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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="" class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-03/crc-news_2025-3-19_korean-pastors.jpg?itok=Jq7Ga49D" /> </div> </div> </article> <br /> English-speaking Korean ministers from across the United States and Canada gathered in Orlando, Fl., Feb. 24–27.

<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="" class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-03/crc-news_2025-3-19_church-out-serving.jpg?itok=hxLrWepl" /> </div> </div> <div class="field field-image-credit">Ron Vanden Brink, Diaconal Ministries Canada</div> </article> <br /> People representing several ministries gathered in February to learn more about how churches can better serve their communities.

<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="Joan and Elijah found a faith community where they could belong at City Hope GR, a Resonate Global Mission partner church plant." class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-03/crc-news_2025-3-19_church-for-elijah.jpg?itok=PtUj4RsQ" /> </div> <div class="field field-image-caption">Joan and Elijah found a faith community where they could belong at City Hope GR, a Resonate Global Mission partner church plant.</div> </div> <div class="field field-image-credit">Resonate Global Mission</div> </article> <br /> At City Hope GR, Elijah has found a place where people care about him.

<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="" class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-03/crc-news_2025-3-12_college-across-street.jpg?itok=PyD38YoX" /> </div> </div> <div class="field field-image-credit">Victoria Veenstra, CRC Communications</div> </article> <br /> Across the street from CrossPoint CRC in Brampton, Ont., is Sheridan College—home to over 15,000 students from around the world.

A drinking system, installed by United Methodists, provides access to water and contributes to the economic and social development of Ruburizi.

The first of a series of webinars on Christian unity, “The Bishop of Rome and Christian Unity,” offered on 18 March, drew more than 200 people. 

KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (ABNS 3/18/25)—American Baptist Home Mission Societies (ABHMS) has mobilized a One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) appeal to aid the Rainy Mountain Kiowa Indian Baptist Church congregation and community in Southwest Oklahoma. On March 14, when high winds downed a power pole, sparking flames that rapidly fanned into a roaring wildfire, […]

The post ABHMS Calls for Prayers and Support for Rainy Mountain Kiowa Indian Baptist Church appeared first on ABCUSA.

