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Three WCC commissions meet to confront emerging global challenges

Episcopal News Service - qui, 07/03/2024 - 16:53

[World Council of Churches] Three World Council of Churches commissions — the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, Commission on Health and Healing, and Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development — are meeting jointly March 5-8 in Geneva to explore the theme “Faith and Effective Witness and Diakonia in the 21st Century.”

The three commissions are guiding the strategic objectives from 2023 to 2030, focusing on international affairs, health and healing, and climate justice.

All aim to empower churches and ecumenical partners to effectively address pressing contemporary issues, including climate and economic crises, the regression in human rights, violent conflicts, and the scarcity of essential social services like healthcare, aligning with the ecumenical tradition’s commitment to holistic witness and service.

Read the entire article here.

Central Pennsylvania cathedral hosts ‘Leaders & Liberators’ reenactment honoring Harriet Tubman

Episcopal News Service - qui, 07/03/2024 - 16:49

Raquel Richardson will portray Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Tubman in a dramatic reading on March 10 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Photo: Martha Harris

[Episcopal News Service] On March 10, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Cathedral in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will observe 111 years since the death of Harriet Tubman by hosting a one-hour dramatic reading. The event is sponsored by the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and the Bishop Nathan Baxter chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians.

The story, called “Leaders & Liberators,” is an imagined reenactment of Harriet Tubman conversing with two fellow Underground Railroad conductors, Stephen Smith and William Whipper, on Independence Day 1872, in Cape May, New Jersey.

The Rev. Martha Harris, priest-in-charge at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Columbia and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Mechanicsburg, wrote the script with her husband, Randolph “Randy” Harris, who works in historic preservation in Lancaster County.

“If you think about what Harriet did, constantly putting her own life at risk even after she had gotten her freedom, she went back and got more people, and more people, and more people to come to Philadelphia so they could be free. And then she went on to be a healer until the end of her life. It really is impressive,” Martha Harris told Episcopal News Service.

The Episcopal Church celebrates Harriet Tubman’s feast day on March 10. Photo: GPA Photo Archive/H.B. Lindsley/Library of Congress

Tubman, who was born enslaved in 1822 before escaping as an adult, is best known for her work helping about 70 enslaved people reach freedom as a conductor for the Underground Railroad. Known as the “Moses of Her People,” she also was a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War, helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harper’s Ferry and was active in the effort to secure for women the right to vote. The Episcopal Church celebrates Tubman’s feast day on March 10.

In the early 19th century, Smith and Whipper, brothers-in-law and business partners, were successful entrepreneurs in the lumber industry in Columbia. They both also worked in real estate in Philadelphia. They were among the wealthiest Black Philadelphians in their lifetimes. They used their wealth to transport enslaved people to freedom in the north via railroad cars they owned.

“None of this was taught in school. People like Thaddeus Stevens and Whipper and Smith, and of course Harriet Tubman — they’re heroes and heroines that if especially young, minority kids saw these people in the history books back in the ’50s and ’60s and had them to look up to when they were growing up, I think we would have a whole different perspective on our whole world around us on these issues,” Randy Harris told ENS.

Martha Harris said the reenactment project grew from the 2022 General Convention resolution encouraging every diocese to honor Tubman’s 110th death anniversary. In response, the Rev. Rebecca Myers, rector of Church of the Nativity and St. Stephen in Newport, proposed the idea of producing the dramatic reading and obtained a grant from Province III. With support from the Diocese of Pennsylvania, the first dramatic reading took place one year ago at Mt. Zion A.M.E. Church in Columbia followed by an evening prayer service. About 125 people attended.

Martha and Randy Harris combined research from documents and biographies of Tubman, Smith and Whipper to create the script. Because there’s no documentation of Tubman having ever visited Columbia, the Harrises decided to set the story in Cape May, where Tubman lived in the early 1850s. They also chose the year 1872 because it was the year abolitionist William Still published his experience as an Underground Railroad conductor, “The Underground Railroad Records,” using notes he hid in diaries. During the reenactment, Tubman, Smith and Whipper trade stories and reflect on their experiences as abolitionists. The reenactment will also include Whipper reading passages from “The Underground Railroad” to Tubman, who never learned to read.

“[Tubman] communicated through songs and through a lot of emotional appeal. She could also use the stars as a way of navigating through the dark woods, but she was never a person of the word,” Martha Harris said. “Her singing comes across well in the dramatic reading. It shows that even though she couldn’t read or write, she clearly had this intelligence.”

To ensure authenticity, Randy Harris recreated the original cover of “The Underground Railroad Records” for the actors to use as a prop. Martha Harris also used historic documents to produce language Tubman would’ve used while alive.

The “Leaders & Liberators” cast consists of Raquel Richardson as Tubman, Nelson Polite Jr. as Smith and Lenwood Sloan as Whipper. Tyrone Powell, an attorney and parishioner at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Harrisburg, will serve as the interlocutor, or host, of the reenactment.

“These are the kinds of stories that need to be uplifted now,” Randy Harris said.

Leaders & Liberators” will start at 4 p.m. Eastern March 10. The event is free and open to the public.

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

Legislative committee meetings underway on road to Louisville for 81st General Convention

Episcopal News Service - qua, 06/03/2024 - 18:34

[Episcopal News Service] The work of the 81st General Convention is underway. Bishops and deputies have begun meeting online as the legislative committees that will bring resolutions to the floor when General Convention convenes in person June 23-28 in Louisville, Kentucky.

