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The World Council of Churches (WCC) welcomed visitors from the Church of Sweden in Germany, Christian Council of Norway, and Norwegian Church Aid in mid-January. 

The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) invites member churches and Christians across the globe to come together in prayer, reflection, and action for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025, to be observed from January 18–25, 2025. This year’s theme, “Do you believe this?” (John 11:26), draws inspiration from the deeply personal encounter […]

The post Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025: A Time for Collective Reflection and Action appeared first on WCRC.

The Board of World Mission continues to coordinate emergency funding and mission teams seeking to assist residents impacted by severe flooding caused by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. The BWM is cooperating with Laurel Ridge, the Moravian Camp and Conference Center located in Western North Carolina, to house and feed those interested in assisting with […]

The Moravian Church in America, Northern and Southern Provinces, became a joint member of Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), in 2006 through resolutions passed at both Provincial Synods that year—the 125th Anniversary of Moravian ministry and mission work in Palestine and its ongoing operation of the Star Mountain Rehabilitation Center in Ramallah (in the […]

[Episcopal News Service] The National Park Service has awarded a $20,250 grant to support adding a historic designation to a Diocese of Georgia church that was founded by Deaconess Anna Alexander, The Episcopal Church’s only Black deaconess. Good Shepherd Episcopal School and Church in Glynn County was one of 20 sites nationwide that received the grants as part of a federal effort to add more properties associated with unrepresented groups to the National Register of Historic Places. The grants will support the survey and nomination of those sites. Alexander is celebrated every year on her feast day, Sept. 24, which was added to The Episcopal Church’s calendar in 2018. She was born in 1865 and spent much of her adult life ministering to poor Black residents of Glynn and McIntosh counties in rural Georgia, particularly through education. She became a deaconess in 1907 in an era before the church allowed women as priests or deacons. Alexander helped establish Good Shepherd Episcopal Church and its parochial school in Pennick, about 15 miles inland from the Atlantic coast and north of Brunswick. She also established and helped run the St. Cyprian’s School at St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church in Darien, Georgia. Alexander died in 1947 and is buried at Good Shepherd. The Episcopal Church recognized deaconesses from 1889 until 1970, when General Convention eliminated the order and included women in its canons governing deacons.

Registration for the Church of the Brethren’s FaithX older adult (55-plus) service trip closes on Feb. 1. Please help us spread the word!

[Episcopal News Service] Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell released the following statement Jan. 16 on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.  “The ceasefire-hostage deal between Israel and Hamas has been far too long in the making, but it is welcome news for those caught up in this devastating violence. “My prayers are with all the families being reunited over the coming days, and for those who are still held in captivity. My prayers too are with the people of Gaza who have suffered such immense destruction, deprivation and displacement. Now must be the time – again, so long overdue – for unfettered aid to reach the people of Gaza, and for the indispensable role of UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East] to be respected and protected by all parties. May this deal be a precursor to a wider, more durable and just settlement in the region: it must not be a false dawn. “Please pray for Archbishop Hosam and our Anglican sisters and brothers in Palestine and Israel, and for all the Christians of the Holy Land as they bear the light of Christ in such dark times. Pray too for the courageous staff of the Anglican Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza, and those in their care. Across the West Bank, this war is being felt not just in the daily grievous news from Gaza, but through widespread intensification of the occupation. I pray this deal acts as a catalyst to bring freedom, justice and dignity to the Palestinian people as well as being a small step towards the long term security of both Palestinians and Israelis. “We lift before God the peoples of the Holy Land, and for His justice, mercy and peace to be known by all.” Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop of York