[Anglican Communion News Service] The Māori Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia (Te Hāhi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tīreni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa) has hosted a pilgrimage to deepen ties between Māori and Pasefika communities and enable international guests from the Anglican Communion to learn more about Māori Anglicanism and ministry. The province serves as a model of co-governance, having revised its constitution in 1992 to adopt a three-Tikanga system. This structure ensures equal representation at the General Synod for Tikanga Māori (indigenous Māori), Tikanga Pasefika (Polynesian communities across New Zealand and the Pacific), and Tikanga Pākehā (New Zealanders of European descent). Each Tikanga has its own archbishop and primate, all working within a single province. Taking part in the pilgrimage was secretary general of the Anglican Communion Bishop Anthony Poggo, the Rev. Canon Sammy Wainaina from Lambeth Palace, and members of the Compass Rose Society, including Bishop Todd Townshend of the Diocese of Huron, Canada, and the Rev. Doug Horner, representing Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel Gutiérrez. Since 1994, The Compass Rose Society has provided funding towards the work of the Anglican Communion Office and other communion projects. Hosted by the Most Rev. Don Tamihere, archbishop and primate of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, the pilgrimage involved a series of services and community visits, where the group heard more about themes of indigenous Anglicanism, surviving colonization, Moana theology and climate resilience. The pilgrimage began in Hawkes Bay, on the East Coast of New Zealand from Feb. 19-13. A visit was made to Te Hui Amorangi ki Te Tairāwhiti, the bishopric and home of Archbishop Tamihere. Here, the group was immersed in the rich traditions of Māori Anglicanism, where faith and culture are inextricably intertwined. The pilgrims went to the cathedral, where they saw intricate Māori woven designs inspired by the Porourangi Poutama pattern (a pattern favored by Ngāti Porou weavers on the East Coast). They also visited Te Aute College, a prestigious Māori Anglican boarding school. There, principal Rachel Kingi welcomed the visitors with a pōwhiri (ceremonial welcome) and showcased Māori customs including the waiata (song) and haka (dance) performed by the students. Significant time was given during the pilgrimage to meet Anglican leaders and environmental advocates to discuss pressing climate challenges facing the region, which is causing sea level rise and extreme weather events. In Hawkes Bay, the pilgrimage visited the former site of Hukarere Girls’ College in the Esk Valley, which was devastated by the floods caused by Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023. The students were evacuated just hours before a flood rushed the valley and school. The pilgrimage continued to Suva, Fiji, Feb. 24-26. The group heard from the Most Rev. Sione Ulu’ilakepa, archbishop and primate of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, who explained that the cyclone season now lasts all year-round due to climate change. Climate advocate Fe’iloakitau (Fei) Tevi spoke and warned that climate change could destroy up to 80% of coral reefs, threatening vital services for 11 million Pacific people, a region rich in marine life and contributing 57% of global GDP. The church is involved in some influential and impactful work in climate resilience, through the Moana Water of Life conference and the Community Integrated Resilience Assessment (CIRA). Run by young Anglicans in Tonga, CIRA maps each household in a community to ensure all are resilient to climate disasters. It also mobilizes church youth to support people at risk in a disaster scenario. It is now featured in a key report from the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the “human right to a healthy environment.” The pilgrimage also incorporated a voyage on the va’a Uto Ni Yalu, accompanied by some of the youngest certified traditional navigators in the world. Some of them have spent 6-8 months on blue water voyages, navigating to destinations such as Hawaii, the Americas, Chile, Easter Island, Rarotonga and New Zealand. They observed how climate change has altered the coastline in Suva Harbor. Ulu’ilakepa said, “Our voice alone is not strong enough,” urging the pilgrims to amplify the Pacific’s message. “This is a matter of life and death for us.” The final part of the pilgrimage was to New Plymouth Feb. 27-March 2 to attend the biennial Te Matatini Kapa Haka festival, one of the largest gatherings of Māori people and culture. Here, they were guests of Sir Selwyn Parata, chair of Te Pīhopatanga o Aotearoa and Te Matatini Festival. On their final day, the pilgrims attended a Eucharist at Mere Tapu (St. Mary’s). Once a symbol of colonial oppression for Māori in the 1800s, it has since become a place of peace making. A trip was also made to Te Manu Hononga, an educational center dedicated to Sir Paul Reeves, the first Māori archbishop and governor-general, which offers programs and events supporting the ongoing process of reconciliation for local hapū Ngati Te Whiti, Puketapu, and the people of New Plymouth. The pilgrimage fostered global Anglican connections, showcasing indigenous resilience, faith and climate action. Pilgrims returned with a renewed commitment to partnership and a vision for a potential indigenous chapter of the Compass Rose Society, amplifying Māori and Pasefika voices within the Anglican Communion. Of the visit Poggo said, ““This has been an enriching visit and time of fellowship, where I have learned more about lives and ministry of Māori Anglicans. They honor the land, their heritage and their relationships. Hospitality and community is central to how they live and embodies God’s call to “love your neighbor as thyself.” I have been inspired by the CIRA project and Archbishop Sione’s encouragement to have hope and resilience in the face of climate change. It has also been a joy to pilgrim alongside members of the Compass Rose Society, whose generous support to the communion is deeply valued. I give thanks to Archbishop Don Tamihere and all the communities of Māori Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia for their wonderful hospitality and example to […]

