Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service] Massachusetts Bishop Julia Whitworth issued a statement April 1 decrying the Trump administration’s abrupt detention of a Boston-area graduate student from Turkey who is in the United States legally on a student visa. “Our Christian faith calls us to renounce the promotion of xenophobia and fear to foment dehumanization of any of God’s children, especially immigrants and our newest neighbors,” Whitworth said in highlighting the case of Rumeysa Ozturk, who is pursuing a doctorate at Tufts University. Ozturk, 30, was taken into custody on a sidewalk in the Boston suburb of Sommerville on March 25 by plain-clothes agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, who could be seen in an eyewitness and surveillance videos with their faces covered as they handcuffed her. Federal officials then transferred her to a detention facility in Louisiana. The case has drawn parallels to earlier Trump administration arrests and attempted deportations of other foreign-born college students, including Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, a green card holder. Like Khalil, Ozturk appears to have been targeted for her political activism, specifically an opinion essay she co-authored a year ago that was critical of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. The Department of Homeland Security said she had “engaged in activities in support of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization that relishes the killing of Americans.” Whitworth, in her statement opposing Ozturk’s arrest, noted that the student was taken off the street while on her way to an iftar, the end-of-day meal by which Muslims break their daily fast during Ramadan. “I reject the actions of the executive branch of our federal government in its targeting of international students for their exercise of free speech and dissent, cornerstones of our U.S. Constitution and American values,” Whitworth said. “Throughout the congregations of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, we are committed to radical welcome, care and support of our most vulnerable neighbors and to collaboration with our ecumenical, interfaith, and secular partners for immigration justice.” Since taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump, saying he is combating antisemitism, has threatened to deport foreign-born campus protesters who opposed Israel’s war on Hamas, which Israel launched in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israeli communities. After Khalil, the Columbia University graduate, was detained in early March, New York Bishop Matthew Heyd issued a statement condemning the government’s actions. “In accordance with our faith and civic creed, we uphold the belief that difference and dissent should be safe,” Heyd said at the time. “We reject deportation based on political viewpoint – whether we agree or disagree.” Like Ozturk, Khalil was taken to a detention facility in Louisiana, presumably because federal authorities expect judges there will be receptive to their case against him. Khalil’s attorneys are trying to get him transferred back to New Jersey, where he lives, while they fight his deportation. – 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] Some of the Episcopal delegates who represented Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe at the 69th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, or CSW69, in New York City gathered via Zoom March 31 to report on their experiences. Episcopal leaders who participated independently also shared their reflections. CSW69/Beijing+30 focused mostly on reviewing the implementation and outcomes of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 30 years after the U.N. adopted the resolution during the Fourth World Conference on Women: Action for Equality, Development and Peace, held in China’s capital. The Beijing Declaration promotes gender equality and women’s rights through a set of principles addressing 12 critical areas of concern, including education, economic empowerment, political participation and ending gender-based violence. “I think for many of us who work in the field of gender justice, this year was a particularly very heavy year for CSW,” Nicole Hosein, director of Episcopal Relief & Development’s gender initiatives, said during the webinar, “Beyond Beijing+30: Realizing the Dream.” “A recent U.N. Women report noted there’s pushback against gender justice in one in four countries globally, and that’s really alarming,” said Hosein, who participated virtually during the first half of the March 10-21 meeting. Hosein was one of the six Episcopal delegates to CSW69 alongside the Rev. Margaret Rose, the presiding bishop’s ecumenical and interreligious deputy and former director of The Episcopal Church’s women’s ministries; Rebecca Blachly, the church’s chief of public policy and witness; Lynnaia Main, the church’s representative to the United Nations; Julia Ayala Harris, president of the House of Deputies; and Troy Collazo, policy adviser with the church’s Washington, D.C.-based Office of Government Relations. The delegates joined representatives of U.N. member states, U.N. entities and accredited nongovernmental organizations who gather annually to learn from one another and strategize ways to increase and improve women’s equality and empowerment worldwide. CSW69 also addressed ongoing challenges women and girls face, including gender-based violence, wage gaps, economic barriers and a lack of access to education and health care. Women and girls of color and LGBTQ+ women are disproportionately affected by these challenges. For example, nearly 130 million girls, most living in poorer countries, aren’t enrolled in school. Also, women worldwide are paid about 80% of what men are paid for the same work, and that wage gap is higher for women of color. Collazo, whose duties include advocating for The Episcopal Church’s positions on immigration and refugee policy, participated in person during the first week of CSW69. He was unable to join the webinar, but Main, who facilitated the webinar, read aloud his written reflection: “In all honesty, the conference felt somewhat hackneyed. I didn’t encounter any novel solutions to the problems women face that haven’t been discussed since the 1960s,” Collazo said in his written statement. “The challenges faced by refugee women, in particular, stood out as an area requiring more innovative approaches and leadership. I appreciate the opportunity to have been part of this important global forum and look forward to discussing how we can contribute to more progressive and effective solutions in the future.” Before he retired last fall, former Presiding Bishop Michael Curry wrote and submitted The Episcopal Church’s goals for CSW69 in a statement: Prioritize resources and programs for marginalized women and girls, including LGBTQ+ women, women of color, women with disabilities, migrant women, elderly women and others. Increase access to resources, public services, social protections and infrastructure. Increase access to economic and political power and decision-making. Eliminate all forms of gender-based violence. Address climate change and environmental issues, which disproportionately harm women and girls. “While celebrating progress for and by women and girls in all their diversity in the 30 years since the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, we lament persistent injustices and call for changes,” the statement says. Additionally, delegates participated in ecumenical and interfaith events during CSW69, including an opening and closing Eucharist at the Chapel of Christ the Lord at The Episcopal Church Center in Manhattan. Rose told webinar participants she appreciated the opportunities to connect with women leaders of different faith backgrounds. “As we begin to think about what’s next, I hope that we’ll be able to do mission meetings in between and move ahead in ways that will continue to make a difference – certainly in the U.S. – but around the world where there continues to be so much need,” Rose said. During the webinar, Main noted that the United States, under President Donald Trump’s administration, wanted to eliminate the term “gender” from the conference, which contributes to the growing “pushback” against gender justice. Additionally, she mentioned that new challenges have manifested since the Beijing Declaration was adopted in 1995, including the gender digital divide and artificial intelligence, as well as the evolving definitions of gender and sex and the resulting “culture wars.” “We have seen, as well, the persistence and universality of gender-based violence. One in three women will experience that in their lifetimes. The ongoing pushback against health care and sexual and reproductive health rights – as well as the oppression of LGBTQ persons around the world – much still needs to be done. And of course, this work does not end,” Main said. The intentional killing of women and girls, or femicide, is also a global crisis. In 2022, nearly 89,000 known women and girls were murdered, the highest number recorded in 20 years. Femicide targeting transgender women and women of color has particularly been increasing every year. Lisa Bortner is president of the National Episcopal Church Women, or ECW, a churchwide organization that seeks to empower Episcopal women and foster programs that minister to women and children. She was one of several Episcopal leaders who independently participated in CSW69. During the webinar, Bortner mentioned that one of the ECW’s priorities is to advocate for increased focus on the high number of missing and murdered Indigenous women. With that in mind, she said she was disappointed that, to her […]

