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[Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians from five states and the District of Columbia are in the middle of a five-day pilgrimage to immigration detention centers along the U.S.- Mexico border in New Mexico and Texas. At each stop they, along with area residents, offer a prayer vigil for detainees and for center employees harmed by the system. “We want to continue to shine a light on immigrants, because [Americans] are not aware of what is happening, what we are supporting as taxpayers and voters,” the Rev. Leeann Culbreath, a priest in the Diocese of Georgia and one of the pilgrimage organizers, told Episcopal News Service in a phone interview while traveling to the group’s third stop. “We are responsible for this system and what is happening to these people, who are all beloved children of God.” She and other participants are members of the Episcopal Migration Caucus, which was formed in May 2024 to urge Episcopalians to advocate for just immigration policies. Members introduced a resolution that was adopted by the 81st General Convention, calling for “Migration with Dignity” for migrants in every country. The 10-member group’s first stop on June 1 was at a park near the Torrance County Detention Center in Estancia, New Mexico. There 55 people participated in the prayer vigil, including several people involved in migrant advocacy. Rio Grande Bishop Michael Hunn was there to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he said, noting, “Our status before God does not depend on the passport we carry.” Hunn, whose diocese covers New Mexico and parts of West Texas, including El Paso, said he was supporting not only those detained but also those who work inside the detention facility. “Those who are detained deserve humane treatment, and those employed in the detention center deserve the honor of treating people humanely,” he said. “Not asking people to sleep in cold rooms, with the lights on all night, or packed in like cattle. Treating people like animals hurts a person.” The prayer vigil that begins each stop on the pilgrimage has a similar shape, Culbreath said, patterned after Morning and Evening Prayer. It includes Scripture readings, a psalm and songs. It also includes time for stories or reflections from those engaged in work on behalf of immigrants. At the second stop on June 2, outside a detention facility in El Paso, they heard from the Rev. Lee Curtis, Rio Grande’s canon to the ordinary, about his visit the night before to men being held at a processing center in El Paso. He told of his efforts to offer comfort and blessings to them through the plexiglass divider that separated them. He also described the experience of a local immigration advocate who, along with a Roman Catholic priest, that morning was accompanying a woman to immigration court in El Paso. That woman and some 30 other people had their cases dropped without notice and were immediately arrested, even after she declared that being deported to her home country would mean certain death for her. “They wanted to do the right thing, but they got arrested and detained anyway,” Culbreath said. Culbreath emphasized the pilgrimage’s mission is rooted in immigration and migration resolutions adopted by The Episcopal Church in General Convention. In addition to the caucus’s 2024 resolution, she pointed to a 2018 resolution that denounced inhumane immigration policies and urged all Episcopalians to advocate on behalf of migrants. It also asked people to tell the U.S. government “to address the specific needs of women and children migrants and others with special vulnerabilities.” The 2024 resolution’s call for migration with dignity will be hard to enact, Culbreath said, given that the current profit-based system of over 200 immigrant detention centers nationwide benefits from placing migrants in incarceration facilities. It also disproportionately detains people of color, she added, but people of every race will be affected after Temporary Protected Status is removed from as many as 300,000 immigrants living in the United States, putting them all at risk of being detained and deported. Worldwide migration is at an all-time high, she said, with people leaving their homes to avoid wars, political unrest or climate-related food insecurity. “They’re going to keep moving, no matter how bad their deterrence is,” she said. “And they are going to continue to try to come to places they believe are safe, so they can have some kind of future for their children.” She added, “The more we put people in detention, the more abuse and trauma we’ll see … but it doesn’t have to be this way.” Americans have a choice to make, Culbreath said. “We have to decide if we want to keep going down that path, or if we want to have a completely different system that actually upholds the dignity of every human being, which is our part of our baptismal covenant.” In addition to the stops in Estancia and El Paso, on June 3 the group held a vigil outside the West Texas Detention Facility in Sierra Blanca, Texas. The final two stops will take them to detention centers near San Antonio, Texas. — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.