This is the second General Convention for which most committee meetings and hearings are expected to take place online, reflecting changes implemented in 2022 for the 80th General Convention. By conducting committee business in advance, church leaders were able to streamline and shorten that in-person meeting to four days to help reduce the spread of COVID-19.

COVID-19 continues to spread, though public health concerns have eased, allowing church leaders to plan a fuller churchwide gathering over six days in Louisville. Online committee meetings again figure prominently in those plans, partly because of their success last time. About 2,500 people attended the meetings and hearings of two dozen legislative committees in 2022, without having to travel farther than their own computer or phone.

This year, the schedule of committee meetings and hearings will be updated on General Convention’s Virtual Binder, at vbinder.net. Anyone may attend the meetings as an observer by registering in advance; those wishing to speak at one of the hearings are asked to sign up at least two business days in advance.

The Ven. Stannard Baker, archdeacon in the Diocese of Vermont, leads a March 6 Zoom meeting with the bishops’ and deputies’ committees on Prayer Book, Liturgy & Music.

General Convention is a bicameral governing body, made up of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies. Although bishops and deputies meet separately and are assigned to separate General Convention committees on parallel topic areas, each pair of corresponding committees typically meets together to conduct hearings and other business.

In one of the first online committee meetings, bishops and deputies serving on the Prayer Book, Liturgy & Music committees gathered on March 6 to introduce themselves to each other and to prepare themselves to consider resolutions assigned to the committees.

“My hope is that we move forward some of the wonderful liturgical work that’s happened in the past, that we see some new things coming out of music and that we really honor our tradition of our own Episcopal saints in Feasts and Fasts, respect each other and have good conversation,” said the Ven. Stannard Baker, archdeacon in the Diocese of Vermont, who chairs the House of Deputies’ Committee on Prayer Book, Liturgy & Music.

Much of the work of the committees is yet unknown because some of the Blue Book reports produced by the church’s interim bodies are being processed by the General Convention Office and have yet to be posted online. The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music’s report, for example, is listed as “in progress.”

Other Blue Book reports already are available now for the public and committees to review. They can be found on the General Convention website, which will be updated with additional Blue Book reports as they are translated.

General Convention typically meets every three years and is a hub for legislative activity, networking and fellowship. Some of its core duties include adoption of the triennial budget plan, as recommended by Executive Council, and the election of members to various church bodies. Bishops and deputies also consider hundreds of resolutions covering everything from liturgical revisions to the church’s positions on public policy issues.

Much focus at the 81st General Convention will be on electing the next presiding bishop to a nine-year term that starts Nov. 1, while also celebrating the final months in office of the church’s beloved outgoing presiding bishop, the Most Rev. Michael Curry. The Diocese of Kentucky also is eager to showcase its congregations and ministries and its increased emphasis on racial reconciliation, particularly since the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor and that year’s widespread racial justice protests.

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

WCC commission members debate impact of current political trends

Episcopal News Service - qua, 06/03/2024 - 16:53

[World Council of Churches] People from around the world involved in the work of three critical World Council of Churches commissions have discussed global geopolitical trends impacting their activities and church members. The panel, led by the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, was moderated by Mathews George Chunakara, general secretary of the Christian Conference of Asia.

The Rev. Kenneth Mtata, WCC program director for Public Witness and Diakonia, said the discussion focused on whether the church can bear witness in our times.

Bertrand Ramcharan, a former leading U.N. human rights official from Guyana, said non-governmental organizations and civil society are the conscience of the world. Civil society, including the churches, is part of the process, and conflicts must be managed with respect for humanity.

Read the entire article here.

Climate emergency panel addresses how churches can respond with faith and hope

Episcopal News Service - qua, 06/03/2024 - 16:48

[World Council of Churches] During a panel discussion at the meeting of three World Council of Churches commissions on March 5 , speakers explored the theme “Climate emergency—churches responding in faith and hope.” The panel was moderated by the Most Rev. Julio Murray Thompson, who also moderates the Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development, which organized the panel.

The discussion highlighted the root causes and wide-ranging impacts of the climate emergency as well as exposed the climate-water-food-health nexus.

Harjeet Singh, a global expert on climate impacts as well the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, underscored that climate change is the greatest global threat to humanity, yet we have not seen sufficient action from global leaders around the world. Singh acknowledged that while there has been a massive increase in renewable energy, we must look at how global economic justice is important for climate justice.

Read the entire article here.

Episcopal delegates to UN Commission on the Status of Women are ready to begin their work

Episcopal News Service - qua, 06/03/2024 - 16:06

The 68th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women will take place March 11-22. Photo: UNCSW68 logo

[Episcopal News Service] The 10 women who will represent Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at the 68th meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women are set to begin their work on March 11.

“It’s wonderful to have this group of wise sages and people who are really committed to the work of the church and the work of women’s empowerment,” said the Rev. David Copley, the church’s director of global partnerships and mission personnel, in a March 4 video presentation that highlighted the breadth of ministry the delegates represent.

The Commission on the Status of Women will meet March 11-22 with sessions taking place in New York. Participants will include representatives of U.N. member states, U.N. entities and accredited nongovernmental organizations from across the globe, including The Episcopal Church.

The priority theme for this year’s gathering is “accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective.”

The Episcopal delegation includes social workers, lawyers, journalists, and leaders of women’s and young adult ministries across The Episcopal Church. Four are priests and one is a deacon. They come from eight dioceses representing five of the Episcopal Church’s nine provinces. They all had been selected through an application process earlier this year.

