churches] In an Easter message, the Rev. Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches notes, “As we look around the world today, we see so much of pain, suffering and death,” adding, “We are becoming accustomed to violence and death as if these are normal experiences in life.”

But in contrast, “The empty tomb is a sign of life, hope and love” which tells us “that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ.” 

The message concludes, “In every situation of suffering and death today let us be reminded that the Risen Lord brings us life, hope and love. May the peace of Christ be with you all.”

Read the entire message here.

Episcopal Church pairs online concert with annual Good Friday Offering, supporting Middle East ministries

6 horas 56 minutos atrás

A Good Friday concert will be offered online by The Episcopal Church on March 29 hosted by Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Norfolk, Virginia. Photo: Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

[Episcopal News Service] Each year, Episcopalians are encouraged during Holy Week to donate to The Episcopal Church’s Good Friday Offering in support of Anglican ministries in the Middle East. This year, they also are invited to spend part of their Good Friday viewing a concert offered by the church to help center themselves spiritually for the holy day that marks Jesus’ death on the cross.

The concert of sacred music, hosted by Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Norfolk, in the Diocese of Southern Virginia, will be available to view at 3 p.m. Eastern March 29 on The Episcopal Church’s online platforms. Online donations can be made now, and Episcopal congregations churchwide will collect the Good Friday Offering at in-person Good Friday services.

“Every human child of God – Palestinian, Israeli, Iraqi, Cypriot, Lebanese, everyone – deserves safety and security,” Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said in his Lenten message, in which he encouraged Episcopalians to give to the Good Friday Offering. “As we mark our Lord’s passion and death on Good Friday, we remember those whom he loves facing injustice and oppression today, and remember the urgency of love – true, sacrificial love.”

The Good Friday Offering was created in the aftermath of World War I to foster relationships with Christians in the Middle East by supporting relief work and ecumenical partnerships. Today, the church continues to give the money that is raised each year through the offering to the Anglican Province in the region, the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East, to support what it identifies as the most pressing needs in its dioceses.

The urgency is even greater this year amid ongoing violence and suffering in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israeli communities, which killed an estimated 1,200. Hamas militants kidnapped more than 250 people and took them back to Gaza as hostages. Israel responded by declaring war, bombarding Gaza with rockets and sending ground forces into the densely populated territory. Gaza officials estimate more than 30,000 Palestinians have died in the hostilities, raising global alarm and prompting widespread calls for a ceasefire.

Some of the Anglican ministries supported by the Good Friday Offering also have been caught in the crossfire of the Israel-Hamas war. Despite the struggle, Al Ahli Arab Hospital in northern Gaza has remained open to treat those injured in the conflict as the territory descended into a severe humanitarian crisis marked by death, displacement, food and water shortages, power outages, and countless buildings destroyed by airstrikes. Famine is “imminent” in northern Gaza, according to a recent report.

A unit of the Anglican hospital itself was partly damaged early in the conflict by rocket fire, thought to have been fired by the Israeli military, and another deadly explosion in the hospital’s courtyard drew international condemnation, though Israel and the United States said that blast appeared to have been caused by Palestinian militants.

In addition to Al Ahli Hospital, the Diocese of Jerusalem operates a second charitable hospital, St. Luke’s in the West Bank city of Nablus, as well as the Holy Land Institute for the Deaf in Jordan and the Princess Basma Centre for Disabled Children in East Jerusalem. In the Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, The Episcopal Church has partnered in the past with Iraqis on local ministries, such as an economic development program aimed at supporting chicken farmers. The Anglican province also includes the Diocese of Iran.

“This is my last Good Friday letter to you as your presiding bishop,” said Curry, whose successor will be elected in June and take office Nov. 1. “I want to both express my gratitude for your gifts in years past and encourage you to give again to support God’s beloved in this area of the world. This is what love asks of us.”

Video of the Good Friday concert, recorded at Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Norfolk, Virginia, will be streamed at 3 p.m. March 29 on The Episcopal Church’s online platforms. Photo: Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church

The Episcopal Church’s Good Friday concert will feature a selection of hymns commonly associated with the somber Christian holy day. “Every piece of music is centered on the Passion story,” the Rev. Paul Feheley, the church’s Middle East partnership officer, told Episcopal News Service. “This is meant to add to people’s ways of reflecting, ways of worshiping, ways of feeling a sense of the meaning of Good Friday.”

The musical performances are led by Kevin Kwan, organist of Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, in coordination with Curry’s churchwide staff. The concert will last about an hour.

The concert also will feature a recorded message of thanks from Anglican Archbishop Hosam Naoum, leader of the Jerusalem-based province. Last year, the Good Friday Offering collected $253,000 for the province, according to the church’s unaudited estimates. The region’s needs this year are even greater, Feheley said.

“We’ve seen the death and destruction that the war has created,” he said. The Episcopal Church has responded with solemn prayers for peace while also rallying significant financial support for aid efforts in the region. “Thousands of Episcopalians coast to coast and beyond have been generous in remembering their brothers and sisters in the Middle East.”

