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Members of the presiding bishop’s delegation to the 68th meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and some of their leadership team dress in black for one the “Thursdays in Black” aimed at ending gender-based violence. Photo: Facebook/The Episcopal Church and the United Nations

[Episcopal News Service] Nine of the 10 Episcopal women who attended the 68th meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women offered a wrap-up report about how their experiences inspired them to new and expanded service across The Episcopal Church. One member, the Rev. Madeleine Rebouché from the Diocese of Tennessee, was unable to be present but did write about her experiences.

The delegates were incredibly active over days that often stretched beyond 12 hours, said Lynnaia Main, Episcopal Church Representative to the United Nations, in the gathering that was livestreamed March 25 on The Episcopal Church and the United Nations Facebook page. Main, along with former UNCSW delegates and members of the presiding bishop’s staff, including from The Episcopal Church offices of Global Partnerships and Government Relations as well as Episcopal Relief & Development, served on the leadership team that helped delegates navigate their work.

This year’s UNCSW took place March 11-22 in New York, and participants included representatives of U.N. member states, U.N. entities and accredited nongovernmental organizations from across the globe, including The Episcopal Church.

Main lauded the delegates’ hard work, noting they attended “countless U.N. plenary, side and parallel events” and shared the church’s priorities as outlined in Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s statement to the U.N. while also taking part in daily worship services every morning alongside Ecumenical Women.

UNCSW was an opportunity, said Karen Ide of the Diocese of Los Angeles, to connect with other people who are engaged in resettling refugees from Afghan, including new people she met who are working with Afghan-related policies. Other delegates said they learned about new programs that were so transformative that they plan to share them people back home.

For the Rev. Lilo Carr Rivera from Long Island, that was solar cookers in Kenya, which meant women and girls no longer had to spend long hours, and be targets of attack or trafficking, while hunting for wood for cooking fires. Some were able to spend those extra hours in school.

Beekeeping in Lesotho caught the attention of the Rev. Robin Newman, a deacon in the Diocese of New York, where it not only provides income through honey but also employment for those making frames for the hives and even hemp grown for beekeeper uniforms. She already is involved with her diocesan Tanzania Task Force and plans to share this information with them.

Faith LeMaster has been active in advocating for the right of garment workers in the Diocese of Los Angeles and thought that would be her emphasis while in New York, but she noted how much she learned about the needs of women around the world. From that she has decided to teach a class on financial literacy for local girls and women, having seen how “a lack of financial education is such a barrier for women everywhere across the world.”

She will be joined in an educational effort by Karina Flores Arriola, also from the Diocese of Los Angeles, who was inspired to work to set up leadership schools for local women, as well as to raise awareness of the “16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence” originating from U.N. Women.

Karen Neilsen from the Diocese of Ohio has worked with the U.N.’s International Labor Organization in her role as a labor attorney but said she wants to expand her efforts into lessening and working to eradicate human labor trafficking in the U.S and around the globe. She wants to see if her diocese’s committee on human trafficking can expand to include those trafficked for work as well as for sex.

The chance to learn from women in the Global South inspired the Rev. Claudia Scheda of the Diocese of Western New York, who said she brought home some prayer service sheets from worship she attended. She hopes to connect a woman from Nigeria she met at UNCSW with a diocesan colleague who does medical missionary work in Nigeria, and she wants to become better acquainted with the Mother’s Union after meeting members who were part of the Anglican Communion delegation.

Problems with getting a visa kept the Rev. Luz Lambis of the Diocese of Colombia from attend the meeting in person, so she participated online. Going forward she said she wants to center her work in a fight against poverty, as well as eliminating anything that prevents women’s equality in education and employment, while also providing for the needs of LGBTQ+ girls and women. She plans to create a webinar with other Episcopal women from the Caribbean and Latin America to work on this.

Lori Petrie from the Diocese of Chicago said she found in the “amazing, brave, smart women” who were part of UNCSW a new sense of how change can come about. “The biggest change to my approach to thinking about inequality in the world is the real sense of the power of collective, communal action” she saw on display in New York, along with “the power and the sisterhood that comes from working in your own community.”

—Melodie Woerman is a freelance reporter based in Kansas.

