Episcopal News Service

[Anglican Journal] The Anglican Church of Canada should consider making major cuts to the size of its governance gatherings and committees, says the report of a commission tasked with reimagining its future. The church is about a quarter the size it was in 1967, but its governance groups remain the same size, the commission’s chair, Archdeacon Monique Stone, told Council of General Synod March 7. The report makes the same point and asks, “How can the size of church governance structures in the Anglican Church of Canada be reduced by 75 per cent?” Stone told CoGS this figure was intended more as a conversation-starter than a fixed target — but maintained that the report envisaged serious transformation. “This is not just tweaks, this is big change,” she said. Archdeacon Alan Perry, general secretary of General Synod, contacted the Journal after the original version of this piece was posted to offer a different perspective on the size of the church’s structures. In some ways, Perry said, they have grown since 1967 — with, for example, the addition of two new Newfoundland dioceses in 1975 — but in general the trend since then has been toward smaller structures as the church has changed with the times. CoGS, for example, has fewer members than its predecessor, the National Executive Council; and some committees are also smaller. “Yes, dioceses (30 rather than 28), provinces (still four), and a General Synod still exist, but they all look different and in general they are all smaller in their structures of governance than they were in 1967,” he said in an email. “The structures have been in constant flux since the beginning. They have evolved, are evolving and will evolve.” The document Stone presented to CoGS recommended General Synod 2025 give the officers of General Synod — including the primate, general secretary, chancellor, prolocutor and deputy prolocutor — the mandate and resources to propose a major revision to the church’s organization which they would present and begin implementing at the following General Synod in 2028. “Current institutional structures are larger than necessary at every level (General Synod, ecclesiastical provinces, and the number of dioceses),” the document, titled Creating Pathways, reads. “This top-heavy structure focuses human and financial resources on maintaining outsized institutions rather than proclaiming the gospel in local communities.” The cuts called for in this section of the document, Stone told the Anglican Journal, are intended to apply to the number of members on committees and to the number of church members at governance gatherings like CoGS and General Synod. They are not, she said, necessarily intended to apply to the relatively small number of church staff. The commission, convened by former primate Archbishop Linda Nicholls in 2023, recommends six processes for the church to begin work on to fulfill the mandate of adapting the church to the needs of a smaller membership and a 21st century social and political landscape. Its report is based on feedback — in the form of 297 responses to an online survey as well as interviews and Zoom meetings with staff at church house and Anglicans across the country — regarding a set of seven conversation-starting “hypotheses” for the future of the Anglican Church of Canada that the commission put forward in 2023. CoGS voted March 7 to commend the six pathways to June’s General Synod gathering for discussion and action. The central question of these recommendations is what form the church’s governance structures would take if they were being designed for the first time to meet the needs of the church today, said Stone. In addition to changes at the General Synod level, that may involve restructuring at the diocesan and provincial levels, which General Synod does not have the authority to mandate directly, she notes. What it can do, however, is play a leadership role in the conversation, encouraging regional governance bodies in the church to cooperate on a unified vision for what the new shape of the church will be. The six pathways along which the document recommends the church proceed are: Organizational structure, dealing with the governance gatherings and committees of the church; Management overview and restructuring, with suggestions for the transparency, accountability and organization of the office of General Synod and its staff; Inclusion and diversity in decision making, responding to calls for greater and more equal accessibility of participation in church governance; Communications, involving discussions on the future of the Anglican Journal as well as the national church’s overall strategy for disseminating information and connecting members across the country; Walking in partnership with the Indigenous church; Ministry in remote northern communities. During the consultation process, the report states, it became apparent many Anglicans were unclear as to the jurisdiction, responsibilities, functions and accountability mechanisms of General Synod (which is the name both of the church’s once-every-three-years gathering and the national church as a legal entity, which has its own office at Church House in Toronto). As a result, it continues, “Deep frustrations exist amongst members of the wider church who are asked to share their own declining financial resources with the office of General Synod without a clear understanding of what takes place there or where accountability lies.” Meanwhile, staff have experienced frustration as mandates from CoGS, General Synod, department heads and individual Anglicans conflict, the document says. To solve these problems, the second pathway proposes a managerial review of the office’s departments and mandates to align their work with the current needs of the church, clarify mandates and clarify the scope of responsibilities to staff, leadership and Anglicans across the country. The third pathway describes the current format and procedures of General Synod meetings as failing to be inclusive to people from a variety of cultural backgrounds, incomes, ages and other social and cultural classes. “It was felt” the legislative debate format of meetings has left many people feeling left out and created barriers to participation, the report says, resulting in a system that “continues to attract […]

[Anglican Communion News Service] The Anglican Communion’s United Nations representative in Geneva, the Rev. Glen Ruffle, spoke to the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council in late February about the need for politicians in South Sudan to show more commitment to the nation’s peace process. Tensions in South Sudan are rising, and on March 5 the embassies of the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany the Netherlands and Norway issued an “Urgent Call for Peace” deploring the violence in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State and increased tensions among national politicians Ruffle spoke from the insights of Anglican churches in South Sudan to call for attention on subnational violence, including widespread violence against women and girls. The mediation work done by churches was highlighted and a plea was made for South Sudanese politicians to work with the South Sudan Council of Churches on dialogue to reduce tensions. Alongside this, he called for renewed commitment by politicians to South Sudan’s revitalized peace process, which will enable security reform and help diffuse tensions among the national elite. This echoes calls made by Pope Francis, former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, former moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to South Sudanese political leaders during their Pilgrimage of Peace in 2023. Ruffle also emphasized the suffering experienced by many women and girls across South Sudan and the need for more reliable prosecution of violence against them as well as the need for investment in microfinance and literacy opportunities — like those offered by the Mothers’ Union — recognizing women and girls’ equal value with men and boys. Ruffle said, “It is important that we encourage South Sudan’s politicians to be serious in engaging with the peace process, and that we keep highlighting the immense suffering and violence to stop South Sudan slipping from the world’s radar.” Since 2013, South Sudan has experienced cycles of civil war, which are estimated to have taken the lives of over 400,000 people and displaced millions from their homes. In 2018, politicians signed a revitalized peace agreement which set a course for a transitional government, united army and elections. The agreement holds and progress is being made, but significant reforms are years behind schedule and violence outside the capital has continued. Recent clashes inside Juba’s political elite have raised concerns that the agreement may be in greater danger. The Anglican Communion’s U.N. advocacy team has urged people to pray with all South Sudanese Christians that the agreement holds. The full text of Ruffle’s statement is available here.

