[Anglican Church of Canada] Sacred Circle, the main governing body of the Indigenous Anglican church, will continue to give shape to the emerging self-governing institution when it meets Aug. 5-10 in Calgary, Alberta. National Indigenous Archbishop Chris Harper says key topics will include working out the procedural structures needed to put its founding documents, Our Way of Life and the Covenant, into practice; discussing an equitable method of picking representatives to Sacred Circle from across Canada; analyzing the funding available to the Indigenous church; and potentially even choosing a new national Indigenous archbishop. “Putting the boards and the nails together” to build a framework of the emerging church, he says, will mean working out how duties are divided between Sacred Circle and the Anglican Council of Indigenous Peoples. The former, like General Synod, meets every three years with a large body of representatives from across the church; ACIP, like the Council of General Synod, is smaller and meets more frequently to carry out business between the larger gatherings. The coming meeting of Sacred Circle will offer members a chance to lay out the procedures each body will use to handle discussion and decision-making, as well as which one will be responsible for what work, says Harper. Indigenous church leaders are preparing to welcome the new primate of the Anglican Church of Canada to Sacred Circle after the primatial election at June’s meeting of General Synod. Harper has spoken at previous Council of General Synod meetings about his belief that the church should be treated as a family and has mentioned his standing invitation for non-Indigenous Anglicans to join and participate in Sacred Circle. The primate is naturally a vital part of that, he says. However, since he himself is one of the candidates for primate, he jokes, “If the Lord’s sense of humor is right on that day, [if] I am made primate, then all the work that we’re doing right now is to welcome myself back into Sacred Circle.” In that case, Sacred Circle would have to select a new national Indigenous archbishop to continue the work of solidifying the Indigenous church’s structures. Another aspect of that, he says, is how the membership of each body is selected. Up until now, he says, the Indigenous church has been mostly following the internal boundaries of the Anglican Church of Canada, parcelling out its representatives based on what diocese and ecclesiastical province they come from. It has also relied on existing members recommending new ones they personally know. Now that work is ramping up, it needs a wider-reaching way to ensure people from coast to coast and in the North have a voice in that governance, he says. But the Indigenous people the church serves are grouped geographically, culturally and politically in ways that don’t match the provincial and diocesan system used to select delegates to General Synod. For that reason, he says, leaders have been considering using a system based on language groups. These groups would include, for example, the western, central and eastern Inuit in the North, coastal peoples in Western Canada, the Blackfoot in Central Canada, the Algonquin and Mohawk heading eastward, and the Mi’kmaq and other peoples of the Atlantic coast. The specifics of eligibility and selection of representatives are still in development and will be discussed further at Sacred Circle, he says. The goal, he says, is to ensure people from any Indigenous community can have their voices heard and people from every language region are included. Meanwhile, Harper says, ACIP has assigned a financial group to work with the office of General Synod to examine what money in which accounts has already been set aside for Indigenous ministries and what procedures are needed to access it. At the time of his late April interview with the Journal,that work was just beginning, he said, but the group’s goal was to bring a report on what had been learned so far to Sacred Circle, then to assign a new group to carry the work forward.
[Episcopal News Service] An Episcopal church in Annapolis, Maryland, has dedicated a new Garden of Peace and Remembrance in the congregation’s historic cemetery, paying tribute to ancestors, including the enslaved, whose identities have been lost to history. St. Anne’s Episcopal Church was founded in 1692, and its 17-acre cemetery dates to 1793. By strolling its grounds and inspecting the names on the gravestones, “you will see the entire recorded history of the United States played out there,” the Rev. Manoj Zacharia, St. Anne’s rector, said in an interview with Episcopal News Service. But not everyone’s lives were recorded or named in that history. Many free and enslaved African Americans who died in Annapolis, the state’s capital city, were buried in the cemetery and then mostly forgotten, with no memorials marking their graves. On May 4, the congregation held a dedication ceremony for its Garden of Peace and Remembrance. The garden was created in a formerly unused and overgrown section of the cemetery in partnership with Nature Sacred, an Annapolis-based organization that promotes the development of ecologically friendly sanctuaries of green space within urban landscapes. The garden memorializes ancestors who now are “known only to God.” Many were buried in a section of the St. Anne’s cemetery set aside long ago for members of Annapolis’ Black community. The congregation is researching the cemetery’s history to identify some of the hundreds of people who were buried there without markers. “We must acknowledge the first part of healing is to accept the fact that the church played a part in the history of slavery. The second part of healing is forgiving one another for the acts of cruelty,” Commissioner Elinor Thompson of the Maryland Commission on African American History & Culture said at the garden’s dedication ceremony, which was attended by about 160 people, including Maryland Bishop Carrie Schofield-Broadbent. Thompson also served on the garden’s steering committee. “This garden is dedicated to the people who had to go through all the suffering trials and tribulations during those uncertain times,” Thompson said, as quoted in the congregation’s news release. “This garden is also dedicated to those courageous men, women who continued to pray for this generation and all our future generations.” The garden is part of St. Anne’s ongoing racial reconciliation efforts, which expanded in 2019 with the creation of its Truth and Reconciliation Ministry. The initial goal, Zacharia said, was to tell the story of “the congregation’s complicity in the colonial project.” St. Anne’s was one of 30 government-established Anglican parishes in colonial Maryland. Its church and cemetery were built on the second-highest hill in Annapolis, eclipsed only by the hill reserved for the statehouse. The churchyard was the city’s only public burial ground through the Revolutionary War, and after the war, the congregation expanded its burial grounds by creating a new cemetery – the 17-acre property that now contains the Garden of Peace and Remembrance. The Truth and Reconciliation Ministry found that a church fire had destroyed nearly all burial records through the Civil War, though members were able to verify the section of the cemetery where enslaved and free African Americans were buried. They hired a firm specializing in ground radar and determined that hundreds of unknown people are buried there. The congregation already had been working with Nature Sacred on a garden concept, and after confirming the unmarked burial site, “it became obvious that the garden was meant to honor those souls who we now know are buried in our cemetery but have no memorials to honor their lives,” parishioner Ginger DeLuca, chair of the Cemetery Committee, wrote in a summary of the Truth and Reconciliation Ministry’s work on the garden. “It is our plan to find as many names as we can and list them on large stones among the flowers,” DeLuca said, along with a dedicated memorial stone for the unknown ancestors. The garden also offers a place for quiet contemplation, including for residents of the surrounding neighborhood, which is mostly African American, Zacharia said. Future plans include a “scatter garden,” where people may sprinkle the ashes of their deceased loved ones, as well as a columbarium. “There has been a lot of excitement around this project, a lot of energy,” Zacharia said. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.