In addition to contributing to the Good Friday Offering while attending services March 29 in an Episcopal church, donations can be made now by visiting iam.ec/goodfridayoffering.

– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.

Wyoming Bishop Paul-Gordon Chandler deposed as a result of Title IV investigation

qua, 27/03/2024 - 13:52

The Rt. Rev. Paul-Gordon Chandler was consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Wyoming in February 2021. Photo: Diocese of Wyoming

[Episcopal News Service] Wyoming Bishop Paul-Gordon Chandler has been stripped of holy orders, meaning he is no longer ordained in The Episcopal Church, according to a March 27 press release from the church’s Office of Public Affairs.

The Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, acting in her role as presiding bishop-designate for some Title IV matters, announced that she and Chandler have entered an accord resolving the Title IV charges against him. Under the terms of the accord, Chandler has voluntarily agreed to a sentence of deposition. The Disciplinary Board for Bishops has approved this accord as required by church canons, the release said.

A procedure chronology of the case can be found here.

Wyoming’s standing committee continues to serve as the ecclesiastical authority and will remain in partnership with The Episcopal Church’s Office of Pastoral Development to determine next steps, according to a statement from the Rev. Megan Nickles, president of the committee.

“We are saddened by this news yet are thankful for the resolution. Lift up your prayers for the Chandler family and all who are affected by this outcome,” she said.

Last October, Chandler was placed on administrative leave following a brief restriction on his ministry. At the time, a letter to the diocese from the chair of its standing committee cited “an alleged indiscretion with a member of our diocesan team.” No further information regarding the allegations has been made public. The diocese elected Chandler its 10th bishop in September 2020, and he had served as bishop of Wyoming since February 2021.

In a statement sent to Episcopal News Service, Chandler said, “My decision to voluntarily leave ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church is not in any way an admittance of the specific allegations and charges brought against me. This decision, as difficult as it is, allows me to stay true to myself, as well as to be faithful to my calling: ‘Seeking to enable others to enter a deeper dimension spiritually and experience the beauty of God in fresh ways.’ We have certainly experienced God’s presence throughout this challenging time in profoundly moving ways,” he said.

Chandler grew up in Senegal, West Africa. He previously served a decade as rector of the Anglican Church in Cairo, Egypt. He has been recognized throughout the church as a global leader and has spent much of his life focused on building bridges between the Abrahamic faith traditions of Christianity, Islam and Judaism. He founded CARAVAN, an international nonprofit that uses art to promote peace and harmony through the arts.

The resolution of Chandler’s case comes at a time when bishops and other church leaders have been calling for greater oversight and transparency in disciplinary cases involving bishops. In February, The Episcopal Church, under Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s direction, updated its website to launch a series of informational resources, including chronologies of active cases involving bishops under the church’s Title IV disciplinary canons and making it easier for the public to file complaints and navigate the church’s inquiry process. Title IV canons apply to all clergy, including priests and deacons.

Presiding bishop joins global Christian leaders calling for Gaza cease-fire in Holy Week letter

qua, 27/03/2024 - 11:23

Palestinians inspect the site of an Israeli strike, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, March 27, 2024. Photo: Bassam Masoud/REUTERS

[Religion News Service] More than 140 global Christian leaders, including a Guatemalan Catholic cardinal and the presiding bishops of The Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, called for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza and for an end to foreign military support for Israel in a March 26 letter to U.S. President Joe Biden and other politicians.

“We, as global Christian leaders, stand with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Palestine and around the world and say the killing must stop, and the violence must be brought to an end,” they wrote. “The horrific actions Hamas committed on October 7th in no way justify the massive deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli military.”

In separate text specifically addressed to Biden, the signatories wrote, “We implore you to have the moral courage to end U.S. complicity in the ongoing violence and, instead, do everything in your power to prevent the potential genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.”

The letter comes just one day after the United States abstained from a U.N. vote calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza during the month of Ramadan. The resolution passed with 14 votes in favor.

The organization Churches for Middle East Peace, which organized the effort, said it plans to send the letter to other world leaders.

In the letter, the leaders highlighted the high death toll in Gaza, the onset of famine and Israel’s genocide trial at the International Court of Justice. “As the ongoing devastation, bombing, and ground invasion in Gaza continue into their sixth month, Palestinians, including our Palestinian Christian siblings, cry out to the world, asking, ‘Where are you?’“ the letter said.

“We repent of the ways we have not stood alongside our Palestinian siblings in faithful witness in the midst of their grief, agony, and sorrow,” the leaders wrote, highlighting the Christian tenets of “faithfulness to God, love of neighbor, and mercy toward those who are suffering and in need.”

More than 32,000 people have been killed and nearly 75,000 injured in Gaza, according to health officials there, since Israel began a military operation in Gaza after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, which left an estimated 1,200 dead and more than 200 taken captive. Israel estimates 97 hostages still remain alive in Gaza, after 112 were freed.

Last week, United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk said Israel was responsible for a looming famine in Gaza, and Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, predicted that soon more than 200 people a day could die from starvation.