[Anglican Church of Canada] Anglicans are gearing up for the next meeting of General Synod, which is set to take place June 23-29 at RBC Place in London, Ontario, in the diocese of Huron and will include the election of the 15th primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, as well as an update from the primate’s commission on re-imagining the church. About 240 members of General Synod from the orders of bishops, clergy and laity will attend the meeting, along with dozens of staff members and volunteers, says Archdeacon Alan Perry, general secretary of General Synod. Candidates to become the next primate are National Indigenous Anglican Archbishop Chris Harper; Archbishop Greg Kerr-Wilson, bishop of Calgary and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of the Northern Lights; Bishop of Caledonia David Lehmann; and Bishop Riscylla Walsh-Shaw, suffragan bishop in the diocese of Toronto. Another major item of business will be a report from the primate’s commission tasked with re-imagining church structures. That document, already presented to Council of General Synod in March, outlines six major “pathways” for change that include potentially making significant cuts to the size of the church’s governance bodies. However, Perry says, acting on these proposals will likely be the task of a future General Synod. Also up for discussion are resolutions on church governance that were withdrawn at the previous meeting of General Synod in 2023. Resolution A030-R1 would eliminate the need to approve canon changes at two successive sessions of General Synod by instead requiring notice of the proposed change to have been previously referred for at least a year to all diocesan and provincial synods. Resolution A031 would change the threshold for required votes by orders from “a two-thirds majority in each Order” to “a two-thirds majority of the members with a majority in each Order.” Both resolutions are up for the first of two necessary readings at consecutive General Synods. Worries about future of church Alan Hayes, professor emeritus of church history at Wycliffe College, says the latest General Synod comes at a time when many have expressed worries about the future of the church. “Parishes are closing and being merged,” he notes. “It’s hard to get clergy to fill vacancies … There’s financial issues and things are closing down. I think people see problems for sure.” Such concerns prompted former primate Archbishop Linda Nicholls to create the commission, Reimagining the Church: Proclaiming the Gospel in the 21st Century, tasked with re-examining church structures. Though the primate’s commission will be presenting its six pathways, the working group tasked with proposing organizational restructuring for the church has not yet been formed, Hayes notes, so hard decisions about church structures will likely not be made until future meetings of General Synod. In that sense, he says, the 2025 General Synod will not likely be a turning point for the church. While the election of a new primate is significant, Hayes says – many view the history of the Anglican Church of Canada through the lens of its primacies – the primate has little intrinsic authority outside the office of General Synod. “Primates aren’t as influential as bishops of large dioceses tend to be,” Hayes says. “Bishops of large dioceses control more of the funding. Money has a way of talking in the church as well as in the secular world.” Primates’ authority, he says, lies partly in being able to set the agenda in areas such as Council of General Synod. “They get to decide what people talk about, so that’s actually a big deal,” Hayes says. “But otherwise, it’s the moral credibility they have, the respect that people have for their leadership.” Finances, youth also likely on agenda: planning committee chair Perry says the 2025 meeting of General Synod is budgeted for a gross of $923,000, with about $390,000 in recoveries, i.e. reimbursed costs. Normally General Synod pays the cost of meals and sometimes accommodations for members and then recovers those amounts from dioceses, which make up the majority of reimbursements. General Synod also receives fees from exhibitors and sponsors who contribute to the cost of hosting the event, though this makes up a much smaller share of recoveries. The result is a net cost of about $500,000 for General Synod, Perry says. The final cost may come in under that estimate due to lower travel costs, he adds, with many members travelling by train rather than by air. By comparison, the 2023 meeting of General Synod cost $645,082 with $320,990 in recoveries, according to audited financial statements, for a net cost of $324,092. Guests at General Synod will include The Episcopal Church’s former presiding bishop, Michael Curry, in lieu of current Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe who is unable to attend; Bishop Marinez Santos Bassotto, primate of the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil; and a range of ecumenical and interfaith representatives. Canon Laura Walton, chair of the General Synod planning committee, highlights other agenda items such as financial planning discussions, youth programs, a farewell dinner for Nicholls and installation of the new primate. Members will vote on resolutions using electronic handheld devices. With just two years since the last General Synod rather than the usual three years, planning committee members faced great pressure to get things done, Walton says. Dividing tasks among four subgroups helped, she says. Walton hopes their planning will result in a meeting that is much more than items on an agenda. “We’re really focused on creating a General Synod that is not all business and will give some people time to meet, interact, learn, and understand how General Synod works,” she says.

