Latest News

The Indian Orthodox Diocese of Ahmedabad has dedicated 2025 as the “Year of Family Prayer,” aiming to strengthen homes with the love and peace of Christ. 

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Reference Group for the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity is convening for the first time in person in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 13-18 March.

“Mark your calendar for BVS Visionary Voices!” said an announcement from the Brethren Volunteer Service (BVS) office. This new quarterly speaker series highlights inspiring professionals sharing what they do, why they do it, and how you can get involved.

BIC representatives discuss how redefining power, fostering inclusive dialogue, and moral and spiritual educational programs are advancing equality of women and men.

Looking to address hunger in your community? Congregations are invited to apply for a Global Food Initiative (GFI) grant to support efforts to address domestic hunger and homelessness.

The April offering from the Ventures in Christian Discipleship program at McPherson (Kan.) College will be “A Place for Everybody: Creating Communities of Belonging” to be presented by Jeanne Davies, executive director of the Anabaptist Disabilities Network.

[Episcopal News Service] A church in the Diocese of New Jersey is seeking authorization to build a 17-bed homeless shelter next to an existing outreach facility on its property, and the plan is facing local resistance. Christ Episcopal Church in Toms River, a coastal town of about 100,000, is seeking approval of the plan from the local Board of Adjustment, which meets next on March 13. Residents have raised concerns about safety and staff training at the shelter, according to the Asbury Park Press. The church is partnering with the Affordable Housing Alliance, a nonprofit group that counsels people experiencing homelessness, including at the church’s outreach center. By expanding services there to include a shelter, it would allow unhoused adults to stay from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., with an overnight staff of two. Guests also would be provided with food, shower facilities and counseling on a range of services, including job placement and permanent housing. The project reportedly would be financed by Ocean County but requires approval for a zoning variance, because homeless shelters are not allowed anywhere in Toms River. Advocates note, however, that the church’s residential zoning already allows for group homes and shelters for domestic violence victims. “One of the purposes of a church is to provide outreach services to the community,” Brian J. Murphy, a professional planner working on the project, said at a hearing in January, according to Asbury Park Press. “The homeless are already familiar with the site. They have been coming there since July 2023.” The proposal comes at a time when county officials are hoping to address a growing housing crisis fueled partly by rising rents and the replacement of coastal motels with higher-end developments. Toms River also recently shut down a homeless encampment, displacing 32 people, some of whom have since found permanent housing. Christ Episcopal Church also is following in the footsteps of other Episcopal congregations that have stepped up their outreach efforts to serve the homeless as a national affordable housing crisis has intensified. In Louisville, Kentucky, Christ Church Cathedral opened a temporary winter shelter this year for women and children experiencing homelessness. Other Episcopal ministries serving the homeless have taken root in San Francisco, California, and Pottstown, Pennsylvania. And in 2024, St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Brookings, Oregon, won a lawsuit allowing it to continue its homeless feeding ministry after the city passed an ordinance seeking to limit such outreach.

Note: The Church in Wales has issued the following statement about Anthony Pierce, the former bishop of Swansea and Brecon, who in February admitted to five counts of indecent assault on a male child under the age of 16. The offenses took place between 1985 and 1990, when Pierce was a parish priest in West Cross, Swansea. On March 12 Pierce was sentenced to four years and one month, half of which he will serve in jail. [Church in Wales] The sentence which has been handed down reflects the shocking nature of these offences and the gross breach of trust which they represent. Anthony Pierce has abused his position, disgraced his church and, worst of all, has inflicted appalling and lasting trauma on his victim. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victim in this case, who has shown immense courage in reporting what are deeply painful experiences. We offer him the most heartfelt apology for what he has had to endure. When these offenses were disclosed to the Church in Wales in 2023, we immediately reported the matter to the police, and we worked closely with our statutory partners as the case was investigated and prosecuted. In court today, the victim commended the work of the Provincial Safeguarding Officer assigned to his case. Anthony Pierce will now be referred to the Church in Wales Disciplinary Tribunal, via an accelerated process for post-conviction disciplinary matters. In his pastoral letter to the diocese following the court case, the present bishop of Swansea and Brecon, the Rt. Rev. John Lomas, has made it clear that he will be asking the Tribunal to consider deposing Pierce from Holy Orders, the most severe sanction available. When Anthony Pierce appeared in court on Feb. 7  and admitted these offenses, we issued a statement giving details of what had been discovered in an internal inquiry prompted by the 2023 report. That inquiry found that a previous report of abuse against a different victim had been received in 1993 by a small number of senior figures in the church but had not been reported to police until 2010, by which time the victim had died and Anthony Pierce had been appointed to, and had retired from, the position of bishop. As a result of this information, the Church in Wales Safeguarding Committee has commissioned an independent external review of the Church in Wales’s handling of the 1993 allegation, which has already commenced and which will be published upon completion. The review will also consider how safeguarding allegations are handled in the church’s current systems for the appointment of archdeacons and bishops and whether any changes to these processes are necessary. Full terms of reference were published in February. The Church in Wales is determined to demonstrate that it is a safe place, and that anyone coming forward will have their concerns or disclosures taken seriously, treated with compassion, and taken forward according to the highest current standards. If our people and processes have failed victims and survivors of abuse in the past, we intend to take responsibility for that fact and to fully apply the lessons which have been learned. We feel the most profound shame at the dreadful offenses which have resulted in today’s court case, but we hope the swift and decisive way with which the case was handled when it was reported in 2023, and the fact that we have proactively and disclosed the issues relating to the 1993 report will give confidence that we are determined to do everything possible to ensure the church is safe, that abuse is discovered and dealt with and that victims are respected and supported. We encourage anyone with safeguarding concerns to contact a member of our team via the Church in Wales website: https://www.churchinwales.org.uk/en/safeguarding/reporting-safeguarding-concern/ Alternatively, Safe Spaces is a free and independent support service, providing a confidential, personal and safe space for anyone who has been abused through their relationship with either the Church of England, the Catholic Church in England and Wales or the Church in Wales.​ You can contact the Safe Spaces team on the website www.safespacesenglandandwales.org.uk​ or by email at safespaces@firstlight.org.uk. Anyone with concerns or information about this case should contact South Wales Police on 101.

[World Council of Churches] World Council of Churches general secretary the Rev. Jerry Pillay expressed deep sorrow and grave concern over the recent tragic developments in Syria, where, according to some sources, more than 1,000 civilians, primarily from the Alawite community, have been massacred. “We underscore the joint statement issued by the Heads of Churches in Syria on Dec. 29, 2024, which expressed a vision for a new Syria based on reconciliation, dialogue, partnership, and hope,” Pillay said on March 10. “Their call for a culture of dialogue and national unity remains more urgent than ever in the face of the ongoing violence and suffering.” He reaffirmed that violence only begets more violence and called on all Syrians to break free from this destructive cycle and work toward a future rooted in justice, healing, and peace. “Syria’s tragic history reminds us that repeating past atrocities will only perpetuate suffering and division,” Pillay said. “Instead, we must strive for a reconciled society where the dignity of all is upheld.” Read the entire article here.

The new United Methodist sanctuary with room for 800 worshippers is helping grow membership and ministries in the South Congo Conference.