In January, the International Court of Justice found that it was “plausible” that Israel’s acts had violated the Genocide Convention and ordered that Israel ensure the access of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Earlier this month, 12 prominent Israeli human rights groups said their country was not complying with that order.

In their letter, the Christian leaders said they had consistently called for the release of Israeli hostages and they had been “clear in our condemnation” of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack, calling it an “atrocious crime.”

They also called for the release of Palestinian political prisoners held without due process, “immediate and adequate humanitarian assistance” for Gaza and a negotiated settlement that addresses the root consequences of the conflict, including “security and self-determination for Israelis and Palestinians.”

Signatories of the letter came from the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

They represented a broad range of Christian groups, including Catholic bishops, Catholic sisters, Quakers, Mennonites, evangelicals, Antiochian Orthodox Christians and leaders from the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of England, The Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church of Southern Africa, Lott Carey Foreign Baptist Mission Convention, United Reformed Church, Church of Scotland, African Presbyterian Bafolisi Church, Church of the Brethren, Community of Christ, Christian Reformed Church of North America and Armenian Church of America (Eastern).

Throughout the letter, the leaders make reference to Holy Week, where Christians commemorate Jesus Christ’s execution and resurrection. “We know that Jesus himself was among those who suffered, and he comforted the brokenhearted,” the leaders wrote.

“We hold onto the hope that peace is possible even in the midst of this darkest hour,” they concluded.

Funding for rural Church of England parishes frees them up for mission

qua, 27/03/2024 - 11:19

[The Church of England] More than 30 people have been trained so far as lay leaders as part of an ongoing project to support rural parishes backed by Church of England national funding.

The Growing Rural Parishes program in the Diocese of Winchester began work with three multi parish benefices – made up of up to 22 churches in total – offering them the chance to choose how they’d like to modernize and grow. The project has provided features such as improved broadband connection and portable Wi-Fi, along with updated websites and branding, contact-less giving and centralized administrative services to the churches.

Jon Whale, project officer, said that as a result, churches were freed to do more mission work and set up more church services while also experimenting with new means of evangelization and outreach. In one case a church hosted a “pop-up” pub on weekends while a village pub was temporarily closed.

Read the entire article here.

WCC welcomes International Criminal Court accountability for environmental crimes

qua, 27/03/2024 - 11:13

[World Council of Churches] The World Council of Churches, in a submission to the International Criminal Court, welcomed a policy establishing accountability for environmental crimes. The submission is a comment on the Office of the Prosecutor’s environmental crimes policy.

“The ICC was established to end impunity for the most serious crimes,” reads the submission. “Addressing the impunity of those propagating deliberate disinformation on global warming is an essential step to stopping the ongoing expansion of fossil fuels, which is threatening humanity and the living planet.”

The comment follows the WCC’s submission “Climate Change Disinformation: The Need for Legal Development” to the International Criminal Courtin December 2023.

Read the entire article here.

Episcopalians offer prayers and support after Maryland bridge collapse

ter, 26/03/2024 - 15:25

[Episcopal News Service] Following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in the early morning hours of March 26 in the Port of Baltimore, Maryland, Episcopal entities have offered their prayers and promises of support. Six construction workers who had been filling potholes remain missing, and two others were rescued, one of whom was hospitalized. Emergency crews are searching for those still missing.

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland, headquartered in Baltimore, posted a prayer on its website “for those affected by the Key Bridge collapse.” It said, “Holy and gracious God, send your blessings upon all those in harm’s way, those who worry, and those who help. We lift up to you all of those working in and on the Patapsco River to rescue those who are lost. Bless first responders, victims, and those whose hearts are breaking. Bless our Charm City with grace, peace, and patience as we shift our paths to make way for restoration and rescue. We ask this in Jesus’s holy name. Amen. Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.”

A pillar of the bridge, which carries traffic of Interstate 695 over the Patapsco River, was stuck about 1:30 a.m. Eastern by the Dali, a 948-foot-long cargo vessel, causing the bridge to collapse. A “mayday” call from the ship after it lost power allowed time to stop traffic from crossing the bridge. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident.

The Church Seamen’s Institute, an agency that serves seafarers and mariners and operates the Seafarers’ Center out of the Port of Newark, New Jersey, posted its condolences and support on Facebook:

“In the wake of the tragic loss of life resulting from the collision between the container ship Maersk Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, the Seamen’s Church Institute extends our heartfelt condolences to all impacted by this horrific maritime accident. Our immediate focus is on providing support and assistance to all the impacted mariners and first responders. We continue to actively monitor the situation within the Port of Baltimore, which is now facing prolonged closure. Many ships and mariners are now stranded in port and may need assistance. Our thoughts are for Baltimore in their time of need, and SCI stands ready to offer compassion and support as we join the maritime community and our fellow seafarer welfare organizations in navigating this tragedy together.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called the episode a terrible accident. President Joe Biden said in an address that he expects the federal government will pay for the cost of rebuilding the bridge and called on Congress to support efforts to fund the repairs.