[Episcopal News Service] An Episcopal church in Michigan was featured on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” for a humorous segment about a very serious issue: gun violence. Desi Lydic, a correspondent on the satirical news show, interviewed the Rev. Chris Yaw, rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Southfield, about the congregation’s efforts to dispose of relinquished guns in the state. The church has organized eight gun buyback and disposal events across the Detroit area in the past three years, resulting in the destruction of 650 firearms. “There are millions of unwanted guns in the possession of reluctant owners all across the U.S. posing unknown health risks to individuals and communities,” Yaw said in a March 7 news release, “And every weapon we help take out of circulation has the potential to avert a tragedy.” On the show, Lydic interviewed Yaw while seated in a pew of his church. “How does a priest get involved with getting guns off the streets?” she asked. “In America, it’s a lot easier to get a gun than to get rid of a gun,” Yaw said, adding that it takes more than “thoughts and prayers.” Video of the full segment is available here. (Warning; some profane language.) St. David’s gun buybacks started with an event offering $5,000 worth of gift cards in exchange for the firearms. It was so successful that the line of cars was two miles long, Yaw said, and they ran out of gift cards in 20 minutes. When asked what kind of gift cards, Yaw said they were mostly to Target. “Target?!” Lydic responded, with an expression of mock shock. The segment ends with Yaw bringing Lydic to a workshop where the firearms are sawed in half before disposal. St. David’s has partnered with the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, the University of Michigan’s Institute for Firearm Injury Prevention, the Southfield Police Department and others in its gun buyback efforts. It is also part of a statewide effort led by faith leaders, including from Michigan’s three Episcopal dioceses, to raise awareness of gun violence and to advocate for policy changes to improve gun safety. In January 2025, they celebrated the passage of the state’s newest gun safety law, requiring police to completely destroy all guns turned in during community buyback events. Gun safety has been a growing issue of concern in Michigan in recent years, especially after deadly mass shootings at Oxford High School in Oxford Township in 2021 and at Michigan State University in East Lansing in 2023. On average, 1,421 Michiganders die annually from gun violence, and the nationwide average is more than 45,000, according to data compiled by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Episcopalians can learn more about the church’s gun safety legislation dating to 1976 here. – 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] Ten states; 1,560 miles. Eleven parishes and a seminary student; 14 adult volunteers and a baby. Total time: two weeks. That’s what it took for a team of Episcopalians to transport a baptismal font, a processional cross and an altar cross from Fryeburg, Maine, to their new permanent home in McCalla, Alabama. “Every single volunteer was a total stranger to each other before the relay. …Now we’ve really become friends,” Melissa Headrick Bailey, a member of the bishop’s committee for Riverside Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Alabama’s newest church plant, told Episcopal News Service. Bailey is a parishioner of St. Mary’s-on-the Highlands Episcopal Church in Birmingham. Riverside was named after the “river of life,” which is mentioned throughout Scripture, including Revelation 22. In January, Bailey reached out to Episcopalians on Facebook, a public group with close to 86,000 members, asking to purchase sacramental items, furniture and other supplies from churches that no longer needed them. Many people nationwide responded, including the Rev. Sinclair “Skippy” Ender, rector of Christ Episcopal Church in North Conway, New Hampshire. Ender had been storing a baptismal font, a processional cross and an altar cross in his home for a few years, waiting to find the perfect new home for them. “I answered the Facebook post, and they asked how much I wanted for the font, and I said, ‘Oh, I don’t want anything. I just want it used for the glory of God,’” Ender, a resident of Fryeburg, Maine, which is just across the state line, told ENS. Ender, a U.S. Navy veteran, said he obtained the baptismal font and other church supplies from the Episcopal Church of Saints Matthew and Barnabas in Hallowell, Maine, when it closed in 2021. He planned to use the items at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, where he was a command chaplain at the time. However, shortly after obtaining the baptismal font, which dates to 1888, the naval shipyard received a donated ship bell from a decommissioned destroyer and began using it for baptisms instead. In several military branches worldwide, including the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, upside-down ship bells traditionally serve as baptismal fonts. The custom dates back centuries to the British Royal Navy. “The antique font Fr. Skippy gave us is lovely, and it’s also very small and perfect for us,” the Rev. Geoff Evans, pastor of Riverside and the Diocese of Alabama’s canon to the ordinary, told ENS. “Everything has been serendipitous; providential, even.” The altar cross was originally used at St. Katherine’s Episcopal School for Girls in Bettendorf, Iowa, before it became a secular, coeducational college preparatory school decades ago. The cross had been stored in the undercroft of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Davenport since then. The damaged altar cross was about to be thrown away before Ender, who was a priest at the cathedral between 2018 and 2020, climbed into the dumpster to salvage the cross and restore it. Around that time, the Very Rev. John Hall, dean emeritus of Trinity, gave the processional cross and other sacramental items to Ender, which he used while enlisted in the Navy. Ender initially offered to pay to ship the sacramental items to Riverside, but the shipping fee was much higher than he could afford. Bailey reached out to Episcopalians on Facebook again asking if anyone living along the route between Fryeburg and McCalla would be willing to help drive part of the way to the next driver until the items reached their destination. Many people offered to help, and after some careful logistics planning and regular communications, 11 volunteers were selected to be a part of the “font relay.” Facebook users were able to read the relay’s progress by following the hashtag #FontRelay and the Episcopalians on Facebook group. The relay: Feb 3: Ender drove 222 miles from Fryeburg to Springfield, Massachusetts. That same day, Leslie Williams, a parishioner of St. Andrew’s Church, Northford, Connecticut, picked up the sacramental items and drove 83 miles from Springfield to Danbury, Connecticut. Feb 6: Williams drove an additional 35 miles from Danbury to New Haven, Connecticut. That same day, Nancy Pierson and Diane Goodman, parishioners of St. John’s Church Episcopal Church in Larchmont, New York, drove 82 miles from New Haven to Secaucus, New Jersey. Feb 9: Vivian Roston, a parishioner of St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in New York City, drove 239 miles from Secaucus to Hagerstown, Maryland. That same day, Kyle, Lauren and William Munroe, parishioners of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Auburn, Alabama – temporarily residing in Alexandria, Virginia, while Kyle Munroe attends Virginia Theological Seminary – drove 133 miles from Hagerstown to Staunton, Virginia. Feb. 10: Susan Palmer, senior warden of Trinity Episcopal Church in Staunton, drove 225 miles from Staunton to Bristol, Tennessee. That same day, Candace Armstrong, music director St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, drove 115 miles from Bristol to Knoxville.  Feb 13: Maryjo Latham, a parishioner of St. James Episcopal Church in Knoxville, drove 111 miles from Knoxville to Chattanooga, Tennessee. That same day, Ola Williams and Cathy Struntz, parishioners of the Church of the Resurrection in Rainbow City, Alabama, drove 110 miles from Chattanooga to Gadsden, Alabama. Feb. 14: Williams and Struntz drive 58 miles from Gadsden to Trussville, Alabama. That same day, Lane Oden, who’s not a member of a church, drove 11 miles from Trussville to Irondale, Alabama. Feb. 15: Oden drove 11 miles from Irondale to Homewood, Alabama. That same day, Bailey drove 16 miles from Homewood to Helena, Alabama, then 15 more miles to McCalla. To document the journey, Ender purchased a notebook for drivers to record their traveling details and reflections. “We are grateful to be on this journey with y’all. It is nice to think about all of these items going to their new home in our home state and diocese of Alabama,” Kyle, Lauren and William Munroe wrote in the notebook. “We hope these items help lead […]