On March 30, former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby did an interview with the BBC in which he said he failed to follow up allegations of abuse by John Smyth within the Church of England because the scale of the problem was “absolutely overwhelming.” He added the scale of the problem was “a reason – not an excuse” for his failure to act. Welby was forced to resign over the matter. What follows is the statement by the Rt. Rev. Joanne Grenfell, the Church of England’s lead bishop on safeguarding matters. [Church of England] Today’s interview with the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, on BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, will be a reminder to Smyth survivors of their awful abuse and its lifelong effects. I know they continue to be offered support, and we are deeply sorry for the abuse they suffered. First and foremost this must always be about victims and survivors, their needs and what they are asking us to hear and learn. I stand by my comments, made with the national safeguarding director Alexander Kubeyinje, on the publication of the Makin Review into the church’s handling of allegations against Smyth. We are appalled that any clergy person could believe that covering up abuse was justified in the name of the gospel – a comment highlighted in the Review. The gospel is about proclaiming good news to the poor and healing the brokenhearted. If anyone comes forward to the church today with a concern, they will be heard and responded to carefully and compassionately by safeguarding professionals according to our clearly set out guidance. General Synod voted in February to further strengthen its guidance on responding to allegations, which will make the reporting process clearer for all who come forward. In the past 10 years, the church has developed and strengthened its safeguarding policies and practices, making significant improvements in training, national safeguarding standards and external audits, and continues to do so. General Synod also voted in February to set up an external scrutiny body and to look further at models on operational independence. Every member of the church is responsible for a culture in which victims are heard, responded to well and put first: there is never a place for covering up abuse. We must learn from this and build future foundations to ensure that the church is as safe as it can be for all who come to worship or to engage with our many services and community projects.

[Church of Ireland] A Church of Ireland rector in the Diocese of Clogher is undertaking a pilgrimage of a different kind by walking from his church in Fermanagh to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. The Rev. Stephen McWhirter, rector of Rossorry Parish Church, will be walking from the landmark church on the outskirts of Enniskillen in Northern Ireland to St. Patrick’s, a distance of around 100 miles, during two weeks in Lent. This isn’t just any walk  — he will be barefoot. He left after the morning service in Rossorry on March 30 and will finish in Dublin on Palm Sunday, April 13, with distances varying from just a few miles to 11 miles. McWhirter said, “I had initially thought, walking by myself, I’d just head off. However, I need a lot of paperwork and registration with both the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Gardai [the state police of the Irish Republic] to happen. Also support vehicles travelling ahead for me to warn oncoming traffic. “I needed to attend to a fairly rigorous risk assessment as I’ll be walking barefoot. As you know I’ve experienced this from last Lent, however a walk to Dublin does seem a step up. “Following the biblical principles of taking nothing with me, I’m doing exactly that so will be heavily reliant on the generosity of strangers to feed and water me. I’m contacting colleagues both in Church of Ireland and Roman Catholic churches who are allowing me to sleep in churches on the way to Dublin.” Also along the route, McWhirter will be calling at a number of national schools, speaking to pupils about the history and role of pilgrimages. The route is filled with places of historic interest. The original church of Rossorry is named after St. Fanchea, who helped to build a monastery on the banks of Lough Erne. McWhirter also will be crossing through places such as Trim, where a monastery was traditionally thought to be founded by St. Patrick. Maynooth, also on his walking route, is a well–known university town served by two churches named St. Mary’s – St. Mary’s Church of Ireland, which is incorporated into the walls of St. Patrick’s College, Ireland’s national seminary for the training of priests, and St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church. St. Michan’s Church, Dublin, dating from 1686, was the site of the first Christian chapel dating from 1095 and operated as a Catholic church until the Reformation. It has served Church of Ireland parishioners in Dublin for more than 300 years. McWhirter’s final walk day will begin at St. James’ Gate, the traditional beginning of the medieval pilgrimage route. His destination will be St. Patrick’s Cathedral, which for over 800 years has been a site of religious significance. He also will be raising funds along the way for a community hub at Rossorry and extension to the car park, as well as the Aisling Centre in Enniskillen. While McWhirter  will be accompanied on parts of the journey by a support team, he will be relying on his sturdy staff for support as he walks. It has personal significance for him as it belonged to his father, Roy, who used it at Bangor Heritage Centre, where he played the role of St. Patrick for visitors.

