Latest News

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe will join other leaders from across the Anglican Communion as part of an Anglican delegation attending a May 18 worship service in the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square inaugurating Pope Leo XIV as leader of the Roman Catholic Church. The inauguration service will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday. Other members of the Anglican delegation include Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell, Archbishop Thabo Makoba of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, Archbishop John McDowell of the Church of Ireland and Archbishop Leonard Dawea of the Anglican Church of Melanesia. Dawea, a member of the standing committee of the Anglican Primates’ Meeting, also serves on the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission and will lead the delegation. Bishop Anthony Ball, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the archbishop of Canterbury’s representative to the Holy See, also will attend. “The delegation will represent the prayers and support of Anglicans around the world as Pope Leo is inaugurated,” the Anglican Communion Office said in a news release. “The delegation will also embody the commitment of the Anglican Communion to walk in friendship and partnership with the Catholic Church.” The Anglican Communion is a network of 42 autonomous, interdependent provinces worldwide, including The Episcopal Church, each with historical ties to the Church of England. An Anglican delegation also attended the April 26 funeral of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square. Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected May 8 by the conclave of Roman Catholic cardinals. A native of Chicago, Illinois, the 69-year-old Leo is the first U.S.-born elected pope, though he has spent much of his career in ordained ministry outside the United States, including Peru. In 2023, Francis brought him to the Vatican, where he served as prefect of the church’s Dicastery for Bishops. The Anglican delegation will be hosted in Rome by the Anglican Centre, which has worked since 1966 to strengthen ties between the Anglican Communion’s provinces and the Roman Catholic Church. “On the day of his election, Pope Leo reminded us that Christ helps to build bridges with dialogue and encounter as we strive to be one people living in peace,” Ball, who also attended Francis’ funeral, said in the Anglican Communion Office’s news release. “At the Anglican Centre in Rome we renew our commitment to the ongoing dialogue between our traditions and our shared work, so that Christ may be known and glorified.” Bishop Anthony Poggo, secretary-general of the Anglican Communion, also issued a statement about the inauguration. “We pray for Pope Leo as he prepares for his inauguration,” Poggo said. “Along with representatives of other Christian world communions, we express our support and encouragement.”

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, announced May 13 it is selling its diocesan headquarters to a nonprofit founded partly by the diocese in the 1980s that in recent years has expanded its ministry of serving people experiencing poverty, hunger and homelessness. The nonprofit, New Bethany, was founded through a partnership with the city of Bethlehem and Cathedral Church of the Nativity. Since 2022, the diocese has allowed New Bethany to use space at Diocesan House in Bethlehem for volunteer housing, meeting rooms and offices. “New Bethany ministries was a vision of a reimagined Wyandotte Street where the spiritual and outreach needs of Southside Bethlehem and beyond would be embraced with the love of Jesus,” Bethlehem Bishop Kevin Nichols said in a news release announcing the sale. “In so many ways, this dream has been realized.” The two-story building includes more than 6,000 square feet of space. Transfer of the property’s deed to New Bethany is scheduled for late May, and diocesan staff will relocate to space in the adjacent Nativity Cathedral. Nichols declined for this story to specify the amount of the sale but told Episcopal News Service that New Bethany agreed to pay the appraised value of the property. Nichols also emphasized the productive conversations between his diocesan staff and the staff of the cathedral for shared use of its space. “We have really kind of walked into a new moment of collaboration,” he said. Taking ownership of the former diocesan headquarters “directly responds to New Bethany’s need for expanded facilities to carry out our mission and better serve our neighbors effectively,” New Bethany Executive Director J. Marc Rittle said in the diocese’s news release. “Although we have tripled our budget and doubled our staff to meet the increasing demand for our services, we are simply out of room to accommodate everyone. We are deeply grateful for the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem’s collaboration and vision in facilitating this acquisition.” The property transfer is the latest development in a time of change in the Diocese of Bethlehem, which is in the process of merging with the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. The two dioceses voted to reunify in October 2024 at their diocesan conventions. They are following a canonical process known as reunion because the two were once part of the same diocese. Under their current timeline, they expect to reunite on Jan. 1, 2026, as the Episcopal Diocese of the Susquehanna, named after the river that runs through the center of Pennsylvania. In February, the dioceses announced plans to experiment with a “sibling parish” program, connecting congregations from one diocese with counterparts from the other to help smooth the transition to one diocese by next year. Nichols also told ENS that he and Central Pennsylvania Bishop Audrey Scanlan plan to begin conducting congregational visitations in each other’s dioceses this summer. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.

<article class="media media--image display--large"> <div class="image-container"> <div class="field field-media-image"> <img loading="eager" width="430" height="323" alt="" class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2024-12/Resonate.jpg?itok=v7S8L4yJ" /> </div> </div> </article> <br /> “A new plan for a balanced budget prioritizes church planting and global mission while recognizing the need to live within current financial means,” says Resonate director Kevin DeRaaf.

<article class="media media--image display--large"> <div class="image-container"> <div class="field field-media-image"> <img loading="eager" width="430" height="323" alt="" class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-05/crc-news_2025-5-14_pastors-pray-in-portland.jpg?itok=2gGXGBU5" /> </div> </div> <div class="field field-image-credit">Photo courtesy of Rev. Peter B. Armstrong</div> </article> <br /> Pastors and others who gather to pray each week in the Portland, Ore., area are encouraged by God’s answers to their prayers.

<article class="media media--image display--large"> <div class="image-container"> <div class="field field-media-image"> <img loading="eager" width="430" height="323" alt="" class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-05/crc-news_2025-5-14_dreaming-of-revival-again.jpg?itok=-Miy6dOE" /> </div> </div> </article> <br /> Representatives of the Korean Ministers Association gathered in Wales recently for their annual general assembly and were inspired by history.

<article class="media media--image display--large"> <div class="image-container"> <div class="field field-media-image"> <img loading="eager" width="430" height="323" alt="A group of Hearts Exchanged alumni and participants gathered at the Crow Shield Lodge sugar bush for “on-the-land” learning." class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-05/crc-news_2025-5-14_on-the-land-learning.jpg?itok=Ib5SqosW" /> </div> <div class="field field-image-caption">A group of Hearts Exchanged alumni and participants gathered at the Crow Shield Lodge sugar bush for “on-the-land” learning.</div> </div> </article> <br /> Participants embraced their surroundings, braved elements of nature, and deepened their connection with Indigenous people, the land, and one another.

Mission work is “a critical part of who we are as United Methodists,” says the Rev. Cathy Stone.

Each Friday is a special day for 30-40 women without housing in Austin, Texas. That’s when they are treated to a spa day ministry hosted by First United Methodist Church.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) will convene a webinar in collaboration with the Faiths for Biodiversity coalition and the ecumenical Season of Creation team on 22 May at 13:00 CEST. With the title "Biodiversity Crisis: Faith Action" the online event coincides with International Biodiversity Day, bringing together faith leaders, Indigenous communities, and environmental experts to address the 69 percent average loss in wildlife species abundance documented since 1970.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) has finalized its 2025 curriculum, methodology, and study material, marking a significant milestone in preparations for this transformative global ecumenical formation program.