From left, Nebraska Bishop J. Scott Barker, Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez, Northwestern Pennsylvania Bishop Sean Rowe, who also serves as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Western New York, and Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright.

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church’s next presiding bishop will be chosen this June from a slate of four nominees, whose names were released April 2: Nebraska Bishop J. Scott Barker, Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez, Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright and Northwestern Pennsylvania Bishop Sean Rowe, who also serves as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Western New York.

Those four bishops – and any additional candidates nominated by petition – will be presented for election at the 81st General Convention, which convenes June 23-28 in Louisville, Kentucky. The nominees’ names will be formally submitted June 25 during a joint session of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies. On June 26, the bishops will elect, and deputies will be asked to confirm, the church’s 28th presiding bishop, who will succeed Presiding Bishop Michael Curry beginning Nov. 1.

“We appreciate the many Episcopalians who prayerfully set us on our way to discerning this slate of nominees,” Alaska Bishop Mark Lattime said in a news release announcing the slate. Lattime and Steve Nishibayashi, a lay leader in the Diocese of Los Angeles, are co-chairs of the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop. The committee began its work in the fall of 2021.

The committee’s slate is marked by geographical and racial diversity, though it includes no women or LGBTQ+ nominees. The nominee bishops also draw on a range of experiences in seeking to become presiding bishop for the office’s next nine-year term.

• Barker, 60, has led the Omaha-based Diocese of Nebraska since 2011. The diocese’s 53 worshipping communities span the full state, where Barker was born and raised. A graduate of Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, Barker was ordained to the priesthood in 1992 and served for 10 years in Omaha and 10 more years in the Diocese of New York before returning to Nebraska as bishop.
• Gutiérrez, 59, has led the Philadelphia-based Diocese of Pennsylvania since 2016. It is one of five dioceses in the state. A native of New Mexico, Gutiérrez earned a diocesan certificate in Anglican Studies through the Trinity School for Ministry and has a master’s degree in theological studies from St. Norbert College. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2008 in the Albuquerque-based Diocese of the Rio Grande and served there as canon to the ordinary, chief operating officer and chief of staff before he was elected bishop of Pennsylvania.
• Rowe, 49, has led the Erie-based Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania since 2007, and he also serves as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Western New York through a partnership the dioceses established in 2019. He previously served as bishop provisional of the Diocese of Bethlehem from 2014 to 2018. Originally from western Pennsylvania, Rowe is a Virginia Theological Seminary graduate and was ordained to the priesthood in 2000 in Northwestern Pennsylvania, where he served in congregational ministry until his election as bishop. He currently serves as parliamentarian of the House of Bishops and Executive Council.
• Wright, 60, has led the Diocese of Atlanta since 2012. The diocese, based in Georgia’s capital city, has 120 worshipping communities across the northern half of the state. A Navy veteran and graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary, Wright was ordained to the priesthood in 1999 in the Diocese of New York. At the time of his election as bishop, he had served the previous 10 years as rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta. Since 2020, he also has hosted the popular podcast “For People” on faith and life.

“We look forward to presenting these bishops to the convention for its consideration,” Nishibayashi said in the news release.

Under the petition process, any bishop or deputy to the 81st General Convention may petition to add a name to the committee’s slate after it is released. Those additional nominations must be made April 3-15 with the consent of the bishop being nominated by petition.

The nominees will not make themselves available for news interviews, consistent with past practice in presiding bishop elections, the nominating committee said in its news release. They are scheduled to address bishops and deputies in person June 21 at a two-hour session in Louisville that also will be livestreamed. In addition, the committee has released videos of each nominee “discussing a biblical image or metaphor that resonates with this moment in the life of the church and the role of the presiding bishop.”

View each nominee’s videos on the General Convention Office website.

General Convention, the triennial churchwide gathering, splits its authority between the House of Bishops and House of Deputies, and each house has a distinct role in the selection of a new presiding bishop. In Louisville, the House of Bishops will gather in a closed session June 26 at Christ Church Cathedral for the election and then ask the House of Deputies to vote to confirm the result.

The committee chose the nominees from a list of names submitted by 111 Episcopalians during a two-month window last year. Some names were submitted multiple times, and though bishops were invited to nominate themselves, none did.