‘The Partner’s Path’ provides support for clergy spouses churchwide

ter, 26/03/2024 - 14:28

The nonprofit organization The Partner’s Path offers support for spouses of clergy of The Episcopal Church, including spouses of bishops like these at the Lambeth Conference in 2022. Photo: Egan Millard/Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service] The Partner’s Path, a nonprofit that serves people who are married to Episcopal clergy, exists because being a clergy spouse is unlike any other role inside or outside the church, according to Laura Jackson, the group’s executive director.

“I have a friend who is a psychiatrist and married to a priest, and she said, ‘My husband doesn’t come to my job and watch me work,’ yet clergy spouses often are expected to be in church every Sunday,” she told Episcopal News Service.

The seeds of The Partner’s Path began years ago, when Ardelle Walters, credited as the group’s founder, headed off to seminary with her husband. She expected her life to change, but she didn’t understand “that your whole life will be the church, your family’s whole life will be the church, but it’s all about only one person in the family,” a situation she told ENS was unhealthy.

During that time, she also learned of a faculty member’s dissertation on spouses of clergy and seminarians that described much of what she was feeling. She said, “I remember thinking, oh, this isn’t just me, and I almost wish I hadn’t seen this, because now I clearly have to do something about this someday.”

Twenty years later, she began to wonder who else might be thinking about spouses, which led her to Jackson, also a clergy spouse. Jackson began reading memoirs written by clergy spouses, some going back more than a century, as part of her work toward a doctoral degree in spirituality.

She found that what clergy spouses were feeling – the dual issues of living in a fishbowl (knowing that people are observing you and your family) and a sense of spiritual rootlessness (when how you relate to the church impacts your relationship to God) – were not new.

Her research also showed that these feelings hold true regardless of the gender, orientation, race or age of the spouse. “It doesn’t come from anybody having bad intentions,” she said. “It’s systemic.”

The fishbowl experience can be everything from having your family literally on display during services and other events to unstated expectations about a spouse’s church involvement. Spiritual struggles can range from being in a parish whose worship style is different from what a spouse prefers to being hurt by a parish struggle and beginning to feel God was the source of the hurt.

Spouses tend to think these problems lie just within themselves, Jackson said, and the answer is having a place where it’s safe to express their feelings out loud. “And that place is a room that only has other clergy spouses,” she said.

The work of providing that started three years ago, when the Rev. Cathy Tyndall Boyd, a retired priest who spent 33 years as a clergy spouse before her ordination in 2007, started interviewing a variety of spouses online. Boyd has worked for the church in a variety of roles, from seminary bookstore employee to diocesan communicator to parish ministry, and she told ENS, “I have come to believe that the clergy spouse is one of the single biggest underserved and invisible populations of the church.”

From those early interviews – now called “Conversations on The Partner’s Path” and taking place monthly – the organization has developed multiple ways to serve spouses. The first is through encouraging the formation of local chapters in every diocese. There currently are 14 dioceses listed as affiliates, which help create a local community without relying on the bishop’s spouse to oversee them.

Ellen Prall, an elementary music teacher married to a priest, is active in the Diocese of Chicago’s affiliate and said relying on a bishop’s spouse, a potential burden to them, to organize gatherings makes little sense.

“It depends on whether or not the bishop has a spouse, and then whether that bishop’s spouse feels called to that ministry,” she told ENS. “Just like I don’t want to be told at my church that I’m supposed to do something, we don’t want to make the bishop’s spouse feel like they need to lead the clergy spouses.”

Prall now leads one of the newer elements of The Partner’s Path – monthly online affinity groups for spouses who have something in common but may be geographically dispersed. She leads a gathering for parents of young children, and there also are groups for LGBTQ+ spouses and for spouses and partners who are Black, Indigenous or people of color.

There also are monthly online roundtable gatherings called “Not Coffee Hour,” as well as monthly yoga sessions.

Funding for the organization comes from donations, including many from bishops and clergy spouses themselves, as well as other fundraising efforts, including a 2023 walk of last 60 miles of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela in Spain that Walters and her husband led.

Walters makes it a point to tell bishops that supporting clergy spouses isn’t just about helping them but also is about making the entire Episcopal Church stronger, because supporting spouses means “clergy will be healthier, and churches will be healthier.”

—Melodie Woerman is a freelance reporter based in Kansas.

On final day in Lebanon, WCC general secretary finds in-depth dialogues

ter, 26/03/2024 - 10:45

[World Council of Churches] On his final day in a visit to Lebanon, World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev. Jerry Pillay met with His Beatitude Patriarch Cardinal Mar Bechara Boutros Al-Rai, Maronite Patriarch of Antioch and All the East, at the Patriarchal Edifice-Bkerke, in the presence of the Patriarchal Vicar General His Eminence Bishop Paul Sayah.

Also on his agenda was a meeting with Rev. Joseph Kassab, president of the Supreme Council of Evangelical Community in Syria and Lebanon, general secretary of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon, and member of the executive committee of the Middle East Council of Churches.

He also met with the Middle East Council of Churches, reiterating his congratulations on the council’s 50th anniversary. 

Read the entire article here.

