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Fourth Sunday of Easter God’s Voice The passage of John 10:22–30 begins with a conversation between Jesus and some Jews. It’s interesting that those men tried to pin him down on whether he was the Messiah, because most Jews heard Jesus’ claim about this relationship with God as blasphemy, declaring in John 10:33, “You, though […]

From April 30 to May 4, 2025, the city of Hannover became a living canvas of faith in action as it hosted the 39th Deutsche Evangelische Kirchentag. With more than 100,000 full-time visitors and over 1,500 events in just five days, the gathering was a remarkable display of spiritual vitality and public theology. But for […]

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Rev. Dr. Gina C. Jacobs-Strain, General Secretary of American Baptist Churches USA A Mother’s Love is Endless… As we celebrate Mother’s Day today, I invite each of us to pause and truly reflect on a Mother’s love. Mothers carry within them a divine reflection of God’s own love. What many call “a mother’s intuition” is […]

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[Episcopal News Service] May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and some Episcopal dioceses are celebrating the contributions of people of Asian descent in The Episcopal Church and throughout the United States. “The Episcopal Church should celebrate the fact that Asian congregations and members have been around for a long time in The Episcopal Church, and they have contributed to the church,” New York Bishop Suffragan Allen K. Shin, who was born in Seoul, South Korea, grew up in Daegu and immigrated to the United States in 1972, told Episcopal News Service. “We are celebrating the fact that the body of Christ reflects God’s image of diversity of creation,” Shin said. “We human beings are created in the image of God, and that image is very diverse, not just one race.” The heritage month was originally observed beginning in 1979 as a weeklong celebration, based on a resolution signed by President Jimmy Carter. The choice of May originates in the arrival of the first Japanese immigrant to the United States in May 1843 and the use of Chinese labor to build the first transcontinental railroad, completed in May 1869. President George H.W. Bush signed a bill in 1990 extending the observance to a full month. Shin will preach May 11 at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan in a worship service honoring Asian American and Pacific Islander heritage. New York Bishop Matthew Heyd will celebrate. The livestreamed service will feature elements from various Asian cultures. The Columbia University Lion Dance Club will perform a traditional lion dance during the procession. On May 17, the Diocese of Massachusetts will host a special celebration and Eucharist at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston. Shin will deliver the keynote speech there as well. The Rev. Jo Ann Lagman, The Episcopal Church’s missioner for Asiamerica Ministries, and Eunil David Cho, associate professor at Boston University School of Theology and an ordained Presbyterian minister, will share what it means for them to be Asian Americans in the church and in society. “As an Asian American person, being aware of my identity and of my histories, my contexts, my family, my communities and my call all intersect,” Lagman told ENS. “It means that my lens will point me toward what it’s like to be on the margins, but also aware of my own privilege, like my education.” Lagman, who is of Philippine descent, oversees nine ethnic convocations in The Episcopal Church: Arab/Middle East, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, Pacific Islander, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and youth and young adults. On May 28, Faith Christian Church of India in Ballwin, Missouri, a missional congregation based in the Diocese of Missouri, will host a gathering for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Missouri Bishop Deon Johnson will speak. Even though The Episcopal Church is slowly becoming more diverse, as of 2024 just 2% of Episcopalians are of Asian descent, according to the Pew Research Center. Still, Lagman and Shin both expressed the importance of learning about Asian and Pacific Islander history in the United States and in The Episcopal Church. Asian Americans have been members of The Episcopal Church for more than 150 years. The first recorded Chinese-Anglican service in North America took place in 1871 in Virginia City, Nevada, after a Chinese convert named Ah Foo ministered to Chinese miners and railroad workers in Virginia City and Carson City. Three years later, he and Pennsylvania Bishop Ozi William Whitaker – then-missionary bishop of Nevada and Arizona – established the Chapel of the Good Shepherd in Carson City, a missionary church for Asian railroad workers.  Last month, Shin and Lagman joined fellow Asian American Episcopalians at the annual Asian American Pacific Islander Clergy and Lay Leadership Retreat in Kansas City, Missouri, to share their hopes and desires for The Episcopal Church. The retreat centered around the importance of storytelling, especially now amid federal government entities’ attempts to whitewash U.S. history in response to President Donald Trump’s recent executive orders targeting diversity, equity and inclusion. Because of the executive orders, the Asian American heritage month is no longer federally recognized, and the White House Initiative on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders was dissolved after working to connect those communities to federal resources since 1999. Prior to the executive orders, racism and violence against people of Asian descent nationwide had been growing in recent years, in large part because the COVID-19 pandemic started in Wuhan, China.  Cho, who is Korean American, told ENS that many Asian Americans are “still grieving” and “traumatized by the whole pandemic experience and the mass shooting of Asian women at the spa” in 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. “The whole country went back to the Yellow Peril stereotype … and that continues to be a huge point of suffering and pain,” Cho said. “At the same time, a more social-based activism has emerged, and we’ve been challenged to break the silence and be more open and bolder about raising our voices.” Lagman echoed those sentiments. “When people want to bury or oppress us, it becomes more and more important for us to make our voices heard and to engage our allies to amplify our voices even further,” Lagman said. Shin and Lagman said they hope that Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month observances will be informative and encourage The Episcopal Church to work to recruit and foster clergy and lay leadership. “Even though we represent a small number of Episcopalians, we are still part of The Episcopal Church,” Shin said. -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

In a groundbreaking ecumenical effort, church leaders from across the world gathered in Assisi, Italy, from May 5–7, 2025, to take concrete steps toward establishing a shared Feast of Creation—a new liturgical celebration uniting Christians across traditions in their commitment to care for the Earth. The gathering brought together representatives from 16 global church bodies, […]

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The Rev. Brian Suk-Boo Lee credits the congregation for rallying and committing to the church’s future, after a period of struggle that included an attempt at disaffiliation.

Over 600 Methodist women from Southern and East Africa marched in solidarity with survivors of gender-based violence and those suffering in silence.

The Anglican Church of Canada shares in the joy and sends prayers and well-wishes to our Catholic siblings in Christ on the election and appointment of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Pope and Bishop of Rome.

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In a letter to Pope Leo XIV, World Council of Churches  (WCC) moderator of the central committee Bishop Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and WCC  general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended heartfelt greetings and congratulations.

The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), a global fellowship rooted in the Reformed tradition and committed to justice, reconciliation and Christian unity, has extended its warmest congratulations to His Holiness Pope Leo XIV on his election as the new bishop of Rome. With more than 100 million members across 109 countries, the WCRC sees […]

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