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The United Methodist Church’s top court ruled that a congregation’s trustees cannot prevent their pastor from using church facilities to perform a same-sex wedding.

 Last updated: Tuesday, April 29, 2025  This resource provides daily updates from the CWS policy team in your inbox on the latest policy changes; the morning’s headlines on key issues impacting refugees and immigrants; and updated tools to take action. Subscribe now to receive daily updates on the latest developments and ways to support impacted communities. State of Play The ... Read More

Accreditation is now open for the Armenian Heritage Conference, to be held in Bern, Switzerland, 27 – 28 May 2025. 

Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, mourned the lives lost and expressed solidarity for those responding to injuries received when a man drove a car into the crowd at a Filipino festival in Vancouver, Canada, on 26 April.

As The United Methodist Church rebuilds, Council of Bishops President Tracy S. Malone challenged her fellow bishops to address inhumanity and act with the compassion of Christ.

The United Church of Christ’s third annual Earth Summit was held on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Hosted by Brooks Berndt, minister of Environmental Justice, it was held on Zoom and attended by people around the country. This year’s partner was…

The post 2025 UCC Earth Summit addresses climate change and introduces a new partnership appeared first on United Church of Christ.

As the annual meeting between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and specialized ministries opened at the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, near Geneva, Switzerland, Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay emphasized the shared vision for a better world and the urgency of closer collaboration.

Creator, we give you thanks for all you are and all you bring to us for our visit within your creation. In Jesus, you place the Gospel in the centre of this Sacred Circle through which all of creation is related. You show us the way to live a generous and compassionate life. Give us your strength to live together with respect and commitment as we grow in your Spirit, for you are God, now and forever. Amen.

The post Gospel-based discipleship readings for May appeared first on The Anglican Church of Canada.

[Church of England] Churches across England will participate in a series of commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day on May 8. Events will offer an opportunity for reflection, remembrance and a renewed commitment to peace, echoing the spirit of unity that defined the end of the Second World War in Europe. On May 8, communities will come together to honor the sacrifices made by those who served in the conflict and to pray for lasting peace both at home and abroad. The Church of England is providing resources and encouraging parishes to engage in acts of commemoration and prayer. Free resources are now online for parishes and communities to use. A key element of the commemoration will be the ringing of church bells at 6: 30 p.m. on VE Day. Echoing the sounds that swept across the country in 1945, churches and cathedrals are invited to ring their bells as a collective act of thanksgiving. Parishes are also encouraged to hold services to commemorate the anniversary. Worship resources are also available to assist clergy and lay leaders in planning these acts of worship, providing a framework for remembrance, reflection, and prayer. Individuals will also have the opportunity to light a virtual candle online to honor loved ones who were part of the war effort. To help publicize local events, churches can now add an “80th Anniversary of VE Day” tag to their services and events listed on AChurchNearYou.com. This will enable members of the public to easily find and participate in commemorations taking place in their local communities. The Church of England also has provided a selection of prayers suitable for use in services and personal devotion, including For those who served and died in the Second World War: A prayer of remembrance and gratitude for their sacrifice; For those who serve today: a prayer for the strength and protection of current service personnel; and For the peace of the world: a prayer for reconciliation, unity, and an end to conflict. St. Germans Bishop Hugh Nelson, the lead bishop for the Armed Forces, said, “The 80th anniversary of VE Day is a moment of profound significance for our nation. It is a time to remember with deep gratitude the courage and sacrifice of those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy today. “In an increasingly dangerous world, I encourage all our churches to participate in these commemorations, to ring their bells, to offer prayers for peace, and to provide spaces for their communities to come together in remembrance. As we honor the past, so we renew our commitment to building a more peaceful and just world for all.” Further information about national commemorations for both VE Day and the 80th anniversary of VJ Day on Aug. 15 can be found on the government’s dedicated website.

