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[Episcopal News Service] The Rt. Rev. Mark Bourlakas, who has been bishop of the Roanoke-based Diocese of Southwestern Virginia since 2013, has announced that he is leaving to become an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Virginia. Virginia Bishop E. Mark Stevenson announced that Bourlakas would begin work on June 1 and will have an office in The Falls Church, west of Arlington. The diocese’s headquarters is in Richmond. Stevenson also said Bourlakas will join him and Assistant Bishop Gayle Harris in providing general support across the diocese but more specifically would work with the diocese’s Office of Congregational Vitality. Bourlakas said he has met with Southwestern Virginia’s chancellor and diocesan staff, as well as with the members of the Standing Committee. That body will be responsible for overseeing the diocese after the bishop leaves and for preparing for the election of Bourlakas’ successor. He also said he had several conversations with Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, who in a statement called Bourlakas “a valued colleague in the House of Bishops” and noted that the diocese “is poised to go from strength to strength in this time of transition and discernment.”

[Episcopal News Service – Linthicum Heights, Maryland] Executive Council has talked of a “strategic adaptive realignment” of The Episcopal Church’s operations at least as far back as June 2023. This week, the council got its first substantive look at how those changes will be implemented under the new leadership of Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe. Dioceses will be offered greater support in responding to Title IV clergy disciplinary complaints, Rowe told Executive Council at its meeting this week. He also aims to help dioceses conduct more effective and timely bishop searches. The church’s Office of Communication will assist locally with digital evangelism and, as needed, with crisis communications. A team of church leaders will begin rethinking how best to convene General Convention, the church’s triennial gathering and its primary governing body. And under the realignment, various churchwide departments will be “unified” into two divisions, one focused on racial, social and environmental justice programs and the other coordinating the church’s witness to the wider world – with both divisions prioritizing support for the work of dioceses and congregations. “We’re investing in creating a more unified structure for this work,” Rowe told Executive Council during its morning session Feb. 18. “The Episcopal Church has a unique opportunity and a voice in this particular time, but it has to be strategic and streamlined, carefully planned.” Executive Council met here Feb. 17-19 at the Maritime Conference Center in suburban Baltimore, with some members participating remotely via Zoom. As presiding bishop, Rowe chairs Executive Council, while House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris serves as vice chair. Rowe was joined in the Feb. 18 presentation by representatives from Compass, a consulting firm that was hired to help develop and facilitate a realignment plan. It has spent the past four months surveying the churchwide staff, department heads, the House of Bishops and Executive Council to collect and analyze the data that now is informing the planned changes. Rowe and other churchwide leaders did not reveal yet what those changes will mean for individual church employees, though the presentation’s outlines and summaries suggest The Episcopal Church could be poised to transform significantly how it coordinates program, operations and ministry at all levels of the denomination. On Title IV, for example, Rowe suggested that the church could expand capacity at the local level by assisting with documentation, procedural advice and training, as well as making experienced intake officers and investigators available to serve multiple dioceses interested in that option. Rowe also would like to help dioceses reduce the time it takes to fill vacant bishop positions, from a current average of about 22 months. On justice issues, the church’s unified departments would establish regional working groups, so dioceses can collaborate and share best practices. And many small dioceses with minimal staffing “are in need of hands-on help with communications, particular in times of crisis,” Rowe said, such as natural disasters, mass shootings and other catastrophes. Executive Council, as the church’s governing body between meetings of General Convention, is responsible for managing the churchwide budget, adopting new policy statements as needed and providing oversight for the work of the program and ministry staff that reports to the presiding bishop. In addition to the chair and vice chair, it has 38 other voting members, a mix of bishops, other clergy and lay leaders. Twenty are elected by General Convention to staggered six-year terms – or 10 new members every three years. The Episcopal Church’s nine provinces elect the other 18 to six-year terms, also staggered. Executive Council typically meets three times a year, and in the past, its meetings have been hosted by different dioceses around the church. The last meeting, in November 2024, was held in New Brunswick, New Jersey. In response to budget constraints, however, council is scheduled to meet again in June at the Maritime Conference Center, which has long been a frequent meeting venue for the church’s other interim bodies because of its accessible location and cost savings. Lay member Tivaun Cooper of the Diocese of New York proposed a resolution that would recommit Executive Council to traveling to different dioceses for its meetings. The Rev. Molly James, the interim General Convention executive officer, advised that such a plan could increase the cost of each meeting by $50,000. Cooper’s resolution was postponed until June so it could be studied further. “We like the general, overall idea, if we can afford it,” said Lawrence Hitt II, a lay member from Colorado who chairs Executive Council’s Governance & Operations Committee. The rest of the agenda for this week’s meeting was light on action items, though council members voted Feb. 19 to forgive about $2.7 million in debt accrued by the Diocese of South Carolina after a 2012 schism. They also approved the creation of a subcommittee on deaf and disability inclusion, in response to a resolution adopted by the 81st General Convention. On council’s final day, Rowe also announced that four finalists had been identified in the search for a successor to Chief Financial Officer Kurt Barnes, who is retiring after 21 years in that top leadership position. Rowe and Ayala Harris expect to have a nominee to submit for Executive Council’s approval at a special meeting in March. Executive Council showered Barnes with applause after Ayala Harris presented him with her President’s Service Award, which she said was given in recognition of his “unwavering commitment to the financial health of The Episcopal Church. His impact will be felt for generations to come.” Structural changes ‘to serve and comfort and transform God’s people’ Rowe had invited Compass in November to present its initial findings to Executive Council, and this week’s meeting built on those initial deliberations as the presiding bishop prepared church leaders for the coming changes. He and his team indicated that they intended to set more clearly defined priorities and encourage greater collaboration between departments and with dioceses. “We must remember that our job, as the board […]