Gallup poll: More than half of Americans rarely go to church

ter, 26/03/2024 - 10:18

[Religion News Service] The most popular church in America might be St. Mattress, followed by Bedside Baptist.

Those two — euphemisms for sleeping in on Sundays — increasingly describe the attitude of many Americans toward attending churches or other houses of worship.

More than half of Americans (56%) say they seldom or never attend religious services, according to new data from Gallup. Less than a third (30%) say they attend on a weekly or almost weekly basis.

Gallup found that almost all of the so-called Nones (95%) say they seldom or never attend services. More than half of Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Orthodox Christians say they rarely attend as well.

Among religious Americans, Latter-Day Saints (67%) are most likely to say they attend weekly or almost weekly, followed by Protestants (44%), Muslims (38%) and Catholics (33%).

Overall, the percentage of Americans who never attend services has more than doubled since the early 1990s, while the share of those who say they rarely attend has stayed stable, according to Gallup data.

An earlier report from Gallup found that in 1992, those who attended weekly (34%) outnumbered those who never attended (14%) by 2 to 1. Since 2018, the number of Americans who never attend services has outnumbered the number who attend weekly.

Gallup Senior Editor Jeffrey Jones said the decline in attendance is driven mostly by generational shifts. Not only are younger Americans less likely to identify with any religion, they are also less likely to have been raised with a religion.

“If you were raised in a religion and you have fallen away, you can come back to it,” he said. “Younger people, a lot of times, weren’t brought up in any religion. So they don’t have anything to come back to.”

Americans today are also less religious overall and less likely to identify as Christian, meaning that the nation’s largest religious tradition — whose adherents are most likely to attend weekly services — has declined, leading to lower attendance.

Jones said that an overall loss of faith in the nation’s institutions likely plays a role in the declining attendance. A Gallup poll last year found that only a third of Americans had a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in the church or organized religion. But the growth of the “Nones” — those who do not identify with any religion — has likely played a larger role in the attendance decline, said Jones.

Gallup’s findings echo the data from other major organizations, such as Pew Research Center, that track religion and other cultural trends and have found both religious identity and participation are declining.

A recent Pew study found that most Americans believe religion’s influence is waning. Half think that is a bad thing. The other half think the decline is good or don’t care.

Global Episcopal Mission Network addresses ‘God’s mission in tension times’ in virtual conference

seg, 25/03/2024 - 16:46

The 2024 Global Episcopal Mission Network conference centered on the theme “Joining God’s Mission in Tension Times,” and highlighted efforts to engage in mission companionships in places of civil unrest, violence, war and persecution including stories from South Sudan, Haiti, Pakistan, Mozambique, Iraq and Jerusalem. About 70 people participated in the March 20-22 virtual conference. Photo: Screenshot

[Episcopal News Service] The 2024 Global Episcopal Mission Network conference centered on the theme “Joining God’s Mission in Tension Times,” and highlighted efforts to engage in mission companionships in places of civil unrest, violence, war and persecution. Plenary speakers shared stories from South Sudan, Haiti, Pakistan, Iraq and Jerusalem. 

About 70 people participated in the March 20-22 virtual conference. GEMN is an association of individuals, parishes, dioceses and organizations that works to equip and encourage the church’s work in global mission. The annual conference started and concluded with prayer on each of its three days. Each three-hour day included two plenary sessions and small group discussions in breakout rooms. Participants had the opportunity to ask guest speakers questions.

The conference started with a conversation between Archbishop Samuel Peni of the Internal Province of Western Equatoria in the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, retired Iowa Bishop Alan Scarfe and the Rev. Kathleen Milligan, rector at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Newton, Iowa, and a member of the Diocese of Iowa’s One World One Church Commission.

“I have been born in war, and I’ve grown in war. I’ve had my children born in war as well, and now I have three grandchildren who were also born still in war,” said Peni, who also serves as bishop of Yambio. “[In seminary] we were being trained to face the difficult situation that we were going to minister to. We are returning to people who have been going through a lot. We are returning to people to preach the word in a difficult situation.”

Peni, Scarfe and Milligan addressed the challenges the Episcopal Church of South Sudan faces in the aftermath of South Sudan’s civil war

South Sudan continues to face a humanitarian crisis since gaining independence from Sudan in 2011. Even though the civil war ended four years ago, the country is still experiencing violence and food insecurity. Millions have fled the country, and today 2.4 million South Sudanese people are refugees, 65% of whom are children.

After a short break, conference participants reconvened on Zoom to listen to the Rev. Jean Berthol Phanord, priest-in-charge of Bon Samaritain Church & School in Bondeau, Haiti, and Beth Shires, executive director of the nonprofit South Florida Haiti Project, discuss how church and community leaders continue partnerships to serve Haitians as Haiti faces increasing gang violence and enduring political instability. Criminal groups have cut off the food and water supplies in Port-au-Prince, the capital. Now, gas stations are out of fuel and hospitals have limited blood supply. Few Haitians have been able to leave the country during the ongoing crisis.