[Episcopal News Service – Topeka, Kansas] A gathering for people interested in creation care issues took place April 25-26 in Topeka, Kansas, and was sponsored by the Episcopal Grasslands Network, the first eco-region created by legislation passed during the 2024 General Convention. The event drew 134 registrants from 35 dioceses across The Episcopal Church, and about half of them – representing 10 dioceses – attended in person. It also attracted 22 people who indicated they were not Episcopalians, including some who had no religious affiliation. The Grasslands Network currently includes 12 dioceses in the central and western United States – North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Western Kansas, Northwest Texas, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Rio Grande and Navajoland. The creation of a second eco-region, named the East Coast Network, including the dioceses of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Western Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, was announced during the event. Kansas Bishop Cathleen Bascom told Episcopal News Service in an interview that she had the idea for these eco-region networks years ago. “For some decades, I’ve been intrigued by the church organizing itself along watersheds or in eco-regions,” she said. That concept was strengthened by her work while dean of the Cathedral of St. Paul in Des Moines, Iowa, when major flooding in the Midwest in 2008 prompted the congregation to plant native plants and grasses on cathedral grounds to help absorb rainwater before it ran off into the storm sewer system. Resolution B002, which was adopted in 2024 by the 81st General Convention, defined the creation of eco-regions. It said that eco-region creation networks can be created when bishops of at least three dioceses describe to the presiding bishop their intention to form a network, designating one diocese to be the administrative center for the region. Bascom said that while the process of how these networks is established is very bishop-centered, it does ensure there will be significant diocesan support for the effort. But, she added, creation care leaders in the region will play a major role in determining projects and identifying people in the region with expertise in the types of work the network wants to undertake. The Center for Religion and Environment at the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, also will provide resources to help bishops and dioceses both create networks and implement nature-based climate solutions in their areas. Group session during the Topeka event highlighted some of the ecological issues of concern to the Grasslands Network, including how people are adapting ranching practices to allow cattle to graze in a way that better mimics the way bison grazed on the tallgrass prairie before settlers moved west in the 19th century. Sessions also looked at how people in urban areas are creating green spaces on their property and how churches are using the land on which they sit to serve their neighbors through nature and sometimes through gardens producing food. In a response to one of the group sessions, Ethan Winstead, who is active in the Diocese of Wyoming’s Canterbury Club at the University of Wyoming, said that students have noticed the way The Episcopal Church approaches care for creation and others. “I found that most people I meet that come into The Episcopal Church are attracted to us because of our creation theology,” he said. “They can spend time in the outdoors, see the beauty, and then they want to go deeper.” David O’Hara and Raghav Sriram Yogeeswari from the Diocese of South Dakota told ENS they came to Topeka to see how other churches are caring for the lands they steward. Both are members of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Sioux Falls, where O’Hara’s wife is the rector. O’Hara also serves as the diocese’s canon for creation. He also is a professor at Augustana University, also in Sioux Falls, and Yogeeswari is a student there. O’Hara said Yogeeswari and some other students, as well as faculty of the university, in recent years have been converting the campus into a food forest and a living laboratory that includes fruit trees, bee hives and enough food to provide 40,000 meals a year. O’Hara also is helping other South Dakota churches convert their grass lawns into vegetable gardens and a place to grow other food. “If you want people to come in for bread and wine, give them food outside first,” he said. “Use the land to raise food and restore the soil rather than worship grass that’s non-native and that depletes our resources.” As the new diocesan missioner for the Diocese of North Dakota, Ashley Hubbard said she came not only to learn what other churches and dioceses are doing but also to connect with them, as her diocese works to revive its creation care efforts. Many people in North Dakota are ranchers and farmers and couldn’t get away to attend in-person – it’s calving season and wheat-planting time, she said – so several were registered to attend online. This event felt different from other creation-care gatherings she has attended, the Rev. Rachel Field of An Episcopal Path for Creation Justice for parishes in Province I, told ENS. “There seems to be more of an emphasis on the ecology and building relationship with the ecosystem that our churches are a part of and less of a focus on things like greening our church building and greening the grounds,” she said. “It’s outside the building, and I think that’s where the key is.” Phoebe Chatfield, associate for creation care and justice for The Episcopal Church, applauded the “fantastic mix of practitioners” who took part in the inaugural Grasslands Network event. “They really have their hands in the dirt in a number of different ways, whether this is actively managing and transforming church lands, people who are directly engaged with ranching and sustainable agriculture, or people who are really hands-on in the work of creation care in other ways.” She added, “It’s also […]