[Anglican Communion News Service] The secretary general of the Anglican Communion, the Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, has made a visit to the Episcopal/Anglican Diocese of Egypt, one of the four dioceses in the province of Alexandria. He was hosted in Cairo by the Most Rev. Samy Shehata, the bishop of Egypt and archbishop of Alexandria, and other members of the clergy. At the invitation of the diocese, Poggo attended the annual synod as an observer and facilitated a number of Bible studies with the clergy and laity there. The secretary general’s schedule also involved visits to various church ministry programs, including the offices of both the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate and Coptic Orthodox Church; a meeting with the embassy of the Republic of South Sudan in Cairo; and trips to sites of spiritual, archaeological and historical interest in the local area. The Anglican Church in the region is a notable center for interfaith dialogue and cooperation in Egypt. It prioritizes building relationships with other faiths, fostering understanding through education, and advocating for religious freedom. As part of this ministry, the Anglican Church in Cairo has a close relationship with the Coptic Orthodox Church, with leaders of both churches meeting and cooperating on various initiatives. During his visit, Poggo made a pilgrimage to St. Mark’s Coptic Church in Alexandria. This cathedral is seen as the historical and spiritual heart of the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is the historical seat of the pope of Alexandria, the head of the Coptic Orthodox Church. It is also believed to be the place where St. Mark, the evangelist, established the church in the first century and the location where relics of St. Mark are believed to be. Poggo spent time praying at the cave where St. Mark is likely to have been buried. One of the diocese’s primary missions is to “foster the growth and expansion of the church, disciple believers, care for [the people of the diocese through] acts of love, including medical, educational and developmental support for the poor, marginalized and refugees.” Poggo visited several missional initiatives during his visit, including the Ras Souda Community Centre and a church there called Jesus the King. They are among the diocese’s ministry programs, which include schools, adult literacy and community support. The secretary general also visited a local Alpha course, led by Dean David Aziz, where 40 people were learning more about the Christian faith. Poggo spoke with the group, encouraged them in their discipleship and shared something about the work of the Anglican Communion Office. Alongside his church visits, the secretary general’s work has involved a meeting at the Embassy of the Republic of South Sudan in Cairo, where he was received by Ambassador Kuol Nyok Kuol Arop, the head of mission, and Deputy Military Attaché Captain Denis Oliver. The embassy extended its sincere appreciation to Poggo for his spiritual support and goodwill. A representative of the embassy later shared, “The visit was marked by warm fellowship, fruitful discussions and a heartfelt prayer from Reverend Poggo, who offered blessings to the mission and to the people of South Sudan.” Poggo told ACNS, “As one born in South Sudan, I am always glad for the opportunity to encourage and pray for those involved in mission and reconciliation in the area. Conflict currently affects many nations, including South Sudan, and meeting with His Excellency Ambassador Kuol Nyok Kuol Arop was a chance to share encouragement and fellowship with one another.” To conclude the provincial visit, Poggo attended the annual synod meeting. Shehata opened the meeting by saying, “The church of Antioch was founded as a living sign of the church filled with the Holy Spirit. And here we are today gathering to reflect on the characteristics of this church, so that we may imbibe it to fulfil our message as a church: a living church for a better community. Antioch Church was a church of love and bringing people together. So we ask ourselves: Is our church offering love to the stranger and the poor today? Are we a church rooted in education? For no spiritual work can stand without teaching. The church that is alive is not just a messenger, but a teaching church, and teaching is a pastoral necessity.” Regarding the historical significance of the church in the area, he went on to share, that “Antioch church appeared in a pagan environment, in the middle of a society that didn’t know Christ, but a group of people appeared who lived as Christ lived, and […] people saw the image of the living Christ in them. This is the real church: living, witnessing, quiet, but responsive to need, offering filling food and faithful servants for ongoing service.” Speaking about his visit, Poggo said that his trip to Egypt and Alexandria was “both spiritually uplifting and enjoyable. I was pleased to meet with the synod there and listen to the experiences of the clergy and laity, and I was delighted to be able to visit sites of historic significance in wider Alexandria. The ministry in the diocese has a clear commitment to mission and evangelism, providing practical aid and skills to those in need. Their commitment to ecumenical and interfaith dialogue is commendable.” Shehata said, “We appreciate Bishop Poggo’s willingness to be with us and to open God’s word as we seek to lead with courage and humility in the midst of complex times.”
[Episcopal News Service – Toms River, New Jersey] Christ Episcopal Church will have to wait a bit longer for a final decision on its overnight shelter proposal after pointed and divided debate took up the entire May 22 zoning board meeting in this Jersey Shore town. More than 40 people spoke to the Toms River Zoning Board of Adjustment on the congregation’s request for a zoning exception to allow for the homeless shelter. Most witnesses acknowledged that people experiencing homelessness in Toms River need support, but there was no consensus about whether the church’s proposed 17-bed shelter would be the right way to provide that help. When testimony lasted until the board’s 10 p.m. deadline to end the meeting, board members agreed with the shelter advocates’ attorneys and those representing the proposal’s critics to delay a vote until its next meeting, on June 12. Both sides then will make their closing arguments, and the board will also hear from its staff before voting. “I was disappointed they didn’t get to the vote, but it was important for everyone to be heard,” the Rev. Lisa Hoffman, Christ Church’s rector, told Episcopal News Service. “I am glad that the zoning board allowed the space and time for everyone to speak.” New Jersey Bishop Sally French told ENS that she also was disappointed by the delay. “At the same time, I am delighted to see the overwhelming amount of community support for Christ Church and its ministries – from those who spoke up at last night’s hearing on behalf of the congregation and those facing homelessness, to the thousands of people who have made statements, signed petitions and more,” she said. “Christ Church continues to be an active and vital part of their community, and the Diocese of New Jersey stands with them.” The zoning hearing took place against the backdrop of Toms River Mayor Daniel Rodrick’s surprise move in late April to attempt to acquire the church’s 11-acre campus either through purchase or use of eminent domain. He proposes creating a park there with pickleball courts, a soccer field, children’s playground and a skate park. The latter would be located on the site of the proposed shelter. Last week, Rodrick postponed the second and final reading of the land seizure ordinance from the council’s regular May 28 meeting to the July 30 meeting. He claimed that the second hearing was never intended to be on May 28. The date was generated by the township’s computer system, he said. Zoning board members must consider whether a change to allow the shelter would be beneficial to the community. Much of the May 22 testimony centered on how and where to provide services for unhoused people in the town of about 100,000. Some speakers argued that a shelter on church property would make the town a “magnet” for people experiencing homelessness. Others said it would put neighborhood homes and the children who live in them at risk. An expert witness at an earlier board meeting predicted a 15% decline in the value of homes near the shelter. Amanda Barton, who lives on Magnolia Lane adjacent to the proposed shelter’s location, told the board that a person she said was homeless walked up to her 12-year-old daughter and scared her while she was waiting for the school bus. George McAuliffe, another Magnolia Lane resident, said no one he has talked to in the neighborhood is “heartless about the homeless situation.” However, he told the board that “the homeless crisis in Ocean County cries out for a comprehensive solution” with a combination of services offered in a location “that does not disrupt an entire community.” Others spoke in favor of a new shelter while pushing back against claims it would negatively affect the neighborhood. “The truth is there are people in this room who do not believe that homeless people are people at all,” said Christopher Goble, who told the board he is homeless. The proposed shelter “is an opportunity to help people in the community,” he said. “How is that not beneficial?” Jeffrey Wild, an attorney and a trustee for the New Jersey Coalition to End Homelessness, told the board that the First Amendment guarantees churches the right to minister to the poor, and that ministry is “inherently beneficial” to the community. “I would urge you, rather than embark on a multi-year journey [into a legal fight], wasting taxpayer money, that you let the church do what the church is entitled to do,” he said. Philip Studnicky, known as Cozin Philly among the unhoused people he helps through Just Believe, told the board, “everybody’s got to remember we’re all children of God; we’ve got to help each other out.” Frequent mentions of God and faith irritated some in the room. One witness said she felt “manipulated” when “the words ‘Christianity’ and ‘Jesus’ keep coming up in this room” during a discussion of a land-use application, adding that neighbors would feel the same way if the applicant wasn’t a church. The shelter proposal calls for updating the church’s circa-1882 parish house while adding 949 square feet to it. Since 2023, the Affordable Housing Alliance and the Toms River Housing and Homeless Coalition have operated out of the building. The Affordable Housing Alliance would run the proposed shelter with a grant from Ocean County. Seventeen women and men who are experiencing homelessness would receive help accessing social services and finding permanent housing, as well as a safe place to eat, shower and sleep between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. People would apply for a spot in the shelter and undergo a criminal background check and an assessment of whether they could move into more permanent housing, Hoffman said. They could stay for 30 nights as they worked with the Affordable Housing Alliance and other social service agencies to get them into permanent housing. As for the delay of the mayor’s land-seizure proposal until July, Hoffman told ENS that she […]