Bishops named during the two-month window were asked to enter the discernment process. Those who agreed to be considered were asked to provide biographical information, references and responses to the committee’s questions. They also were interviewed on Zoom. From those candidates, the committee invited a smaller number of bishops to a March 18-23 retreat at the Lake Logan Conference Center in the Diocese of Western North Carolina, after which the committee finalized its slate of nominees.

The 28th presiding bishop is scheduled to take office on Nov. 1, and an installation is scheduled for Nov. 2 at Washington National Cathedral, the traditional seat of the presiding bishop. When the nominating committee released its presiding bishop profile in March 2023, it identified via survey several qualities needed in “a presiding bishop for our time.” Among the most important characteristics are strong leadership, a love of communicating and faithfulness.

Curry, formerly the bishop of North Carolina, is well known for his rousing sermons, and his successor must be “someone who loves to preach” and “who longs to bring a word to The Episcopal Church and to the world,” the committee said. Nominees for presiding bishop should have demonstrated diocesan leadership that is “strategic, articulate, collaborative, committed and gracious” while also “building up the body of Christ.”

The committee also cited faithfulness as a quality frequently identified by survey respondents and interviewees as essential in a presiding bishop. “The next presiding bishop should be one who is deeply grounded in their faith and hope in Christ and steadfastly committed to the living tradition of The Episcopal Church. They should be fully authentic and a person of palpable integrity, always ready to offer ‘an accounting for the hope that is in [them]’” the committee said, quoting 1 Peter.

A history and timeline of Episcopal Church presiding bishops

Curry was elected in 2015 as the church’s first Black presiding bishop. Before him, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, elected in 2006, was the church’s first female presiding bishop. Her predecessor, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, was the first to serve a nine-year term, after the church shortened the presiding bishop’s term from 12 years.

The presiding bishop has a range of responsibilities, as outlined by The Episcopal Church Constitution and Canons. Those include presiding over the House of Bishops, chairing Executive Council, visiting every Episcopal diocese, participating in the ordination and consecration of bishops, receiving and responding to disciplinary complaints against bishops, making appointments to the church’s interim bodies, and “developing policies and strategies for the church and speaking for the church on the policies, strategies and programs of General Convention.”

There are few canonical requirements for presiding bishop candidates. They must be members of the House of Bishops and cannot yet have reached the church’s mandatory retirement age of 72. Nothing prohibits the election of a presiding bishop who would turn 72 during the nine-year term, though historically nominees have been able to complete the full nine years.

“We felt the Holy Spirit’s presence during this process and are prayerfully thankful for the guidance we received,” the Rev. Maureen-Elizabeth Hagan, a deacon on the committee who chairs its nominations subcommittee, said in the April 2 news release.

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

[World Council of Churches] World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev. Jerry Pillay on April 2 met with the executive director of the 2050Today Initiative, Jean-Pierre Reymond.

The 2050Today Initiative is a Geneva-based climate action forum where institutions of International Geneva come together to tackle climate change by measurably reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Pillay shared the history of the WCC of reflecting on sustainability in relation to poverty since the early 1970s—long before the concept gained currency in international politics and business.

Read the entire article here.

On April 8, 2024, a total solar eclipse will be visible along a narrow path stretching from Mexico to Canada. Photo: NASA

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal churches and camps along the April 8 total solar eclipse’s path of totality are preparing to welcome visitors as millions of people are expected to travel to the path of totality to witness the natural phenomenon.

A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, briefly casting a shadow over Earth. Next week’s will cross over North America, entering through Mexico’s Pacific coast near Mazatlan and exiting through Canada’s Newfoundland along the Atlantic coast. More than 31 million Americans live inside the eclipse’s 115-mile path of totality, the track of the moon’s shadow. After this year, the next total solar eclipse to cross the contiguous United States will occur on Aug. 23, 2044.

For the Rev. T.J. Tetzlaff, rector of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Noblesville, Indiana, a suburb of Indianapolis, the eclipse offers an opportunity to host an event that “unites everybody” who witnesses it. St. Michael’s is opening its space for people to park their cars, picnic and watch the eclipse for free.