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Florida Standing Committee is calling for the election of a diocesan bishop, nearly two years after the last election was negated amid divisions within the diocese under the former bishop and churchwide concerns about the election process and the bishop-elect. Florida’s standing committee announced March 31 that it has scheduled a special meeting of the Florida Diocesan Convention for June 14 to adopt a nominating process, rules and procedures for seeking and electing the diocese’s ninth bishop. The standing committee’s tentative timeline would allow for an election in late summer or early fall 2026 and the bishop-elect’s consecration in early 2027. The announcement follows a period of healing and discernment among members of the Jacksonville-based diocese involving a series of conversations across difference. Those conversations, which are ongoing, have been facilitated by the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, the former Diocese of El Camino Real bishop who is trained in conflict mediation. The process was not intended specifically to enable a new bishop election, though diocesan leaders previously indicated healing would be necessary before a new election could be held. “We feel like we’re ready. There’s been lots of conversations over the last year and a half or so,” the Rev. Sarah Minton, the standing committee president, said March 31 in an interview with Episcopal News Service. “It’s time. We are meant to operate with a bishop.” The diocese has been without a diocesan bishop since the October 2023 retirement of former Florida Bishop John Howard, who had served for nearly 20 years. Howard, known as one of The Episcopal Church’s more theologically conservative bishops, had drawn criticism from more progressive leaders in the diocese, particularly for his resistance to LGBTQ+ inclusion. Howard now faces potential disciplinary action under the church’s Title IV canons for alleged discrimination, as well as a separate complaint alleging financial impropriety. Those cases are scheduled to go before a hearing panel, starting April 30, unless an accord is reached with churchwide leaders beforehand. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, who took office last November, said in a February statement he is attempting to negotiate a disciplinary accord “that promotes healing, repentance, forgiveness, restitution, justice, amendment of life and reconciliation,” citing canonical language. Such an agreement, if reached, also would need the approval of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops. Under Howard, tensions in the diocese began rising to the surface in 2022 when the diocese twice tried to elect his successor. In both elections, the diocese chose the Rev. Charlie Holt as its next bishop, but those elections were successfully blocked by objections filed by some Florida clergy and lay leaders, leaving Florida unable to consecrate a new bishop. Holt has since become rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Jacksonville. Gray-Reeves’ work with the Diocese of Florida has included multiple convocations, a clergy conference, a clergy day and a day of prayer, the standing committee said. In addition, retired Georgia Bishop Scott Benhase agreed to serve Florida as a part-time assisting bishop with help from retired New Jersey Bishop Chip Stokes. In January 2024, Gray-Reeves released a summary of her initial listening sessions and dozens of letters lamenting a “culture of acrimony and distrust” in the diocese. Some letters raised concerns about diocesan leadership under Howard. Others identified perceived bias and exclusion relating to LGBTQ+ persons, as well as women and people of color. “A few letters reflected upset and disappointment in the outcome of the [bishop] election process,” Gray-Reeves continued, both from those who thought Holt should have been consecrated and those who objected to his election. Holt had fallen short of receiving consent from the churchwide majorities of bishops and standing committees, as required by the church’s canons. In September 2024, at the latest diocesan convention, some members backed a resolution urging the Florida Standing Committee to launch a new bishop search. That measure was tabled to allow more time for “further healing and strengthening.” “The continued success of this process will reveal the best election timing to the Standing Committee,” the standing committee said at the time in a statement to ENS. Minton told ENS this week that the additional time has given the standing committee more confidence that the diocese is ready now to seek a new bishop. She emphasized that concerns about the election process have been addressed with updates to the diocese’s canons and policies ensuring greater transparency. Before the special convention on June 14, the diocese will release a draft of proposed rules and procedures, which will be debated and approved by delegates. This also will be the first time the diocese is following a new process for determining voting rolls. Canonically resident clergy who are active in Florida congregations automatically qualify to vote, while those without cure, such as retired clergy or those living outside the diocese, must register by April 15. “As we enter this pivotal time for our diocese, may we be united in spirit and steadfast in prayer,” Minton said March 31 in her message to the diocese announcing the special convention. “We humbly ask that you join us in lifting up this initiative to the Lord, believing that he will lead us with wisdom and bless our work for his glory.” – 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] On March 27, the Anglican Communion raised South Sudan’s plight at the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva, emphasizing the human rights of women in the country, which is again on the brink of war. With high poverty levels, large refugee movements, inter-ethnic communal violence and endemic corruption, South Sudan – the world’s newest country – is standing on a precipice. Those who suffer most are usually women and girls, and so the Anglican statement spoke out against the gender-based violence, sexual violence used by armed groups and the forced abductions that plague South Sudanese society. In his statement to the UN, the Rev. Glen Ruffle, the Anglican Communion’s UN representative in Geneva, highlighted the work of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and the Mothers’ Union in challenging systemic patriarchy, alongside their work to give women livelihoods, opportunities and equal access to justice. Commenting afterward he said, “The work of our churches is inspired by Jesus, who raised up the weak and protected the most vulnerable. Women and girls are impacted the most by the conflicts and poverty, so we are calling on the world to help states like South Sudan, where things are so fragile.” The Anglican statement called on South Sudan’s leaders and the world’s states to commit to implementing the peace agreements, strengthen prosecution of gender-based violence, build microfinance and literacy programs for women and girls, and work with the South Sudan Council of Churches. Here is the text of Ruffle’s statement: The Vienna Declaration remains a major achievement for human rights, recognizing the dignity of each person, which we believe reflects the image of God in them, but rights mean little when the world allows atrocities against women and girls to continue. As an example, 14 years ago, the world welcomed the birth of South Sudan, yet today women and girls continue to be abducted, raped along ethnic lines, subjected to sexual exploitation by captors and gang raped. Although there have been some improvements in prosecutions of gender-based violence via mobile courts, there remains in most cases impunity to these crimes against humanity, with sexual violence still used systematically by armed groups. The Episcopal Church of South Sudan, the Mothers’ Union, parts of the Anglican Communion, alongside many other churches and organizations, are working to challenge the systemic patriarchy, power imbalances and the under-representation of women, as well as reconciling communities and advocating for the poorest. To protect human rights across the whole country, particularly women’s rights, we call on South Sudanese leaders to: Recommit to implement the revitalized peace agreement, Work with the South Sudan Council of Churches to reduce tensions and violence, Strengthen the prosecution of gender-based violence; and Encourage microfinance and literacy opportunities for women and girls. We urge states and South Sudan’s leaders to commit to reduce the escalating tensions, which, should violence return, will impact women and girls the most.

[Diocese of Edinburgh] The Rt. Rev. John Armes, bishop of the Diocese of Edinburgh in the Scottish Episcopal Church, is in Amman, Jordan, for the Summit of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission on Unity and Mission. That event is taking place March 28 to April 3. The summit will bring together ten pairs of senior church leaders from the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran World Federation whose jurisdictions are twinned with another in their respective partner’s province. Armes will focus on the Diocese of Edinburgh’s links with the Diocese of Espoo in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Bishop Kaisamari Hintikka of Espoo and Armes will report on the link between the two dioceses and their hopes for the future. Many national churches in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran World Federation are in full communion with each other. The summit will explore the agreements that support this, and the implications for global communion and the path to Christian unity. Through the Porvoo Communion, the Scottish Episcopal Church has been in full communion with the Lutheran churches of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia and Lithuania since 1994. The summit will also explore the theme of baptism, and members will visit Al-Maghtas, or Bethany Beyond the Jordan, which is one of two sites traditionally associated with the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

[Episcopal News Service] Over the next week, some Episcopal churches will recognize International Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, with special worship services and educational events to celebrate transgender people and their contributions to society, and to raise awareness of the discrimination they face worldwide. “This is a time of celebration. I do think it’s important to acknowledge the particular context we are in right now, but for now we will focus on empowerment and strengths and celebrating the vibrant, lived reality of trans and nonbinary and two-spirit [meaning, third-gender person],” the Rev. Cameron Partridge, rector of St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church in San Francisco, Diocese of California, and a trans man, told Episcopal News Service. “We’re here and we are in community and we’re in leadership, and we have opportunities to experience and express our joy even in the midst of hardship.” Partridge will preach at Grace Cathedral’s Trans Day of Visibility evening Eucharist at 6 p.m. Pacific on March 30, which will be streamed via Zoom.  “There are so many pressures for trans people to fly under the radar, to not be noticed, to try to minimize who they are. This Eucharist is a chance to let that aside and just be loved for who you are and to celebrate before God who God created you to be,” the Very Rev. Malcolm Young, dean of Grace Cathedral, told ENS. “It’s so important to support and love our trans siblings every day.” After the worship service, Partridge will moderate a conversation with Nico Lang, an LGBTQ+ news and politics reporter, about their newest book, “American Teenager: How Trans Kids are Surviving Hate and Finding Joy in a Turbulent Era.” Earlier in the day on March 30, St. Aidan’s morning worship services will incorporate some liturgical resources recently created for the day of visibility. TransEpiscopal, a group that advocates for more inclusive church policies toward transgender people and creates supportive spaces for trans Episcopalians, and the Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission collaborated on the liturgical resources. Also, in the Diocese of California, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Redwood City will host a day of visibility service on April 5. The term “transgender” refers to an individual whose gender identity, expression or behavior does not conform with the person’s assigned sex at birth, whereas nonbinary reflects a gender identity that is not strictly male or female. The terms are often associated with each other but are not interchangeable. Rachel Crandall Crocker, a transgender activist and psychotherapist from Michigan, founded the first Transgender Day of Visibility in 2009 out of frustration that the only designated day recognizing trans people was the Transgender Day of Remembrance. The day of remembrance, which takes place every Nov. 20, memorializes those who’ve been targeted and murdered for being transgender and raises awareness of violence against trans people. In contrast, the day of visibility is a time of unashamed pride, celebration and acknowledgement of trans people’s existence and resilience. The Diocese of New York will host a livestreamed 12 p.m. Eastern prayer service celebrating Transgender Day of Visibility on March 29 at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan. Aaron Scott, The Episcopal Church’s gender justice officer and a lay trans man, will preach. “I am most excited to be with a whole bunch of other trans people at a gathering that is about us being alive – right together – even when we now have officially seen legislation that says we don’t exist,” Scott told ENS. LGBTQ+ sentiment and hate crimes targeting LGBTQ+ people have increased in recent years. Out of 821 anti-trans bills introduced in 49 states so far in 2025 by federal, state and local legislators, 40 have already passed, and 725 cases remain active, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker, an independent research organization that tracks bills affecting anti-trans and gender-diverse people in the United States. Last week, South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden signed a bill into law that restricts trans people from using public bathrooms that match their gender identity. Similar bills are moving forward in Arkansas, Tennessee and New Hampshire. After taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders aimed at erasing references across federal agencies and departments to issues of diversity and “gender ideology.” By early February, agency websites began to remove mention of transgender or queer people, including the Rev. Pauli Murray, and changed the acronym LGBTQ (for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) to LGB. “Now more than ever, it’s important for the church to invest in real relationships, whether that’s one-on-one in your parish or between your parish and diocese, and whatever transgender-led organizations that are in your wider community,” Scott said. “This is a great time to reach out to your local trans youth group or LGBTQ center and say, ‘Hey, we are an affirming church. If you have a need for food donations or a need for people who need transportation to and from medical appointments or whatever, we’re here for you.’” New York Assistant Bishop Mary Glasspool, the second openly gay – and first lesbian – bishop in the Anglican Communion, told ENS in a phone interview, “When you are in a group that’s considered a minority group, and there is a whole sort of stereotypical characterization of that group, and you may feel targeted simply because you’re a member of that group, not because of who you are as an individual, it can be very scary,”  Glasspool, who oversees the Diocese of New York’s LGBTQ+ Concerns Committee, will retire on June 30 after almost 45 years of ordained ministry. “You can’t say there aren’t transgender people in the world. They are wonderful human beings – children of God – deserving … to be loved and accepted into the human community,” she said. New York Bishop Matthew Heyd, who will preside over the prayer service at St. John the Divine, echoed a […]