[Episcopal News Service] Washington Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde and the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral, issued a joint statement May 22 offering condolences to the Jewish community and to the families and friends of the two Israeli Embassy staff members who were shot and killed on May 21 outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. Yaron Lischinsky, 30, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, 26, were about to be engaged, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, said. Lischinsky, a Christian from Nuremberg, Germany, was a research assistant. Milgrim, a Jewish American from Overland Park, Kansas, had worked in the embassy’s public diplomacy department since November 2023. The alleged shooter, Elias Rodriguez, a 30-year-old man from Chicago, Illinois, allegedly shouted “free, free Palestine” as he fired the shots that killed the couple. He is now in police custody. Budde and Hollerith’s statement follows. For as long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as, We remember them. –Rabbis Sylvan Kamens and Jack Riemer Together with our neighbors in Washington, D.C., and people around the world, we grieve the murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky, two staff members at the Israeli Embassy, who were gunned down outside the Lillian & Albert Small Capital Jewish Museum. We offer our deepest condolences to Sarah and Yaron’s family and friends; to all in the Israeli Embassy; and to our Jewish neighbors and friends in this region and beyond. As Christian leaders, we join our colleagues and friends in the wider interfaith and ecumenical community in denouncing this heinous act and all expressions of antisemitism. We recognize the magnitude of tragedy and death in the Middle East that is a cause of unrelenting grief and frustration — which we share — yet that can never justify antisemitism and the violence it inspires. In a poignant connection to us in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, in recent months, Yaron and Sarah had been exploring their faith as regular worshippers at Ascension & St. Agnes Episcopal Church near Logan Circle. In the words of Father Dominique Peridans, rector of Ascension & St. Agnes, “Their attraction to Christ seemed to have deepened their love for their Jewish sisters and brothers as well as their commitment to serve the people of Israel.” We cannot ignore the brutal irony of where and when these murders occurred: Yaron and Sarah had just attended an event that brought together multifaith attendees to discuss humanitarian initiatives. Now is a time of grief for two young people, in love with one another and desiring to serve humankind, murdered in our city in an act of anti-Jewish hatred. May we all extend a hand of friendship to our Jewish friends and neighbors, stand in solidarity to oppose hatred in all forms, and build communities of shared dignity and peace. The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington The Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, Dean, Washington National Cathedral
[Episcopal News Service] The U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked, 4-4, on May 22 in the case of a Roman Catholic school seeking to receive public funding, a decision that effectively blocked Oklahoma from creating what could have become the nation’s first religious charter school. The outcome at the court was supported by Episcopal leaders, including the church’s two presiding officers. “While today’s ruling is certainly a line in the sand and a win for public education and true religious freedom, we must remain vigilant. This case was not about school choice; it was about power, theocratic capture, and the mainstreaming of Christian nationalism,” House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris, a deputy from the Diocese of Oklahoma, said in a written statement. “We must attend to the larger threat, which will require us to be leaders of courageous, faithful witness.” The case centered on a Roman Catholic school in Oklahoma that was approved as a charter school by a state board in 2023. Opponents argued that the Constitution prohibits such schools from receiving public funds because it would effectively endorse a specific religion. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, a Republican, sued to block the funding, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against the school. That state ruling stands, after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to overrule it. Before the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe had joined a coalition of Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups in a legal brief opposing public funding for the school. “The Episcopal Church has consistently supported religious freedom for all in a variety of contexts,” the brief says in summarizing Rowe’s reason for signing. “In 1994, the church urged state legislatures considering ‘moment of silence’ statues for public schools to ‘assure constitutional balance’ in their treatment of the issue by ‘carefully considering the First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause as well as its Establishment Clause.’”
[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church, through its General Convention resolutions, has long supported government programs that help alleviate economic inequality and ensure low-income individuals and families have access to food, shelter and health care. “Dioceses, parishes and faithful Episcopalians are called to advocate changes in public policy to help poor and hungry people,” General Convention said in one of those resolutions, from 2015. With congregational Republicans and President Donald Trump now poised to enact a fiscal plan offering tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the wealthy while slashing spending on safety net programs that benefit the most vulnerable Americans, the church’s Office of Government Relations has issued action alerts on some key provisions of the legislation. Extending the tax cuts that were enacted in 2017 during Trump’s first term is a central goal of the Republican bill. “These benefited the wealthiest Americans and, if extended, would necessitate cuts to programs such as Medicaid and SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) that protect the most vulnerable,” the church said in an alert opposing what it called the “extreme tax cuts.” “As a church, our priority is to center those at the margins of society, including by supporting a tax code that reduces economic disparities,” the alert said. Rather than extending the 2017 tax cuts, it advocates expanding tax credits for low- and middle-income households, including the Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit. Another church alert specifically calls on Episcopalians to speak out in support of SNAP, the federal anti-hunger program formerly known as food stamps. The legislation that House Republicans passed early May 22 would toughen work requirements for obtaining SNAP benefits while shifting more of the financial burden for the program onto the states. SNAP currently assists more than 40 million Americans. That support could be cut by 30% under the pending legislation, which will be next considered by the Republican-controlled U.S. Senate. “As Episcopalians, our call is to advocate for the dignity of all people and especially the most vulnerable,” the Office of Government Relations said in its alert about SNAP. “We must take action to advocate against the irreparable harm that cuts to this program will cause to many individuals within our communities.” The church also issued an alert warning of the legislation’s potential impact on Medicaid, the federal program that ensures health coverage for poor Americans and those with disabilities. About 72 million Americans were enrolled in Medicaid as of December 2024. Republicans, to offset some of the trillions of dollars in tax cuts, have proposed reducing spending on Medicaid by as much as $880 million over a decade, largely by enacting what critics have called some of the strictest work requirements in the program’s history. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that more than 7 million Americans could lose their coverage under the bill. “General Convention and Executive Council have urged the church at all levels to advocate for those living in poverty, with special attention to racial and gender justice,” the Office of Government Relations said in its alert on Medicaid. “Of the non-elderly receiving Medicaid, six in ten are people of color and 57% are women. Medicaid also covers four in 10 children (eight in 10 children in poverty) and 41% of all births in the U.S. It is also the largest payer of services for those with mental health and substance abuse disorders.” The alert notes that the church has affirmed health care as a human right. “When individuals face an increased risk of suffering from preventable and treatable illnesses, barriers to employment due to untreated conditions, and experience a diminished quality of life, it harms families, communities, and generations. … “The social safety net, of which Medicaid is a vital part, is a major way we collectively care for one another, as Christ bids us to do.” – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.