The second day of the conference began with Bishop Humphrey Sarfaraz Peters of the Church of Pakistan’s Diocese of Peshawar addressing the Peshawar province’s history of extremist violence against religious minorities, including Christians. The third largest religion in the Muslim-majority Pakistan, Christianity comprises of about 1.27% of the country’s population.

During the plenary, Peters spoke with two members of Bridges to Pakistan, the Rev. Reagan Cocke and the Rev. Robin Reeves-Kautz. Bridges to Pakistan is a Texas-based mission agency that supports the Diocese of Peshawar’s ministries.

“We are trying our best with friends like [Bridges to Pakistan] to maintain our survival and existence in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,” Peters said. “It’s a very big challenge, very difficult.”

The conference continued with the Rev. Helen Van Koevering, rector of St. Raphael Episcopal Church in Lexington, Kentucky, discussing the history of civil rest and ongoing terrorism in Mozambique with Bishop Manuel Ernesto of the Anglican Church of Mozambique and Angola’s Missionary Diocese of Nampula. Koevering worked in various missionary roles in Mozambique between 1985 and 2015.

Rampant violence and attacks by armed groups in Mozambique have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. More than 850,000 people are now internally displaced in Mozambique, one of the poorest countries in the world.

“The themes of this conference, mission under pressure, resonate with our situations here in Mozambique, but it also resonates with our history and the mission leaders,” Ernesto said. “It’s important to see together how companionship is a sense of the Eucharist in communities. Companionships are very important.”

Koevering said The Episcopal Church can learn much from the church and the people of Mozambique.

“We can learn from the people who are already there and have had experience there and are up to date with what’s going on,” she said.

The conference’s final day started with Buck Blanchard, board chair, and the Rev. Christopher Bishop, the founder of Stand with Iraqi Christians, discussing their experiences working on mission companionship in Iraq amid continuing risk of religious extremism against religious minorities in the predominantly Shia Muslim country. SWIC is an Episcopal nonprofit that serves to financially and spiritually support Christians in Iraq. 

“We have the opportunity to learn from another culture, and they have the opportunity to learn from us,” Blanchard said. “There are many times in a mission relationship as you’re discussing things that someone will describe something you don’t really understand, and then they’ll describe it in their own circumstance. And when you hear them say something to that effect, it’s equally powerful.”

The final plenary addressed mission companionship amid the ongoing war between Palestine and Israel. The Rev. Jameel Maher Khader, rector of Good Shepherd Anglican Episcopal Church in and St. Philip’s Anglican Church in Nablus in Palestine’s West Bank, and the Rev. Max Sklar, a Young Adult Service Corps member who recently returned from Jerusalem, both spoke during the plenary.

During the conference, GEMN offered participants a chance to pray for communities experiencing unrest, violence, war and persecution through an online prayer wall.

On its final day, Titus Presler, GENN’s executive director, asked participants: What have we learned about companionship under pressure, and how can we integrate these learnings into our mission companionships?”

The 2025 GEMN conference will take place April 30-May 2 in Honduras.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

WCC publishes new materials for Easter solidarity with Holy Land series

seg, 25/03/2024 - 10:58

[World Council of Churches] The World Council of Churches has published online new materials related to the 2024 Easter initiative, “Out of the darkness – Easter solidarity with the Holy Land.” The Easter initiative is an annual activity of the WCC Ecumenical Accompaniment Program in Palestine and Israel.

The materials — which include feature stories and prayers, as well as social media and advocacy resources — connect the stories of Easter with current realities in Palestine and Israel, and spotlight the challenges of a life marked by violence, war and occupation. The materials also nurture hope and highlight groups and individuals striving for a just peace.

Read the entire article here.

Anglicans take part in ecumenical seminar in Assisi about God as creator

seg, 25/03/2024 - 10:47

[Anglican Communion News Service] An Anglican delegation of liturgists and theologians has taken part in an ecumenical seminar in Assisi, Italy. It was hosted by the Laudato Si Research Institute and sponsored by the Anglican Communion, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the World Council of Churches and other partners on March 15-16. The seminar’s title was “The Feast of Creation and the Mystery of Creation: Ecumenism, Theology, Liturgy and Signs of the Times in Dialogue.”

The aim of the meeting was to progress ecumenical understanding of God as Creator, with a view to arriving at an ecumenically shared Christian celebration that might be included in western churches’ liturgical calendars.

At this early stage of discernment, the name of such a celebration is not yet decided. The work of the seminar will continue in the months ahead, with conversations within and between the sponsoring world communions, clarifying the vision and proposals that might be shared with churches for consideration and reception.

The Orthodox Church already marks creation on Sept. 1, and in recent decades this time of year has been increasingly adopted by other churches as an important celebration, known by many as the “World Day of Prayer for Creation.”

Many Anglican churches mark “A Season of Creation,” and in 2012 the Anglican Consultative Council passed a resolution “to consider the inclusion of a Season of Creation in the liturgical calendar.” Sept. 1 to Oct. 4 is now marked by many other traditions and churches, too.

This has become an encouraging sign of ecumenical unity and is helping to shape a theology of creation care, as Christians seek to respond to the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

The Rev. Rachel Mash, the Rev. Neil Vigers and Paulo Ueti led the Anglican delegation in Assisi.