[Episcopal News Service] “Audrey’s Children,” a feature-length biopic about Dr. Audrey Evans, a pioneering British American pediatric oncologist and a devout Episcopalian who co-founded the first Ronald McDonald House with members of the Philadelphia Eagles and McDonald’s, will have a limited theatrical release beginning March 28. Natalie Dormer – best known for her roles in “Game of Thrones” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2” – stars as Evans, the first female chief of oncology at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and one of the first doctors to treat pediatric cancers with chemotherapy. Directed by Ami Canaan Mann, “Audrey’s Children” highlights Evans’ myriad accomplishments in the 1970s while battling sexism and medical conventions of the time. Julia Fisher Farbman, a close friend of Evans, wrote the script and produced the film. “There are so many things that happen in the movie that I remember Audrey telling us that happened. …Natalie [Dormer] did such a great job showcasing the persistence and also the pain in Audrey’s life, too,” David Kasievich, president and head of school at St. James School, a tuition-free Episcopal school for children grades 4 through 8 in Philadelphia, told Episcopal News Service. Not long after she retired in 2009 from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Evans co-founded St. James School, which opened its doors two years later. “Being a woman – being in a very male-dominated role – Audrey hit so many roadblocks and legal issues,” said Kasievich, who watched an early screening of the movie. “You’re going to see some things in this movie, and you’re going to say, ‘Whoa.’ This woman defied all the resistance.” Born in York, England, in 1925, Evans was the only female student at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in Scotland and the only woman in her residency program at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh in the early 1950s. In 1953, she earned a Fulbright Fellowship and moved to Massachusetts to train at Boston Children’s Hospital for two years. Evans completed her medical training at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1955. She briefly moved back to England to practice pediatrics but returned to the United States after learning that the field was closed to women in her home country. After working in pediatric oncology in Boston and Chicago, Illinois, Evans was recruited to create a pediatric oncology unit at CHOP, where she spent the rest of her medical career. In 1971, she developed the Evans Staging System for neuroblastoma – a cancer that starts in neuroblast cells and mostly affects infants and young children – to help determine disease progression and treatment efficacy. The system helped cut the mortality rate in half, and today, the survival rate is 90-95%. “To be the one who cares is one of the most rewarding experiences in a person’s life,” Evans once said. While serving as chief of oncology, Evans noticed that many out-of-town families of children receiving treatment at CHOP had no place, or no affordable place to stay in the city. In the early 1970s, she met Jim Murray, then-general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, when the NFL team raised and donated $100,000 to the hospital for children with cancer in honor of a leukemia patient, Kim Hill – the daughter of Fred Hill, a tight end and wide receiver. At the time, another Eagles player, quarterback Roman Gabriel, was advertising seasonal Shamrock Shakes for McDonald’s. (Kim Hill later died of brain cancer in 2011.) After Evans proposed free housing for families of children treated at CHOP, Murray reached out to Ed Rensi, McDonald’s regional manager, for a donation toward purchasing a house. Rensi said yes and that he would donate proceeds from Shamrock Shake sales toward the house if it would be named the Ronald McDonald House, after the fast-food chain’s clown mascot. Gabriel was inspired to later open the first Ronald McDonald House in North Carolina, his home state. Dormer told the hosts of “The View” television program in a March 27 interview that she “could not fathom that [Evans] wasn’t a household name.” “[Audrey’s Children] is just the most amazing tale of the most incredible woman – pioneering, determined woman,” said Dormer, who met Evans before filming commenced. Evans died two weeks into filming in 2022 at age 97. “[Evans] was one of those great Americans who dedicated her life to giving hope and comfort to families. She didn’t just sit back; she saw the pain – the need – and she stepped into it,” Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel Gutiérrez told ENS in a phone interview. “She was extraordinary in every way that it’s hard even to encapsulate the profound impact she made on the world. “To know Audrey Evans – her study and her advancements in medicine, especially pediatric oncology – it’s indescribable. She was a faithful Episcopalian who cared so much and who did so much. Audrey lived a life of love as a true Christian servant, living in and caring for the community.” The first Ronald McDonald House – founded by Evans, Murray, Fred Hill, Philadelphia Eagles owner Leonard Tose and McDonald’s – opened in 1974 in Philadelphia. The independent nonprofit, Ronald McDonald House Charities is headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, where the McDonald’s Corporation is based. Today, it operates more than 387 houses in 62 countries, all located minutes away from special care hospitals. It provides at least 2.7 million overnight stays annually. In 2023, families saved $736 million in lodging and meal expenses. The charity also provides free home-cooked meals and holistic services to families, an additional service that Evans encouraged. Ronald McDonald House Charities also operates more than 271 “family rooms” inside hospitals in 28 countries, which allow families to rest while staying beside their sick children. The family rooms provide free snacks and toys, as well as a private place to shower and take a nap. Additionally, Ronald McDonald House Charities operates 41 “care mobiles” […]