They are:

  • The Rev. Robin Newman, Diocese of New York (Province II)
  • The Rev. Lilo Carr Rivera, Diocese of Long Island (Province II)
  • The Rev. Claudia Scheda, Diocese of Western New York (Province II)
  • The Rev. Madeleine Rebouché, Diocese of Tennessee (Province IV)
  • Karen Neilsen, Diocese of Ohio (Province V)
  • Lori Petrie, Diocese of Chicago (Province V)
  • Zoila Karina Flores Arriola, Diocese of Los Angeles (Province VIII)
  • Karen Woodward Ide, Diocese of Los Angeles (Province VIII)
  • Faith LeMasters, Diocese of Los Angeles (Province VIII)
  • The Rev. Luz Maria Lambis Garces, Diocese of Colombia (Province IX)

These delegates “all have experience working with underserved or vulnerable populations, including refugees, migrants, industrial and domestic workers, incarcerated, unhoused, LGBTQ+ populations and other marginalized groups,” making them well-equipped to address the gathering’s theme, said Lynnaia Main, The Episcopal Church’s representative to the United Nations, in a March 6 press release announcing the delegates.

The Episcopal delegates will observe official UNCSW meetings in person and online and will advocate for the priorities outlined in Curry’s statement to the UNCSW, which he submitted in October as part of the formal process for nongovernmental organizations.

They also will write about their experiences and share them with the wider church through a variety of platforms both during the event and afterward.

“We are eager to learn from their example and wisdom derived through direct experience and look forward to seeing how the Holy Spirit will fire up their ministries both at the United Nations and in their communities once they return home,” Main said in the release.

Supporting and guiding the delegation will be members of the presiding bishop’s staff and other leaders, including from The Episcopal Church offices of Global Partnerships and Government Relations, as well as Episcopal Relief & Development. Former Episcopal delegates to the UNCSW also will be part of the leadership support team.

More information about the delegation and its work is on the Episcopal UNCSW website.

–Melodie Woerman is a freelance reporter based in Kansas.

Church’s Economic Justice Loan Fund supports communities’ equitable access to capital

Episcopal News Service - ter, 05/03/2024 - 18:13

Atlanta, Georgia-based Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs is one of many Community Development Financial Institutions to which The Episcopal Church has provided low-interest loans through its Economic Justice Loan Fund. In turn, ACE provides loans to Atlanta-area small businesses, such as Bespokuture, a Black-owned clothing company. Photo: Jordan Luke

[Episcopal News Service] With help from secular and faith-based investors, including The Episcopal Church, the Fort Pierce, Florida-based Solar and Energy Loan Fund makes it possible for low-income homeowners to make energy efficient updates to their homes by lending them money at below market interest rates.

About 57% of people with credit scores at or below 680 were rejected for loans in the first half of 2023 alone. For women, people of color and elderly people, as well as people with low incomes and disabilities, not having access to loans is both a social justice and an equity issue.   

“How do we promote economic justice, climate equity, solar for all if almost half of America doesn’t have savings and cannot access financing?” Doug Coward, director of national expansion and partnerships for the Solar and Energy Loan Fund, told Episcopal News Service. “That’s where SELF comes in, to fill in that critical gap.”

To help low-income homeowners make energy efficient updates and accumulate home equity, SELF borrows money from investors, including a $300,000 low-interest loan from the Economic Justice Loan Fund, a ministry of The Episcopal Church. SELF uses the money to offer below-market interest rate loans to homeowners. The homeowners then use the money to finance various cost-saving home energy efficiency projects, like installing new windows and roofs, which increase home values.

“Primarily what we do is help those that are on the marginal space of the communities, those that don’t have the financial means,” Margareth Crosnier de Bellaistre, the church’s director, investment manager and banking financer, told Episcopal News Service. “I think it also illustrates how The Episcopal Church can work.”

SELF is one of many Community Development Financial Institutions, or CDFIs, The Episcopal Church has supported since 1998 through its Economic Justice Loan Fund. The fund promotes economic justice, a priority in The Episcopal Church’s social and religious witness. The CDFIs invest the money in economic development, affordable housing, job creation and other community programs.

“Jesus called us to help our neighbor regardless of their circumstances, and we know that, historically, minority businesses have had a more difficult time accessing capital at reasonable interest rates,” Kurt Barnes, the church’s chief financial officer, told Episcopal News Service. “We’re able to provide that capital below interest rates that they would likely get if they were going to their local commercial bank.”

Investment loans are approved and distributed on a rolling basis. In 2023, the Economic Justice Loan Committee approved six investments totaling $2.35 million of its $7 million fund. As of December 2023, $952,376 is still available for investment. Executive Council recently increased the fund to $9 million. 

Loan amounts range between $150,000 and $500,000. Depending on the loan agreement, agencies have between three and five years to repay their loan at an interest rate between 2.5 and 3.5%, Barnes said. After the loan is paid off, they may request to continue borrowing from the church and increase their loan amount, he added.

The Economic Justice Loan Committee is a committee of Executive Council.

“It’s important for people to understand that we’re offering investments, not grants. Every dollar we loan comes back to The Episcopal Church with interest,” the Rev. Will Mebane, rector of St. Barnabas Memorial Episcopal Church in Falmouth, Massachusetts, told ENS. “The work that we do doesn’t cost the church anything. Really, the Economic Justice Loan program is one of the best kept secrets there is in The Episcopal Church.”