[Episcopal News Service] Saint Augustine’s University, the historically Black college with Episcopal roots in Raleigh, North Carolina, has been dealt another setback in its ongoing fight for survival after its accrediting agency denied the school’s latest appeal. The accrediting agency, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, or SACSCOC, is in the process of removing Saint Augustine’s as a member institution for failing to meet accreditation standards related to its finances. Saint Augustine’s appealed a December 2024 decision by SACSCOC, but the agency’s appeals committee recently ruled against Saint Augustine’s, according to a March 6 news release from the school. Saint Augustine’s has at least one more option, a 90-day arbitration process, as it attempts to remain an accredited university. Loss of accreditation could threaten the school’s viability despite university leaders’ insistence that they have secured the funding needed to continue operating. “We have made substantial progress and are confident that our strengthened financial position and governance will ensure a positive outcome,” Board of Trustees Chairman Brian Boulware said in the news release. “SAU is resilient, and we are resolute in our commitment to academic excellence.” The release also emphasizes that the university’s failed appeal does not mean it is closing. Accreditation will remain active during the 90-day arbitration, meaning that all students who graduate in May 2025 will receive degrees from an accredited institution. The university “remains dedicated to providing high-quality education and student support services as it evaluates all available pathways forward,” according to the news release, which adds that the university expects to close later this month on an agreement with unnamed partners for $70 million in “sustainability focused funding at competitive market rates and terms.” Saint Augustine’s and the much smaller Voorhees College in Denmark, South Carolina, are the two remaining historically Black higher education institutions with Episcopal roots. The pair of colleges has received several million dollars from The Episcopal Church in recent years while also accepting the church’s guidance on administrative and fundraising matters. Saint Augustine’s history dates to 1867, when it was established by Episcopalians in the Diocese of North Carolina. Though still rooted in the Episcopal tradition, it now operates as an independent institution. Under federal guidelines, colleges and universities seek accreditation by an approved governmental or nongovernmental agency like SACSCOC to ensure they meet “acceptable levels of quality,” according to the U.S. Department of Education. Accreditation, for example, is a minimum standard typically verified by managers when assessing graduates for potential employment. An academic institution that fails to retain accreditation also could be disqualified from federal grants and student aid programs, potentially jeopardizing the school’s ability to remain open. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.

[Diocese of Los Angeles] Members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pomona, California, launched a ministry to help dress young girls around the world and revitalized community in their own backyard. On a recent Saturday, about a dozen women and men in the church’s Sophia room were busily laying out patterns, cutting, stitching and ironing vibrant animal print and flowered materials to make sleeveless dresses to send to Dress A Girl Around the World. “When we have finished 100 dresses, we send them off to be distributed,” said Jo Ann Newton, St. Paul’s senior warden. Newton inspired the ministry, which began in June 2024. “Dress A Girl” is a campaign of Hope for Women International, a Christian nonprofit women’s empowerment organization. The sleeveless, zipper-less, buttonless dresses, made to specification, bear the organization’s labels which, Newton hopes, could help prevent young girls from becoming victims of human trafficking. “Young girls in need have always been near and dear to my heart. Many people in this country don’t realize there are children without clothes,” she said, affirming the organization’s mission to raising awareness of human trafficking while distributing the dresses. Newton shared her vision with Sandra Martinez-Moore, chair of the church’s chapter of the Daughters of the King, an international order of women of Episcopal and other denominations who dedicate themselves to a life of prayer and service. Martinez-Moore embraced the ministry, and it has continued to expand. The women – and a few men – gather on the first Saturday of each month to sew, using donated materials and machines. They also work at home, according to Martinez-Moore. She said she was there with her mother, Anna Toledo, who makes about 14 dresses each week. “The wonderful thing is, the men in the church were excited by what we were doing, so they formed a men’s ministry,” Newton said. “They wanted to work alongside us in some way and in December, we had a joint project.” By Christmas, members were making stockings for the children attending a preschool renting space on their campus. The men’s ministry purchased small toys to put in the stockings “and we had a party for the children,” Newton said. “We’d never had a relationship with the preschool before. Now, the men’s ministry is activated, and they are planning other things for this year.” Extra stockings were taken to a nearby shelter; now the church is planning an Easter outreach to the shelter as well. Enthusiasm has continued to build. Another plan in the works is to create a quilted reversible bag and other fundraisers to celebrate St. Paul’s 150th anniversary in 2026. “We are planning a year’s worth of activities,” said Patricia Hernandez, who attends the monthly gatherings. “People come and do what they can.” Dress A Girl has “brought new life” to the parish which, like some 40 other churches in the Diocese of Los Angeles, has been without permanent clergy. St. Paul’s had both lay and supply clergy leadership, but until recently had seemed to be floundering, according to Hernandez. Now, there is hope, and there are plans for the future. “We are still going to be here,” Hernandez said. “I joined the church because of this ministry,” said Diana Bermudez, a teacher and new vestry member, who brought along a friend March 1 to help with the sewing. “I like to make a difference, and this has already made one. Coming to the sewing ministry was, for me, a calling.” Bill Laws, St. Paul’s administrator, said he needed a lot of “hand-holding” while learning to make bias tape to finish the neckline and armholes of the dress he was working on. The dresses are an A-line pattern with front, back, side panels and no fastenings, and made of cotton, with pockets. Sizes range from toddlers up to 12 or 14, according to Louise Barbee. “Once buttons or zippers are lost or broken, the garment isn’t usable anymore” so the dresses slip on easily over the head, she said. Bolts of donated material fill a nearby closet where the machines and other accessories are stored between gatherings. Bright-colored dresses are on hangers, and laughter fills the room as the members gather. The ministry has also attracted people from the local community, said Martinez-Moore, adding, “We want to see Dress A Girl in every church in the diocese.”