[Episcopal News Service] At Calvary Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the 11 a.m. Eastern service on March 16 was a special observance of the fifth anniversary of the church’s shutdown during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. It included readings that dealt with illness and loss, prayers for healthcare workers and those who died, and music that often is used at funerals, including “O God our Help in Ages Past.” The Rev. Jonathon Jensen, the church’s rector, told Episcopal News Service that he started wondering last fall why his congregation, or any congregation in The Episcopal Church, had yet to liturgically mark something that had impacted so many people for so long. So, he and Alan Lewis, the church’s director of music, started making plans to do it. They chose March 16 because five years earlier it was on Sunday, March 15, 2020, that in-person worship was suspended at Calvary, and it remained that way for about 14 months, Jensen said. The remembrance formed the first part of the service and began with the clergy and choir all wearing masks. “I hadn’t worn a mask in a couple of years,” he said. “I had forgotten how hot it was, how itchy, how hard it is to breathe.” The choir sat apart from each other as they had in the days of social distancing, and paper signs reminding people to stand 6 feet apart lined the center aisle. Jensen said that people told him those elements were “more powerful than they had imagined, and they had forgotten what it was like.” After the offertory, masks came off and the choir returned to their usual place near the altar. The service included elements that Jensen said were intentionally tactile and sensory, as a contrast to the COVID-era practice of staying away from others. That included the offer to anoint people with oil, and while that is available every week, about 20% of the congregations took part that day. “That never happens on a Sunday,” he said. In his sermon, Jensen described how he learned to preach to a pole in an empty nave during early online worship, “hoping somebody on the other end was watching.” He mentioned the losses people suffered, from missed graduations and kids learning behind screens to postponed weddings and funerals held online – including his own father’s funeral. Another impact is reflected, he said, in a recent Pew survey that showed that 72% of Americans said the pandemic did more to drive the country apart than to bring it together. One thing he believes the church can do is to help people heal. He hoped this service and its offering of “a ritual, a liturgical acknowledgement of the death, literally and metaphorically, that we experienced,” was a start, he said. Other remembrances in Georgia, Church of England St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta, Georgia, used a different medium to mark the anniversary – a 4-by-5-foot icon featuring a variety of COVID-era images, including washing hands, worshipping online and getting a vaccine. The Rev. Patricia Templeton, St. Dunstan’s rector, commissioned the icon in memory of her husband, Joe Monti, who died from Covid in 2023. Monti taught moral theology and Christian ethics at the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, for 27 years before he retired in 2009. The icon was created by Kelly Latimore, a noted icon writer known for his icon of Matthew Shepard displayed at Washington National Cathedral. The murder of Shepard, a gay college student, in 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming, sparked a national outcry against homophobia and violence against LGBTQ+ people. Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright blessed the icon on March 16. During that service, parishioners were invited to put a bit of gold leaf on their thumbs and press it to the icon to add to the halos of people portrayed in it. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell officiated at an online service on March 25 that marked five years since the Church of England began hosting a virtual, national worship service it calls Church at Home. The Church of England has offered a weekly online service from a variety of churches nationwide since March 22, 2020, when former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby officiated at the first one. In 2024, the services drew over 21 million views. The virtual anniversary service included some notable recorded elements from the past five years, including the Rev. Richard Allen leading the confession from a lifeboat in Cornwall’s Trelawny Benefice, and hymns from St. Martin’s Voices, one of the United Kingdom’s most notable choral ensembles, singing in a stable, where a donkey famously interrupted filming with its chorus of braying. The service also included a reflection from the Rev. Gill Behenna, national Deaf ministry advisor for the Church of England and one of its regular sign language interpreters. Cottrell said that these services “have connected us as a Christian community and as an online community.” About 30% of Church of England congregations continue to offer a regular Church at Home service. — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.

[Anglican Communion News Service] The secretary general of the Anglican Communion, the Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, was welcomed in Lae, the second-largest city in Papua New Guinea, March 21 by the Rt. Rev. Nathan Ingen, bishop of Aipo Rongo and acting primate of the Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea. Poggo’s visit March 21-24 formed part of his recent tour of the Oceania region. Papua New Guinea includes five dioceses: Aipo Rongo, Dogura, New Guinea Islands, Popondota and Port Moresby. While the majority of the population identify as Christians, only 3.2% identify as Anglican, according to the 2000 census data. Poggo undertook visits around Oceania primarily to encourage the Anglican Communion and related agencies and to learn more about the Anglican church in the regions. Reflecting on his visit, Poggo said, “I have greatly enjoyed and appreciated my time in Papua New Guinea. It has been particularly valuable for me to visit churches, meet with the leadership network here and to learn more about the community-based philanthropic initiatives that are happening here regarding education and health. I thank God for the vibrant spirituality I have witnessed in the people I have met in Papua New Guinea and pray that my visit has inspired them as it has me.” After arriving at Nadzab Tomodachi Airport, Poggo was welcomed with gifts and celebration by church representatives and the Tufi Maising singing group before visiting Dennis Kabekabe Conference Center. During his time in Lae, Poggo and the four bishops of Papua New Guinea planted tree seedlings to commemorate their meeting. Across the Anglican Communion, trees are often planted as a symbol of the importance of caring for the environment, nurturing future generations and celebrating the strong connections between branches of a global Anglican Communion, rooted in Christ. Planting trees is also something that the Anglican Communion Office has been encouraging through the Communion Forest initiative, which aims to significantly increase the number of Anglican tree-growing and ecosystem conservation, protection and restoration activities around the world and to deepen care for creation within the life of the church and its members. Poggo also visited the Anglican Health Office, a body of the Anglican Health Service, and saw the good works they are doing to improve the physical, psychological, social and spiritual health and wellbeing of everyone in the communities they serve. The Anglican Health Service includes 119 facilities in Papua New Guinea, which the government helps to fund and the church builds. Most of these clinics are in rural areas where medical assistance is otherwise difficult to access and acuity levels range from rural hospitals through health centers and aid posts to village clinics. Providing for those over 15 years of age, the Adult Literacy Program in Papua New Guinea is a pilot program funded by the Anglican Mission Board of Australia, which educates adult students in English, math, social inclusion and religious education with the goal of enabling students to read and write within nine months. This program is vital for those who have not already attended school for reasons such as getting married at an early age but still wish to pursue education. Within this pilot program, there are currently three schools in Port Moresby and three in Popendetta, and the students only have to pay for their school materials — travel is covered by the program. Poggo was particularly pleased to see the project and spend time with those involved. “One of the things that I admired while I am here is the adult literacy initiatives carried out by the church,” he said. “This is an encouragement to me, personally, as someone from South Sudan, where literacy levels are very low. The program aimed at helping people learn to read and write is so important to me.” On March 23, Poggo attended a morning service of confirmation at All Souls Anglican Church in Lae. Bishops or clergy from the five dioceses of Papua New Guinea assisted with the service and welcomed the new confirmation candidates. The service included a welcome address by the acting primate and bishop of Aipo Rongo, the Rt. Rev. Nathan Ingen; a sermon by Poggo; communion and confirmation of several of the parish’s young people, who also led the prayers. Ingen said in his address, “We are truly honored to have you among us as we gather for this sacred occasion of worship, celebration and the confirmation of our candidates. Bishop Poggo, your presence here today is a great blessing to our parish, our diocese and the entire Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea. As secretary general of the Anglican Communion, you carry the important responsibility of fostering unity and strengthening the mission of the church worldwide. We are grateful for your leadership and your commitment to the growth of the Anglican family across all nations.”

[World Council of Churches] The Second Africa-Europe Ecumenical Forum on Migration took place March 17-21 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, organized by the All Africa Conference of Churches and the Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe.  The forum built on the outcomes of the first forum held in Hamburg, Germany, in March 2023. A communiqué released by the forum reads, in part, “We affirm that migration is an integral part of humanity, yet it remains an area fraught with injustices. We remain steadfast in opposing the criminalization and weaponization of migration and resisting migration management policies that disregard human dignity and safety.” The forum discouraged exploitative migration practices that hinder many from experiencing the love and goodness of God. “We noted the growing frustration among a significant proportion of young Africans who are seeking every possible avenue to migrate in pursuit of employment and better living conditions,” the communiqué said. Read the communiqué here. Read the entire article here.

