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[Religion News Service] On Feb. 8, the diocesan council of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas officially welcomed Resurrection South Austin, a church planted by the Anglican Church in North America, which itself was formed by former Episcopalians who broke away from The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada in 2009 over disagreements about marriage for same-sex couples and the ordination of women. The second ACNA parish to enter The Episcopal Church, Resurrection South Austin doesn’t represent a return to Episcopalianism: It was founded in 2015, years after the ACNA split, and only a small percentage of its congregants are former Episcopalians. This fits the profile of most in ACNA’s pews: Though data is sparse, the churches that have prospered most seem to be those founded since the split. “It would be difficult for me to name one person who had been in The Episcopal Church,” said the Rev. Shawn McCain Tirres, Resurrection South Austin’s founder and rector. That includes all of Resurrection South Austin’s clergy, he added. Like many ACNA churches, it was full of people who grew up in a conservative evangelical Christian church and sought out Anglicanism after becoming frustrated with the evangelical tradition. Over time, the parishioners began to realize that the kind of Anglicanism they wanted to practice would be a better fit in The Episcopal Church than ACNA. When the question was put to the church membership in 2023, about 120 people — 85% — voted to disaffiliate from ACNA. Some parishioners and at least one priest at Resurrection who didn’t want to join The Episcopal Church founded a new ACNA church instead, Immanuel Anglican. (Requests for comment from leadership there went unanswered.) “I’m excited,” Texas Bishop Suffragan Kai Ryan said. “They have a strong ministry in South Austin, and they gather and form people in Christian discipleship. They will bring a lot of gifts,” she added. In an essay in The Living Church, McCain Tirres cited ACNA’s “treatment of women, people of color and sexual minorities” as key reasons for moving. “And, while within contemporary Anglican politics there’s a tendency to fixate on matters of sexuality (important as they are), I want to resist this oversexualized reductionism.” In an interview, McCain Tirres further explained that his congregants “wanted rootedness and wanted to feel connected to something ancient and global” in joining the long-established form of American Anglicanism. He described the parish as “low-key high church,” which broadly refers to a greater emphasis on the Eucharist and ritual, as well as more traditional music. McCain Tirres said that for him it also means making it clear the church welcomes children and their noise and desire to wander around during the service as a blessing to the community. He said the sacramental character of The Episcopal Church has particular appeal to those who grew up in an evangelical tradition. “The good news about the sacraments is whether or not you feel it, or whether or not you believe it, God is there. That’s reassuring in a world of doubts. I don’t have to have it all together. The community holds me in faith even when my faith is shaking,” he said. But their parish isn’t just about the liturgy. Rez, as congregants call their church, is involved with El Buen Samaritano (The Good Samaritan), a Diocese of Texas ministry that provides services to the poor. As an ACNA church, McCain Tirres said, the parish felt it could not fully express its desire to serve those in need. “Reverence for God without reverence for the poor doesn’t make sense in the Christian faith,” he said. “Some of the conservative evangelicals would flag that as social justice or ‘woke.’ It transgresses something fundamental to white evangelicalism,” he said, adding that some ACNA Christians had called the parish “Marxist” or “woke.” “We’re a part of this (Episcopal) diocesan family because we found people who are doing the same things we’re doing, ministries of reconciliation without reservation,” he said. Resurrection South Austin’s former diocese, the Diocese of Churches for the Sake of Others, declined to comment on the church’s departure. Tashara Angelle, a parishioner who is now a seminarian for the Diocese of Texas, said Resurrection’s care for the poor was what drew her. “We came because we loved Rez, and how they were seeking justice for the marginalized,” she said. Angelle, who is Black, said these concerns were central to her faith. “The Black church is very involved in social justice issues, and we knew we had to be somewhere that was a priority, and part of your faith. It’s not just Rez, but The Episcopal Church, that’s a thing they care about. There’s a very spiritual side,” she said. Over time, she said of Resurrection, “it became obvious we were moving away from the ACNA,” noting, “We felt a little bit like we were on an island.” Though the congregants didn’t know much about The Episcopal Church, she said, “There’s so much community, and it’s so stabilized, and there’s other like-minded clergy,” which was not the case in ACNA. “It feels really good to come into something that’s settled.” Having attended Church of God in Christ, Baptist and nondenominational churches, Angelle said her own spiritual path had begun to track toward Anglicanism and the priesthood after she encountered Anglican authors, such as Esau McCaulley, a Black evangelical who had become an ACNA priest. She praised McCain Tirres for supporting and developing her call to ministry, which wasn’t an option for women in the local ACNA churches. Joel Yu and his family had been Presbyterians until they began attending Resurrection about a year ago. “It’s a bit of an unexpected turn for us as a family that had been Presbyterian for a long time,” he said. “We wouldn’t have thought about being Episcopalian a few years ago, but we’re really excited.” Yu said he appreciated the episcopal, or bishop-centered, polity that gives the denomination its name. While ACNA has bishops, the denomination’s […]

Read the letter sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio from Faith groups urging release of funds for refugee resettlement and international humanitarian aid.

The post NCC Leads Letter to Secretary Rubio from Faith Groups on Refugees, International Aid first appeared on National Council of Churches.

The World Council of Churches Office of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation, and the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue, during an annual meeting held in Rome from 17-20 February

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 Last updated: Friday, February 21, 2025  The Trump administration’s indefinite refugee ban, stop work orders, and failure to reimburse resettlement agencies have had a devastating impact on tens of thousands of refugee families and communities across the country. This resource will provide regular updates each weekday on the current state of play; updated asks for national, state and local leaders; ... Read More

As 24 February marks the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay noted with sadness that the war continues without any immediate signs of an end. 

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay strongly condemned the “abhorrent act of parading human remains” during the recent handover of bodies from Hamas in Gaza.

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The Executive Committee of the Alianza de Iglesias Presbiterianas y Reformadas de América Latina, or the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America (AIPRAL), convened in El Salvador ahead of the ACCRA +20 Regional Meeting, reaffirming its commitment to justice, solidarity, and collaborative action. The gathering featured in-depth discussions on the mission of […]

The post AIPRAL Executive Committee Gathers in El Salvador, Strengthening Regional and Global Ties appeared first on WCRC.

Communication justice is vital to addressing the existential threats posed by climate change and environmental inequity in our digital world, Media Development editor Philip Lee writes in “Climate Justice and Digital Inclusion,” the latest issue of WACC’s journal. This means ensuring both that everyone has...