[Episcopal News Service] Inside St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in River Hills, Wisconsin, a short walk down a flight of stairs gets you to a small but inviting basement room with plain gray walls and black rafters. Professional-grade spotlights hang from a grid above, and risers spaced around the edges of the room can be configured to accommodate up to 100 fans of local theater. While Sunday mornings in the nave at St. Christopher’s are still about preaching the Gospel, the congregation has expanded its reach into the community by reimaging this former storage space and developing a partnership with Acacia Theatre Company, a 45-year-old theater troupe that is rooted in the Christian tradition. “Everyone who hears there’s a theater in the basement, they walk in and go, ‘Oh, this is kind of nice!” Janet Peterson, Acacia’s artistic director, told Episcopal News Service. “I love it. I think it works really well for the size of theater that we are.” Episcopalians have gathered for nearly 70 years to worship at St. Christopher’s in River Hills, a bucolic northern Milwaukee suburb. Acacia has rented the basement theater at St. Christopher’s for its productions since 2019, staging several shows a year in this unique, intimate space, now named the Norvell Commons. Acacia’s shows, such as the Jane Austin-inspired “Christmas at Pemberley” last December and “A Sleep of Prisoners” opening March 7, draw theater fans from around the region, some of whom are new to The Episcopal Church. Members of St. Christopher’s also often attend the shows and have welcomed this transformation of what had been a little-used room on the church’s campus. “It brings people from a wide variety of interests, which we love,” the Rev. Geoffrey Ward, St. Christopher’s rector, said in an ENS interview. “We really believe that a multiple-entry-point and multiple-generational approach to things is what leads us to congregational vitality.” St. Christopher’s had some key ingredients in forming a successful partnership with Acacia, starting with Ward’s educational background. He has a bachelor’s degree in theater and a master’s degree in children’s theater education. Ordained a priest in 2009, Ward began serving at St. Christopher’s in 2017, and before long, he was engaging with leaders in the local theater community while assessing the church’s facilities for possible new uses. The church, built in the late 1950s, had undergone an expansion in 2006 to add facilities for church administration and fellowship. The space under that addition, however, had been left unfinished and became a kind of congregational junk room, Ward said, sometimes referred to as “the cave.” “We decided this is not the optimum use of this space,” he said. He thought it seemed ideal for a theater. At the same time, Acadia had been producing shows at a series of different locations in the region, none quite perfect for its smaller productions and modest but loyal audiences. Peterson connected with Ward through a mutual acquaintance, who happened to be working on props for Acacia, and they agreed that the basement at St. Christopher’s could be turned into a fitting new home for the theater company. Acacia, named for a tree that symbolizes stability and resistance, describes itself as “an independent, non-profit, interdenominational Christian theatre company.” It was founded to integrate art and faith, and though its productions are not overly didactic, they typically develop themes that align with Christian teachings. The theme of the 2024-25 season, for example, is “Making Peace,” based on the Bible verse from Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Acacia has “a really solid reputation” in the local theater community, Ward said, so bringing the troupe on board to use the basement at St. Christopher’s helped solidify the congregation’s efforts to turn it into Norvell Commons, named for a former rector. The project cost about $150,000, raised from a mix of sources, including the church’s endowment, grants and church member contributions. Acacia also pays a building use fee for its productions. Much of the development cost was for the theater’s state-of-the-art technology, from the lighting to movable seating. “Everything is flexible and changeable,” Ward said. The theater also provides opportunities for church-based events, such as movie nights. Part of the budget covered a 12-foot screen, a high-quality projector and surround sound. The congregation also has hosted speakers and is looking for other community groups interested in renting the space. Acacia began staging its productions there in fall 2019, but that first season soon was halted early the next year by the initial outbreaks of COVID-19. The church and the theater have since put pandemic restrictions on gathering behind them, and both are looking forward to increasing use of the theater at Norvell Commons. “I haven’t figured out how to do a musical in there, but I’m OK with that,” Peterson said. Instead, Acacia’s productions are more actor-focused, with the audience close to the action on three sides. “I like that you could reach out and touch the person in the first row,” she said. – 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] Churches across The Episcopal Church marked Ash Wednesday with services and the imposition of ashes in churches, parks, online, on city streets and other locations. Some churches and clergy offered “Ashes to Go,” in which ashes are available for people on-the-go to receive in various locations beyond church buildings. The practice of placing ashes – made from burning the prior year’s Palm Sunday fronds – in the sign of the cross on the foreheads of worshippers is to remind them of their mortality and serves as a mark of penitence. It also gives the day its name. The Book of Common Prayer makes the imposition of ashes optional, although most Episcopal churches offer it. The ashes are imposed with the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, a 40-day period in which Christians engage in penitence and often acts of self-denial, including fasting, suggested by Christ’s 40 days in the desert. Among the earliest Christians, it was the time when people who wanted to join the church were prepared for Baptism, which would take place at Easter. Here are some places across The Episcopal Church where Ash Wednesday was observed, as noted on social media. St. Paul’s Within the Walls in Rome offered a service online. Puerto Rico Bishop Rafael Morales and other clergy of the Diocese of Puerto Rico took ashes to drivers and pedestrians on the streets of Rio Piedras. Clergy from St. John’s, Tallahassee, Florida, offered ashes at the State Capitol, also in Tallahassee.   View on Threads   New York Bishop Matthew Hyde imposes ashes at New York City’s Grand Central Station. A variety of other churches also offered Ashes to Go in their communities. — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.