[Diocese of Los Angeles] For 12-year-old Messiah, the 45-mile trip from Hesperia to St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Claremont, California, for a March 23 iftar was all about doing what God wants: “If we love God, we love people. “This is about having friends, being with family, here from a lot of places. It isn’t just about getting food,” the middle school student told the multi-faith group who gathered to observe the Muslim tradition of breaking the Ramadan fast at sunset. “It’s about basically being at peace with God,” he said, amid enthusiastic applause. Atilla Kahveci, vice president of the Pacifica Institute, an organizer of the gathering, explained that during Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, worship and community, Muslims “don’t eat or drink anything in the daytime. Then we gather to break the fast at an iftar, a community meal. We are here because we believe when the blessings are shared, it doubles, triples and quadruples.” Headquartered in Lake Forest in Orange County, the nonprofit Pacifica Institute is an Islamic organization dedicated to promoting social justice, intercultural and interreligious dialogue, peacebuilding and conflict resolution. The Rev. Jessie Turnier, St. Ambrose’s rector, who welcomed about 70 Christian, Muslim and Jewish guests, said the event grew out of the church’s interfaith partnerships, and called the iftar “a beautiful way of loving one another.” The evening began with the invitation to break the day’s fast by eating dates, an Islamic tradition emulating the example of the Prophet Muhammad. Following the call to prayer, guests were invited to a buffet-style potluck meal of salads, chicken quinoa soup, chili, eggplant moussaka, Halal meat and almond rice, cornbread, baklava, and pide, a traditional round Turkish bread topped with sesame seeds. Marianne Cordova, an associate minister at the Claremont Center for Spiritual Living and a member of the Claremont Interfaith Council, said she drew strength from the gathering. “We’re all one. We’ve got to practice what we believe, I believe that. There is strength in coming together and understanding each other.” Making connections and deepening interfaith understandings drew Zaw Lin Soe to the gathering. After moving to Claremont from Myanmar three years ago, “I have questions about other religions,” he said. “It is good to build relationships in this way.” Similarly, Moli Torres, a parishioner at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Upland, California, said joining the multicultural, multiethnic event “was like taking a mini-trip around the world. If we all believe we are all made in the image of God, what a beautiful image we are.” The Rev. Paul Colbert said hearing once again the call to prayer, reminded him of his former experiences in Sudan and Yemen; “So thank you for that. “We’re all here as those on the path seeking the divine and we all have different ways of approaching that, different disciplines,” Colbert said. “It’s a joy to be with others on the road seeking the divine presence in our midst.” Tamara, a member of St. Ambrose, said the gathering helped offset “the climate in our world right now, so based on fear. I feel that things like this dissuade that fear. I feel very blessed to be in the presence of all of you.” A passion for interfaith engagement inspired Paul Knopf to join the gathering and is motivating him to pursue similar connections on a more personal level, he said. “I’m very thankful for tonight. At our table, we have people from all over the world, breaking bread together, speaking with one another. It’s a picture of what we can do in our regular lives. “We’re all blessed to live in Southern California, with so much diversity all around us,” he added. “We can engage and connect. This is motivational for me to reach out to others that don’t come from the same background. This is a blessing for my family’s life and so many others.” The Rev. Tom Johnson, retired Claremont School of Theology professor and retired pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Covina, California, also addressed the gathering, noting that eating together, sharing stories and traditions helps to build bridges and community and to reduce stereotypes about one another. “It’s a powerful experience, a wonderful thing, to come together like this and to affirm that although we come from different backgrounds, different traditions, we have common desires,” he said. “Diversity, equality and inclusiveness is a wonderful thing.”

[Church of England] Acting to prevent global warming and biodiversity loss is the “right thing to do” and a sign of Christian compassion for those who are suffering as a result of the climate crisis, the Church of England’s lead bishop for the environment said on March 25. Speaking to a gathering of Church of England diocesan representatives, Norwich Bishop Graham Usher thanked parishes and staff for their “hard work and commitment” toward making churches net zero by 2030 and their support for churchyards to become havens for biodiversity. Both aims have been backed by the General Synod. He said the Net Zero program is already building up a “huge impetus,” resulting in savings on energy bills for churches and helping make many churches sustainable into the future. Acting to tackle climate change is the “right thing to do,” he told the gathering at the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge, attended by 120 diocesan environment and Net Zero officers as well as ecumenical representatives. “There is a link here through compassion with Anglicans – with all people around the world, many of whom are on the frontline of climate change and biodiversity loss,” he said. “If we truly believe that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we should have a concern and a compassion for where biodiversity and climate change loss is impacting people’s lives.” During his speech, Usher highlighted the achievements of the Church of England’s Net Zero program. He spoke of St Peter Mancroft in Norwich, a “demonstrator” church leading the way for other churches in energy efficiency, and the example of King’s College Chapel, Cambridge, where solar panels have been installed. He said that changes available to churches could range from solar panels to low cost features  such as LED lighting, both of which could make “all the difference” to a church’s carbon footprint, whether rural or urban. Usher told the conference of his experience as part of the Anglican delegation to the COP16 United Nations biodiversity conference last year in Cali, Colombia. He warned of the need to keep up pressure on governments on meeting the goals to halt climate change and biodiversity loss.“Climate change and biodiversity are two sides of the same coin,” he said. “COP16 came over very loud and clear to me of the need to hold these together. Investment in conservation and restoration and environmental protection are futile if we are going be doing nothing around climate change.” The meeting also heard from Beatrix Schlarb-Ridley, director of innovation and impact at the British Antarctic Survey, on the extent of the climate change emergency, focusing on the impact of climate change in the polar regions. In a vote last year, the General Synod backed a series of measures to promote biodiversity on Church of England land from churchyards as havens of wildlife and plants to the stewardship of agricultural and forestry land. The General Synod endorsed a plan to reach net zero carbon by 2030 at its July session in 2022. The Net Zero program’s first impact report can be read here.

[Episcopal News Service] Parishioners at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Homestead, Florida, again this year can experience the events of Holy Week represented in dioramas on display in the church’s narthex. They include figures of Jesus, his disciples, Roman guards, onlookers, others and animals involved in the events of Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, the garden of Gethsemane and Jesus carrying the cross. They end with the Crucifixion and Jesus’ Resurrection. The dioramas – models that use three-dimensional figures to depict a scene – all are the work of Ahmed Otero, a parishioner who also is the church’s senior warden. There are 10 scenes of Holy Week events in all, as well as a model of the ancient Jewish temple in Jerusalem. While five of his scenes overlap with the Stations of the Cross – a typical Lenten devotion depicting a series of usually 14 scenes representing the stages of Christ’s Passion and death – the others take place either before or after those depicted in the stations, he told Episcopal News Service. All of Otero’s scenes spring from his love of the Christmas Nativity sets, sometimes called a crèche, that he saw as a child at the Roman Catholic church he attended with his grandmother in Cuba. “We had a different Nativity each year,” he said. “It was always kind of mysterious and interesting.” He started annually displaying one of his several nativity sets at St. John’s four years ago. But after packing one away in 2022, he decided he wanted to create something similar for Lent that depicted the events leading up to Easter. In 2024, he displayed the Holy Week dioramas for the first time. The human figures are about 10 inches tall, Otero said, and he owns them all, including many he has collected since childhood and some that he bought in Europe. He makes the scenery from cardboard boxes and Styrofoam containers, and he buys items at dollar stores that he can transform into parts of the scene. When the dioramas debuted last year, they were displayed on one long table in the narthex. This year, he placed scenes on individual tables, beginning with Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and ending with the Resurrection, to make the display more interactive. “It’s like a pilgrimage, as people start walking around each one,” Otero said. “It’s a whole journey.” The scenes are important to him because, he said, the nativity sets he saw as a child helped shape his faith and a lingering sense that he was called to be a priest. (He is now in the first phase of the ordination discernment process in the Episcopal Church in Southeast Florida.) He makes sure students at the church’s school also have the chance to experience them. “The kids are being touched by these dioramas, too,” he said. “I’m wondering whether one of them in the future will become a priest or a lay leader – you never know.” But it’s not just children who are benefiting from seeing the events of Holy Week depicted in Otero’s scenes. He said adult congregants have told him they have found them useful in recalling Holy Week events. He likened the scenes to stained-glass windows in medieval cathedrals that helped people understand and better remember the stories of the Bible. He admitted that doing both Holy Week and Christmas scenes is a lot of work, but he does get help from his wife. She comes in after he has set everything up and makes any small adjustments that are needed, he said, and she helps tackle one of the bigger jobs – cleaning up afterward. He also would like to get some of the students at the school involved, including teaching them how to craft scenery, making it a team effort. “We want people to get involved,” he said. — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.