[World Council of Churches] In 1925, Archbishop of Sweden Nathan Söderblom gathered more than 600 church leaders from 37 countries for a historic meeting in Stockholm. A century later, church leaders from around the globe will again convene in the Swedish capital, to commemorate the 1925 meeting and the achievements of the ecumenical movement ever since. Hosted by the Christian Council of Sweden, the ecumenical week will aim to strengthen common efforts for peace, reconciliation and Christian fellowship. With more than 60 public seminars, worship services and cultural events on the agenda, the event is expected to attract large audiences. It will take place Aug. 18-24 in different locations around the Swedish capital. Just as in 1925, the worship service in the Storkyrkan cathedral will be attended by the king and queen of Sweden, along with the prime minister, government officials, church leaders and international guests. Read the entire article here.

[Episcopal News Service] A disciplinary hearing panel in the Diocese of Dallas has recommended an Episcopal priest there be deposed, or removed from the priesthood, after concluding he had violated church canons by engaging in financial misconduct and allegedly defrauding his congregation. The Rev. Edward Monk also has been charged separately with three felonies in a pending criminal case alleging he stole more than $300,000 from St. John’s Episcopal Church in Corsicana, Texas, where he had served as rector since 2003. Police initiated their criminal investigation in July 2024, when St. John’s members reported suspicious financial activity. The Diocese of Dallas also launched an investigation into the matter. Monk also had served as chair of the Nashotah House Theological Seminary’s board of directors until he resigned in August, after church leaders and police began investigating the theft allegations. The diocesan investigator reported finding that Monk had opened unauthorized bank accounts and routed money to other accounts, obtained a credit card under a church treasurer’s Social Security number and “used this card to conduct a multi-year spending spree that included personal trips.” Monk, who denied any wrongdoing, faced a diocesan hearing panel in the disciplinary case on May 27 under the process outlined by The Episcopal Church’s Title IV disciplinary canons for clergy. A day later, on May 28, the hearing panel filed its order, saying Monk had violated church canons and standards of conduct and was guilty of “conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy” for six financial infractions, including the misappropriation of church funds for personal use. The panel’s recommendation that Monk face deposition was forwarded to Dallas Bishop George Sumner, Monk and the complainants. Each will have opportunities to respond to the order before Sumner acts on the panel’s recommendation. Navarro County court records indicate that Monk’s criminal case has been scheduled for a trial in October.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee will convene 18-24 June in Johannesburg, South Africa for important encounters on the Pilgrimage of Justice, Reconciliation, and Unity, particularly with South African churches. 

In 1925, archbishop of Sweden Nathan Söderblom, gathered more than 600 church leaders from 37 countries for a historic meeting in Stockholm. A century later, church leaders from around the globe will again convene in the Swedish capital, to commemorate the 1925 meeting and the achievements of the ecumenical movement ever since. 

Each day we awaken to the news of more deaths resulting from armed conflicts around the world. The violence of war and civil unrest is escalating along with the alarming death toll. The loss of life is staggering with 233,597…

The post There is no Peace appeared first on United Church of Christ.