[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church in Wyoming hosted a three-day listening pilgrimage to the Wind River Indian Reservation, which is shared by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes. The pilgrimage was a continuation of the diocese’s efforts to recognize and reconcile its involvement in federal and church policies that have historically harmed the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes. The diocese operated at least three known Indigenous boarding schools in the 19th and early 20th centuries: Shoshone-Episcopal Mission for girls in Fort Washakie, St. Michael’s Mission in Ethete and the federally funded Wind River Industrial School. During the May 18-20 pilgrimage, the 54 pilgrims – about 90% of whom were white Episcopalians from Wyoming – visited all three school sites. Members of at least half of the diocese’s 46 congregations participated. For the Rev. Roxanne Friday, Wyoming’s Indigenous Minister for Wind River Reservation, the pilgrimage “was all about truth-telling and what really happened.” “We’re not hiding the truth at all. … It’s an important part of overcoming and healing from the past,” said Friday, who is Eastern Shoshone and the granddaughter of boarding school survivors. “It’s important for our children – to know who they are, where they came from and to be proud of who they are because of truth-telling.” Friday serves the diocese’s two churches on Wind River: St. David’s Shoshone Mission on the Eastern Shoshone side, and St. Michael’s Mission, more commonly called Our Father’s House, on the Northern Arapaho side. The pilgrimage began with an overview of the program and a reflection session led by Sarah Augustine, co-founder and executive director of the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, and the Rev. Joe Hubbard, who leads the coalition’s Episcopal Indigenous Justice Roundtable. The coalition is a Mennonite Church-affiliated nonprofit committed to mobilizing Christian church communities to follow Indigenous leadership and seek reconciliation through nonviolence. The roundtable, which is made up of Episcopalians and Episcopal-affiliated groups, meets monthly to further the coalition’s work by learning and coordinating resources to address the needs of Indigenous land and water protectors nationwide. “The leaders here in Wyoming have taken a conscious step toward joining Indigenous peoples and their efforts for self-determination and sovereignty,” said Augustine, who is Tewa and a member of The Episcopal Church’s fact-finding commission that focuses on researching and documenting the church’s historic involvement and complicity in Indigenous boarding schools. By design, the schools were meant to assimilate Native Americans into the dominant white culture and erase Indigenous languages and practices. One step toward reconciliation occurred in October 2024, when the Episcopal Church in Wyoming returned a collection of about 200 tribal items that had been in the diocese’s possession since the 1940s. The repatriation of the cultural artifacts, which range from ceremonial headdresses and handcrafted women’s dresses to children’s toys and medicine bags, coincided with a broader nationwide movement to pressure museums and other institutions to return certain Indigenous items to the tribes where they originated. On May 19, the pilgrims visited the site of the Shoshone-Episcopal Mission, which burned down in 2016. A gazebo now stands where the school used to be, and nearby structures established by the Rev. John Roberts, a Welsh Anglican priest and missionary, still exist, including St. John’s Chapel, the Church of the Redeemer and a parish hall in active use. Robin Rofkar, administrative assistant of the Eastern Shoshone Tribal Cultural Center, explained the sites’ historical significance to the pilgrims. While in the area, the pilgrims visited Sacajawea Cemetery, which is a half mile from the chapel. The historic cemetery is the burial site of Sacajawea, the enslaved Lemi Shoshone woman who as a teenage wife and mother was an interpreter and guide during the Corps of Discovery expedition – led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in the early 19th century – from near St. Louis, Missouri, to the Pacific Ocean and back. They also visited the Fort Washakie School, formerly the Wind River Industrial School, and a nearby cemetery where at least 25 known Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho children who died at the boarding school between 1884 and 1940 are buried. At the cemetery, the pilgrims joined tribal elders and community members for a ceremony and prayer service of lamentation and remembrance acknowledging the Episcopal Church in Wyoming’s role in the children’s deaths. During the service, a new historical marker was unveiled and dedicated, which reads: “The Episcopal Church in Wyoming acknowledges our role in perpetuating the violence, ethnocide, and other systems of oppression through operation of Indigenous boarding schools on the Wind River Indian Reservation. We commit to truth-telling about these atrocities and the resulting intergenerational trauma. We repent of the brutal methods used to strip Indigenous peoples of language, cultural identity, and human dignity. Further, we seek healing with our Indigenous relatives.” Friday, who is related to one of the 25 identified children buried at Chief Washakie Cemetery, said “many tears were shed” during the ceremony while Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho drummers performed. In their Native languages, they sang songs dedicated to the deceased children. The songs’ lyrics were about healing and souls moving on to their next journeys. A couple of members of the Episcopal Service Corps who are completing their year of service in Wyoming broke down crying as they knelt to sprinkle tobacco – one of the “four sacred medicines” along with cedar, sage and sweetgrass in Indigenous cultures that are used for offerings and ceremonies – on each grave. “In coming together collectively, we were able to set those children free,” the Rev. Joe Hubbard, who also is a member of The Episcopal Church’s Indigenous boarding schools fact-finding commission, told ENS. Hubbard’s wife, Ashley Dobbs Hubbard, is Cherokee and serves as diocesan missioner for the Diocese of North Dakota. After the service, the pilgrims toured the Eastern Shoshone buffalo enclosure, where the tribe, in collaboration with the Tribal Partnerships Program of the National Wildlife Federation and the U.S. […]
[Anglican Church of Canada] The Anglican Church of Canada’s acting primate, the Most Rev. Anne Germond, and the national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, the Rev. Susan Johnson, have asked Prime Minster Mark Carney to use the country’s diplomatic tools to push for an immediate flow of life-saving food, water, aid, fuel and humanitarian assistance to Gaza. “Beyond the devastating effects of ongoing missile attacks, Israel has now prevented humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for more than two months,” their May 12 letter said. It also called for an end to arms transfers to Israel and for Carney “to communicate Canada’s desire to see an enduring and sustained ceasefire and the release of all captives.” The two leaders noted that their call for peace “is rooted in our relationship with partner churches, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land.” The full text of the letter is printed below. Dear Prime Minister: We are writing to express our outrage regarding Israel’s ongoing attacks on the Palestinian people and to call on the government of Canada to use all diplomatic tools to push for an immediate flow of life-saving food, water, aid, fuel and humanitarian assistance. Beyond the devastating effects of ongoing missile attacks, Israel has now prevented humanitarian aid from entering Gaza for more than two months. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned of acute malnutrition worsening among children in Gaza. The Gaza government’s media office recently said that famine is no longer a looming threat but is becoming a reality, adding that 52 people, including 50 children, have died due to hunger and malnutrition since the blockade was imposed. In a report in late April, the OCHA said it has identified about 10,000 cases of acute malnutrition among children across Gaza, including 1,600 cases of severe acute malnutrition, since the start of 2025. It is hard to put into words how cruel and deadly it is to be blocking humanitarian assistance. On May 5, Israel approved plans to seize the Gaza Strip and to stay in the Palestinian territory for an unspecified length of time, according to two Israeli officials. As we have communicated before, there is a fundamental need for an end of occupation so a just peace can begin. All plans to relocate Palestinian people out of Gaza violate international law and are the opposite of what is needed for peace. In the context of ongoing attacks, blocking of humanitarian aid, and threats to relocate the residents of Gaza, we call on Canada to end all arms transfers to Israel. We also ask you to communicate Canada’s desire to see an enduring and sustained ceasefire and the release of all captives. Our call for peace is rooted in our relationship with partner churches, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land. We continue to join with Primate Hosam Naoum and Bishop Sani Ibrahim Azar in calling upon all governments and people of good will to intervene to stop all attacks on medical and humanitarian institutions so that hope and life may be sustained and strengthened. Yours in Christ, The Rev. Susan Johnson, National Bishop, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada The Most Rev. Anne Germond, Acting Primate, Anglican Church of Canada
