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Jonathan Whitsel has been called as district executive minister for the Church of the Brethren’s Middle Pennsylvania District, beginning Jan. 1, 2027. He has served as pastor of Sugar Run Church of the Brethren in Shirleysburg, Pa., since April 2024.

Línea de noticias de la Iglesia de los Hermanos 25 de septiembre de 2026 Jonathan Whitsel ha sido nombrado ministro ejecutivo de distrito para el Distrito Central de Pensilvania de la Iglesia de los Hermanos , a partir del 1 de enero de 2027. Ha ejercido como pastor de la Iglesia de los Hermanos de

Jonathan Whitsel te resevwa apèl kòm minis egzekitif distri pou Distri Mwayen Pennsilvani Legliz Frè yo a , apati 1ye janvye 2027. Li te sèvi kòm pastè Legliz Frè Sugar Run nan Shirleysburg, Pennsilvani, depi avril 2024. Whitsel gen yon gwo eksperyans nan operasyon biznis ak lojistik, avèk 31 ane eksperyans kòm yon travayè endepandan

[Episcopal News Service] Clergy need housing, but housing is expensive in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One thing the Diocese of Pennsylvania, which spans the five-county metro region, has is available space on which to build. That combination of factors sparked an idea that now has become the diocese’s latest experiment in adaptive reuse of church properties. The diocese recently announced the launch of a new initiative that has identified at least three Episcopal properties for construction of affordable housing units that will be offered for rent to diocesan clergy and for priests who have been called to serve at churches that no longer have rectories. The initiative coincides with the diocese’s ongoing Transformation Initiative. The diocese’s emphasis is on new uses for underutilized church properties, including to ease the financial burden on congregations struggling to maintain aging facilities. The housing sites would be a mix of single-family houses or townhomes centered around a chapel or other worship space. Bishop Daniel Gutiérrez, in an interview with Episcopal News Service, said he envisions a kind of “neighborhood for priests.” Each would live in diocese-owned rental housing resembling a “seminary setting,” Gutiérrez said, with easy commutes to one of the diocese’s 136 congregations. In addition to providing affordable housing, “we also thought this is a good way of building a community of new clergy,” Gutiérrez said. Newly relocated priests often feel isolated and alone in their new city. “They don’t know anyone, and they’re coming from maybe Mississippi or California.” The clergy housing will help break down those social barriers while also offering living spaces for single people, couples and families of all sizes. Gutiérrez declined to provide detailed information about the three prospective sites because discussions are still underway with congregations and zoning authorities, though he specified that one is a diocesan property and the other two would be next to active churches. He added that one site is within the Philadelphia city limits, along with two suburban sites. Similar efforts are already underway through the diocese’s Transformation Initiative. Planners have estimated the diocese has 2.5 million square feet of underutilized space, and the diocese has identified 26 church properties where housing redevelopment projects could be viable — not to replace those congregations, but to make more productive use of their campuses. Under a separate but related branch of the Transformation Initiative, the diocese is working with another test group of congregations to launch a program of diocesan administrative support services. The diocese intends to leverage expertise in a range of tasks, from financial accounting to web design, to relieve local leaders of some of those burdens. The clergy housing initiative, then, represents a third branch of these diocesan efforts toward sustainability, at a time when lack of affordable housing has been identified as a national crisis. In 2023, the diocese’s Board of Trustees authorized $4 million in proceeds from the 2021 sale of the Wapiti diocesan retreat property in Maryland to be used as seed money for the Transformation Initiative, and some of that money will be available to build housing for clergy, Gutiérrez said. Site configurations are still being designed, though Gutiérrez has insisted that a central worship space be incorporated into the plans, so residents can gather for Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer or other services. “I want this to feel like not only a home but a spiritual place,” he said. He expects the initial plans will be finalized in the coming months, so that the diocese can break ground on housing construction by late 2027 or early 2028. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].

What can churches learn from the Christian response to the Industrial Revolution as artificial intelligence reshapes our societies? That question drove the latest WACC Europe Discussion, “AI and the Social Gospel: Reclaiming a Moral Voice for Advocacy,” led by Christian social ethicist Professor Kate Ott....

Members of the World Council of Churches (WCC) commissions and reference groups working on Life, Justice, and Peace will gather in Chiang Mai from 4 to 10 October to discern how churches can respond together to the defining challenges of a fractured world.

As part of its new Jubilee Initiative, the Louisiana Conference is helping local churches to pay off debt, fund ministries, expand staffing and more.

Reported FY 2027 refugee ceiling abandons world’s most at-risk refugees  WASHINGTON, D.C.,—Today, Church World Service (CWS) expresses its profound alarm in response to reports that the Trump administration has proposed a Presidential Determination capping FY 2027 Refugee Admissions at 17,500. CWS calls for a more equitable, inclusive Refugee Admissions Program that will keep its promises to those left stranded in ...

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The post Church World Service Calls for Non-Discriminatory FY 2027 U.S. Refugee Admissions Prioritized by Humanitarian Concern  appeared first on CWS.

The Reformed Churches Ecumenical Office Rome and the Facoltà Valdese invite you to attend the 3rd Ecumenical Symposium this year, “Theology, Ministry, and Ethics in the Era of AI”. Date: 6-7 October Location: Facoltà Valdese Via Pietro Cossa 42 00193 Roma. Translation: as required for English and Italian languages. The Tuesday program may be of […]

The post 3rd Ecumenical Symposium, 6-7 October: Theology, Ministry, and Ethics in the Era of AI appeared first on WCRC.

World Council of Churches staff gathered on 22 September to share and connect current initiatives addressing artificial intelligence. They discussed how the WCC uses AI, how to productively bring the discussion to WCC commissions and reference groups, and how to form a WCC staff task force on AI. They also discussed how best to contribute to planning a multidisciplinary symposium set for 15-19 February 2027.