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[Anglican Communion News Service] A delegation from the Anglican Communion will attend the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome on April 26, representing the prayers and condolences of Anglicans around the world. They will join with other Anglican leaders and pilgrims, and many other representatives from Christian world communions, travelling to Rome in mourning for the Holy Father. The Anglican delegation consists of senior clergy and lay leaders of the Anglican Communion and those who lead the fruitful ecumenical work between Anglicans and Roman Catholics at the international level. The co-chairs of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC) and the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCCUM) will both be present. The delegation will be led by the Most Rev. Marinez Bassotto, the archbishop of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil. She serves on the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion as the regional primate for the Americas. The five-person Primates’ Standing Committee helps to support the Anglican Communion pastorally and to represent the Communion ecumenically. Bassotto said, “It is an honor to give thanks for the amazing life and ministry of Pope Francis, who was the first Latin American Pope. He was a humble servant who embodied a message of peace and love. His example calls Christians to walk together in unity and to serve the poor and marginalised. At his funeral, we bring with us the prayers and tributes of Anglicans across the globe.” The Anglican delegation will include: The Most Rev. Marinez Bassotto, primate of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil and regional primate for the Americas. The Most Rev. Stephen Cottrell, archbishop of York and primate of England. The Most Rev. Philip Freier, co-chair of ARCIC and former archbishop of Melbourne. The Rt. Rev. Robert Innes, co-chair of ARCIC and bishop in Europe. Maggie Swinson, chair of the Anglican Consultative Council. The Most Rev. Hosam Naoum, vice-chair of the Anglican Consultative Council and primate of the Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East. The Rt. Rev. Anthony Poggo, secretary general of the Anglican Communion. Christopher Wells, director of unity, faith and order, Anglican Communion Office. The Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullally, bishop of London and dean of the province of Canterbury. The Rt. Rev. Anthony Ball, director of the Anglican Centre in Rome and the archbishop of Canterbury’s representative to the Holy See. Anglicans who minister locally in Italy will also be present, including the pastors of the two Anglican parishes in Rome. Ball said, “Anglicans give thanks for the life and ministry of Pope Francis. He was an example to Christians worldwide, unwavering in his dedication to the plight of the poor, the vulnerable and refugees. We are grateful for his work in building relations between Anglicans and Roman Catholics, as part of his deep commitment to working for the unity of God’s church. On behalf of Anglicans around the world, we offer condolences to our sisters and brothers in the Catholic Church.” Cottrell said of the late pontiff, “Pope Francis was a great pope — but above all, he was a faithful follower of Jesus Christ. ‘Blessed are the meek,’ said our Lord, ‘for they shall inherit the earth.’ In many ways, Pope Francis lived this truth. His humility and compassion touched hearts around the world. His example calls us all to care more deeply for the poor, the excluded and the vulnerable. The world mourns his passing and gives thanks for his life. May he rest in peace and rise in glory.”

World Council of Churches (WCC) central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm and WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay will attend the funeral of Pope Francis on 26 April in Rome.

As the world mourned the death of Pope Francis, voices from the World Council of Churches (WCC) fellowship brought forth special memories, deep gratitude, and heartfelt prayers. 

Two projects from the World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) have been nominated for a World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) prize. The finalists now go to public vote, with the opportunity to have them highlighted during a high-level WSIS summit in July. 

 Trigger Warning: This story contains descriptions of war, loss, trauma and death that may be distressing for some readers.   Brothers Faheem, Samir and Mohamed* were children when in 2004 they fled genocide in Darfur, Sudan, making the arduous trek across the Kaja Valley border to Chad on foot and by donkey. Their pursuers, the Janjaweed (which means “devils on horseback” ... Read More

The 2025 edition of "Working Together,” an annual gathering designed to foster deeper collaboration between the World Council of Churches (WCC) and specialized ministries, will convene 28-29 April outside Geneva, Switzerland, to enhance programmatic work, planning, and reporting mechanisms related to the WCC Strategic Plan 2023–2030.

The World Council of Churches participated in the 58th session of the United Nations Commission on Population and Development.