Vigers said, “It should be emphasized that the energy for this is theological – doctrinal and liturgical. If God sustains all things in being, and redeems and renews all things, then how we live as part of God’s work of love must be shaped by this faith and lead to action and witness. The focus of a feast would be on God the creator.

“It is highly significant that this discernment is being done together, ecumenically, and not by a single communion or tradition. This is a sign of our deepening unity — that we are able to work collaboratively and offer to all our churches a vision that might take us all further towards Christian unity and give strong theological support for what Anglicans call the Fifth Mark of Mission, to tend and care for creation.”

Messages of support for the meeting came from the archbishop of Canterbury and the ecumenical patriarch (Orthodox), in parallel to the participation by Cardinal Víctor Fernández of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (Roman Catholic) and the Rev. Heinrich Bedford-Strohm (Moderator of the World Council of Churches).

The Most Rev. Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury, said, “The Feast of Creation is an opportunity to celebrate the Triune God as Creator, reflecting on the mystery of creation as the foundational event of salvation history. Treasuring the Earth is one of the Five Marks of Mission, and in the face of the climate crisis, protecting God’s creation is a spiritual imperative for Christians throughout the global church. Creation Day has inspired us to come together in prayer and action – to safeguard, sustain and renew the life of the Earth.

“That is why, inspired by the Orthodox Church’s leadership, the Anglican Communion enthusiastically supports this ecumenical process. I encourage Anglicans around the world to pray for the unity of the church, as we follow Christ’s call to protect and renew what God has entrusted to us.”

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, head of the Holy Orthodox Church said, “This entire effort gives us great cause for joy, because it was 35 years ago that our venerable predecessor, the late Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios, issued the very first encyclical inviting all people of good will to dedicate Sept. 1… as a special day of prayer for the preservation of the natural environment.

“The call was first taken up by Orthodox Christians throughout the world, while the World Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches soon followed suit. In recent years, the call was also embraced by Pope Francis for the Roman Catholic Church and by Archbishop Justin Welby for the Anglican Communion. Today, across the planet, numerous Christian churches and faithful recognize this celebration as the World Day of Prayer for Creation or the Feast of Creation.

“This sense of ecumenical conviction and Christian unity is paramount not only because we have been commanded by our Lord ‘that we may be one’ (John 17:21), but also because we cannot and should not hope to address climate change without working closely with one another. As we have repeatedly stated, ‘we are all in the same boat.’ Creation care is a collective mandate and responsibility.”

Episcopalians participate in interfaith march, vigil supporting migrants in El Paso, Texas

sex, 22/03/2024 - 13:45

A crowd marches to Sacred Heart Church for the March and Vigil for Human Dignity in El Paso, Texas, March 21, 2024. Photo: Justin Hamel/REUTERS

[Episcopal News Service] Some 15 Episcopalians joined Rio Grande Bishop Michael Hunn and the Rev. Lee Curtis, the diocese’s canon to the ordinary, in a march and vigil on March 21 in El Paso, Texas, to protest recent efforts to close a local network of migrant shelters and enforce a bill that allows law enforcement to arrest and detain anyone suspected of being in the United States illegally.

“The idea is to gather people of goodwill from all faith traditions together to have a march and a vigil calling for the humane treatment of everybody who comes to that border, and that includes, in my mind, to treat Border Patrol as human beings and not ask them to do inhumane things,” Hunn told Episcopal News Service before the march and vigil.

Recent threats to close the Catholic-affiliated nonprofit Annunciation House and enforcement of SB4 prompted the Catholic Diocese of El Paso to host the interfaith “‘Do Not Be Afraid’: A March & Vigil for Human Dignity.” The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande’s borderland ministries, Interfaith Immigration Interfaith Coalition, Catholic Charities of Southern New Mexico, the Immigration Law & Justice Network and other organizations joined the Catholic diocese in sponsoring the event.

Episcopalians gather for the March and Vigil for Human Dignity in El Paso, Texas, March 21, 2024. Photo: Lee Curtis

In February, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused Annunciation House of human smuggling. On March 11, a district judge in El Paso blocked Paxton’s efforts to subpoena the migrant shelter rooted in Catholic social teachings. Eight days later, Texas’ SB4 immigration law, which grants officials permission to jail and prosecute suspected undocumented migrants without authorization, was enforced. Hours later, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel blocked Texas from enforcing SB4.

“This is really a shot across the bow saying that even government entities may now target not only immigrants, but those who are doing this work, which we see as fundamental to living out our Christian faiths,” Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso told ENS. “We see this as a threat to our ability to do what the framers of our Constitution ensured we could do, and that is to live out our faith and freedom.”

El Paso stands on the Rio Grande in west Texas across the U.S.-Mexico border from Ciudad Juárez in the state of Chihuahua. The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande encompasses the entire state of New Mexico and far-west Texas from the border to the Pecos River. The diocese is based in Albuquerque, although Curtis works out of El Paso, where the diocese has about  200 members.