“It’s a really cool event, and we’re just so happy that we can be there and witness the eclipse with the community at the same time,” Tetzlaff told Episcopal News Service. “Regardless of our backgrounds, or what we’re experiencing in our personal lives, a large-scale world event like this is something that everybody has access to and can see and witness and share together. It’s not something that’s reserved for some people and not for others. All you have to do is look up and it’s right there.”

Indianapolis is one of several cities on the 2024 total solar eclipse’s path of totality. The eclipse will also pass Dallas, Texas; Hugo, Oklahoma; Little Rock, Arkansas; Cape Girardeau, Missouri; Cleveland, Ohio; Buffalo, New York; Burlington, Vermont; Island Falls, Maine; and others. Altogether, 12 states are on the path of totality.

Depending on the total solar eclipse’s location, the sun’s light may be partially or completely blocked. Totality, or the maximum phase of a total solar eclipse, is when the moon completely covers the sun, leaving a thin, shimmering corona around the lunar limb, or the edge of the moon’s visible surface. During totality, the sky will darken, and the air temperature will suddenly drop. Totality will last between 3½ and 4½ minutes. Total solar eclipses occur every one to three years but are usually only visible from the middle of an ocean or one of Earth’s poles.

People outside the path of totality must wear eclipse glasses, or solar viewers, approved by the International Organization for Standardization throughout the eclipse’s duration. People in the path of totality must also wear eclipse glasses when the moon isn’t completely covering the sun. Those without eclipse glasses can make a homemade pinhole camera.

“This astronomical and celestial event is gathering people, whether it’s friends or family or strangers, and hopefully it’ll create some new relationships,” Johnson Jeffers, director of Camp Capers in Waring, Diocese of West Texas, north of San Antonio, told ENS.

About 250 people have registered to attend Camp Capers’ family friendly EclipseFest, which will include live music, food trucks, a concession stand and access to the camp’s hiking and walking trails. 

Jeffers said most registrants are from Texas, but people from Arizona, California and Colorado will also go to Camp Capers for EclipseFest.

“We’re excited, honored and privileged that people are choosing to join us, many because of their ties to Camp Capers,” he said. “Here at Camp Capers, we’re all about relationships and relationship-building.”

Camp Mitchell, in Conway, Diocese of Arkansas, plans to host up to 200 campers the weekend of the eclipse. Physics students from a Louisiana community college will use a weather balloon to collect, analyze and publish atmospheric data for NASA while staying at Camp Mitchell. Rebecca Roetzel, Camp Mitchell’s executive director, told ENS that an “eclipse chaser,” or umbraphile, who’s a parishioner at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Fayetteville, will also stay at Camp Mitchell for the eclipse.

“This special camp opportunity has become this really deep and wide, rich pool of mostly Episcopalian contacts and families and longtime generational campers, and I’m so excited for it,” Roetzel said.

Sheldon Calvary Camp in Conneaut, Ohio, in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, will also host a path of totality celebration with live entertainment, meals, an educational presentation and a campfire. Registrants are coming in from Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and other states.

“[Participants] can expect our hospitality and a safe place to observe this pretty spectacular event,” Timothy Green, Sheldon Calvary Camp’s director, told ENS. “We want people to have a good experience, because this particular area will more than double the population the day of the eclipse and food will be a hard thing to find.”

A total solar eclipse is seen from the beach of Ternate island, Indonesia, March 9, 2016. A total solar eclipse will cross the United States on April 8, 2024. Photo: Reuters

For those looking to observe totality in a group but away from a festival atmosphere, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Put-in-Bay, Ohio, on South Bass Island in Lake Erie, is hosting an event where people can quietly watch the eclipse and engage in reflection and prayer.

“I’m really looking forward to watching the eclipse in a context that’s grounded in God’s good creation and how we live in it, and for time to really think and reflect and pray on that,” the Rev. Bob Solon, priest-in-charge at St. Paul’s, told ENS. “As Americans, we don’t get enough time like that very often.”