Nearly every year, floods hit Makassar City, disrupting the lives and livelihoods of those who call it home.  For 56-year-old Pak Sampara, each flood brings a new wave of uncertainty. The rising water damages crops, making them impossible to sell, and in 2020, the situation became even more devastating when he lost his cleaning job in a local hotel due ... Read More

When Fathiya joined her brother in an animation workshop, she had no idea how profoundly the training would change her life. Originally from Palestine, Fathiya had been living in Indonesia for several years after she was forced to leave her home, when her brother Jamal signed up for the Animation for Humanity project, led by CWS local partner Yayasan Cita ... Read More

[World Council of Churches] A Palestinian delegation visited the World Council of Churches on Feb. 18 to participate in deep dialogues on justice, peace and the dignity of all people. The delegation was led by His Beatitude Patriarch Theophilos III, patriarch of the Holy City of Jerusalem and All Palestine and head of the Jerusalem Council of Churches. The delegation met with WCC general secretary the Rev. Jerry Pillay, who reiterated the Council’s continued calls for a just peace and for immediate action to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The delegation and the WCC also discussed why the international community must act decisively in ensuring immediate access to humanitarian aid, including food, water, medical supplies and shelter. Read the entire article here.  

<article class="media media--image display--large"> <div class="image-container"> <div class="field field-media-image"> <img loading="eager" width="430" height="323" alt="" class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-02/Bluefield%20WV%20Hurricane%20Helene_DRS-Clean%20Up%20Team.png?itok=lST2fRS4" /> </div> </div> </article> <br /> Family legacies are deeply meaningful. For Jessica and Ron Grassmid, their family legacy involves volunteering to bring hope to others.

Media Development 2025-1 Climate Justice and Digital Inclusion Climate justice is an existential threat that demands concerted action at many different levels. It is vital for civil society to be seen and heard in public where climate-related issues affecting human rights and justice are under...

The  international   humanitarian organization Concern Worldwide says that, “Climate justice is more than a concept. It’s a movement to recognize that the effects of climate change are not felt equally – and that it’s usually those who have done the least to cause climate change...

N. Ramakrishnan In September 2024, the United Nations General Assembly unveiled the Global Digital Compact (GDC), a sweeping framework designed to shape the digital future.1 Heralded as a cornerstone of global governance, the Compact’s ambition is nothing short of revolutionary: to create a digital world...