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Join the Evangelical Alliance for a gathering in Bedford

While in Washington, DC on Ash Wednesday, the 44th day of the current administration, I made the time to meet with UCC clergy serving in the Potomac Association before leaving for my home. We were present on Capitol Hill to…

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Senior adults say intergenerational home sharing is “a win-win.”

Moderator Carmen Lansdowne connects the transformative power of Easter with the prophetic vision of Isaiah 65:17.

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Florida Standing Committee is calling for the election of a diocesan bishop, nearly two years after the last election was negated amid divisions within the diocese under the former bishop and churchwide concerns about the election process and the bishop-elect. Florida’s standing committee announced March 31 that it has scheduled a special meeting of the Florida Diocesan Convention for June 14 to adopt a nominating process, rules and procedures for seeking and electing the diocese’s ninth bishop. The standing committee’s tentative timeline would allow for an election in late summer or early fall 2026 and the bishop-elect’s consecration in early 2027. The announcement follows a period of healing and discernment among members of the Jacksonville-based diocese involving a series of conversations across difference. Those conversations, which are ongoing, have been facilitated by the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, the former Diocese of El Camino Real bishop who is trained in conflict mediation. The process was not intended specifically to enable a new bishop election, though diocesan leaders previously indicated healing would be necessary before a new election could be held. “We feel like we’re ready. There’s been lots of conversations over the last year and a half or so,” the Rev. Sarah Minton, the standing committee president, said March 31 in an interview with Episcopal News Service. “It’s time. We are meant to operate with a bishop.” The diocese has been without a diocesan bishop since the October 2023 retirement of former Florida Bishop John Howard, who had served for nearly 20 years. Howard, known as one of The Episcopal Church’s more theologically conservative bishops, had drawn criticism from more progressive leaders in the diocese, particularly for his resistance to LGBTQ+ inclusion. Howard now faces potential disciplinary action under the church’s Title IV canons for alleged discrimination, as well as a separate complaint alleging financial impropriety. Those cases are scheduled to go before a hearing panel, starting April 30, unless an accord is reached with churchwide leaders beforehand. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, who took office last November, said in a February statement he is attempting to negotiate a disciplinary accord “that promotes healing, repentance, forgiveness, restitution, justice, amendment of life and reconciliation,” citing canonical language. Such an agreement, if reached, also would need the approval of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops. Under Howard, tensions in the diocese began rising to the surface in 2022 when the diocese twice tried to elect his successor. In both elections, the diocese chose the Rev. Charlie Holt as its next bishop, but those elections were successfully blocked by objections filed by some Florida clergy and lay leaders, leaving Florida unable to consecrate a new bishop. Holt has since become rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Jacksonville. Gray-Reeves’ work with the Diocese of Florida has included multiple convocations, a clergy conference, a clergy day and a day of prayer, the standing committee said. In addition, retired Georgia Bishop Scott Benhase agreed to serve Florida as a part-time assisting bishop with help from retired New Jersey Bishop Chip Stokes. In January 2024, Gray-Reeves released a summary of her initial listening sessions and dozens of letters lamenting a “culture of acrimony and distrust” in the diocese. Some letters raised concerns about diocesan leadership under Howard. Others identified perceived bias and exclusion relating to LGBTQ+ persons, as well as women and people of color. “A few letters reflected upset and disappointment in the outcome of the [bishop] election process,” Gray-Reeves continued, both from those who thought Holt should have been consecrated and those who objected to his election. Holt had fallen short of receiving consent from the churchwide majorities of bishops and standing committees, as required by the church’s canons. In September 2024, at the latest diocesan convention, some members backed a resolution urging the Florida Standing Committee to launch a new bishop search. That measure was tabled to allow more time for “further healing and strengthening.” “The continued success of this process will reveal the best election timing to the Standing Committee,” the standing committee said at the time in a statement to ENS. Minton told ENS this week that the additional time has given the standing committee more confidence that the diocese is ready now to seek a new bishop. She emphasized that concerns about the election process have been addressed with updates to the diocese’s canons and policies ensuring greater transparency. Before the special convention on June 14, the diocese will release a draft of proposed rules and procedures, which will be debated and approved by delegates. This also will be the first time the diocese is following a new process for determining voting rolls. Canonically resident clergy who are active in Florida congregations automatically qualify to vote, while those without cure, such as retired clergy or those living outside the diocese, must register by April 15. “As we enter this pivotal time for our diocese, may we be united in spirit and steadfast in prayer,” Minton said March 31 in her message to the diocese announcing the special convention. “We humbly ask that you join us in lifting up this initiative to the Lord, believing that he will lead us with wisdom and bless our work for his glory.” – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.