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe defended The Episcopal Church’s decision to end its federal contract rather than help the Trump administration resettle white South Africans in the United States, saying in a webinar that churches must reject the “moral compromise” that the administration has expected of other American institutions. “I think the institutional resistance is now more important than ever,” Rowe said in the May 20 webinar hosted by Religion News Service. “The church may be one of the few institutions that will be able to stand up and to tell the truth along the way, not to fold to demands to continue to be asked to make compromises on our moral decision-making.” The Episcopal Church and its Episcopal Migration Ministries had helped to resettle nearly 110,000 refugees since the 1980s though a bipartisan federal program. The church, however, has faced criticism this month from the Trump administration and President Donald Trump’s supporters for refusing to participate in the president’s expedited resettlement of Afrikaners from South Africa. Trump previously halted the resettlement of all other refugees, many of them fleeing war, persecution and natural disasters. Religion News Service initially invited Rowe as a panelist to talk about the church’s participation in an interfaith lawsuit seeking to block the Trump administration from conducting immigration enforcement actions at houses of worship. After Rowe’s May 12 announcement that EMM would end its federal contract rather than resettle the small group of Afrikaners, the presiding bishop spent much of the RNS webinar responding to questions about that decision. “What we’re talking about here is a real distortion of the facts and the truth,” Rowe said, referring to claims that the church is turning its back on white South Africans who feel persecuted by their country’s Black majority. “In this case, it was fairly straightforward,” Rowe said. “We have a group of people [the Afrikaners] who are essentially the architects of apartheid. They are by no means persecuted. Certainly, times are difficult in South Africa, that’s for sure. But they don’t meet any definition of a refugee. And more importantly, they jumped the line.” Trump, after suspending the United States’ 45-year-old refugee resettlement program, later reversed himself to make a narrow exception for these white South Africans, whom he said were “escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination, including racially discriminatory property confiscation.” Afrikaners, who number about 3 million people in a country of 63 million, formerly were part of the governing white minority under South Africa’s extreme racial segregation of apartheid, until its end in 1994 allowed newfound enfranchisement of the country’s Black majority. Afrikaner activists are now promoting a “completely false narrative,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has said, by claiming that the government’s efforts to address lingering racial disparities amount to persecution of the country’s white minority. Ramaphosa also pushed back against such claims in a meeting with Trump on May 21 at the White House, but Trump insisted on his version of Ramaphosa’s country, describing a South Africa that he said was plagued by widespread anti-white violence and stolen property. Rowe also has lamented the harms that Trump’s executive order restricting all other refugee resettlement have caused for many of the millions of other people living in limbo and desperate for new homes in the United States after fleeing danger and hardships in their home countries, from Sudan to Vietnam. Rowe amplified those points in the webinar. “We have people who helped our United States military, who are real patriots, Afghans,” he said, “others who are waiting to be resettled, people who are facing violence in Congo and all over, waiting in camps and dying every day.” Instead, the Trump administration last week welcomed into the United States about 50 Afrikaners – “rather privileged people by the world’s standards,” Rowe said. After consulting with Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Southern Africa, Rowe and Episcopal leaders decided it was not worth participating now in the resettlement of the Afrikaners in the hopes of a future restoration of the broader refugee program. “The problem with any kind of Faustian bargain like that is that the devil always wins,” Rowe said. “We knew that if we did this, we were going to be asked to do something else we couldn’t do. This was the line that we had to draw. And we’ll continue to do that. We’ll continue to tell the truth and be on the side of moral decision-making, and that’s what this is about. Just because the Trump administration and others have lost their way doesn’t mean the church has.” Other webinar panelists included the Rev. Carlos Malavé, president of the Latino Christian National Network, and Liz Reiner Platt, director of the Law, Rights and Religion Project at Columbia Law School in New York. They joined Rowe to discuss some of the lawsuits that religious organizations have filed this year to contest other Trump administration policies, particularly those related to immigration. Malavé’s organization is a plaintiff with The Episcopal Church and 25 other groups seeking to restore “sensitive locations” protections that the Department of Homeland Security previously had granted to houses of worship, before Trump took office in January 2025. The plaintiffs have argued that ending those protections from enforcement actions have hindered congregations’ efforts to welcome and minister to immigrant communities. “We must, as followers of Jesus, be faithful to our call,” Malavé said. Christianity offers “a world view in which every human being is loved, accepted and cared for.” Rowe agreed, adding that The Episcopal Church and other plaintiffs are “making pretty conservative arguments” based in constitutional principles of religious freedom, freedom of speech and the rule of law. At the same time, The Episcopal Church has not joined a separate lawsuit contesting the Trump administration’s suspension of the refugee resettlement program. Rowe explained that the church needs to be strategic and “can’t be part of every lawsuit” but will continue to take faith-based stands as a “bulwark against injustice.” “This is […]
[Episcopal News Service] Christ Episcopal Church in Dayton, Ohio, will host “Sanctuary for Peace” prayer gatherings during the May 22–26 session of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly taking place in the city’s downtown. The assembly will bring together more than 300 delegates from governing bodies — parliaments or congresses — of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 32 member states. More than 1,000 people are expected to be in Dayton for the event, which is the first time the assembly’s spring session has taken place in the United States. “In recent months, there has been a buzz in the city about this historic session,” Emily Joyce, the church’s director of communication and parish life, told Episcopal News Service. But it also created a problem. The church is in the middle of the NATO Village, a secure meeting area where streets are closed and foot-traffic is limited. “We pride ourselves on being a downtown church,” Joyce said. “Our doors are open every day. We need to make sure we stay open, but we wondered, what we can be doing?” The answer was to open the church to the community from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day that the assembly is in session, with a map marking where the area can be accessed by pedestrians. The church will offer prayers twice a day, with community faith partners helping in the afternoon and Evening Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer at night. Southern Ohio Bishop Kristin White said in a letter posted on the diocesan website that she will lead the 1 p.m. prayers on May 24. At other times the church will offer prayer resources and stations, as well as music and art projects “to help guests engage in prayer and peaceful contemplation.” In her letter, White applauded the church’s efforts during the international event. “As those who embody the Gospel of Jesus Christ and share in God’s transformation of our communities, we join Christ Church in their witness for peace, friendship and love of neighbor: our neighbors who live just across the street and our neighbors who live across oceans,” she said, encouraging people either to participate in person or to pray from home. Dayton was chosen to host this meeting because this year marks the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords that ended more than three years of war between Croatia, Bosnia and Serbia. That conflict killed more than 200,000 people and forced more than 2 million to flee their homes. The diplomatic meetings that led to the accords took place at Dayton’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. White said she hopes that the history of these accords plays a role in the upcoming gathering, writing, “I pray that this legacy of peace flows through the deliberations and actions taken by the assembly while they are in our midst.” The NATO Parliamentary Assembly first took place in 1955 to serve as a link between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization – which was created in 1949 – and its member nations’ parliaments. Rep. Michael Turner, a member of Congress from Ohio, will lead the bipartisan, 13-member delegation from the U.S. House of Representatives. Other delegates represent districts in California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington. The 2024 spring session took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.
