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Tabitha Hartman Rudy will join the staff of the Brethren Academy for Ministerial Leadership as part-time coordinator of English-Language Ministry Training Programs, starting May 1.

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians from Michigan’s three dioceses – Northern Michigan, Michigan and the Great Lakes – joined hundreds of others at the state capitol in Lansing April 22 to rally for gun violence prevention. Many also met privately with legislators, asking them not to weaken laws aimed at reducing gun deaths that went into effect in February 2024. Those laws, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told rallygoers, have made the state safer, resulting in the lowest overall crime rate since 2015. It also allowed authorities to remove guns from nearly 300 people who posed a threat to themselves or others. Legislators passed those laws in the wake of two mass school shootings – the 2021 shooting at Oxford High School, where four students were killed, and the 2023 shooting at Michigan State University, where three students were killed. Michigan Bishop Bonnie A. Perry attended the rally. In information provided to Episcopal News Service by the diocese, Perry said, “We know that people everywhere in the state of Michigan can be safer, and that it is up to us to invite our leaders to remember their call, to remember their duty, to remember their humanity.” The Diocese of Michigan co-sponsored the event, which it called Lansing Lobby Day. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Lansing, located across the street from the Capitol, served as a gathering place for Episcopalians before the rally, where Perry delivered remarks. Perry is one of the conveners of Bishops United Against Gun Violence, a network of more than 100 Episcopal bishops working to curtail gun violence, and also is a cofounder of End Gun Violence Michigan, which has fought for the past two years for passage of gun violence prevention laws. She also moderated a “Faith Leadership for Gun Violence Prevention” panel session at a virtual gun violence prevention summit on Jan. 30, 2024, just before the new Michigan laws went into effect. For Northern Michigan Bishop Rayford Ray, who also attended the rally, the issue of gun violence is personal, having known people who took their lives with a gun. “Suicide is really an issue for the Upper Peninsula [of Michigan],” he said. “It’s kind of silent, but it’s there.” For the Rev. Barry Randolph, priest and pastor at Detroit’s Church of the Messiah, reducing gun violence is a major emphasis in his ministry. He and 30 members of his congregation attended the rally. “This is about making sure our government leaders understand the importance of keeping people safe,” he said. For 18 years Randolph and the church have sponsored “Silence the Violence” rallies that have become a major part of the statewide gun violence prevention movement. The march in 2024 drew hundreds of people, including then-U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who now is a U.S. senator; Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist; Detroit Police Chief James White and Detroit City Councilman James Tate. — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.  

[Church of Ireland] A special program of events is planned for Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on May 8 for the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day. Enniskillen’s program of events – the most westerly location for the VE Day 80 Commemorations in the United Kingdom – balances remembrance with celebration, including a VE Day 80 commemorative church service, beacon lighting ceremony, pipers’ tribute, beating retreat and concert. On May 8, Gary Wilson will be joining town criers and toastmasters throughout the country to read the VE Day 80 proclamation at The Watergate, outside Enniskillen Castle, marking the official start of the day’s commemorations. As part of the nationwide celebrations, the bells of St. Macartin’s Cathedral will ring at 6:30 p.m., in a symbolic act of remembrance and unity. This will be followed at 7:30 p.m. when the Inniskillings Museum and four churches on the island of Enniskillen will come together to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day with a service of peace. It will start in St. Macartin’s Cathedral with a spectacular parade of 80 pipers and drummers from local bands to form a community–massed band to support the service. The band will gather on Church Street, guiding the congregation to St. Michael’s Church for the continuation of the service. Lanterns will be produced, having been presented to Enniskillen’s churches in 2018, marking the 100th anniversary of the World War II armistice. These lanterns, in line with the official VE Day 80 promotion of “Lamping Lights of Peace,” will light the way from St. Michael’s Church back to St. Macartin’s Cathedral. There, the service will conclude with the lighting of a ceremonial beacon by Viscount Brookeborough, lord lieutenant for County Fermanagh. The beacon will symbolize hope as the light that emerged from the darkness of war. On May 10 at 3 p.m., the band, bugles, pipes and drums of the Royal Irish Regiment will perform a “beating retreat” at the Cathedral Hall Car Park to include a special performance by the Erne Highland Dancers. This event is free, with an invitation extended to everyone and no tickets or pre–booking is required. At 7 p.m., the VE Day 80 commemorative concert comprising the musicians from the Royal Irish Regiment will perform a special concert in St. Macartin’s Cathedral hosted by the Royal Air Forces Association (Fermanagh Branch).  It will be compered by Gary Wilson with guest soloists Lauren Kells and Clara Wilson. This event is free, with an invitation extended to everyone and no tickets or pre–booking is required.