[Anglican Taonga] The 2025 Anglican Missions’ Lenten Appeal offers Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia donors a chance to support climate resilience in the Solomon Islands – notably on the climate change-affected Pacific atoll of Ontong Java – and the humanitarian work of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East in Gaza and the West Bank. This year Anglican Missions’ Pacific project for the Lenten Appeal works through the Anglican Church of Melanesia to help residents of Ontong Java build resilience to the impacts of climate change, so that their communities not only survive, but thrive. Anglican Missions is working on this project linked to a New Zealand government aid allocation, which will maximize donations by matching every $1 New Zealand donated to the Ontong Java project with another $5. With Gaza’s ceasefire holding, more people are seeking help from the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem’s Al Ahli Hospital, as they return to the devastation of their former neighborhoods in northern Gaza. The Anglican-run Al Ahli hospital offers shelter and support for people in need of medical care, with triage tents set up in its courtyard to receive the those arriving back. Chronic illnesses are a serious concern with Gazan people’s conditions going untreated during the months of bombing attacks, leading to severe consequences — for example, amputations of limbs due to lack of diabetes treatment. Al Ahli Hospital’s ability to respond has now increased with the ceasefire in Gaza, enabling the hospital to get fuel and supplies so that staff can offer healthcare to more than 600 outpatients a day. The hospital has also begun to repair some of its damaged infrastructure. This year the Anglican Missions’ Lenten Appeal supports the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East’s work in Gaza and in the West Bank to provide emergency health services and rehabilitation; education services, including psychosocial support to children facing trauma; and emergency support to affected communities.

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church is one of 45 religious groups to initially sign Church World Service’s declaration calling on faith communities nationwide to stand against anti-immigrant policies through advocacy and prayer. Church World Service, of which The Episcopal Church is a “covenant member,” is an ecumenical organization that provides international disaster relief and assistance for refugees and asylum-seekers. The organization issued the Ash Wednesday Ecumenical Declaration: Defending Refuge on March 4, one day before the start of Lent, a time of reflection, prayer and penance. “With our nation now facing critical decisions about how it will uphold its most cherished values in relation to vulnerable immigrants and refugees, the ecumenical declaration urges the church to ground itself in Scripture,” the declaration says. “It also challenges our political leaders to remember that we are largely a nation of immigrants, and that how we treat the most vulnerable among us speaks volumes about our power and values on the global stage.” The declaration is open for signatures through Lent. The declaration was written in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders restricting immigration issued since he retook office on Jan. 20. The policy changes effectively halted the United States’ 45-year-old program of refugee resettlement, which had been facilitated by Episcopal Migration Ministries and nine other agencies with federal contracts to do that work. “Guided by our faith, we stand together against the sweeping measures that are devastating vulnerable families and jeopardizing their futures. These actions not only cause immediate harm but also threaten our country’s long-term ability to welcome and support those in need,” the declaration says. “We grieve for the families who have been torn apart, had years-long reunification plans cancelled, been detained and deported, have been unjustly blocked from accessing asylum protections, and have been left without access to the basic assistance they need to thrive.” The declaration lists seven pledges: Advocate for the Trump administration to reverse anti-immigration executive orders. Call on local, state and national policymakers to renounce the federal government’s anti-immigration policies while supporting policies that welcome and back immigrants. Encourage congregations to educate communities about the “biblical call to welcome” and honor immigrants through Sunday worship services and church activities at least once during Lent and during World Refugee Day on June 20. Provide resources, assistance and encouragement to congregations as they organize public educational events and advocacy actions. Work with immigration leaders to help identify and address community needs. Defend places of worship amid increasing immigration enforcement by speaking up for immigration and educating individuals and congregations on their constitutional rights. Invite other religious communities to make the same commitments supporting immigrants. “Against a backdrop of cuts to essential programs, a seeming push toward isolationism and rhetoric that encourages us to distrust our neighbors, this declaration is an urgent reminder of our values,” Rick Santos, president and CEO of Church World Service, said in a press release. “As followers of Jesus Christ, we welcome, we don’t turn away. We cherish inclusivity, we don’t spurn it. And, ultimately, our values lead us to community instead of division.” -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal congregations churchwide will begin Lent by offering Ashes to Go on Ash Wednesday, March 5, as a convenience for people unable to attend worship services in the middle of the week. Ashes to Go, is open to all branches of Christianity and “creates opportunities for people to take a fresh look at the church and the gospel.” Episcopal churches began participating in 2010, when Chicago, Illinois, and Missouri-area clergy and lay Episcopalians began imposing ashes on people in public areas, including suburban train platforms, coffee shops and outside grocery stores and laundromats. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, 40 days of penance, fasting, contemplation and prayer leading up to Easter. On Ash Wednesday, Christians receive blessed ashes in the shape of a cross on their forehead to symbolize mortality and penitence. The ashes are made from burning the dried palm branches from the previous year’s Palm Sunday. The following is a list of some Episcopal parishes offering Ashes to Go. Check for additional offerings hosted by local dioceses and parishes in your area. All times are local. Washington, D.C. — St. John’s Episcopal Church in Lafayette Square will offer Ashes to Go twice, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. and 4 to 6:30 p.m. Colorado Springs, Colorado — St. Michael’s Episcopal Church will impose Ashes to Go from 7 to 9 a.m. in the church’s parking lot. Bethesda, Maryland — St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church will impose Ashes to Go from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. in the church’s lower parking lot. Brownsburg, Indiana — Good Samaritan Episcopal Church will impose Ashes to Go at 7 a.m. in the church’s parking lot. Canton, Connecticut — Trinity Episcopal Church Collinsville will offer Ashes to Go from 6:30 to 8:30 a.m. Diocese of Los Angeles — Several churches throughout the Diocese of Los Angeles will host Ashes to Go events throughout the day. Click here for more information. Hillsdale, New Jersey — The Diocese of Newark will offer Ashes to Go at the Hillsdale Train Station from 6 to 8 a.m. Tallahassee, Florida — St. John’s Episcopal Church will offer Ashes to Go and one-on-one blessings from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Florida State Capitol rotunda. “The church rightly expects all practicing and able-bodied Christians to participate in the solemn Mass and Imposition of Ashes on this sacred day. We hope all who are far from home know they are welcome at our tables!” Bulverde, Texas — St. Nicholas Episcopal Church will offer Ashes to Go in the church’s sanctuary and front yard from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sacramento, California — St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will impose Ashes to Go from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the sidewalk outside the church at the corner of 15th and J streets. “As the Episcopal Church in the heart of downtown, St. Paul’s community will meet people where they are – on their way or during a break in the workday – just as Jesus went into the streets to find, teach and heal people. Ashes to Go moves the encounter with God out of the church building and into the spaces of everyday life where we live out our response to God. Please stop by for this brief encounter!” Roswell, Georgia — St. David’s Episcopal Church will offer a drive-thru Ashes to Go service from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. Seattle, Washington — The Episcopal Church of the Ascension will impose Ashes to Go from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Astoria, Oregon — Grace Episcopal Church will offer a curbside Ashes to Go service from noon to 1 p.m.  Anthony, New Mexico — St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will offer a drive-thru Ashes to Go service from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Elgin, Illinois — St. Hugh of Lincoln Episcopal Church will offer a drive-thru Ashes to Go service from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Omaha, Nebraska — St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church will impose Ashes to Go twice at the northwest corner of Elmwood Park at the drive into the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s campus, from 8 to 9:30 a.m. and from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Daphne, Alabama — St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will impose Ashes to Go between 2 to 5 p.m. in the church’s parking lot and the St. Paul’s Thrift Shop parking lot. Chandler, Arizona — St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church will offer Ashes to Go and prayers from 7 to 8 a.m. in the church’s parking lot. De Pere, Wisconsin — St. Anne’s Episcopal Church will offer drive-thru Ashes to Go services twice, from 7 to 8 a.m. and from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Crestwood, Missouri — The Episcopal Church of the Advent and the St. Thomas Deaf Church will offer Ashes to Go and prayers from 6 to 10 a.m. from the circle driveway off Buxton Dr.  -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.