Scholar Ted Campbell has edited a book for devotional reading of early Methodist hymns. Each of the 126 hymn texts is followed by a short commentary from Campbell.

[Anglican Communion News Service] On March 27, the Anglican Communion raised South Sudan’s plight at the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations in Geneva, emphasizing the human rights of women in the country, which is again on the brink of war. With high poverty levels, large refugee movements, inter-ethnic communal violence and endemic corruption, South Sudan – the world’s newest country – is standing on a precipice. Those who suffer most are usually women and girls, and so the Anglican statement spoke out against the gender-based violence, sexual violence used by armed groups and the forced abductions that plague South Sudanese society. In his statement to the UN, the Rev. Glen Ruffle, the Anglican Communion’s UN representative in Geneva, highlighted the work of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and the Mothers’ Union in challenging systemic patriarchy, alongside their work to give women livelihoods, opportunities and equal access to justice. Commenting afterward he said, “The work of our churches is inspired by Jesus, who raised up the weak and protected the most vulnerable. Women and girls are impacted the most by the conflicts and poverty, so we are calling on the world to help states like South Sudan, where things are so fragile.” The Anglican statement called on South Sudan’s leaders and the world’s states to commit to implementing the peace agreements, strengthen prosecution of gender-based violence, build microfinance and literacy programs for women and girls, and work with the South Sudan Council of Churches. Here is the text of Ruffle’s statement: The Vienna Declaration remains a major achievement for human rights, recognizing the dignity of each person, which we believe reflects the image of God in them, but rights mean little when the world allows atrocities against women and girls to continue. As an example, 14 years ago, the world welcomed the birth of South Sudan, yet today women and girls continue to be abducted, raped along ethnic lines, subjected to sexual exploitation by captors and gang raped. Although there have been some improvements in prosecutions of gender-based violence via mobile courts, there remains in most cases impunity to these crimes against humanity, with sexual violence still used systematically by armed groups. The Episcopal Church of South Sudan, the Mothers’ Union, parts of the Anglican Communion, alongside many other churches and organizations, are working to challenge the systemic patriarchy, power imbalances and the under-representation of women, as well as reconciling communities and advocating for the poorest. To protect human rights across the whole country, particularly women’s rights, we call on South Sudanese leaders to: Recommit to implement the revitalized peace agreement, Work with the South Sudan Council of Churches to reduce tensions and violence, Strengthen the prosecution of gender-based violence; and Encourage microfinance and literacy opportunities for women and girls. We urge states and South Sudan’s leaders to commit to reduce the escalating tensions, which, should violence return, will impact women and girls the most.

[Diocese of Edinburgh] The Rt. Rev. John Armes, bishop of the Diocese of Edinburgh in the Scottish Episcopal Church, is in Amman, Jordan, for the Summit of the Anglican-Lutheran International Commission on Unity and Mission. That event is taking place March 28 to April 3. The summit will bring together ten pairs of senior church leaders from the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran World Federation whose jurisdictions are twinned with another in their respective partner’s province. Armes will focus on the Diocese of Edinburgh’s links with the Diocese of Espoo in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Bishop Kaisamari Hintikka of Espoo and Armes will report on the link between the two dioceses and their hopes for the future. Many national churches in the Anglican Communion and the Lutheran World Federation are in full communion with each other. The summit will explore the agreements that support this, and the implications for global communion and the path to Christian unity. Through the Porvoo Communion, the Scottish Episcopal Church has been in full communion with the Lutheran churches of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Estonia and Lithuania since 1994. The summit will also explore the theme of baptism, and members will visit Al-Maghtas, or Bethany Beyond the Jordan, which is one of two sites traditionally associated with the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Rev. Detlev Knoche recently retired as director of the Ecumenical Centre of the Protestant Church in Hesse and Nassau and of the Evangelical Church of Kurhessen-Waldeck. He took time to reflect on his inspirations, people along the way, and the importance of journeying together. 

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended condolences to His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark Coptic Orthodox Church, upon the passing of His Eminence Metropolitan Pakhomious, Metropolitan of Beheira, Matrouh, and the Five Western Cities, and Abbot of St. Macarius of Alexandria Monastery in Mount Al-Qalali.