[Episcopal News Service – Rome, Italy] For decades, the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center has provided a space for refugees and migrants arriving here in Rome. Today, it’s the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe’s largest refugee assistance program, one that serves as a model for churches across the continent. The center, housed in the crypt at St. Paul’s Within the Walls, operates a day shelter and provides food, clothing, Italian- and English-language classes, legal and job assistance, and other services to an average of 150 refugees each weekday. It does so with a small staff, interns and volunteers, and with a budget just under $400,000. On May 19, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe visited the center and received a guided tour from its director, Giulia Bonoldi, who explained the center’s holistic approach, from providing sleeping bags to people who live on the streets to teaching them about their legal rights and helping them integrate into society. “The work that’s happening at this refugee center is tremendous. … This is exactly what Jesus calls us to do,” Rowe told Episcopal News Service during his visit. “I think that we can see this as a model of people who are able to help resettle refugees with a shoestring budget. … I think this is a replicable model across The Episcopal Church in this time, particularly as we [in the U.S.] move from a federally funded program to more grassroots and local organizations; there’s something to be learned here.” Rowe had travelled to Rome to attend Pope Leo XIV’s May 18 inauguration in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square. His visit to the center followed the announcement last week that The Episcopal Church would not resettle white South Africans favored by the Trump administration and would end all federal resettlement work when the church’s federal contract expires at the end of the fiscal year. Episcopal Migration Ministries has been one of 10 nongovernmental agencies, many of them associated with religious denominations, that facilitated refugee resettlement through the federal program created in 1980. EMM will continue to serve migrants through diocesan partnerships, collaboration with other Anglican provinces worldwide, and local outreach to refugees who are continuing to get settled in American communities. Named for its founder, the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center is a ministry that dates to the 1970s. Europe is a destination point for refugees and asylum-seekers fleeing violence and persecution, political instability, civil wars and territorial disputes that rage in some 24 African, Middle Eastern and southern and central Asian countries and regions. The Italian peninsula is close to Eastern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and is point of first reception for asylum-seekers, many of whom arrive by boat. Per the European Commission, when a person pleads for asylum, the country responsible for processing the claim is determined by one of three criteria: immediate family links, which facilitate integration; whether an E.U. country has previously issued the asylum-seeker a visa; or “first country,” meaning the point of first reception. “We are not as a church leaving the field of refugee ministry; it’s just that the way we do it is changing, and the locus of it is shifting,” Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe Bishop Mark Edington told ENS. “Right now, the most active ministry with refugees is in Europe.” Building on its ministry to refugees and in response to the war in Ukraine, the convocation, with support from Episcopal Relief & Development, began in 2022 accepting grant applications from Episcopal, Anglican and now other churches and missions across Europe interested in working with refugees and migrants. “Through our partnerships with Episcopal Relief & Development, we’re enabling partnerships with churches in 11 countries and serving 200,000 refugees,” Edington said. What started with some six projects has grown this year to 20 operating from Romania to Portugal to Cyprus. “Bishop Mark’s goal was not only to change the lives of refugees, but also to change the lives of churches,” Bonoldi, who also oversees the grant program as the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe’s chief welcoming officer for refugees and migrants, previously told ENS. The bishop’s goal, she said, was not only to give money and support other organizations engaged in the work, but to get churches to start programs and for members to volunteer to work with refugees. “And this is actually what happened,” she said. -Lynette Wilson is a reporter and managing editor of Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at lwilson@episcopalchurch.org.
[Church of England] Attendance at Church of England churches grew for the fourth year in a row last year, preliminary figures show. The overall number of regular worshippers across the Church of England’s congregations grew to 1.02 million in 2024, a rise of 1.2%, according to an early snapshot of the annual Statistics for Mission findings. It was the second year in a row in which the Church of England’s “worshipping community” – the combined number of regular members of local congregations – has stood above a million since the Covid-19 pandemic. The numbers in the pews on a typical Sunday was up by a further 1.5% to 582,000 in 2024, extending rises over recent years. And overall in-person attendance across the week edged upwards by 1.2% in a year and stood at just over 701,000 last year, according to the early figures. The increase was driven by a recovery in attendance by adults over 16, among whom average Sunday attendance was up by 1.8% and weekly attendance rose by 1.5%. While the overall figures show that in-person attendance has not fully reached pre-pandemic levels, the figures suggest it is moving closer to the pre-pandemic trend. The preliminary snapshot of Statistics for Mission returns follows separate figures showing a sharp increase in traffic on the Church of England’s church-finder website AChurchNearYou.com. The number of page visits jumped by 55% last year to almost 200 million, as people searched for their local congregation. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, said, “The Church of England exists to share the good news of Jesus Christ and to love and serve our neighbors in every community in England. So it is encouraging to see further signs that more people are coming to faith in Jesus Christ and having their lives changed.” He added, “Although this is just a snapshot and we don’t know the ages of those who have started attending church in the past year, other evidence suggests that many of these are young adults. This is also my experience of visiting churches Sunday by Sunday and baptizing and confirming new Christians. That is a testament to the faith and hope of all those in our churches who share the gospel with their communities every day. And my prayer is that, in these uncertain times, more people will come to know the message of love and grace of Jesus Christ.” Debbie Clinton, the Church of England’s director for vision and strategy, said, “Our statistics are much more than numbers; each represents an individual who is part of a local church, serving their community across the country. In 2024 we have heard and seen exciting stories of growth in parishes in both urban and rural contexts, in our estates and in post-industrial and coastal towns.” She added, “Nationally we aim to ensure that each young person has a flourishing children, youth and families’ ministry within reach of them, and we are seeing growth in the number of churches with more than 25 young people attending.”
[Anglican Church of Southern Africa] Bishop of Matlosane Stephen Diseko represented the Anglican Church of Southern Africa at the history-making service to ordain 14 women to the transitional diaconate in the Diocese of Botswana. Diseko, who is leading the process of welcoming the Diocese of Botswana back as a member of the Province of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, was accompanied at the May 4 service by Lesotho Bishop Vicentia Kgabe, as well as the retired bishop of Namibia, the Rt. Rev. Luke Pato, and his wife, Essie Pato, who represented the United Society Partners in the Gospel. The Church of the Province of Central Africa resolved at its last Provincial Synod to split into three new provinces, comprising dioceses in Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively. The Anglican Church of Southern Africa resolved at its last Provincial Synod to negotiate the admission of Botswana. The Diocese of Newcastle, Botswana’s link diocese in the Church of England, was well represented, and Newcastle Bishop Helen-Ann Hartley delivered the sermon at the service.