[Church of England] A church in the heart of one of the country’s most underprivileged areas is bringing local people together and helping them with their mental health and wellbeing, thanks to the launch of a series of environmental projects. Ten thousand people live in East Marsh in Grimsby. For many years it was home to those working in the fishing industry and at the port. But with the collapse of the fishing industry, things have changed in this community. East Marsh is now one of the poorest places in England on every metric: income, health, crime and education. More than a third of children in the area live in poverty, according to the End Child Poverty coalition, and within one square mile in the area, there are six food banks. One of them is linked to St. John and St. Stephen’s Church. It provides food for over 150 people three times a week. But the church is doing more than this; through changing its environment inside and out, it is aiming to bring people together, help with their mental health and wellbeing, and change the mindset of what’s possible, as well as greening the environment. Big ambitions for one church community. “We want to show people what can be done in a small place,” said the priest-in-charge, the Rev. Kay Jones. “So, we started with the church environment being different.” Inside the building, a bequest provided for LED lighting and thermal boards. ‘It’s not freezing anymore,” said Jones. “We can have warm-space activities. People like being here.” The church runs a dinner providing a main course and a pudding for £2.50 — or about $3 — which is “becoming more popular,” according to Jones. Outside, things have changed too. A gardening project has led to planters providing vegetables for the church kitchen, a potting shed and attractive planting. Nearby, the church plans to use a piece of waste ground to create a small orchard and a meadow. This was all funded through partnerships with grant-making bodies. The church was first approached by East Marsh United community group to build the potting shed using grant money from Grow Wild, the national outreach initiative of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Further funding was also given by the Royal Horticulture Society to build the planters at the front of the church. And a desolate patch on the street corner at the church will be transformed into a wildflower meadow and orchard thanks to the Native Species Project funding by Kew Gardens. “We have 0.07% tree cover,” said Jones. “It should be 15%, and the national requirement from the Tree Equity Score UK tool will be 30%, so we need people to buy into that. They need to see something small that they can connect with.” And people are connecting with it. An open day to launch the potting shed brought 17 adults and 27 children together. “It was hard to get rid of them at the end,” Jones joked. “It is changing things for lots of people,” she added. Those people included local youths, who destroyed the planters several times and threw things at people doing the gardening. But in the end, curiosity overcame them, and they helped “grafting” in the garden to help get the landscaping done. Older members of the church community are becoming grandparent figures to younger people who aren’t well-parented. “What I’m seeing is people wanting to be part of what we do,” said Jones. People are trying different foods grown in the garden, learning how – and what – to recycle in the church’s recycling bins, and crucially, learning where food comes from, helping to reduce their food bills. Many people live their whole lives in East Marsh, she said, unable to access the beautiful countryside around Grimsby, so greening the area is really important. “We have to be able to see that the natural world is beautiful, and the artificial world isn’t always working as well as it might for us,” she said. “If we can talk enough about that, people will see things differently.” Plans are afoot for a foraging garden, where you can touch and smell the plants, and pick raspberries, blueberries, strawberries and herbs. “If you sit among the plants, you will learn,” said Jones. “It won’t be forced. Our ethos is not about doing this to people, it’s working with them.” Local resident Melissa, who is recovering from drug addiction, regularly visits the church and enjoys the gardening club. She said, “I first came into the church when I was in a really vulnerable place. I was going back into active addiction and was in a bad way. This is a hard area to live and sometimes you can come here and be in a bad way – mentally and emotionally – but you will be cared about here and met where you are at.” East Marsh United Community Group member and local resident Rachel enjoys the church’s gardening club. She added, “When you are digging away or planting it gives you a chance to switch off, it’s so good for my mental health.” The enterprise shows that lives can be improved by simply enhancing the environment and naturally, people will come together, join in, and benefit from the changes.  