[Church of England] Churches hoping to build affordable homes for their communities on pockets of land they own – or as part of plans such as rebuilding parish halls– are being invited to apply for grants to pay for expert advice from a new $4.25 million fund. Funding of up to $33,000 toward the cost of architect, consultant and other professional fees needed to assess the feasibility of housing proposals on church land, will be supported through the Church of England plan with some grants contributing to the cost of navigating the planning process. The national initiative aims to help parishes and dioceses work towards achieving the goals set out in the Coming Home report, from the Archbishops’ Commission on Housing, Church and Community. The landmark study, published in 2021 by a team of housing experts and church leaders, called on the Church of England to lead by example in working to solve the housing crisis. The funding comes from an overall grant of $5.6 million over five years to help dioceses and parishes in building homes on their land as a response to the housing crisis. A newly formed Church of England Housing Project team, led by Beki Winter, formerly of the Housing Justice charity, is now actively seeking parishes interested in, or already working on, developing homes that address the needs of their communities. “Many parishes have issues with their buildings or property, but don’t always realize that these problems could be opportunities to provide some housing,” she said. “For example, an outdated church hall could be rebuilt to include a few flats above it, or a surplus car park could be redeveloped to provide some social homes. There are many creative ways to use church land or property to provide housing for people in need, while improving community facilities or bolstering parish finances.” The grants program runs alongside expert guidance for Parochial Church Councils that are interested in exploring how they could manage their property differently and provide homes for those in need. Richard Sudworth, the Church of England’s director of faith and public life, said, “This housing initiative is a simple response to a biblical mandate to God’s people towards justice: where a true fast involves bringing the homeless poor into our house (Isaiah 58:7), and where serving Christ demands that we welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35).” A 60-year-old parish hall site at St Martin’s Church in Fulwood, Preston, has been developed into 14 affordable homes and a new energy-efficient parish center, providing just one example of how churches could contribute to helping solve the housing crisis. Project manager Canon Andrea Titterington said, “The St. Martin’s chapel/parish center project fulfills twin objectives of the Church of England – to use its land to provide good quality, affordable housing and to offer community space for fellowship, service and worship.”

Under the theme, “Mission in the Contexts of Empire,” the World Council of Churches journal International Review of Mission examines issues of Christian mission and empire in the history of key events being marked in 2025 and the mission systems, assumptions, mindsets, and practices they created. 

[Episcopal News Service] The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina, has announced that a multi-year, $330,800 grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services authorized in 2024 has been withdrawn. A news release from the Murray Center said the money would have been used for a new staff position and the development of new exhibitions, programs and educational curriculum that would have helped the center reach more people. The center, housed in the Murray Family Home, is dedicated to promoting the life and legacy of the Rev. Pauli Murray, a pioneering attorney who fought against racial and gender discrimination. In 1977 Murray was the first Black woman to be ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church. They died in 1985. Born Anna Pauline Murray, they shortened their name to “Pauli” after college to reflect a less-gendered identity. General Convention added Murray to the calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts in 2018; their feast day is observed on July 1. The center’s grant was among those designated for African American history and culture made through the institute. On March 14, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that terminated the institute’s work. The Institute for Museum and Library Services is an independent federal agency that supports libraries, archives and museums in all U.S. states and territories. Its website says it awarded $266 million in grants and research funding to cultural institutions in 2024. The American Library Association has said that cuts to the institute’s funding also put public libraries at risk. The Murray Center said that the termination of its grant “is included in a devastating wave of federal disinvestment from museums, cultural spaces and libraries across the nation” and that the termination notice says that “[the] grant is no longer consistent with the [IMLS’s] priorities and no longer serves the interest of the United States and the IMLS program.” The loss of this federal funding follows the removal in March of Murray’s biography from the National Park Service website about the Murray Family Home, a National Historic Landmark, “due to their queer and transgender identity,” according to the center. “It is clear that the federal government is making a targeted, intentional effort to erase the histories and contributions of Black people, queer people, women and other marginalized groups from the historical record,” Angela Thorpe Mason, the center’s executive director, said in the release. She added, “The notion that the Rev. Pauli Murray’s lived experience as a Southerner, and work as a Black, gender non-confirming civil, women’s and human rights activist is against national interest, and essentially un-American, is abhorrent and indicative of the violent federal censorship the center has been navigating over the course of the last month.” Jesse Huddleston, chair of the center’s board, said, “We will not stop. Our assignments are clear, and our work continues. …We have overcome much and have come so far, not just by faith but also by the cooperative actions of countless people, rooted in a shared understanding that the legacy of Pauli Murray must be preserved and amplified, despite every oppressive attempt to render it invisible.” — Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.