Seitz and Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celino of El Paso led the march, which began at San Jacinto Plaza in downtown El Paso and continued 0.4 miles south to Sacred Heart Church, where the two Catholic bishops led an interfaith vigil to observe nearly one year since 40 migrants died in a fire at an immigration detention center in Ciudad Juárez on March 27, 2023.

Hunn said supporting migrants is not “a political thing,” but an act of following Jesus’ commands.

“Shutting down Annunciation House — or giving them a cease-and-desist order — is infringing upon our right to exercise our religion and to follow Jesus Christ as our lord and savior,” he said. “We are not doing anything illegal here. We are following the laws of America, but more than that, we are following the command of Jesus Christ to love and to welcome the stranger, to feed those who are hungry, to clothe those who are naked.”

The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande works with the Catholic Diocese of El Paso to welcome newly arrived migrants to the United States by giving them food, clothes, personal hygiene products and other necessities. St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church is home of the Diocese of the Rio Grande’s only migrant shelter in El Paso, serving about 25 people every day.

“This kind of welcome is essential to El Paso’s identity, and we’re not big fans when folks who don’t try to get to know us or understand the work that we do tell us that we have to stop,” Curtis, who is also a member of Rio Grande’s borderland ministries team, told ENS. “It’s a gift that we have such an amazing network that supports us and supports each other in this work. This is why we need to show up to support Annunciation House.”

Annunciation House coordinates shelter placements in cooperation with Customs and Border Protection. The federal agency then arranges transportation for the migrants from detention facilities to the community shelters like the one at St. Christopher’s. Migrants then can rest, depending on their date of departure, for a few hours or days, wash their clothes, charge their phones and connect to the internet while flight or bus tickets are arranged to their final destinations. While waiting at St. Christopher’s, volunteers give the migrants — most of whom are asylum-seekers — a brief U.S. geography lesson to help them understand where they will be settling. Asylum-seekers must be sponsored by a U.S. citizen to stay in the United States while their asylum case is pending. Although the terms migrants and asylum-seekers are often used interchangeably, not all migrants are asylum-seekers. Once asylum-seekers are granted asylum, they are officially recognized as refugees. Asylum-seekers and refugees leave their homes for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to war, violence and persecution over race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.

Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande Bishop Michael Hunn stands directly behind Bishop Mark Seitz of the Catholic Diocese of El Paso inside Sacred Heart Church for the March and Vigil for Human Dignity in El Paso, Texas, March 21, 2024. Religious leaders from throughout Texas and other states, including several Catholic bishops, participated in the interfaith event. Photo: Justin Hamel/REUTERS

On March 22, Hunn and Curtis will join Seitz, Celino and other area religious leaders at the Catholic-affiliated Hope Border Institute to discuss how to best prepare migrant-supporting organizations and respond to future attempts from local, state and federal governments to quell their operations.

“We will talk about the role of faith in helping society become a society that welcomes, protects and promotes the integration of migrants as siblings, not as criminals,” Hunn said.

“How can we do a better job to inform people in our country that it is these very shelters that are being attacked, who are the main bulwark against those who would traffic people in our country? If the shelters close, then you’re going to see a boom for the traffickers,” Seitz said.

Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande Bishop Michael Hunn speaks at the March and Vigil for Human Dignity in El Paso, Texas, March 21, 2024. Photo: Lee Curtis

To help Episcopalians learn firsthand about the circumstances asylum-seekers face, the Diocese of the Rio Grande offers a weeklong pilgrimage to key sites on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. During the pilgrimage, participants can meet Border Patrol agents and ask them questions.

“It’s an amazing opportunity for people to see the reality of the borderlands not just in El Paso, but also out in the Big Bend,” Curtis said. “It’s both educational and spiritual, and it cuts through a lot of the political wrangling that persists on both sides of this issue.”

For Hunn, supporting migrants strengthens his faith, referring to Matthew 6:11.

“You know ‘give us this day our daily bread?’ These folks have been living it and they’re desperately relying on God to care for them and their family,” he said. “There’s a predominant sense that I have whenever I meet with folks at the border. When the volunteers show up to help make a hospitable space for us, or when we’re in the kitchen cooking food to feed the migrants, the Holy Spirit is there, and we feel the presence of God in the flesh.”

The Episcopal Church is committed to advocating for humane immigration policies that respect the dignity and worth of every human being and for comprehensive immigration reform. For more information click here.

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service based in northern Indiana. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

Church of England awards more than $10 million to help churches spread the Christian faith

sex, 22/03/2024 - 12:30

[The Church of England] The Church of England has awarded more than $10 million for projects to help churches spread the Christian faith, including parish renewal programs, as well as children’s and youth work in rural and urban areas.

Grants have been approved for mission from the north of England to the Kent coast, much of it in low income areas, covering parish revitalization programs, “hubs” for children’s and youth work, church planting, and the expansion of a model of family church that has grown “exponentially” after it was set up in 2020.

The awards, to the dioceses of Canterbury, Durham, Hereford and Southwark, have been made by the Church of England’s Strategic Mission and Ministry Investment Board.

Read the entire article here.