[Church of England] A church on the edge of the Cotswolds has replaced its failing, “unreliable” oil-fired boiler with electric under-pew heaters, thanks to a grant from the Church of England’s Net Zero Program. Holy Trinity, a rural church in the village of Sibford, started out simply considering installing a toilet and level access to the church. But it soon started to think about how its heating could become more efficient, too. The thought swiftly led to an energy audit that recommended the installation of 121 under-pew heaters. “The boiler was unreliable,” said church treasurer David Gill. “Sometimes we’d come to church, and it would have broken down. It also cost us about $2,600 a year in oil. “But the driver was a higher-level view in the community that we wanted to protect and cherish God’s creation, and we couldn’t do that by continuing to use an oil-based boiler. “We are a farming community, and people regard the countryside and their surroundings as something that’s God-given. So, continuing to go to church and burn oil was not consistent with that.” Gill and the Sibford team were determined to see the change brought about and needed to find ways of funding the $50,000 bill. So, they applied for grants and received four from different sources: Oxford Historic Churches Trust, The Benefact Trust and the Diocese of Oxford, and $25,000 from the Boiler Replacement Hardship Grant Fund, made available through the Church of England’s national Net Zero Program. “It was manna from heaven,” Gill said. “It made the difference between doing it and not doing it.” He added, “People are put off from coming to church in the winter if they are not sure if it is going to be warm. I don’t blame them. Why sit in a cold church? We wanted to make sure that everyone was always warm in church.” Three other churches near Sibford had already had the same system installed, so Gill and the team were able to sit on neighboring pews and find out what the system felt like. “It’s like sitting in a car with the heating on,” he said. Having received the grants around Christmas time, the Sibford team was able to move swiftly, seeing the pew heaters installed in just three days. Ash Wednesday was the first time the new system was tried out, and Gill reports the new radiators “worked perfectly” for the occasion. The move is set to make the church building net zero carbon and reduce its heating costs. “It is economically justifiable, but it is spiritually justifiable, too, and that’s the starting point for this,” Gill said. The Boiler Replacement Hardship Grant Fund aims to support churches, or church halls, with limited budgets with funding to help meet the cost of replacing a failed gas or oil-fired boiler with an alternative low-carbon alternative, ensuring that everyone is kept warm. Grants of up to $58,000 are available to cover the difference in cost between a low-carbon heating solution, compared with replacing a failed or failing oil/gas system. Churches are advised to contact their local dioceses to find out more about how the scheme could benefit them. Shannon Carr-Shand, the Church of England’s Net Zero program manager, said, “We recognize churches with old or failing gas/oil boilers face challenges with the cost of replacing them with a low-carbon alternative, and that’s why we have recently launched the Boiler Replacement Hardship Fund. We are thrilled that this will help these churches/church halls from being locked into a fossil fuel heating system beyond 2030.” The Boiler Replacement Hardship Fund is part of the Church of England’s wider Net Zero 2030 Program, which is responding to the church’s ambition to be net zero by 2030 by helping to equip, resource and support all parts of the church to tackle climate change through reducing carbon emissions from the energy used in its buildings, schools and work-related transport. Gill offered some tips to other churches about their heating systems: “You can either wait until your heating system fails and then do something, or you can be proactive and get ahead of the problem. “Every church will need to achieve its own net zero target by 2030, so being proactive about your heating system is the best option. “This means that you have time to apply for grants, do an energy audit, apply for a faculty and be in control of the situation, rather than a victim of circumstances. “Waiting until your system breaks down isn’t such a good move. No one wants that to happen, so make inquiries while your system is still working and explore the options.”

