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La última sesión de escucha de una serie patrocinada por el comité de la Junta de Misión y Ministerio de la Iglesia de los Hermanos, que considera recomendaciones relacionadas con el futuro de la Conferencia Anual, está programada para el martes 3 de noviembre a las 2 pm (hora del este). El comité está estudiando

Dènye sesyon koute nan yon seri patwone pa komite Misyon ak Konsèy Ministè Legliz Frè yo k ap konsidere rekòmandasyon konsènan lavni Konferans Anyèl la pwograme pou Madi 3 Novanm nan, a 2 pm (lè lès). Komite a ap eksplore fòma pou Konferans Anyèl nan lavni epi li ta renmen tande sa ki ta ka

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church is approaching full compliance with payments of its diocesan assessments, which are the largest source of revenue supporting the churchwide budget. Each of the church’s 106 dioceses, after an exemption for its first $200,000 in annual revenue, is required to contribute 15% of the rest of the income to the wider church. Only five dioceses — Albany, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Florida and Navajoland — requested and received waivers from that requirement in 2026. The five previously had received assessment waivers for 2025 as well, as did New Jersey and Southwest Florida. Those two additional dioceses did not request new waivers for 2026 and are expected to pay their full assessments for the year. Full compliance from all dioceses would mean estimated assessment revenue of about $31 million in 2026, or nearly 65% of the church’s total $49 million in budgeted revenue. Every year, however, church officials plan for some dioceses to fall short, either because they are struggling under financial hardships or, in rarer cases, because they decline to pay their share. Executive Council, the church’s governing and oversight body between meetings of General Convention, voted at its Oct. 19 meeting to approve partial waivers totaling $285,000 to the five requesting dioceses in 2026. That is less than half the $582,000 in waivers approved a year ago. Financial hardship is typically seen as a valid reason for requesting waivers. They are also sometimes granted to dioceses that are gradually increasing their contributions after previously failing to pay their full assessments. The five dioceses that were granted waivers from paying the full 15% still have been asked to increase their payment rates for 2026, bringing them closer to compliance. The Diocese of Albany is now committed to paying a rate of 10%, while the Diocese of Florida has committed to 11.5%. Both dioceses previously had been paying lower assessment rates under former conservative bishops, who had been at odds with the wider Episcopal Church over some of its theologically more progressive stances, particularly toward LGBTQ+ inclusion. Colombia and Dominican Republic are two of the dioceses in the church’s Latin American Province IX that have struggled for years toward financial sustainability. Colombia received a waiver of $34,400, for an effective assessment rate of 1%, and the Dominican Republic received a $90,100 waiver, also putting it at 3%. Navajoland is a relatively new missionary diocese, established by votes of the 81st General Convention in 2024 and Executive Council in 2025. This month, it received an assessment waiver of $21,100 based on a 2026 assessment rate of 2.9%. The Diocese of New Jersey, which had been working to address past accounting irregularities, first received a waiver in 2024. A year ago, Executive Council granted it another waiver of $155,000 for an assessment rate of 11%, but this year it is paying the full 15%. A year ago, the Diocese of Southwest Florida was still recovering from Hurricane Milton, which hit in October 2024. It requested and received a waiver of $150,000 from its 2025 assessment and did not request another waiver in 2026. The only diocese that has not committed to paying the full 15% or requested a waiver for 2026 is the Diocese of Springfield, which encompasses the largely rural lower half of Illinois. In the past, it has followed an internal policy of leaving the question of assessments up to congregations – they decide what portion of their assessments to the diocese will be relayed to The Episcopal Church — which has produced an annual diocesan assessment payment well below 15%. Episcopal News Service sought comment from the Diocese of Springfield for this story, which will be updated upon receiving a response. The Episcopal Church has worked over the past several years to secure full assessment payments from nearly all of its dioceses and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. Some less resourced dioceses are not required to pay any assessments because they have reported diocesan income lower than the $200,000 exemption. Dioceses that don’t contribute at the 15% rate and fail to apply for or receive approval for waivers can be ruled ineligible from participating in churchwide grant programs for one year. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].

United Methodists continue evangelism efforts on the island nation, breaking ground on two new buildings for congregations in the north and west.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) on 30 October received a delegation from the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva for discussions on the contribution of churches and faith communities to public life and the shaping of a values-based international order.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) on 30 October met with Zoltán Tarr, Hungary's minister for Social Relations and Culture, to discuss the role of churches in democratic society, the renewal of the United Nations, and prospects for national dialogue in Hungary.

A Women’s Day Declaration on 26 October at the African and African Diaspora Conference, delivered in partnership with the Pan African Women’s Ecumenical Empowerment Network, recognized the conference facets of memory, resistance, faith, organizing, and collective action.

The Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) Working Group held its first meeting in Strasbourg (France) from October 21-25. The group was constituted by the JDDJ Steering Team to independently explore the reception of the JDDJ and the Notre Dame Consultation Statement (March 2019). The decision to establish an independent working group was […]

The post Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ) Working Group Gathered in Strasbourg, France appeared first on WCRC.

Bishop Rubén Saenz Jr. is making plans to care for Highland Park members who wish to stay United Methodist. In letters to both Highland Park lay leaders and congregants, he also maintained that this week’s congregational vote to cut ties with the denomination is not valid under church law.