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His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew marked the beginning of the ecclesiastical year and the Day of Prayer for the Protection of the Natural Environment on 1 September with a message describing the ecological crisis as "a crisis of human freedom, of our religion and philosophy, of our ethos and our culture." He called on humanity to build a shared "body of common fundamental values" rooted in solidarity.

Luzia Wehrle served at the World Council of Churches (WCC) for four decades. She reflects on how she came to work at the WCC in 1969 at the age of 23; the visits of Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare Movement; and why she believes nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.

[Episcopal News Service] The Most Rev. Ramón Ovalle was installed as primate of the Anglican Church in Central America, also known as IARCA, on Aug. 29 at Catedral Episcopal Santiago Apóstol in Guatemala City, Guatemala. He has been serving as bishop of the Diocese of Guatemala since 2024. Ovalle was elected primate during IARCA’s eighth provincial synod, held in April at the Anglican Church of St. John the Evangelist in San Salvador, El Salvador. He succeeds the Most Rev. Juan David Alvarado Melgar, bishop of the Anglican-Episcopal Church in El Salvador. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe was unable to attend Ovalle’s installation, but he sent a letter offering his prayers on The Episcopal Church’s behalf that was read during the service. “We pray with thanksgiving for your installation as primate of IARCA, and for the gifts you bring to this ministry,” Rowe said. “We pray for God’s strength and guidance as you all together – primate, bishops, clergy and laity – face significant challenges, both internal and external.” IARCA, which in Spanish stands for the Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America, includes the dioceses of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama. The Anglican Communion describes addressing environmental challenges, political instability, food insecurity, poverty and infrastructure as some of IARCA’s biggest issues. The province also prioritizes strengthening women’s leadership. Rowe and Ovalle met earlier this month at the Anglican primates of the Americas meeting in Brazil, where they and other primates pledged to work together on global issues, including colonialism, secularism, polarization, migration concerns, economic and social insecurity, corruption and climate change and justice. “I look forward to our continued fellowship in this region of the Anglican Communion,” Rowe said.

[Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Tommy Dillon has been a Dolly Parton fan most of his life. He not only loves the country singer’s music and movies, but he’s also been to Dollywood, her amusement park in Tennessee, more than once. Most of all, he admired Parton’s dedication to social justice and philanthropy, especially through her nonprofit, the Dollywood Foundation. “Dolly really lived out the example of what the kingdom of God looks like on Earth,” Dillon told Episcopal News Service. “She welcomed everybody.” Dillon had just settled in Poughkeepsie, New York, to serve as interim rector of Christ Episcopal Church a week and a half before Parton died on Aug. 25 at 80 following a brief battle with an unspecified cancer. Like so many people worldwide, Dillon grieved upon hearing the news of her death. “She meant so much to so many people. … It hurts,” Dillon said. After some reflection, Dillon, with enthusiastic approval from his new congregation, decided to hold a community service of thanksgiving for Parton’s life and service to others on Aug. 30. The liturgy included readings from Genesis 37:1-4 and Matthew 5:13-16 and Parton’s songs “Coat of Many Colors,” “Light of a Clear Blue Morning” and “I Will Always Love You.” “Coat of Many Colors” is Parton’s 1971 autobiographical song about growing up poor, but loved, in rural Tennessee. In the song, Parton describes her mother telling her the story of Joseph and his coat of many colors, told in Genesis 37. “Singing ‘Coat of Many Colors’ after that reading from Genesis made perfect sense,” Dillon said. An offering during the service collected $2,000: $1,000 in donations and a $1,000 match from New York Bishop Matt Heyd, who greeted the congregation at the start of the service. The money was donated to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library through the Poughkeepsie Public Library District. The Imagination Library, part of the Dollywood Foundation, has donated more than 330 million free books to children worldwide since its founding in 1995. Service attendees were also encouraged to donate a children’s book for Governor George Clinton Elementary School, which is located across the street from Christ Episcopal Church. Promoting children’s literacy is one of many initiatives Parton, dubbed the “Queen of Country,” supported in her lifetime. Born on Jan. 19, 1946, in Pittman Center, Tennessee, Parton is believed to have donated between $500 million and $600 million over the course of her life, according to financial analysts. Part of that money also supported education programs and health care and medical research programs like the American Red Cross, HIV/AIDS-related charities and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Parton also financially supported disaster relief, animal welfare and conservation programs. Parton is additionally recognized as an LGBTQ+ icon for her long history of openly supporting LGBTQ+ communities. One of Parton’s most famous songs, “I Will Always Love You” from 1973, reached global mainstream success in 1992 when Whitney Houston’s critically acclaimed cover was released as the lead single from the soundtrack to “The Bodyguard,” Houston’s film acting debut. Parton invested most of the roughly $10 million in royalties from Houston’s cover in supporting the Black community in Nashville. “Dolly brought joy to everybody’s life she touched,” Dillon said. “She represented kindness, humor, faith, generosity and welcome.” Parton, the granddaughter of a Pentecostal preacher, credited much of her values to her deep Christian faith and spirituality. When her husband of more than 60 years, Carl Dean, died in 2025, she told The Associated Press in an interview that her faith comforted her. “I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday,” she said. Two of Parton’s 10 competitive Grammy Awards were won in the Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song category. She received The Recording Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. Other Episcopalians and institutions churchwide honored Parton and shared how much she meant to them. On Aug. 26, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, also hosted a special evening worship service in Parton’s honor. The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, honored Parton on Aug. 27 by playing an excerpt from her song “9 to 5” on its carillon. “I loved that she defied expectations of how women should be and how women should act and how women should look,” Colorado Bishop Kym Lucas said in an Aug. 26 video message. “I was a fan of hers because she supported Black country music star Charley Pride, even when it cost her concert dates and recording contracts. I admired her into my adulthood as she gave of her resources to help children learn to read, to provide scholarships for underprivileged youth, to make her life and witness a testament that we do best when we help one another.” Texas Bishop C. Andrew Doyle said in an Aug. 26 Facebook post that Parton finished her “course in faith.” “She sang the Gospel plainly, put books into the hands of millions of children who will never see her face, and kept a table where everyone was welcome,” Doyle said. In Poughkeepsie, after the service, attendees gathered across the street from Christ Church at Goodnight Kenny, a bar, to continue celebrating Parton’s life through her music and a special cocktail adapted from one of her cookbooks. “Celebrating Dolly’s life is a chance for us to come together and show what the world should look like – the Kingdom of God – around grieving together, because Dolly meant something to a lot of people,” Dillon said. -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at [email protected].

United Methodists are joining with Christians across traditions in adding a shared feast day and season that focuses on God, the Creator. The season coincides with an ecumenical focus on addressing climate change.

Ecumenical scholars and researchers from throughout Europe gathered in the Netherlands around the theme “Churches in the Midst of Polarization.”

A webinar on 16 September, “Care of the Elderly: Challenges and Opportunities in an Ageing World,” will be hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (Anglican) St James’ Settlement on Elderly Care, and St John's Medical College, Bengaluru.

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Psalm 46:1 Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Grace and peace to you from God our Creator and from our Lord Jesus Christ, who draws near to all who suffer. It is with deep sorrow that we in the World Communion of Reformed […]

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URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs issued the following statement in response to the Met Gala's decision to cancel plans for an exhibition of John Galliano's work.