[Religion News Service — Washington, D.C.] A group of clergy, faith-based protesters and disability advocates were once again arrested in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on June 2 while praying against the Republican-led federal budget bill, including a wheelchair user who said potential cuts to health care programs would imperil her future. Suvya Carroll, a disability rights advocate who was born with cerebral palsy, was among those who prayed in the rotunda, asking that God would “not let this happen,” referring to the bill. She spoke clutching a Bible as fellow demonstrators laid hands on her shoulders, calling on the Almighty to allow her and others “to be free to live, be healthy, well and safe.” Carroll was arrested by Capitol police a few minutes later, along with eight other demonstrators, according to police. Faith leaders arrested with her included activist the Rev. William Barber II, president of Repairers of the Breach; the Rev. Della Owens, pastor of Saint James Christian Church in Wilson, North Carolina and Barber’s wife; and the Rev. Franklin Golden of Durham Presbyterian Church in North Carolina. Most of them, including Carroll, were placed in handcuffs as they were led away by police. In an email, a Capitol police spokesperson said the nine people arrested were charged with “crowding, obstructing and incommoding.” It was the third time since April 28 that faith-led “Moral Monday” protesters were arrested while protesting the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” House Republicans passed last month that is currently being debated in the Senate. Republican leaders such as House Speaker Mike Johnson and Russell Vought, office of management and budget director, have said people either won’t lose Medicaid coverage under the bill or will only lose it if “they choose to do so.” But last month, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office concluded the bill will reduce federal Medicaid spending by $723 billion and ultimately increase the number of uninsured people by 7.6 million. That discrepancy was brought up repeatedly at the Moral Monday rally on June 2, organized by Repairers of the Breach outside the U.S. Supreme Court building. Taking place before the arrests, activists and faith leaders from Christian, Jewish and Muslim traditions decried the GOP-led budget and potential Medicaid cuts. “They don’t want us to talk about the particular people who will die,” Barber told the crowd. “They say they’re cutting waste, fraud and abuse. So what they’re saying is, it’s wasteful to lift people, it’s fraudulent to help people live, and it’s abusive to make sure people have health care. Well, the truth is, it’s a waste not to do it — it’s fraudulent not to do it, and it’s a form of political abuse.” Barber also commented on remarks made by Sen. Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican, during a recent town hall. After an attendee shouted the budget bill will lead to deaths, Ernst replied, “We all are going to die.” Ernst, a Lutheran, later doubled down on her comments, posting a video to social media in which she sarcastically mocked her detractors and invited people to embrace “my Lord and savior Jesus Christ” in order to have “eternal and everlasting life.” “(Ernst) said something about wanting to introduce people to Jesus,” Barber told the crowd on Monday. “Well, let me introduce you to Jesus: the Jesus I know never charged a leper a co-pay.” Disability rights activist Sloan Meek, who is also a worship leader, addressed the crowd using an automated voice device. “Without Medicaid support in my home and my community, I will be forced into a nursing home to spend the rest of my life in a hospital bed until I die,” Meek said. Carroll also addressed the crowd. “I want the people that are trying to take this away from us to put yourself in our seats and understand what we have to go through as people with disabilities,” she said. “It is not easy waking up with our bodies in pain.” She added: “When we have a procedure that needs to be done, how will that be paid for?” The Rev. Tony Larson, co-moderator of Presbyterian Church (USA), a denomination that sponsors the Moral Mondays effort, also led a prayer. “We ask that through this gathering, we might wake people up to the immorality of this bill, that we might help our leaders remember that they have a special obligation to the poor and the least among us,” Larson said. Sponsors of the event included the National Council of Jewish Women, Masjid Muhammad, the National Council of Churches, Fellowship of Reconciliation, the AME Zion Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Presbyterian Church (USA), the United Church of Christ, Indivisible and the National Urban League. The protest comes days after news broke that Barber is facing a legal battle with his ex-wife, Rebecca Barber, who has asked a judge to investigate whether the pastor used funds from Repairers of the Breach, the nonprofit he founded, to make alimony payments. Barber has denied the allegations, and representatives for Repairers of the Breach have said they believe the allegations “to be baseless.” The group has launched an internal investigation into the matter. Demonstrators at the Moral Monday rally seemed unmoved by Barber’s legal situation. One speaker, the Rev. Brian R. Thompson, bishop of the AME Zion Church’s Mid-Atlantic District, made a joking reference to controversy surrounding Barber, saying someone had warned him not to be associated with the pastor. But the AME Zion bishop appeared to dismiss the suggestion, adding that the broader cause is a moral one that transcends any one individual. “I ain’t standing with Bishop Barber — I’m standing with Jesus,” Thompson said.

When war forced Diana and her family to flee their home in Ukraine, they arrived in Moldova with little but hope for a safe future. Thanks to the CWS winterization project and the resilience of a mother’s love, they’re building a new life—one step and season at a time.  A Family Uprooted by War  When war broke out in Ukraine, ... Read More

The United Methodist Church’s top court strikes down the Mississippi Conference’s process to let churches leave with property after the denomination’s disaffiliation policy expired.