[Melbourne Anglican] Melbourne Anglicans will learn about the diocese’s gender-based violence work in culturally and linguistically diverse communities, often referred to as CALD,  in the lead up to this International Women’s Day, March 8. The Preventing Violence Against Women in Multicultural and Faith-Based Communities forum, taking place at at St. Philip’s, Collingwood on March 7, will feature learnings from the Safe and Thriving CALD Anglican project, research from Deakin University and observations from a panel of multicultural clergy. Panelist the Rev. Xiaoxi Lou said the forum would help increase awareness about violence in communities, which often does get seen but often goes unacknowledged. She hoped it would assure people caught in violent situations that the church supported them, while simultaneously making others aware they, too, could act to counter family violence. “Different cultures will often deal with violence differently, and being a voice to acknowledge that God and the Anglican church do not see violence as OK within the family, can help bring light and truth to these situations,” Lou said. The Rev. Prashant Bhonsle said he was participating because he was concerned about the world being divided by gender lines, globalization and patriarchy especially. He believed the focus on growing churches tended not to give long term consideration to how congregations would evolve without integrating gender justice and challenging the patriarchal structures of society. “We would not really be able to have a holistic, ecumenical and justice-oriented approach in our congregations without that long-term thinking,” Bhonsle said. “We need to have gender justice as a core concern running across all our themes and programs of our congregational life right from the beginning. Interpreting the Scriptures with an inclusive dimension is very important for any priest to foster an inclusive understanding.” He said this was important to empower women as well as people with different gender orientations in congregations. “Unless we affirm that we all created in the image of God, we will be unable to sail forward,” Bhonsle said. He added he hoped forum attendees would gain a good understanding of the challenges some congregations faced while trying to address such a sensitive issue as gender-based violence. CALD PVAW project officer Sarah Aruliah said the four-year-old initiative had given the diocese a better understanding about the CALD genderspace. She said there were many unique layers that needed to be covered in working with faith, multiple cultures and prevention work, and there were plenty of insights to be shared. Aruliah said the diocese was leading the way in intersecting those areas and working with different cultures, but it was still learning, and building support networks with other faith-based and secular anti-violence organizations. She said the forum was open to everyone, and would be especially useful for people from culturally diverse communities and clergy.

[Diocese of Dallas] The Bishop Coadjutor Search Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas on March 4 announced a slate of three candidates for the diocese’s bishop coadjutor. They are: The Rev. William Carroll, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Longview, Texas; The Rt. Rev. Fraser Lawton, bishop assistant in the Diocese of Dallas and rector of the Church of St. Dunstan’s Church in Mineola, Texas; The Very Rev. Rob Price, dean of St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Dallas, Texas. The candidates will participate in five meet-and-greet sessions around the diocese from April 1–4. The electing convention is scheduled for May 3 at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Dallas. No date has been announced for the consecration of the bishop coadjutor, who will serve alongside Dallas Bishop George Sumner until his retirement. The bishop coadjutor then will become the eighth bishop of Dallas. Sumner has been bishop since November 2015. The release of the slate also marks the beginning of the petition process. That process will close at noon Central time on March 11. Additional information is on the diocesan website’s bishop coadjutor election hub.

[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.”

[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.

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Cuba on Feb. 28 elected the Rev. Angel Rivera, a priest from Puerto Rico, as its next bishop, marking a significant step toward self-determination as a diocese of The Episcopal Church. Rivera’s election on the first ballot was the first time the diocese has elected its own leader since Cuba’s return to The Episcopal Church was finalized in 2020, and he is poised to become the first Cuban bishop in more than four decades to be chosen by election rather than appointment. Rivera is rector of Parroquia Ayudada San José in the Rio Piedras district of San Juan. He won the bishop election on the first ballot, with 12 of 22 votes in the clergy and 28 of 43 votes in the lay order. The other nominees were the Rev. Aurelio Bernabé de la Paz Cot and the Rev. Halbert Pons Santana, both from Cuba. Puerto Rico Bishop Rafael Morales Maldonado has served Cuba as bishop provisional since June 2023 following the resignation of former Cuba Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio. She had served as bishop diocesan since 2010, including during the diocese’s reunification with The Episcopal Church. Anglican presence on the island dates to 1871. The church became a missionary district of The Episcopal Church in 1901, but the two churches separated in the 1960s, after Fidel Castro seized power and diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States disintegrated. For much of that time, Cuban bishops were appointed by a church body known as the Metropolitan Council of Cuba, which allowed the diocese to remain connected to the wider Anglican Communion. The reunification of the church in Cuba with The Episcopal Church was finalized in 2020, after five years of efforts that included approval by the 79th General Convention in 2018. It is now part of the church’s Province II, which also includes the Diocese of Puerto Rico. Rivera will be consecrated as bishop of Cuba after the diocese receives the necessary consents from a churchwide majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees.

[Episcopal News Service] The Church of the Nativity in Huntsville, Alabama, now offers children with sensory sensitivities a special place where they can take a break, relax and regroup. And for one young member, his parents say, the room makes his time at church much more comfortable – even enjoyable. The church’s Christian formation director, Emily Cantrell, told Episcopal News Service that the sensory room – previously an unused classroom – was designed in consultation with a local nonprofit with expertise in helping children with sense sensitivity – sight, touch, hearing. Sometimes called sensory processing disorder, it can occur in children and adults who have autism spectrum or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder – or it can occur on its own. They also met with parents of children who might make use of the room to determine what they needed. They realized the need for such a space after hosting two years of special sensory-specific Christmas events, which prompted Cantrell and others to wonder what they would need to make a permanent sensory room possible. Last September, they had outfitted the room in the church’s Sunday school wing and opened it for use. Fluorescent bulbs are covered to make the lighting softer, and on the walls are colorful light-up LED touchpads and several activity boards. Sensory stepping-stone tiles are on the floor. Furniture includes a couch and an enclosed swinging chair, along with a small trampoline. There is a kinetic sand station, and soft toys are placed around the room. For Peyton and Caleb Jordan, the room has been a blessing for their 7-year-old son. Caleb Jordan told ENS that he himself, their son and their 12-year-old daughter have autism, and their son has taken advantage of the sensory room. He “sometimes struggles to cope” with lots of light and sound and can get overwhelmed quickly, Caleb Jordan said. For him, the new space has been “wonderful.” In the past, “it used to be a little difficult to get him to go to church, and now he’s a lot more revved about it,” Caleb Jordan said. He and his children all have difficulty when surrounded by too much sensory stimulation, he said. While their daughter can calm herself more easily, their son gets quickly overwhelmed. “He needs silence and sometimes to just sit in the corner with the light off to reset,” he said, which he can do in the sensory room. He enjoys playing with the kinetic sand table, where he can run his hands through the sand and find small toys in it. “It’s very soothing to him,” Caleb Jordan said. Caleb Jordan described the type of autism he and his children have as all their senses operating constantly at full speed. “We take in too much information, information we don’t need, so we become overstimulated. But when we get to focus on just one sense, like playing with a squishy toy, that really soothes and calms us down.” While Caleb brings earplugs for himself and both children – they love the organ but sometimes find it too loud – he is delighted that Church of the Nativity also makes them available. It’s just another example of the church taking the initiative to be more inclusive, “and especially for those of us with maybe invisible disabilities that people don’t realize we have,” he said. It isn’t easy to make Nativity – an historic building in downtown Huntsville – fully accessible, but Cantrell said she and other church leaders are committed to doing everything they can. Outfitting the sensory room cost around $2,000, she said, which came out of the church’s budget. She noted that the room is staffed with specially trained behavior therapy technicians, hired by the church. Registration is required to use the room – which has capacity for five children – so the technicians can meet the needs of each child. So far, they’ve never had five at one time. The Jordans are relatively new members of Nativity, having first attended on Easter three years ago. Both Peyton and Caleb grew up in Baptist churches, she said, but found themselves no longer in agreement with that church’s teaching about the role of women. They struggled to find a church where they could belong. When they searched online for churches that aligned with their current inclusive beliefs, Nativity was at the top of the list. During their first visit, “we loved it immediately,” Peyton Jordan said. It did take them a while to get used to all the liturgical traditions, but once they did, she described the service as “brilliant” and “incredible.” The addition of the sensory room only made them love the church more. Caleb Jordan said the room also is a tool for evangelism. “If word got out that we had a sensory room, that we were making accommodations for people, I do believe more people would come to church.” Cantrell said she is glad the church can offer a new, safe space for children who need it, not only during church services but for other events that take place there. Another downtown church has contacted her to learn more about their sensory room. “Even if [a church] makes small steps or doesn’t have much space, I think it’s all in the right direction” toward greater accessibility and inclusivity, she said. — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.