[Diocese of Los Angeles] As San Gabriel Valley Episcopal congregations continue to unite in Eaton fire relief efforts, parishioners of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Altadena, California – where some 30 parish families have lost their homes in addition to their church and school buildings – will begin holding Sunday-morning services on Jan. 19 at nearby St. Barnabas’ Episcopal Church in Eagle Rock. The Rev. Carri Patterson Grindon, rector of St. Mark’s, has extended the parish’s gratitude to the Rev. Jaime Edwards-Acton, priest-in-charge at St. Barnabas, for the invitation to hold services regularly in the Eagle Rock sanctuary in northeast Los Angeles. St. Barnabas Church – known as “St. Be’s” – conducts its recurrent weekly worship service on Thursday evenings, which readily allows the sanctuary to be regularly available to the St. Mark’s parish community. “There was already an existing kind of kinship between the two churches that began when St. Barnabas was resurrected for its new chapter some five years ago,” Edwards-Acton told The Episcopal News, the Diocese of Los Angeles’ weekly newsletter. Edwards-Acton noted that Suzanne Edwards-Acton suggested the invitation to St. Mark’s. “There seems to be a common creative energy and sense of ministry that the two communities share,” he said. “When Carri and I talked, it felt like a no-brainer. I got the feeling that Carri was confident that her community would feel right at home immediately at St. Barnabas. And that filled my heart,” Edwards-Acton said. “I feel so lucky and blessed that our St. Barnabas community is able to play a role in St. Mark‘s literal rising from the ashes.” Los Angeles Bishop John Harvey Taylor added his gratitude for the collaboration and “the Holy Spirit’s leading” that has allowed the Eagle Rock church to say to St. Mark’s, “Come on down; you’ve got a church on Sunday!” Taylor joined St. Mark’s online for a Jan. 12 service via Zoom. His reflections on the service are here. Earlier that day, he attended the 8 a.m. Eucharist at St. Augustine by-the-Sea in Santa Monica, which welcomed parishioners of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades, some 75% of whom have lost homes in the firestorm that claimed parish school buildings and two rectories but left the landmark church standing. Meanwhile, the Rev. Melissa McCarthy, the Diocese of Los Angeles’ canon to the ordinary, joined Sunday worship at the Church of Our Saviour in San Gabriel, as the parish rallied to support four of its own families whose homes were lost or significantly damaged in the Eaton fire. Marking the annual feast of the Baptism of the Lord, on Jan. 12 this year, the morning liturgy included rites of baptism for a young parishioner, a meaningful sign of faith as the congregation moves forward together, McCarthy said. In northwest Pasadena, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church held services in their historic Fair Oaks Avenue sanctuary, rallying around four parish families that have lost their homes, and launching the ‘DENA online fund for fire relief donations. At All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, with some 80 homes of congregants lost, Sunday services were held Jan. 12, and large-scale distribution of emergency items continued from the parish’s Sweetland Hall. The church campus had sheltered some 180 people overnight on Jan. 7 after the fire broke out. In Sierra Madre, power has been restored at the historic Church of the Ascension, and the congregation is assisting neighbors without electricity. To date, the Eaton fire has burned more than 14,000 acres and is at 45% containment after destroying more than 7,000 structures.

The Intercultural Ministries office and Intercultural Ministries Advisory Committee (IMAC) are encouraging our congregations and districts to help members to know their constitutional rights. As a denomination, we are striving to be a resource and referral space providing tangible information.

[Diocese of San Joaquin] The Rt. Rev. David C. Rice on Jan. 16 announced plans to retire in spring 2026, prompting the Fresno, California-based Diocese of San Joaquin to begin a bishop search. Rice was elected as San Joaquin’s bishop diocesan in 2017 after serving as provisional bishop starting in 2014. He had previously served as the diocesan bishop in the Diocese of Waiapu in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa/New Zealand. San Joaquin’s new bishop will be the sixth for the diocese since Louis Sanford was elected its first missionary bishop in 1910. The Diocese of San Joaquin has worked hard to heal and rebuild since 2007, when former Bishop John David Schofield led many congregations out of The Episcopal Church. Those who remained have moved out of isolation into re-engagement with the wider church under the leadership of Rice and former provisional bishops, the Rt. Rev. Jerry Lamb and the Rt. Rev. Chet Talton, according to the announcement. Today, the Diocese of San Joaquin – which spans much of California’s Central Valley and portions of the eastern Sierra Nevada range and Mojave Desert –  has 19 active congregations, offering ministries that address the unique needs of their respective communities, including feeding ministries, services for the unhoused and outreach to Latinos and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The diocese also has commissions with lay and ordained members that focus on migrant justice, racial justice and creation care. Rice, who has chaired and served on the Environmental Stewardship and Care of Creation Committee at General Convention, led the effort to migrate nearly all churches in the diocese to renewable solar power. He also fostered unique ministry trips such as a bike tour to raise funds to fight human trafficking, a 200-mile walk to promote advocacy for immigrants and a tour of sites throughout the diocese that relate to climate, migrant and racial justice. Looking ahead, the standing committee has formed a nominating committee with diverse representation to select final candidates for a new bishop. The committee is working closely with the Rev. Brian Nordwick – a consultant from the San Jose, California-based Diocese of El Camino Real – to ensure the election process adheres to best practices and is canonically correct and spiritually faithful. The nominating committee recently posted its diocesan profile online.