Most investment loan applicants and recipients are secular, Crosnier de Bellaistre said. However, even though they’re not affiliated with The Episcopal Church, they’re required to be endorsed by their local Episcopal bishop. The Economic Justice Loan Committee will sometimes ask diocesan bishops if they know of local CDFIs to consider investing in. Most applicants are based in the United States.

Another CDFI the committee is currently investing in is the Brunswick, Maine-based Genesis Community Loan Fund. The agency connects communities with resources to carry out development projects, such as affording housing, child day care centers, health care facilities and food pantries. When Genesis first applied for an investment loan, the Economic Justice Loan Committee approved $250,000. The second and current investment loan is $400,000.

“It’s been tremendous; [the Economic Justice Loan Committee] was wonderful in stepping up,” Liza Fleming-Ives, Genesis Community Loan Fund’s executive director, told ENS. “The need for the work that we do has only increased since COVID-19, so the fact that the committee was willing to commit capital to help us respond to that need during the pandemic, and increasing their investing when renewing, was incredibly meaningful to us.”

In Georgia, the Economic Justice Loan Committee has established a long-term partnership with Atlanta-based Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, or ACE, the state’s largest small business-focused CDFI. Statewide, the nonprofit provides financial, business development and community development resources to women, people living in low-income communities and people of color, particularly Black and Latino communities. In 2023, the committee renewed and increased its investment loan in ACE with a $400,000 loan.

“Equitable access to capital, reducing barriers, helping businesses build assets and create jobs, and supporting communities and families aligns with economic justice,” Martina Edwards, ACE’s chief of strategic partnerships, told ENS. “Small business ownership, similar to home ownership, is a pathway to wealth creation, which also supports economic justice.”

Coward said SELF wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for support from its investors, especially the faith-based ones like the Economic Justice Loan Fund.

“When we first set up this program, the large banks didn’t want to invest in us. It was the faith-based organizations that helped us establish a proven track record, and now the rest of the country is looking at us as a model to either work with directly,” he said. “The impact of [the Economic Justice Loan Fund’s] investment is beyond just the direct benefit to the homeowner and the contractors who do the work, and I think it’s also set a great example for the country.”

Potential borrowers must contact Crosnier de Bellaistre directly to apply for a loan.

-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 Church of Bangladesh celebrates 50th anniversary

Episcopal News Service - ter, 05/03/2024 - 15:42

[Anglican Communion News Service] The secretary general of the Anglican Communion, the Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, visited and encouraged members of the Church of Bangladesh March 1-2 as they celebrated their 50th anniversary and the 200th anniversary of St Thomas’ Cathedral.

The Church of Bangladesh is a united Protestant church formed by the union of various Protestant churches in Bangladesh, principally the Anglican and English Presbyterian denominations. It is a member of the Anglican Communion, World Communion of Reformed Churches, Christian Conference of Asia, Council for World Mission and World Council of Churches.   

The theme of the celebrations was “One Apostolic Church, One family and One Future,” reflecting the ecumenical nature and history of the Church of Bangladesh. In his greeting at the Thanksgiving service on March 1 , Poggo commended the community for their unity and ecumenism. He said, “The unity of your church is an example to many, which is highlighted in the theme of this jubilee celebration. My colleagues and I will be meeting the World Communion of Reformed Churches in London and later this year for the trilateral consultation, alongside the Lutheran World Federation. We plan to attend the next WCRC General Council in 2025. Our commitment to this work fits with what Anglicans have long called ‘the ecumenical vocation of Anglicanism.’ Part of the mandate of the Anglican Communion office is taking forward ecumenical relationships on behalf of the Anglican Communion.”

The anniversary marked 50 years since the United Church of Bangladesh was declared a fully autonomous and independent church within the land territory of Bangladesh on April 30, 1974. There are eight deaneries and 115 parishes under the three dioceses, with a population of about 22,000. Membership is diverse, including many different cultures. About half of the total members are from the Garo, Santal, Marma and Chakma ethnic groups of Bangladesh. All dioceses of the province were represented at the service. These include Dhaka Diocese (Bishop Samuel Sunil Mankhin), Kushtia Diocese (Bishop Hemen Halder) and Barisal Diocese (Bishop Shourabh Pholia). 

The Church of Bangladesh vision statement says, “We envision being the salt and light wherever we will be and expand our footprints and achieve financial stability through our love and deeds by 2030.” They are achieving this by establishing the following priorities: spiritual renewal; strengthening spiritual formation for youth and children, identifying opportunities to address the relevant issues and challenges; initiating inter-religious dialogue to build relationship and religious harmony to combat radicalism; and contextualizing the church’s action to present needs and challenges by grasping socioeconomic, political, environmental, technological and spiritual arenas – locally and globally. Bangladesh faces growing poverty that affects the Christian minority.

During his visit, Poggo commended their vision saying, “As a church you have placed emphasis on preaching the word of God and meeting the physical and spiritual needs of the people. Your missional outlook, focusing on the issues you are facing, such as combatting climate change, are an example to many. As you celebrate 50 years of the existence of the Church of Bangladesh, and look forward to the next 50, my sincere hope and prayer is that the Church of Bangladesh continues to follow this call and act as light in the society in which God has placed you.” 

Celebrating 200 years of St Thomas’ Cathedral 

On March 2 , Poggo joined Anglican Consultative Council Standing Committee members Aishi Drong, and the Rt. Rev. ShourabhPholia, bishop of the Diocese of Barisal, at the 200th anniversary thanksgiving service of St. Thomas’ Cathedral in Dhaka.   

