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Economist Nava Ashraf explores the implications of the concept of work as service for living a meaningful life.

[Episcopal News Service] Washington Bishop Mariann Budde, one of The Episcopal Church’s most prominent bishops because of her role leading the diocese based in the nation’s capital, announced Oct. 1 that she is calling for the election of her successor in 2028. “I have not come to this decision lightly or alone, and it will not be easy to say goodbye to the diocese I love,” Budde said in a message to her diocese, which includes 86 congregations in Washington, D.C., and parts of Maryland. “Alongside the diocesan staff and leadership bodies, I will do everything in my power to ensure that the diocese is as strong and healthy as possible for this leadership transition. I am praying for all involved, and especially for the one God is preparing to serve as the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Washington.” Budde’s diocese includes Washington National Cathedral, which also serves as the seat of The Episcopal Church’s presiding bishop. In January 2025, Budde generated national headlines and intense scrutiny, both positive and negative, for addressing President Donald Trump directly in her sermon at the cathedral during a service held after his inauguration. Budde, in her sermon, had asked Trump to show mercy to “the people in our country who are scared now,” and she specifically held up the fears felt by many LGBTQ+ people and immigrants at the start of his second term. In her 15 years as Washington bishop, she has regularly been at the forefront of the church’s engagement on political issues that intersect with the faith, though she also has focused on a more pastoral approach to challenges facing the diocese’s congregations, from navigating the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to nurturing the diocese’s growing number of Spanish-speaking congregations. Budde told Episcopal News Service in a 2021 interview that, since her consecration as Washington bishop in 2011, she has tried to focus on her primary role as chief pastor to the diocese’s Episcopalians and, when engaging in advocacy, to “take a moral position and not a partisan position, to start somewhere we have authority.” In her Oct. 1 message, she said: “Next month marks the fifteenth anniversary of our shared ministry. I hope that you know that serving as your bishop is one of the great blessings of my life.” The election of her successor, she said, would take place at the diocesan convention in January 2028, with the new bishop’s consecration expected in June 2028. “It takes time and considerable effort to elect a bishop in our church,” Budde said. “The responsibility for shepherding that process rests with the Standing Committee, the elected body that provides counsel to the bishop and oversees important diocesan matters.” – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].

“Troy woman lights up about laundry outreach” is the title of a Dayton Daily News article about a laundry ministry of Troy (Ohio) Church of the Brethren. Beverly Johnston, a 75-year-old retired nurse, in July was named as a “Dayton Daily News Community Gem” for founding her church’s laundry ministry.

“Una mujer de Troy se entusiasma con su labor de ayuda con la lavandería” es el título de un artículo del Dayton Daily News sobre el ministerio de lavandería de la Iglesia de los Hermanos de Troy (Ohio) . Beverly Johnston, una enfermera jubilada de 75 años, fue nombrada en julio como una “Joya Comunitaria

“Yon fanm nan Troy klere lespri li sou ministè lesiv” se tit yon atik nan Dayton Daily News ki pale sou yon ministè lesiv nan Legliz Frè yo nan Troy (Ohio) . Beverly Johnston, yon enfimyè retrete ki gen 75 an, te nonmen an Jiyè kòm yon “Bijou Kominotè Dayton Daily News” paske li te

“Let the Children Come to Me: Protecting Children from Militarized Violence” (Mark 9:36-37) is the theme for the next Christian Citizenship Seminar (CCS) sponsored by the Church of the Brethren’s Youth and Young Adult Ministry. The 2027 CCS is planned for April 17-21 in Washington, D.C.

“Dejen que los niños vengan a mí: Protegiendo a los niños de la violencia militarizada” (Marcos 9:36-37) es el tema del próximo Seminario de Ciudadanía Cristiana (CCS), patrocinado por el Ministerio de Jóvenes y Adultos Jóvenes de la Iglesia de los Hermanos . El CCS 2027 se llevará a cabo del 17 al 21 de

“Kite timoun yo vin jwenn mwen: Pwoteje timoun yo kont vyolans militè” (Mak 9:36-37) se tèm pwochen Seminè Sitwayènte Kretyen (SKK) la, patwone pa Ministè Jèn ak Jèn Adilt Legliz Frè yo . SKK 2027 la prevwa pou 17-21 avril nan Washington, DC. “Sitiyasyon difisil ak danjere atravè lemond pa fè diskriminasyon selon laj; timoun

[Episcopal News Service] East Tennessee Bishop Brian Cole and ecumenical faith leaders from across the South gathered Sept. 30 for an event in Knoxville to express their support for immigrant families living in fear of the Trump administration’s push for mass deportations. The event was part of a regional gathering, “Deepening Our Moral Witness,” hosted by the Roman Catholic dioceses of Knoxville and Lexington and convened by the Catholic Immigrant Prophetic Action Project. Faith leaders from Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, Alabama and West Virginia participated on the steps of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. “Increasingly, fear and chaos and brutality appear to be the point in immigration policy,” Cole said, according to a news release. “God has made us all, and we all belong to each other.” Read the full news release here.

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Northern Indiana Standing Committee has released a lengthy statement outlining the reasons the diocese, in November 2025, decided it wasn’t ready for reunification with the Diocese of Indianapolis, saying the decision “came from a renewed understanding of our own identity.” No single factor led to the votes at the diocesan convention last year, the standing committee said on Oct. 1. The Diocese of Indianapolis also voted on a resolution that acknowledged the reunification talks without moving forward with a plan to reunify. Both dioceses said they intended to “continue and expand this Season of Collaboration.” “Several themes emerged” during the discernment process, the Northern Indiana standing committee said. “Many people expressed a desire for a more compelling vision of what a reunited diocese would become. … Though leadership was asked many times for reasons for ‘why reunify,’ no sufficient or convincing answers were given by leadership.” The standing committee did not specify which leaders it was referencing. The standing committee also cited practical concerns, such as preserving ministries that have long been part of the diocese’s identity, as well as uncertainty about how Northern Indiana congregations and members would be represented in a combined diocesan structure. “Despite sincere efforts by leaders in both dioceses, we have not yet built the depth of relationships that many believed would be necessary to support such a significant step,” the standing committee said in its Oct. 1 statement. As the diocese prepares for its next convention on Nov. 7, it also has begun discernment about the role of diocesan bishop. Bishop Douglas Sparks announced in February that he intended to retire in August 2027. “Working with the leadership of our diocese, we will consider whether to elect the next and ninth bishop of Northern Indiana or, because we are serious about continuing to consider the possibility of reunification with our siblings in Indianapolis, to call for the election of a bishop provisional until that decision is made,” Sparks said in his February message. The two dioceses in the state of Indiana had announced in January 2023 that they were launching a process to discern whether to reunify as one statewide diocese. That process coincided with several other examples of dioceses considering new partnership models as churchwide Episcopal leaders called for new approaches to addressing denominational decline. In Wisconsin, the state’s three Episcopal dioceses reunited as one in 2024. Also, that year, the dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan agreed to a juncture and combined as the Diocese of the Great Lakes. And in Pennsylvania, the dioceses of Central Pennsylvania and Bethlehem completed their merger at the beginning of 2026 to become the Diocese of the Susquehanna. Similar conversations about cross-diocesan collaboration had been underway since 2018 in the dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York. Though a merger was never openly considered, the two dioceses in April 2019 began sharing a bishop and combining some administrative and ministry functions. In 2025, the two dioceses decided to part ways rather than maintain their six-year partnership.