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United Church of Christ congregations, Associations and Conferences all need websites to boost engagement with those who are involved, or interested in being involved with UCC churches, and many do not have one. It’s an important way to keep membership…

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The World Council of Churches (WCC) Staff Planning Days are underway from 3-6 March, a time during which the WCC will focus on its Strategic Plan, and streamline activities, resourcing, and cooperation around priorities for the Ecumenical Year 2025. 

Washington, D.C.— In an unprecedented moment of moral reckoning, Church World Service (CWS) today issues The Ash Wednesday Ecumenical Declaration: Defending Refuge, a bold and urgent call to action from faith communities across the nation. With 45 initial signers—including CWS’ Covenant Members—this declaration is more than a statement, it is a solemn and unshakable commitment by religious leaders and organizations ... Read More

Rani Joshi, head of South Asian Forum shares who she is celebrating this International Women's Day

Global Alliance on Media and Gender (GAMAG) Statement and Call to Action – 3 March 2025 Beijing+30: Upholding Commitments in Section J on “Women and the Media” Communication rights – particularly those of women and marginalized groups – are under severe threat world wide. This...

[Scottish Episcopal Church] Newcomers to the Scottish Episcopal Church and members of staff from the General Synod Office got together this month at Provincial Welcome Day in Edinburgh, to learn more about the church and how it operates, and to make useful contacts with others. Each year, invitations are extended to the newly ordained; those newly authorized as lay readers, clergy or lay readers who have come to the province from outside Scotland; and new members of staff at diocesan offices. Among them this year was the Rev. Nicholas Bundock, the new bishop-elect in the Diocese of Glasgow & Galloway. This year’s attendees were welcomed by the new secretary general, Dee Bird, who was also enjoying her first experience of Welcome Day. After opening worship led by the Rev. Elizabeth Thomson, the gathering heard an overview of the history of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and its place in contemporary Scottish society, from Primus Mark Strange. The morning session also included sessions on provincial governance and the General Synod Office, the Scottish Episcopal Institute, the church’s Net Zero strategy, and safeguarding. In the afternoon, Bishop Ian Paton guided the group through the history and development of Scottish Episcopal Church liturgies, then Claire Benton Evans, the provincial youth coordinator, gave a presentation on youth work, reminding everyone that young people are not the church of tomorrow, but the church of today. A networking opportunity then took place, to get to know others in similar positions in the church or to talk with GSO staff and establish provincial links, before the Rev. Anna-Claar Thomasson-Rosingh of the Scottish Episcopal Institute brought the day to an end with closing worship.

[Anglican Communion News Service] Anglican women leaders from across the Communion gathered at Virginia Theological Seminary Feb. 25–28 for the Women Mentoring Women Leadership Conference, an event designed to empower, connect and support women in ministry and leadership. Hosted by the Center for Anglican Communion Studies at VTS, the four-day conference brought together over 40 women from 20 countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, and North America. Participants included bishops, rectors, non-governmental organization leaders, church representatives, and students from VTS, creating a diverse space for sharing experiences, wisdom, and strategies for advancing women’s leadership across the Communion. The conference provided a space for women to engage in mentorship, peer learning and mutual encouragement, fostering strong networks for continued collaboration. Sessions explored pressing issues such as poverty, conflict, gender injustice, violence and the future of women’s leadership in the church. Participants engaged in panel discussions, small group reflections, worship, and mentoring sessions, all aimed at equipping and encouraging one another. The Rev. Katherine Grieb, director of the Center for Anglican Communion Studies, reflected on the impact of the gathering, saying, “The conference empowered Anglican women to lead with nuanced understandings of self, history and context, and provided a space for Holy Spirit-led visioning and dreaming. It was exciting to hear powerful testimonies from so many leading women from around the communion.” A key highlight of the event was a screening of “The Philadelphia 11,” a documentary about the first women to be ordained as priests in The Episcopal Church, which sparked rich conversations about the challenges and breakthroughs of women in ordained ministry. Representatives from Women on the Frontline and the International Anglican Women’s Network were present, engaging in discussions on future collaborations and strategies to advance gender justice. The Anglican Communion Office was represented by Mandy Marshall, director for gender justice, who led a session on well-being and self-care for women in leadership. She described the gathering as a powerful moment of solidarity, learning, and encouragement, saying, “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to have met with an amazing group of women from across the communion, who are bringing hope and light into dark places. Over these days, we have learned from and with one another, standing together in solidarity, prayer, and support. With so much happening in our world, it has been vital to gather, encourage one another, and strengthen our shared commitment to walking the path God has given us.”