Construction of the church began in 1819 and was completed in 1821. It was inaugurated on July 10, 1824 by Kolkata Bishop Reginald Heber and has served as a cathedral church since 1951.   

In his sermon, Poggo referenced the importance of marking such significant milestones. He said, “It is very good to keep memorials of such historic events in our lives and lives of our church communities. Think of what God has done for you at St. Thomas’ Cathedral over the last 200 years. Thank God for this.” He continued to encourage the cathedral congregation and leadership, saying, “You have an important responsibility as a congregation as well as the leadership of this cathedral. You need to thank God for seeing you through and bringing you this far. Today not only are we celebrating 50 years of the Church of Bangladesh, but also 200 years of St. Thomas’ Cathedral. I am sure you will be reaching many lives every Sunday. Thank God that you can change the image of the place of worship as well as the image of Christianity, the image of Anglicanism.”

In a speech for the service the Rt. Rev. Samuel Sunil Manhkin, primate and moderator of the Church of Bangladesh, said, “We are gathered not just in a building, but in a monument that has witnessed two centuries of history, endured through times of change and has been a steadfast symbol of our enduring faith. From its early days under the auspices of the Church of Pakistan to becoming a vibrant part of the Church of Bangladesh following our nation’s independence, the cathedral has been a witness to our collective journey.”

Church Commissioners for England welcomes report on new fund addressing African chattel enslavement

Episcopal News Service - ter, 05/03/2024 - 11:24

[The Church of England] The Board of Governors of the Church Commissioners has warmly welcomed the report of the independent Oversight Group, the recommendations from which will shape the new Fund for Healing, Repair and Justice. The Oversight Group was tasked with advising the Church Commissioners’ response to its historic links with African chattel enslavement.

“In seeking justice for all, we must continue to work together remembering that all are created in the image of God,” said the Most Rev. Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury and chair of the Board of Governors.

The commissioners particularly welcomed the group’s hope for the scale and impact for the fund, acknowledging suggestions around wide-ranging research and truth-telling must be taken as seriously as the financial ambitions reflected in the recommendations.

Read the entire article here.

House of Bishops gathers in Texas for fellowship, ‘future of the church’ discussions

Episcopal News Service - seg, 04/03/2024 - 16:51

Women Episcopal bishops pose for a photo at the House of Bishops’ March 2024 retreat at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas. Photo: Frank Logue

[Episcopal News Service — Navasota, Texas] The House of Bishops is gathering Feb. 28 – March 4 here at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas, for its spring retreat centered on the theme “Grounded in Worship and Work,” particularly as it relates to fellowship with one another and within the church. 

For Taiwan Bishop Lennon Chang, reconnecting with fellow bishops in person presents a “great learning opportunity.” 

“I focus on unity, and I think that’s the most important thing for bishops, to get together as one body,” he told Episcopal News Service as interpreted from Mandarin by the Rev. Fennie Chang, vicar of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hacienda Heights, California, and the Rev. Katherine Feng, an Episcopal priest based in the Diocese of Los Angeles, who served as his interpreters. “It’s good to learn more about formation and discipleship training, because it’s important to help build up more followers of Jesus.”

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, who turns 71 this March, is in the final year of his nine-year term as presiding bishop. He was unable to attend the retreat because he has spent much of the past year facing a series of health crises and treatments. On March 1, surgeons successfully implanted a pacemaker to treat an irregular heartbeat. Former Michigan Bishop Wendell Gibbs chaired the meeting instead.

Curry’s absence hasn’t gone unnoticed during the gathering. However, it also hasn’t dampened the bishops’ “sense of collegiality that he created,” according to Georgia Bishop Frank Logue.

“[Curry’s] absence is felt, and the feeling within the House of Bishops isn’t the same as if he were here,” Logue told ENS. “We miss our chief pastor, but the feeling of being siblings as well as colleagues remains as we continue supporting each other.”

The gathering of some 125 bishops comes at a time when some bishops joined other church leaders in calling for greater oversight and transparency in disciplinary cases involving bishops. In February, The Episcopal Church, under the presiding bishop’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.

“I think, in some ways, we acknowledge that in any body — in any gathering — there’s going to be fracture,” Missouri Bishop Deon Johnson told ENS. “I think that we acknowledge the hurt and the fracture, while at the same time are trying to figure out how best to live into a place of reconciliation and trying really hard to respond and not react.”

Before the gathering, the bishops were given two questions to consider for daily discussions: What support do you need from your bishop colleagues now? And, What are the marks for a healthy culture for the House of Bishops? The discussions have focused on concerns and hopes for the future of the House of Bishops and for The Episcopal Church.

The bishops also reviewed plans for the 81st General Convention planned for June 23-28 in Louisville, Kentucky. A new presiding bishop will be elected during the 2024 convention.

The bishops also discussed how to respond to the church’s long-term membership decline. The  number of baptized members dropped just below 1.6 million in 2022, down 21% from 2013, according to the latest parochial reports. The church recorded an even sharper drop in average Sunday attendance in the past decade, down 43% to 373,000 in 2022, though that one-year total was up by 19% from the pandemic-driven low of 313,000 in 2021.

Johnson said discussing membership decline with fellow bishops made him visualize Jesus on his walk to Emmaus in Luke 24. In that chapter, Jesus, unrecognized by his disciples, says little as he listens to them talking while they walk.

“I think this is the Emmaus Road of The Episcopal Church, or of Christianity,” Johnson said. “In this moment, we are living that Emmaus Road — that what we’ve known in the past is being let go and we’re walking towards a resurrected future that we don’t know, but we know that we’re not the ones who are curating it. All we can do is be companions to one another like the disciples.”