[Episcopal News Service] Salvadoran police have detained a lawyer who leads the anti-corruption unit of Cristosal, an Episcopal-affiliated organization committed to defending human rights and promoting democratic rule of law in Central America. The lawyer, Ruth López, was taken into custody around 11 p.m. May 18 by agents of the National Civil Police. The organization denounced the police’s actions as “a serious human rights violation under international law.” “The authorities’ refusal to disclose her location or to allow access to her legal representatives is a blatant violation of due process, the right to legal defense and international standards of judicial protection,” Cristosal said while objecting to what it said amounts to “an enforced disappearance.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cristosal (@cristosal_org) López had been scheduled to participate May 20 in a webinar organized by Episcopal Divinity School. Seminary officials, other Episcopal leaders and global justice advocates are joining Cristosal in drawing attention to the situation while pleading for her safe return. “We call on Salvadoran authorities to immediately release Ruth López and urge the Salvadoran government to guarantee her physical safety and due process rights,” Amnesty International said in a May 19 letter that was signed by more than a dozen other organizations. “Authoritarianism has increased in recent years as [Salvadoran] President Nayib Bukele has undermined institutions and the rule of law, and persecuted civil society organizations and independent journalists. Our organizations have been closely monitoring the closing of civic space and attacks on independent press in El Salvador and are deeply concerned at the increasingly pervasive environment of fear that threatens freedoms in the country.” Lopez’s arrest comes as Bukele’s treatment of detainees has faced heightened scrutiny in the United States, after the Trump administration sent hundreds of migrants to an El Salvador prison under an agreement with Bukele’s government. Many of the migrants reportedly were deported under dubious pretexts, and U.S. judges and critics of the deportations have warned that Trump administration officials may have violated constitutional due process rights. Cristosal was founded as a partnership between clergy in El Salvador and the United States in 2000. It has since become an independent nonprofit, with continued Episcopal support, and has expanded operations to Guatemala and Honduras. Over the past two and a half years, its staff has assisted over 7,500 internally displaced people in the Northern Triangle, where violence is driven by organized crime, narco-trafficking, and, increasingly, political instability. López, through her work for Cristosal, had been named one of the BBC’s 100 most influential women of 2024, earning praise for her “tireless dedication to human rights and transparency.” “I simply do what I think I have to do,” she said in December after being included on the BBC’s list. “It is an enormous responsibility because there are hundreds and thousands of women human rights defenders in our country, brave women throughout our history who have done this all their lives.” López also is known as a vocal critic of Bukele’s government, which has been accused of corruption. The Salvadoran attorney general confirmed her arrest in an online post on suspicion of “theft of funds from state coffers.” Other critics of the government say there is no validity to the charge. El Salvador has been living under a state of emergency since March 2022, when Bukele suspended citizens’ fundamental rights and gave authorities the power to arrest and imprison without due process anyone suspected of gang activity. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.
[Episcopal News Service] Church leaders at an Episcopal congregation in suburban Chicago, Illinois, and families with children in the church’s day care program are rallying together after a pickup truck crashed through a wall of the church building on May 16, injuring at least three children who were in a classroom at the time. The afternoon crash occurred at Church of the Transfiguration in Palos Park, a southwest suburb located about 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The driver of the truck may have suffered a medical emergency prior to the crash, authorities told WMAQ-TV. The 29-year-old driver, two church staff members and three of the day care’s children were taken to hospitals for treatment, according to local news reports. Two police officers also received medical treatment for inhalation of smoke and construction debris while trying to reach children affected by the crash, according to the Chicago Tribune. About 60 children are enrolled in the day care, though the crash happened at the end of the workday, when many of the children already had been taken home, the Rev. Hunter Farrow, Transfiguration’s priest-in-charge, told Episcopal News Service on May 19 by phone. One of the injured children remained hospitalized for treatment of a broken leg after being temporarily pinned by a wheel of the truck, Farrow said. Despite some serious injuries, Farrow was thankful that no one was critically hurt or killed. “It could have been a lot worse,” he said, especially considering that the truck ended up fully inside the building after crashing through the wall. It also traveled quite a distance from the street to the church building. “It’s not like the church is right by a curb. He dove fully through a parking lot and a yard and then into the side of the church.” The hole in the wall is now boarded up while the congregation follows what might be a long process of appraising the damage and completing repairs. Authorities also ordered power to be cut to the property as a precaution. The church’s sanctuary was unaffected by the crash, but with the power out, the congregation worshipped outside instead on May 18. Farrow hopes to be able to resume worshipping inside soon, and church leaders are working with city officials to find a temporary location for the day care until the building is repaired. In a Facebook post about the crash, Farrow directed the public to a GoFundMe campaign created by one of the parents of the day care students. The campaign, which had raised nearly $12,000 as of May 19, said on its fundraising page that children aged 15 months to 5 years were in the classroom at the time of the crash. “This devastating incident has left families traumatized and our community reeling,” the fundraising page says. “As a community, our hearts go out to these precious children, their families, and the courageous teachers who prioritized the safety of their students. … We have witnessed incredible acts of compassion and resilience in the face of unimaginable circumstances.” One child who was treated and released was a 4-year-old girl, who suffered bumps, bruises and scrapes, including a severe cut to the side of her head that required stitches, her father, JJ Glavan, told the Chicago Tribune. “She was one of the luckier ones,” he said. Another 4-year-old was initially hospitalized after reportedly suffering a fractured skull. The crash is under investigation, according to information posted to the Palos Park Police Department’s Facebook page early May 17. “We are thankful for our first responders who acted immediately to help those in need and thankful for our many partner agencies that assisted in this matter,” police said. “We saw courageous teachers and people running toward the problem rather than away from it, we saw people being action-oriented and neighborly, reaching out, being supportive, generous and selfless. … In this chaotic event we experienced the very best of our friends and neighbors.” – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.
[Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church] A group of Church of England bishops, as well as the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, have joined Jewish, Muslim and other Christian leaders in signing a joint letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer calling for a more compassionate and respectful tone in the national conversation around migration after he announced plans to reduce immigration to the U.K. The letter, coordinated by HIAS+JCORE, a United Kingdom-based Jewish organization that advocates for racial justice and refugee rights, expresses deep concern that current political rhetoric risks “strengthening those who would divide us” and undermines the U.K.’s proud tradition of offering sanctuary to those in need. Fifteen Church of England bishops signed, representing the dioceses of Bristol, Chelmsford, Gloucester, Guildford, Leeds, Leicester, Lichfield, Lincoln, London, Manchester, St. Albans, Sheffield, Shrewsbury, Southwark and Winchester. Scottish Primus Mark Strange said, “I back the call in this letter for the Government to ‘affirm those things that would bring us together.’ To govern is to choose, and this government has a responsibility to choose ‘fair policies that balance the needs of host communities with real opportunities for people restarting their lives after fleeing war, conflict and persecution.'” While acknowledging public concerns around migration, the signatories stress the need for a response that is “principled and lowers the temperature of the debate, respecting the dignity of all who make up our nation.” The full text of the letter is available here.