Washington, D.C.— Last week, in response to a court order requiring the Trump administration to reimburse frozen aid funding, the White House instead chose to terminate nearly 10,000 federal contracts, including those with agencies to resettle and welcome refugees. Church World Service unequivocally opposes these actions and expresses deep concern over the impact these decisions will have on the displaced, ... Read More

[Episcopal News Service] People who have died from gun violence were remembered at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, through a recently concluded art installation that featured nearly 600 T-shirts, which represents the average number of gun deaths every 50 days in Texas. The shirts were arranged in rows and then mounted on three large panels made of netting. Those panels were placed on the outside of St. David’s parking garage, adjacent to the church, and displayed Feb. 20 to March 2. The installation, “Vidas Robadas/Stolen Lives,” was launched by Texas Impact, an interfaith advocacy network, as a way to make visible the reality of gun violence in communities all across the state. It was created under the direction of Austin artist Alicia Philley and was timed to coincide with Gun Violence Awareness Day at the Texas Capitol, also in Austin, on Feb. 27. Dianne Hardy-Garcia, the church’s director of community engagement and advocacy, told Episcopal News Service that church members made 250 of the shirts, all of them white, to remember people who died by suicide involving a gun. They were told which families wanted the name, age and birth date or death date to appear on the shirt of their loved one, she said. For others, their shirts simply remember “another life lost” or “otra robada vida.” All include the phone number for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline – 988. The colorful shirts were made by other churches and represent victims of gun homicide. Since some of them had been displayed elsewhere, St. David’s members made sure to touch up any of the information on them that had faded, Hardy-Garcia said. The installation was blessed on Feb. 26 by St. David’s assistant rector, the Rev. Kristin Braun, with Philley, the artist, and parishioners who had helped create T-shirts attending. St. David’s became involved with Vidas Robadas through a recently formed parish advocacy group, Hardy-Garcia said, which had been seeking ways to become involved in issues affecting the state from a perspective of faith. “The question was, how do we as people of faith talk about public policy in a way that comes from a prayerful place?” she said. “Members wanted to be part of this as an offering of public prayer,” she said, as well as a call to action. Texas Bishop Suffragan Jeff W. Fisher, a member of Bishops United Against Gun Violence, also noted the prayer-based nature of what the church undertook. “On Sundays, many of our churches pray ‘for the victims of hunger, fear, injustice and oppression,’” he said in an email to ENS. “The art installation at St. David’s is a visual form of prayer and a memorial to victims, bringing our attention to common sense gun safety measures.” Gun violence in the United States killed 48,204 people in 2022, according to the Center for Gun Violence Solutions at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health. The majority of those – about 56% – were firearm suicides. Gun homicides make up 41%. The remaining 3% includes people who died by accidental gunshots or were killed by law enforcement. Hardy-Garcia said that as church members created the white T-shirts, they talked about their own experiences with gun violence. “Four people had lost a sibling to gun violence by suicide,” she said, and the chance to talk about it gave them a real sense of support. Texas also has seen its share of mass shootings, she said, noting the deaths of 19 students and two adults at Robb Elementary Schools in Uvalde in May 2022. And while it’s hard for any gun violence legislation to pass the state Legislature, she said that “praying with their hands and hearts” to create the art installation has inspired some people to explore other actions they might take. The church isn’t calling for any particular policy to be enacted, she said. “We’re just encouraging people to find ways to be involved.” When it comes to taking political action, Fisher said that “one definition of ‘being political’ is to publicly care about the way that we regard and treat our neighbors, so that they may not fear violence and oppression.” He added, “Jesus expands our understanding of neighbor, so that we will love all people, with mercy, respect and dignity.” — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.

Watchword for the Week: And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus alone. Matthew 17:8 From the distractions of our lives, we gather to see Jesus. From the busyness of business we pause to adjust our focus. We come into the presence of God, Knowing our need for God’s leading in our […]