The bishops also spent time talking about racial reconciliation and inclusivity as a house and a church during open discussions and in small group table conversations. 

Some bishops noted that everyone should be mindful of the fact that racism and misogyny can be subtle. For example, the first Japanese American woman to become an Episcopal priest, Oregon Bishop Diana Akiyama, shared with the house her experiences with microaggressions as a bishop within her diocese, such as having a lay person compare her to a “china doll” after a Christmas worship service at Trinity Cathedral in Portland. Women bishops and male bishops of color nodded in response.

Montana Bishop Martha Stebbins told ENS that even though she’s not had to “deal with” microaggressions as much as bishops of color and LGBTQ+ bishops, she hasn’t been immune to scrutiny as a woman in a position of authority.

“I’ve have people say, ‘Yes, Bishop,’ in a sarcastic tone of voice,” she said. “The House of Bishops, even though most of us have collegial relationships with our priests and our deacons, [being bishop] is also a supervisory role. So, this is where we can have a relationship with others who have similar roles, and we can close the doors and put down our frustrations and our hopes and dreams.”

On March 1, Minnesota Bishop Craig Loya, Indianapolis Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows and Northwest Texas Bishop Scott Mayer participated in a panel discussion reflecting on what they’ve experienced during their episcopates. Texas Bishop C. Andrew Doyle served as the moderator.

Loya shared his experience of being consecrated less than two weeks after George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, which launched global protests against police brutality, especially toward Black people. Baskerville-Burrows said she’s mentally preparing for the possibility of the dioceses of Indianapolis and Northern Indiana combining into one diocese as discussions continue. Mayer, 68, said he’s beginning to think about what happens after retirement. The mandatory retirement age for bishops and all clergy is 72. 

The bishops observed an all-day Sabbath March 2 and were scheduled to renew their ordination vows today. They have also been engaging in worship services every day. The Very Rev. Miguelina Howell, dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford, Connecticut, and the Rev. Ricardo Bailey, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, are serving as chaplains. Johnson and Logue both told ENS that worship is the most important activity bishops do when they assemble in person.

“Bishops need to be discipled, too,” Johnson told ENS. “If studying the Bible is not continuing education for bishops, then something is very wrong because this is fundamental. We must keep going back again and again to those stories of Jesus.”

Chang said he feels optimistic for the future of the House of Bishops and for The Episcopal Church.

“The Holy Spirit will guide everybody,” he said. “I’m praying for it.”

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

Commission proposes range of changes to Title IV canons after concerns over bishop discipline

Episcopal News Service - seg, 04/03/2024 - 14:56

[Episcopal News Service] An Episcopal Church standing commission tasked with considering reforms to the church’s Title IV disciplinary canons has issued a report for the 81st General Convention proposing seven resolutions outlining a range of potential canonical changes affecting the disciplinary process.

The proposals are included in the Blue Book report filed by the Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons, which is now posted to the General Convention website. If enacted, the canonical changes would expand the range of outcomes for the disciplinary process, limit the role of intake officers, increase checks on the authority of church attorneys, adjust how investigators are appointed, enable suspension of bishops like those of priest suspensions and update the language describing the outcome in cases that end in a “pastoral response.”

The full text of the proposed resolutions can be found on pages 14-33 here.

The standing commission regularly reviews Title IV for possible changes. Its latest report notes that its work took on greater “scope and urgency” last year after Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris separately urged action in response to growing calls for renewed scrutiny of Title IV related to several cases involving bishops.

Much of that churchwide reaction followed Ayala Harris’ decision to publicly identify herself as the complainant in one of those cases against a bishop, alleging sexual harassment, saying a church attorney had decided to end her case with no disciplinary action. The bishop, later revealed by others to be retired Oklahoma Bishop Ed Konieczny, has denied any misconduct.

Last month, Curry announced he had requested and authorized the launch of a new page on The Episcopal Church’s website compiling information on pending and concluded cases against bishops while also making it easier for the public to file complaints and navigate the church’s inquiry process.

The standing commission’s Blue Book report contains recommendations that will be considered by the 81st General Convention when it convenes June 23-28 in Louisville, Kentucky. The commission said it is still compiling the churchwide feedback it received last fall regarding the Title IV canons and plans to submit a supplementary Blue Book report containing additional recommendations.

“We also know that many of the issues we address, including Title IV, take more time and energy to solve than is available between General Conventions, so we will continue working on these matters in preparation for further consideration at the 82nd General Convention,” the standing commission said.

Its recommendations so far include the creation of a “restorative covenant” as one possible resolution of a disciplinary complaint against clergy. The goal is to “expand the opportunity for resolutions that promote ‘healing, repentance, forgiveness, restitution, justice, amendment of life and reconciliation,’” in the spirit of the Title IV canons, the commission said.

Another proposed recommendation would specify that individuals providing pastoral care should not serve as intake officers receiving Title IV complaints.

The commission also proposes changes related to the role of church attorneys in Title IV proceedings. This would specify when the attorney would oversee an investigation, and it would give other disciplinary bodies new powers to overrule the attorney’s decision-making in a case, including when the attorney ends a case with no disciplinary action.

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

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry recovering at home following surgery to insert a pacemaker

Episcopal News Service - seg, 04/03/2024 - 12:30

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is recovering at home in Raleigh, North Carolina, after doctors successfully surgically inserted a pacemaker as part of ongoing treatment of atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat, the church’s Office of Public Affairs said in a March 4 update.