[Church in Wales] St. David’s Church in Loughor, in the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon, Wales, has become the 75th Gold Eco Church in England and Wales. The award was given by the Christian conservation charity A Rocha UK, and reflects St. David’s commitment to walk in step with nature and put creation care at the heart of its mission. While there are more than 8,000 registered churches with Eco Church, St. David’s is only the third gold award in Wales to date and the first in the diocese. St. David’s has adapted its worship to regularly include messages and hymns about creation care, and has changed from printed worship sheets to TV screens. Regular community litter picks and recycling points for harder-to-recycle items have been established for a number of years involving the wider community, and its solar panels and associated battery storage, LED lighting, water saving, and toilet and bin twinning have been described as “great examples to demonstrate to others.” Helen Stephens, Eco Church’s church relations manager, said, “Our huge congratulations to St. David’s Church, Loughor, on their well-deserved gold Eco Church award. Becoming a gold Eco Church is not an easy journey, and they are an example of the dedication and perseverance that is required to reach this accolade. “By remaining focused on the biblical mandate to care for God’s creation and love your neighbor, we hope other churches will join them in taking action to care for this amazing world. We wish them all the best as they celebrate their award.” St. David’s was also praised for improving the limited land around the church for wildlife – including the presence of several bird boxes and feeding stations, bug hotels and a “messy corner” – and also for people, with a recycled church pew from its closed sister church at St. Michael’s for quiet contemplation alongside the fruit trees and herb beds. A Rocha UK aims to equip churches and individuals to create a movement to help restore biodiversity at a local level in this critical decade for the climate. Now, in its ninth year, the Eco Church award scheme brings together a national community of churches addressing the environmental crisis, using a common framework and an online toolkit to learn and speak up together.

[World Council of Churches] The newly published resource “Hope for Children Through Climate Justice: Legal Tools to Hold Financiers Accountable” provides churches and communities essential legal tools designed to hold financial actors accountable for their role in perpetuating the climate crisis. Developed by the Churches’ Commitments to Children program of the World Council of Churches, the resource aims to equip people of faith and partners in WCC’s global constituency with the knowledge on climate litigation, a rapidly growing and impactful way of addressing the climate crisis and protect the rights of young people and future generations. In the foreword of the publication, the Most Rev. Julio Murray, the Anglican archbishop of Panama and moderator of the WCC Commission on Climate Justice and Sustainable Development, points out that our faith calls us to speak truth to power and to seize every available legal measure to protect our planet and its inhabitants. “The urgency of this moment demands that we engage with the law not merely as a tool but as a moral imperative to safeguard human lives and uphold justice,” said Murray. “It is our hope that these resources will empower individuals and communities to advocate for justice effectively, ensuring that future generations inherit a world that is not only livable but thriving.” Read the entire article here.

[Episcopal News Service] The House of Bishops gathered March 19-24 at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo, Alabama, for its annual spring retreat, which centered on discussions of witnessing to the Gospel amid today’s contentious political climate and The Episcopal Church’s future in a secular society. The spring meeting is one of two biannual in-person House of Bishops gatherings. Traditionally, the spring meetings are more retreat-like and tend to occur at church camps. The second meeting occurs in the fall during non-General Convention years, and usually includes participation from the bishops’ spouses. “It’s always an opportunity for bishops to gather, be in prayer together, to reconnect and to consider how we best participate in God’s mission,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe said during a virtual media briefing. “We were sure to find our grounding in prayer and also to consider the world around us, what’s happening and how we can most effectively both speak to the world around us and to our own diocese in our own context.” This was the first in-person House of Bishops gathering Rowe led as presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church and president of the house.  Each day, the bishops – 116 in person and three virtually – engaged in discussions on various topics ranging from using church property for mission to declining membership. The latest parochial report data shows that The Episcopal Church has decreased from about 2.3 million members to fewer than 1.6 million over the past two decades. “We really looked hard at the statistics – the current reality – what’s happening and where in the church and how we might think about how to address those issues, both together as a House of Bishops, but also in our dioceses,” Rowe said. “We don’t have the same number of resources, but we all have enough gifts to share, and so those conversations are just getting started.” Like last year, the bishops also reviewed and discussed Title IV disciplinary canons and churchwide calls for greater oversight and transparency in disciplinary cases involving bishops. In February 2024, The Episcopal Church, under then-Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s direction, updated its website with a series of informational resources, including chronologies of active cases involving bishops under Title IV. The bishops heard other presentations from leaders on issues concerning the wider church, including theological reflections from fellow bishops. Notably, Atlanta Bishop Robert Wright earned a standing ovation for his reflection on Christian nationalism, which has been growing throughout the United States in recent years. “Christian nationalism is not an imperfect or evolving rendering of Jesus’ life and teachings, nor should it be characterized as simply a difference of theological or political interpretation or emphasis,” Wright said in his reflection, per his notes provided to Episcopal News Service. “This is a deeply embedded, well-funded, strategic and compellingly argued appeal.” During the 81st General Convention in 2024, the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies adopted Resolution A081, “Combat Rising Religious Nationalism,” which requires General Convention to acknowledge and urge The Episcopal Church and its mission-related entities to partner with the Anglican Communion to combat rising religious nationalism. The resolution encourages individuals, congregations, dioceses and other Episcopal affiliates to educate themselves on how religious nationalism harms marginalized groups. “The ‘Christian’ in Christian nationalism is not so much about a religious faith as an ideologically driven identity, even though religious beliefs are cleverly deployed to support its ideological stance on certain political and social issues,” Wright said, in his notes provided to ENS. “Therefore, Christian nationalism is theologically illegitimate and must be called by its proper names: idolatry, blasphemy and heresy.” Rebecca Blachly, The Episcopal Church’s chief of public policy and witness, presented the latest updates on immigration actions in the United States since President Donald Trump issued a series of executive orders in January 2025, including restrictions on the asylum process. She shared what could happen to immigration policies in the coming months and highlighted how the church is responding to the legislative changes through litigation, advocacy, education and prayer. More information is available on the Episcopal Public Policy Network and Episcopal Migration Ministries websites. The Episcopal Church’s immigration action toolkit can be viewed here. Blachly also invited the bishops to consider the different ways they can individually respond as church leaders, including making public statements and engaging with local and state government officials.  The bishops gathered both in small table conversations and as a large group to discuss each presentation. Alabama Bishop Glenda Curry said during the media briefing that the bishops also informally shared how they’ve been able to successfully make the Gospel’s message “more relevant or obvious to the world” in their dioceses. “Sharing programs and different ways that they’re trying to address their own context sometimes applies to everybody,” Curry said. “We’re looking for those places where the sharing of the Gospel is growing – the attraction to the church is positive. We’re looking for ways that we can build on each other’s experience.” Scott Bader-Saye, dean and president of the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, presented a theological reflection on faith in institutions. Bader-Saye, who is also a professor of Christian ethics and moral theology, described institutions like churches as nests that serve as containers holding the practices of people trying to accomplish a goal. Those “nests,” he said, can be adjusted and enlarged over time to accommodate new challenges and paradigms. During the media briefing, Indianapolis Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, vice chair of the House of Bishops, described Bader-Saye’s reflection as “sitting in a seminary classroom.” “There was so much depth to his presentation,” she said. “The way I might encapsulate it is that institutions are living, breathing things.” Each morning and at various times throughout the day, the bishops took time to worship together, meditate and reflect quietly. Some bishops expressed themselves through art, including pottery. Baskerville-Burrows said those times of shared spiritual expression throughout the gathering helped bring the bishops “closer to Jesus” […]