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe joined a 19-member Anglican delegation and tens of thousands of people who on May 18 attended Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration Mass in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square. Throughout the service, the pope returned to “unity,” a call he has stressed since his election. His “first great desire,” he said, was for a united church. “In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest,” Leo said. “For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ! Come closer to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles!” It is a message that is especially relevant today, Rowe, who also serves as primate of The Episcopal Church, told Episcopal News Service in a telephone interview. “Now more than ever, Christians need to show our unity; particularly in a divided world, we could be an expression of the body of Christ that is whole rather than fragmented,” Rowe said. “And the number of ecumenical guests present at today’s liturgy, and the way we were treated as extended family, is a sign of that unity.” Leo presided and preached during the solemn liturgy, which marked his official installation as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. An estimated 100,000 people, including pilgrims, ecumenical representatives and world leaders, gathered in St. Peter’s Square and along the Via Della Conciliazione, or the Way of Conciliation, the boulevard leading into the square, for the Eucharist. In his homily, preaching in Italian, the pope said: “Following the death of Pope Francis, we felt like sheep without a shepherd, yet having received his final blessing on Easter Sunday, and with eyes of faith, hope and joy, we remembered how the Lord never abandons his people.” Francis died on April 21. A day earlier, from a balcony at St. Peter’s Basilica, he had blessed a crowd of tens of thousands gathered in the square to celebrate Easter. Francis’ death and Leo’s election and inauguration come during a jubilee year in the Roman Catholic Church, a special time of spiritual renewal, reconciliation and forgiveness occurring every 25 years and drawing thousands of Catholic pilgrims to Rome. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected on May 8 by the conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals. A native of Chicago, Illinois, the 69-year-old Leo is the first U.S.-born pope, though he has spent much of his career in ordained ministry outside the United States, including Peru. He is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Peru. In 2023, Francis brought him to the Vatican, where he served as prefect of the church’s Dicastery for Bishops. The pope expressed gratitude for those who prayed as the cardinals met in the conclave, and he said he felt “the working of the Holy Spirit, who was able to bring us into harmony, like musical instruments, so that our heartstrings could vibrate in a single melody.” “I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now with fear and trembling,” the pope said. “I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.” The presiding bishop noted the Byzantine church was also well represented in the liturgy, with the Gospel of John (21:15–19) read in Latin and Greek. “And there’s a part in the liturgy where the pope receives his pallium, which is a sign of the office, and they say to him a Byzantine greeting,” Rowe said, which in English reads “God grant you many years.” “I always find that a moving piece of any liturgy,” Rowe said, “but to have East and West together, I think that’s a hopeful sign.” Archbishop Leonard Dawea of the Anglican Church of Melanesia, a member of the standing committee of the Anglican Primates’ Meeting who also serves on the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission, led the delegation as one of four Anglican leaders who were formally invited by the Vatican to attend the inauguration. Rowe, Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell and Archbishop John McDowell of the Church of Ireland also received formal invitations. Bishop Anthony Ball, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the archbishop of Canterbury’s representative to the Holy See, and the Rt. Rev. Mark Edington, bishop of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, were among the full delegation of Anglicans in attendance. “I’m happy to lead the Anglican delegation to the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV. It is a privilege, but also a blessing to be present at the inauguration, and for the Anglican Church to be present there, a symbol of our unity and our shared mission,” Dawea said. The Anglican Communion is a network of 42 autonomous, yet interdependent, provinces, including The Episcopal Church, each with historical ties to the Church of England. The Anglican Centre in Rome has worked since 1966 to strengthen ties between the Anglican Communion’s provinces and the Roman Catholic Church. The delegation’s presence at the inauguration represented the prayers and support of Anglicans around the world as Leo begins his papacy. It was also meant to embody the commitment of the Anglican Communion to walk in friendship and partnership with the Catholic Church. “I was honored to be invited by the Diocese of Rome as the bishop of a church based in Rome – the historic Saint Paul’s Within the Walls, first gathered in 1860,” Edington told ENS. “The gathering this morning at the Vatican showed the full range of ecumenical relationships in a single tableau – and Pope Leo’s eloquent call for unity among Christians will surely strengthen the […]
[Episcopal News Service] When the Rev. Lucinda “Pete” Dempsey-Sims was a deacon at the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Buffalo, New York, she noticed that many people who picked up food from the parish’s food pantry would also ask for meat for their pets. In response, she opened a pet food pantry in 2011. Episcopal Church of the Ascension has since merged with another Buffalo congregation, the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd. Dempsey-Sims died from cancer in 2017, but the ministry and her legacy continue to thrive through “Pete’s Pet Food Pantry.” The Church of the Good Shepherd renamed the pet food pantry in Dempsey-Sims’ honor in 2018. “Many people have really cavalier attitudes and say that people shouldn’t have pets if they can’t afford them, but Pete knew in her bones that, for so many of our clients, their cats or their dogs are their only companionship,” Dempsey-Sims’ widow, the Rev. Cathy Dempsey-Sims, told Episcopal News Service. “Pete knew the power of connection between human beings and their pets, and she would never, ever deny anyone who asked for help to feed their pets,” said Dempsey-Sims, who is partnership canon for pastoral care and congregational support in the Dioceses of Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania. Every first Sunday of the month from 3 to 4 p.m., anyone can receive up to two 5-pound bags each of dry dog and cat kibble for free from the Church of the Good Shepherd’s complex. Identification and paperwork aren’t required. Volunteers – mostly parishioners – divide, weigh and label food based on the approximate size and age range of the dogs and cats. Canned and special diet food will occasionally be distributed, too. Updates are regularly posted to Pete’s Pet Food Pantry’s Facebook page. Most of the food is purchased through cash, gift card and PayPal donations, though many people donate food directly. Many of the donations come from individuals, nearby Episcopal churches and the nonprofit WNY Food 4 Paws. The local Pet Supplies Plus store is also a major donor. Volunteers also donate cat litter, leashes, collars, toys and more, even food for guinea pigs and rabbits on special giveaway days a couple of times a year. “Pete’s Pet Food Pantry is a ministry that people can really get behind,” Elaine Richau, senior warden of the Church of the Good Shepherd, told ENS. “We only distribute pet food 12 hours a year, but the ministry keeps growing and the stats on how much pet food we donate are mind-blowing.” In 2024, Pet’s Pet Food Pantry raised $6,628, not including physical donations and gift cards, and donated 21,380 pounds – 10.69 tons – of pet food, according to Richau. More people have been picking up food every month in recent years; earlier this month, the pet food pantry donated food to 150 families. The Rev. Michael Hadaway, the Church of the Good Shepherd’s rector, told ENS he thinks Buffalo’s affordable housing shortage and increasing living costs are driving the growing need for services like Pet’s Pet Food Pantry. “We’ve seen firsthand that people will give their own food to their pets if they can’t afford pet food because it’s expensive,” Hadaway said. “This ministry helps people maintain their own health and their own food supply.” The Church of the Good Shepherd also operates the Ken Perry Food Pantry serving people experiencing food insecurity every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Unlike the pet food pantry, which is 100% operated by the church, the Ken Perry Food Pantry is operated through various grants and donations by the nonprofit FeedMoreWNY. In the United States, the average cost of lifetime care is $34,550 for a 10-year-old dog and $32,170 for a 16-year-old cat, and those costs are expected to increase – as much as 7% for dogs and 10% for cats – due to ongoing inflation and tariffs recently enacted by the Trump administration, according to the 2025 True Cost of Pet Parenthood Report by Rover, an online pet care marketplace. Even though pet ownership isn’t cheap, most U.S. households – 66% as of 2024 – include a pet, and 97% of pet owners consider pets a part of the family, according to data compiled by the American Pet Products Association and Pew Research Center. For Mark DiGiampaolo, Pete’s Pet Food Pantry’s volunteer coordinator, owning pets is worth the financial investment. He told ENS that he believes Jesus included animals when he said, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat…,” in the parable of the sheep and the goats in Matthew 25:35-40. “Dogs and cats, especially the little ones, see the world from 10 inches off the ground. When you realize that this dog or cat is a complete creature that’s anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds or more, and they’re totally dependent on humans … they teach us that there’s so much more to life than the material world,” DiGiampaolo said. “It says right there in those opening chapters of Genesis that we must be good stewards of all God’s creation. The message to care for animals couldn’t be clearer.” When she was alive, Pete Dempsey-Sims also started pet food pantries at other churches in the Diocese of Western New York that are still operating, including at St. Matthias Episcopal Church in East Aurora. “Pete’s good work just keeps going,” the Rev. Cathy Dempsey-Sims said. -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.
The official news service of the Episcopal Church.
SubscribeSubscribe to Episcopal News Service feed