Curry underwent the surgery on March 1 and remained hospitalized overnight. He was released to recover at home on March 2. Doctors are recommending he “continue tending to light-duty work tasks until released to travel and increase his duties,” the update said.

Curry, who turns 71 in March, 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 treatments recommended by doctors, and he was not able to attend the House of Bishops meeting last week at Camp Allen in the Diocese of Texas. Former Michigan Bishop Wendell Gibbs chaired the meeting.

Curry was first hospitalized in May 2023 for treatment of internal bleeding and an irregular heartbeat. While hospitalized, he experienced two other episodes of irregular heartbeat. At that time, the Office of Public Affairs noted that the atrial fibrillation had been detected in an annual physical. He underwent a surgery in September to remove his right adrenal gland and an attached mass, which doctors determined was not cancerous.

Then in December, doctors diagnosed a cerebral hematoma, or brain bleed. On Jan. 18, he underwent another medical procedure intended to treat the underlying condition that had caused the brain bleed. Since then, he has been recovering at home.

 

WCC expresses solidarity as Jerusalem’s heads of churches condemn attack against innocent civilians

Episcopal News Service - seg, 04/03/2024 - 12:21

[World Council of Churches] World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev. Jerry Pillay expressed solidarity with the patriarchs and heads of the churches in Jerusalem, who, in a March 1 statement, condemned an attack against civilians that occurred while residents of Gaza gathered for food aid.

The statement also conveyed special prayers of support to the Christian communities in Gaza, including more than 800 people who have taken refuge in St. Porphyrios and Holy Family churches in Gaza City for nearly five months.

“We likewise extend these same expressions of solidarity to the intrepid staff and volunteers of the Anglican-run Ahli Hospital, and to the patients they serve,” the statement reads. “In issuing the above calls, our ultimate hope is that the end of hostilities, the release of captives, and the care of the downtrodden will open a horizon for serious diplomatic discussions that finally lead to a just and lasting peace here in the land where our Lord Jesus Christ first took up his cross on our behalf.”

Read the entire article here.

Remembrance Day honors victims and survivors of nuclear testing in Marshall Islands

Episcopal News Service - sex, 01/03/2024 - 12:48

[World Council of Churches] Remembrance Day, observed on March 1, is a national holiday in the Marshall Islands that honors victims and survivors of nuclear testing done in the area in the 1950s.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the largest U.S. nuclear test detonation, Castle Bravo, which took place over Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands. As one Marshallese resident noted, “It’s not the middle of nowhere to those who call it home.”

When Castle Bravo was detonated over Bikini Atoll, the immediate radioactive fallout spread to Rongelap and Utrik atolls and beyond. “The impacts of that test, and the 66 others which were carried out above ground and underwater in Bikini and Enewetak atolls between 1946 and 1958, left a legacy of devastating environmental and health consequences across the Marshall Islands,” said Jennifer Philpot-Nissen, World Council of Churches program executive for human rights and disarmament.

Read the entire article here.

World Day of Prayer resources prepared by Palestinian Christian women

Episcopal News Service - sex, 01/03/2024 - 12:44

[World Council of Churches] The World Day of Prayer, observed on March 1 , has been prepared this year by an ecumenical group of Palestinian women in response to the theme “I beg you…bear with one another in love.” 

The theme, based on Ephesians 4:1-3, calls on believers to bear with each other in love, despite all difficulties and oppression.

“We reflected collectively on this theme from the context of our suffering as Palestinian Christian women,” the preparers write in their introduction. “We hope to inspire other women around the world to bear with one another in love during troubled times.”

Read the entire article here.

Bishop of London welcomes calls for end-of-life care

Episcopal News Service - sex, 01/03/2024 - 12:40

[The Church of England] The Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullally, bishop of London,  has responded to the publication by Members of Parliament’s Health and Social Care Committee of its report on Assisted Dying/Assisted Suicide.

Mullally, a former chief nursing officer for England, said, “In over 20 years of working in the NHS, I witnessed first-hand the critical role that palliative care plays for patients and for their families. Particularly in my time as a cancer nurse in the capital, the difference I saw it make was deeply moving and inspirational in equal measure. This country has some of the best palliative care services in the world — but they are currently underfunded and overly reliant on charitable donations.”

Read the entire article here.

Diocese of Olympia announces slate of four nominees for next bishop

Episcopal News Service - qui, 29/02/2024 - 18:13

[Episcopal News Service] The Joint Board for Bishop Transition in the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia announced Feb. 29 that, after receiving the recommendations of the Bishop Search Committee, it had approved a preliminary slate of four nominees for the ninth bishop of the diocese, which includes the western half of Washington.

Listed alphabetically by last name, the nominees are;

  • The Rev. Phil LaBelle, rector of St. Mark’s Church in Southborough, Massachusetts;
  • The Rev. Hillary D. Raining, rector of St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania;
  • The Ven. Jordan Haynie Ware, archdeacon for justice in the Anglican Diocese of Edmonton, Canada, and rector of Good Shepherd Anglican Church;
  • The Rev. Kate E. Wesch, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Essex, Connecticut.

Full information about each of the nominees can be found at the diocese’s bishop search website.

A 10-day petition period begins, effective Feb. 29, during which anyone who meets the canonical requirements may petition to be added to the slate of nominees. The deadline to submit nomination materials is March 10.

An electing convention is scheduled for May 18 at Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle, and the bishop-elect will be consecrated, pending a successful churchwide consent process, on Sept. 14.