[Episcopal News Service] Clara Rowsey-Stewart and her husband, Arthur Stewart, along with other members of St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Darien, Georgia, wanted to make sure that people in their community never forgot one of the most painful events in the history of the region – and of the United States. The congregation recently helped create a monument to what is one of the single largest, if not the largest, auction of enslaved people in American history. The auction, which took place March 2-3, 1859, at a racetrack an hour’s drive north in Savannah, is known as the “Weeping Time,” in part because of the rain that fell nonstop throughout the auction and also because of the tears shed by those forced to leave family members and their community. Those who were sold were the property of Pierce Mease Butler, an Episcopalian who owned a rice plantation on Butler Island, less than two miles as the crow flies from the town of Darien. The auction took place in Savannah because there wasn’t a site large enough near the plantation to hold the number of people auctioned in the sale. The monument is located in Darien, not far from the church on the site of a former school named for St. Cyprian’s first Black priest. Many of the people Butler enslaved were Episcopalians like him and attended the same church, Rowsey-Stewart told Episcopal News Service. “Everyone was an Episcopalian – Pierce, the auctioneer, the auction broker,” she said. Butler was a wealthy man who racked up large debts, and his trustees were forced to sell some of his assets, including a palatial home in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, some property in Georgia and 429 people he enslaved on his plantation. While reports at the time had indicated that slave families were not to be separated, Rowsey-Stewart said that wasn’t the case. People were just sold to the highest bidder. Georgia Bishop Frank Logue, in an email to ENS, described the Weeping Time as “the most devastating chapter in the history of enslavement in the Diocese of Georgia.” He added, “Many of those sold were baptized and confirmed members of the same congregation as their owner, Pierce Mease Butler.” Rowsey-Stewart said that when she learned that many current residents of Darien had little or even no knowledge of the event, she and other St. Cyprian’s members decided to create a permanent monument commemorating the Weeping Time and place it near the church. The church paid the costs of the monument’s construction and placement. It stands 70 inches high and is a four-sided obelisk. One side includes a commemoration of the event, another lists the words of the broker’s ad describing the upcoming sale, and a third side includes a drawing of a Black man in chains with the words, “Am I not a man and a brother?” The final side includes the names of people who are important in the church’s history and in whose memory the vestry of St. Cyprian’s erected the monument. They include the Rev. Ferdinand Meshac Mann, Deaconess Anna Alexander and several others. Rowsey-Stewart said that after the end of the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves, some from the Butler plantation returned to the area to live, and they built St. Cyprian’s. When the church was consecrated, Black and white people sat on opposite sides of the nave, she said, separated by a rope strung down the center aisle. In 1873, Mann came to serve that congregation, and he also established a school that bore his name. Among those emancipated slaves who came back were Aleck and Daphne Alexander. The youngest of their 11 children, Anna Ellison Butler Alexander, was born in 1865. In 1907 she was set apart by Georgia Bishop C. K. Nelson as the first and only Black deaconess in the history of The Episcopal Church. During her 60-year ministry across the Diocese of Georgia she helped establish Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and School in Pennick, Georgia. She died in 1947. In 2018, General Convention added Alexander to The Episcopal Church’s calendar of saints, commemorating her on Sept. 24. In 2019 she was designated the patron saint of the Diocese of Georgia. But she has another link to the history of slavery on Butler’s plantation. Rowsey-Stewart said that Alexander’s grandmother, an enslaved woman there, was forced to bear children fathered by the plantation manager, Roswell King, who became a wealthy industrialist and founded the city of Roswell, Georgia. King was crucial to the plantation’s success, she said, since Butler spent much of his time in Philadelphia. “Those slaveholders kind of outsourced the slavery to other people,” she said. Descendants of some of the slaves who helped build the church, most of them now in their 80s, still are members of St. Cyprian’s, she said. The monument, which was placed on land where the old Mann School was located, was unveiled on March 1. Logue was there to help dedicate the monument, and he later said he was moved to see descendants of some of the former plantation slaves help with the unveiling. “This marker honors the pain and suffering those ancestors endured,” he told ENS. “We see the resilience of their trust in Jesus as many of those Black Episcopalians returned to the area and built St. Cyprian’s Church and the adjacent Mann School with their own hands.” While the monument is new, St. Cyprian’s remembrance of the Weeping Times isn’t. This year marked the church’s sixth commemoration of the event. After the dedication, Rowsey-Stewart was joined by other members of Racial Justice GA – the racial justice ministry of the Diocese of Georgia – for a photo. Placing memorials and other markers is an important part of the group’s work, Rowsey-Stewart, the group’s co-chair, said. One of their goals is to install lynching memorials in all the counties of the diocese as a way to confront the area’s racist history. They already have placed one such […]