[Religion News Service] The Pew Research Center Religious Landscape Study’s 2023-24 edition, released on Feb. 26, points at changes in American religious observance, including those identifying as Christian, stabilizing after years of steady decline and growth of the religiously unaffiliated leveling off. Generally, a decline in American religiousness observed since at least 2007 has slowed over the past four to five years. However, Pew Research Center noted in its report that the country is heading toward less religiousness. “The U.S. is a spiritual place, a religious place, where we’ve seen a signs of religious stabilization in the midst of longer-term decline,” said Gregory Smith, a senior associate director of research at Pew, during a press briefing. Now on its third edition, Pew released similar reports in 2007 and 2014, aiming to fill a gap in recognized, reliable data sources on America’s religious composition, beliefs and practices. From July 2023 to March 2024, the center polled 35,000 adult respondents randomly selected from the U.S. Postal Service address registry. This third edition was to be published in 2021 but was postponed to avoid flawed results due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on religious life. After dropping from 78% to 71% between 2007 and 2014, the share of U.S. adults identifying as Christian has now dropped to 62%, according to the report. However, it notes this figure has been relatively stable since 2019, oscillating between 60% and 64%. Protestants are still the largest subgroup of Christians, with 40% of American adults identifying as such. However, all major Protestant denominations have declined since the first Pew RLS report in 2007. The percentage of respondents who identify as evangelical Protestants dropped from 26% to 23%; those who identify as mainline Protestants dropped from 18% to 11%; and those in historically Black Protestant denominations decreased from 7% to 5%. Catholics are the second largest, representing 19% of the entire Christian population. Other denominations, including Greek and Russian Orthodox, The Church of Latter-day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses, represent 3% of the Christian population. Members of the United Methodist Church declined from 5% to 3% of U.S. adults since 2007. The report also indicates similar declines in Baptist and Lutheran Christians. However, those identifying as non-Christian religious adults rose from 4.9% in 2007, to 5.9% in 2014, and to 7.1% in 2023-24. Among them, 1.7% identified as Jewish, 1.2% as Muslim, 1.1% as Buddhist and 0.9% as Hindu, in addition to 2.2% who identified as “other non-Christian religions.”  Additionally, the growth of the religiously unaffiliated, also called nones, has plateaued after decades of rapid growth. In 2007, they represented 16% of U.S. adults, rising to 23% in 2014, and 29% in 2023-24. It includes 5% who identify as atheists, 6% who describe themselves as agnostics and 19% who identify as “nothing in particular.”  More than 8 out of 10 American adults indicated they were spiritual or believe in the supernatural; 86% agreed people have a soul or spirit in addition to their physical body. A large portion also believe in God or a universal spirit (83%) and/or something spiritual beyond the natural world (79%). About 70% indicated they believe in heaven, hell or both. These figures are relatively the same across age categories. Though this latest study shows a stabilizing religious composition in America, Pew researchers project a decline in religiousness in the future. Less religious younger generations are progressively expected to replace older, highly religious and heavily Christian generations. “This means that, for lasting stability to take hold in the U.S. religious landscape, something would need to change,” the report explains. “For example, today’s young adults would have to become more religious as they age, or new generations of adults who are more religious than their parents would have to emerge.”  While 54% of adults ages 54 and older said they pray daily, only 31% ages 24-34 do so, and 27% for ages 18-24. Younger cohorts also attend religious services less often compared with older generations and are also less likely to express beliefs in God or the universal spirit than other generations. The trend could shift if younger Americans became more religious as they age, which is unlikely to happen as such a trend has never been observed before, the report notes. And comparing the results to previous report findings, between 2007 and 2023-24, each age group has become less religious as it aged. The share of American adults who switched religions since childhood, at 35%, has also increased the religiously unaffiliated and led to fewer people identifying as Christians.  The percentage of Americans who engage in religious practices remained relatively stable over the last few years, despite decreasing from 2007, according to Pew. In the 2023-24 report, 44% of respondents said they pray at least once a day, which is consistent with 2021 findings from Pew’s annual National Public Opinion Reference Survey. However, that’s down from 55% who said they prayed daily in 2014, and 58% in 2007. Also, in Pew’s 2020 NPORS, 33% of U.S. adults said they attend religious services at least once or twice a month. Similar results were found in 2023-24 data, indicating stability over the last several years. Besides the generational aspect, other factors such as gender and political affiliations seem to weigh in levels of religiousness. Overall, women are more religious than men, but that figure appears to be narrowing slightly. Women are more likely to pray daily (50% to 37% for men) and are more likely to believe in God or a universal spirit (59% to 49%). Liberals also seem to be less likely to identify as Christians, with a notable decrease since 2007 — today, 37% of self-described political liberals identify as Christian, compared with 62% who did in 2007. Among self-described conservatives, 89% identify as Christian today, compared with 82% in 2007.