The new bishop diocesan will succeed former Olympia Bishop Greg Rickel, who announced in July 2022 his plan to retire after leading the Seattle, Washington-based Diocese of Olympia for 15 years. In October 2022, the standing committee called the Most Rev. Melissa Skelton, from the Anglican Church of Canada, to serve as bishop provisional of Olympia while the diocese conducts its search for Rickel’s successor.

With deep ties to WCC, The Fig Tree gets ready to celebrate 40 years

Episcopal News Service - qui, 29/02/2024 - 15:38

[World Council of Churches] The Fig Tree, a U.S.-based nonprofit born from a vision to bring the stories of the global ecumenical movement to life locally, is preparing to celebrate its 40th anniversary.

With a mission to promote communication among people in faith and nonprofit communities of the inland northwestern United States, The Fig Tree is operated by graduates of the World Council of Churches Ecumenical Institute at Bossey. Telling the stories of people who are living their faith and values—and lifting up multi-faith, multinational, and multicultural communities—is at the heart of the organization.

“The World Council of Churches was pivotal in influencing the birth and ongoing life of The Fig Tree,” said Mary Stamp, editor and publisher. She vividly recalls living for six months at Bossey with 60 people from 40 different countries in 1970, and how that experience deeply influenced her career.

Read the entire article here.

Pro-Palestinian Italian neofascist group targets Episcopal church in Florence

Episcopal News Service - qui, 29/02/2024 - 15:06

A pro-Palestinian banner placed by the Italian neofascist group CasaPound hangs on the fence outside St. James Episcopal Church in Florence, Italy, in the early morning hours of Feb. 29. Photo: Richard Easterling

[Episcopal News Service] Followers of a neofascist group hung a pro-Palestinian banner on the fence outside St. James Episcopal Church  in Florence, Italy, about 11 p.m. on Feb. 28. Members of the group, CasaPound, later posted photos of the banner on the group’s website, the church’s rector, the Rev. Richard Easterling, told Episcopal News Service.

“We don’t need guns, but rather fire extinguishers. Stop the genocide in Palestine,” the sign read as translated from Italian to English, Easterling said. The church discovered the banner, which also included the group’s insignia, known as the “arrowed turtle,” about 7 a.m. and removed it Feb. 29, he said.

Easterling believes the protest was meant as a kind of memorial to Aaron Bushnell, a member of the United States Air Force and opponent of Israel’s war in Gaza who died on Feb. 26 after setting himself on fire in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators and students have been protesting in Florence, Pisa and other Italian cities, sometimes invoking a violent response from police. The Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7, 2023. Following Hamas’ attack inside Israel where 1,200 people were killed and 240 taken hostage, the war largely has been waged in Gaza, killing an estimated 30,000 Palestinians and displacing 1.9 million people.

“Our suspicion is that the consulate had expanded its perimeter of security because of protests dealing with Gaza and Palestine, and we happen to be the American church down the street” just outside that perimeter, Easterling said. “And so, it seemed like a good plan B for them.”

Whatever the motivation for targeting the church, the vestry was alarmed by the neofascist symbol on the banner, and after Easterling called the police, they were alarmed, too, and sent in additional investigators.

He also notified the United States consulate, about four blocks away. “They jumped on it immediately and thought that this was very problematic. And so, we’ve now handed this over to the embassy police.”

A rise in neofascism has alarmed many in Italy, given the country’s history of fascist rule under Benito Mussolini in the decades before World War II.

Easterling said what upsets the church most is that the banner misrepresents what the church is and stands for. “It used the church’s property to produce a statement that the church didn’t have a say in, but also had the fascist symbolism, which sat on the front of our church property for hours, with people taking pictures.”

The Episcopal Church is a long-time advocate of a two-state solution in the Middle East. St. James is part of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, led by the Rt. Rev. Mark Edington.

“The Episcopal Church, like many churches, has been clear in its support for the existence of Israel and the right of the people of Israel to live in peace,” Edington wrote in an upcoming article for Trinité, the magazine of the American Cathedral in Paris. “On at least four occasions our General Convention has made clear the Church’s view that a two-state solution in Israel-Palestine, in which the Palestinian people are given the right of self-determination as envisaged by the Oslo Accords, offers the most promising pathway to reconciliation and restorative justice in the Middle East,” he wrote.

Members of St. James have differing opinions about the war in Gaza, Easterling said, but “I think that we all agree that nobody wants more violence, and nobody wants more of this. We got pushed into a limelight that we weren’t looking for.”

He thinks CasaPound will leave St. James alone now, since the church, the police and the consulate all know who was behind the banner. “If anything else happens, that’s who we’re going to be looking at.”

–Melodie Woerman is a freelance reporter based in Kansas. 

Church of England General Synod calls for change to canon on clergy remarriage

Episcopal News Service - qui, 29/02/2024 - 14:37

[The Church of England] The Church of England’s General Synod has called for a change to the canons governing the impediment to ordination after divorce.

The canon, known as C4, sets out the procedure to be followed when a candidate for ordination is divorced and remarried, and the former spouse is still alive, or when a candidate has married a divorced person, whose former spouse is still alive. In both cases, as outlined in the Secretary General’s explanatory paper, a special dispensation, called a faculty, must be obtained from an archbishop prior to ordination.

Synod adopted a motion to request that the Archbishops’ Council introduce the necessary legislation to revise the canon to allow a diocesan bishop or acting diocesan bishop to grant the dispensation.

Read the entire article here.