[Scottish Episcopal Church] On March 23, the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Mark Strange, joined more than 30 faith leaders across the United Kingdom in sending an open letter to call for bold action on child poverty. The letter was sent to Liz Kendall, secretary of state for works and pensions, and to Bridget Philipson, secretary of state for education. It reads in part, “We write to you as faith leaders from communities across the UK to encourage you to be bold and ambitious in your upcoming Child Poverty Strategy. We welcome the government’s acknowledgement in its manifesto that the UK’s increasing levels of child poverty and reliance on emergency food are a ‘moral scar’ on our nation. Without action this scar will deepen, with an additional 400,000 children set to be pulled into poverty over the next decade.” Strange said, “This letter comes from a place of hope – hope that the call for action on child poverty [will] be heeded by those in power, and that our representatives take the time to listen and learn from those most affected. “Across the Scottish Episcopal Church there are congregations large and small that are doing their part in their local communities to target poverty; from hosting food banks, clothing banks and breakfast clubs, to offering warm spaces in cold weather or simply a place to be welcomed on Sundays or during the week. “This is part of our call to minister, and as people of hope, we are always seeking to do more. This letter calls on our leaders to do the same – to seek to do more to support those whose lives are made that much more difficult due to the grinding effects of poverty.” The full text of the letter is here.

[Episcopal News Service] St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, Washington, recently opened its doors to a shelter for homeless women. It is one of the latest of a growing number of Episcopal congregations partnering with local organizations and developers to address a nationwide shortage of affordable housing. The congregation at St. Mark’s in the Diocese of Olympia helped fund a $100,000 renovation of two classrooms in a cathedral-owned building that once housed a school. The project was led by the nonprofit Operation Nightwatch, which began operating the shelter in the renovated space in February. The shelter, Donna Jean’s Place, is specifically for individual women, not those with children, and it has the capacity to accommodate up to 20 people at a time who need emergency housing. Another nonprofit had operated a shelter called Noelle House in the cathedral’s parish hall for more than two decades, but the COVID-19 pandemic forced that shelter’s closure in 2020. The nonprofit has since reopened its shelter at another location in Seattle. The Very Rev. Steven Thomason, dean of the cathedral, began talking with leaders at Operation Nightwatch about a year ago about filling gaps in support for people experiencing homelessness. For years, much of the emphasis locally and nationally has been on getting unhoused people into transitional housing and eventually permanent homes. Such efforts, while important, don’t always address the emergency needs of people who suddenly find themselves homeless, and “there was an increasing crisis in the number of emergency shelter beds in the city,” Thomason told Episcopal News Service. The cathedral agreed to provide about 2,000 square feet in the former school building for use by Operation Nightwatch as a new shelter. Over six months, the nonprofit’s renovation crews added showers, toilets, lockers, a laundry facility and exam rooms for medical and mental health appointments, as well as 20 beds in a communal sleeping area. Donna Jean’s Place, named for the widow of the late founder of Operation Nightwatch, previously opened in April 2024 as a 10-bed facility at a Catholic church in Seattle, but the nonprofit was able to double its shelter’s capacity and add amenities with the move to St. Mark’s. Operation Nightwatch does not limit how long shelter guests may stay, though the average stays are expected to be several weeks to several months. Operation Nightwatch also runs a separate shelter for men, as well as a street ministry providing services and support to people living on the streets. The Rev. Frank DiGirolamo, a Roman Catholic deacon who serves as executive director, told ENS that ecumenical partnerships have helped the 58-year-old nonprofit expand its outreach to people most in need. He hopes Donna Jean’s Place inspires more congregations to get involved. “We’re providing a type of witness to what maybe could happen more often,” DiGirolamo said, “as church communities realize, ‘Hey, we have a basement. We have some funding. We could maybe be welcoming the stranger off the street.’” Homelessness is a pressing issue in many cities and states as they struggle to ensure residents have safe and affordable places to live. The problem partially stems from a sharp reduction in new housing construction in the United States after the Great Recession of 2008, which left a nationwide shortage of nearly 4 million units for sale or rent as of 2019, according to a report by mortgage financing agency Fannie Mae. Pandemic shortages in construction supplies only worsened the problem. Other factors include a national shortage in construction workers, and a July 2022 article by the Economic Policy Institute placed some of the blame on “land availability and exclusionary zoning laws, which restrict the kinds of homes that can be put in certain neighborhoods — maintaining segregation.” Housing shortages affect every state, though studies suggest the greatest impact has been felt in Western states, from Colorado to California, especially for the poorest Americans. The United States’ existing housing supply is estimated to be 7.1 million units short of what is needed to house all low-income renters affordably, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Many Episcopal congregations are embracing local projects that have the potential to begin making small but meaningful differences in their communities. In Louisville, Kentucky, Christ Church Cathedral opened a temporary winter shelter this year for women and children experiencing homelessness. A church in the Diocese of New Jersey is seeking city authorization to build a 17-bed homeless shelter next to an existing outreach facility on church property. And an Episcopal church in Portland, Oregon, is turning a parking lot into a “tiny home village” with short-term housing for people with emergency shelter needs. Other dioceses and congregations are investing in affordable housing projects. In the Diocese of Los Angeles, a 66-unit affordable housing complex for seniors opened last week at a church in Buena Park, California, part of a diocesan initiative. In the Diocese of San Diego, an Episcopal church is providing space on its property for the development of a 78-unit affordable housing building. In King County, Washington, which includes Seattle, more than 16,000 people were experiencing homelessness during an official 2024 count. Addressing their needs is “an incredible challenge,” the city says in an online summary of its system of services. One important component is emergency housing, which now includes the 20-bed shelter at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral. “We’re really just trying to meet the urgent needs of shelter beds in the city,” Thomason said. He added that the cathedral already has plans to expand its support for housing solutions beyond providing emergency shelter. In about three years, it hopes to break ground on its own affordable housing development, which would convert the former school building into about 120 apartments. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.