This year’s total solar eclipse following Easter hasn’t gone unnoticed by Episcopalians. Tetzlaff preached the parallels of Jesus’ death and resurrection with the eclipse during his Easter Sunday sermon:

“Jesus passes through the darkness of death through the darkness of the tomb, ultimately coming through and out of the tomb into the light of the Resurrection, which is what we all inherit through the grace of Christ. In some ways, we are witnessing something similar to what happened on Golgotha [Calvary] right after the Crucifixion of Christ, when darkness falls on Earth. But then we can take comfort knowing that it will pass and that the light and the warmth, and the radiance of the heavens, overcomes all darkness and shines upon us,” he said. “The more churches react and respond to events that affect everybody all at once, like the eclipse, rather than remain within our own buildings, the more connected we become to our faith into our communities.”

In this year’s Easter message, Oklahoma Bishop Poulson C. Reed wrote, “Whenever we are in awe of the natural world around us, and especially anything with light [sun, moon and stars], let us not forget that they point to God.”

After this year, the next total solar eclipse will occur on Aug. 12, 2026. The path of totality will cross over Greenland, Iceland, Spain, Portugal and Russia.

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

[World Council of Churches] With an intervention delivered by Max Weber, a student at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, the World Council of Churches expressed deep concern for human rights in Haiti. 

The intervention — cosigned by the Dominicans, Dominican Leadership Conference, and Congregation of St. Joseph and Passionists International — was read before the U.N. Human Rights Council.

“Hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of victims of gunshot wounds, and over 360,000 have become internally displaced,” reads the intervention. “Half of these are children.” The intervention notes that access to guns is reportedly far greater than access to food, clean water and medicine. 

Read the entire article here.

[Anglican Communion News Service] Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Bishop Anthony Poggo shared an Easter message on March 28.

“They have taken my Lord away, and I don’t know where they have put him.”

When we read John’s gospel account of the woman discovering the empty tomb in the resurrection garden, we sense her surprise and shock.

Things are not as she expected them to be.

The stone has been rolled away and the tomb is empty.

She runs and calls two of Jesus’ disciples. They too start running. At the tomb, all they find are the strips of linen that were wrapped around the crucified Jesus.

It is a scene of disorder and disruption.

In our world currently, millions of people are living in situations of extreme disorder and disruption, caused by issues like war and conflict, poverty and climate crisis.

Civil War in Sudan is causing a humanitarian crisis that’s seeing ongoing loss of human life, food insecurity, economic decline and the displacement of more than 8 million people.

Similarly, due to the Israel-Gaza conflict, the UN have declared that famine in Gaza is imminent.

Globally, the impact of climate crisis, including rising pollution and extreme weather events, is harming health, causing mass displacement of people and increasing hunger risks.

Amid such situations of conflict, suffering and inequality, the idea of a faithful God may feel incomprehensible. Like Mary Magdalene in the garden, we may find ourselves crying out, wondering why God is missing and absent.

But as the story unfolds, we see that Jesus is indeed present, even though it takes Mary a while to recognise him as the risen Christ and not the gardener.

As Jesus stands before her, death’s defeat is disrupted by resurrection hope, reordering all that is broken in the world.

It is a redemptive act, bringing transformation, peace and hope. Appearing to his disciples, the first words Jesus utters to them is “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”

As Secretary General – and in our work as an Anglican Communion Office – we are in close contact with many Anglican churches around the globe who are actively working for peace and restoration in their settings.

In recent weeks, I have had the privilege of visiting the Church of Sudan and as they seek to support people impacted by the civil war.

I have visited the Church of Bangladesh and Church of Myanmar seeing firsthand many of the vital church and community projects they deliver.

Our Anglican UN Team have represented the voice of Anglicans at the Commission on the Status of Women, speaking out on matters of gender justice, empowerment and poverty alleviation.

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Anglican Alliance continue to support humanitarian work in response to conflict in the Holy Land.

In each situation – and many others like it – I am encouraged by the joint witness of Anglicans as they make visible the love of God in their communities.

This Easter, may we continue to be an Anglican Communion that goes out, shares God’s hope and lives out a faith that longs for God’s restoration. Let us work for peace in a disrupted world.

[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.

[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.

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.

[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.

[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.

[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.

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.

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.

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.

[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.

[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.

[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 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.

[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.