[Scottish Episcopal Church] First Minister John Swinney MSP spent time at St John’s, Princes Street, in the Diocese of Edinburgh on April 21, hearing about the Warm Welcome space that has been set up in St. John’s. As first minister, Swinney heads the Scottish government. Swinney said, “Projects like the one at St. John’s in Edinburgh demonstrate this exactly – the compassion and resilience of our local communities in Scotland has the ability to bring people together, particularly in times of hardship and division. “It was a privilege to meet guests and volunteers at St. John’s – one of over 5,250 Warm Welcome Spaces across the U.K. Spaces like this can be a lifeline to people who are struggling to keep warm and those feeling lonely.” The Rev. David Bagnall, associate rector of St John’s said, “We’re located right in the heart of the city, and there’s a growing homeless community in the area. About 18 months ago, we created this space to provide food and hospitality to those who were naturally coming through our doors and it has continued to grow ever since. “Originally, it was intended as a winter initiative, but when that first winter ended, the community asked if we could keep it going. It had become their space: a place where they gather, share a bowl of soup, enjoy a cup of tea or coffee, and have meaningful conversations with one another.” You can read more about Swinney’s visit on the Warm Welcome campaign website here.

[Diocese of Central Florida] The Rt. Rev. Justin S. Holcomb, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, recently appointed the Rt. Rev. María Griselda Delgado del Carpio, retired bishop of Cuba, as assisting bishop for Latino Ministries. She was the first woman to serve as a diocesan bishop in Cuba and in Latin America, and she was one of the co-consecrating bishops in Holcomb’s June 10, 2023, consecration. After leading the Diocese of Cuba for more than 12 years, Delgado retired in 2023 and now lives in Fort Myers, Florida. This year, she also has begun serving as assisting bishop in residence alongside the Rt. Rev. Douglas Scharf in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, where she is working to unify and expand Hispanic ministry efforts amid growing challenges for immigrant communities. “This is the first time the diocese has had an assisting bishop dedicated specifically to the Hispanic community,” Delgado said of her role in Southwest Florida. “It creates a new opportunity to provide pastoral support and strengthen the Episcopal presence among Latinos.” As assisting bishop in residence, she will oversee pastoral visits, Spanish-language confirmations and leadership development programs for Latino clergy and laity, carrying out similar functions in Central Florida, where she will be available for five visitations per year and also serve the Latino Ministries Commission with regard to ministry and leadership development. “The new presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe, is reorienting the churchwide structure to support dioceses and congregations on the ground where ministry happens, and that’s exactly what’s happening with the Diocese of Southwest Florida and the Diocese of Central Florida,” Holcomb said. “Bishop Doug Scharf and I have been exploring what it would look like for Bishop Griselda to have shared episcopal ministry in two dioceses – Southwest Florida, where she lives, and Central Florida, where she has good relationships and connections. We’re both heartened by the ministry opportunities Bishop Griselda will provide for our dioceses, and we’re thankful for the vision of our presiding bishop.” Delgado emphasized the importance of providing faith spaces for Latino immigrants. “Even if they live in a different country and speak a different language, Latinos need a place where they can nurture their faith in their native tongue,” she said. More information about Delgado’s work in Central Florida is available in English and Spanish.

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<article class="media media--image display--large"> <div class="image-container"> <div class="field field-media-image"> <img loading="eager" width="430" height="323" alt="Members of Ideal Park CRC lay hands on Rev. Jake Jeong during his ordination." class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-04/crc-news_2025-4-23_korean-pastors-face-the-future.jpg?itok=7kDpKsGL" /> </div> <div class="field field-image-caption">Members of Ideal Park CRC lay hands on Rev. Jake Jeong during his ordination.</div> </div> <div class="field field-image-credit">Ideal Park CRC</div> </article> <br /> English-speaking, ethnically Korean CRC ministers gathered recently to discuss barriers that remain in receiving calls to non-Korean congregations.