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A briefing note summarising the difference between the personal, public and political dimensions of Islam in the UK

Rev. James Bhagwan, general secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches, released a pastoral letter, “Let Peace Govern Security,” that reflects on seeking peace through relationship, dialogue, dignity, and care for the whole community of creation.

A global 3-month online training programme of the World Council of Churches (WCC), the Eco-Diakonia Youth Hub, held a closing celebration on 17 July, during which young people received certificates of completion and reflected on the most meaningful aspects of the programme, which was designed to equip young leaders to advance climate justice and diakonia initiatives in their local contexts.

URJ President Rabbi Rick Jacobs issued a statement in response to Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s recent comments regarding Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

[Anglican Communion News Service] Several Anglican churches worldwide are preparing to observe the Feast of Creation in Christ this September. In July, the Church of England General Synod approved the addition of the observance into its liturgical calendar. The Feast of Creation in Christ, also known as the Season of Creation, is a worldwide ecumenical Christian observance that begins with the Day of Prayer for Creation on Sept. 1 and ends with the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology, Oct. 4. Several Anglican churches have already begun to institute the festival, including The Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. The growing momentum for this new liturgical festival was reflected in a resolution that passed during the Anglican Consultative Council, which met June 28 – July 4 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The resolution encourages the adoption of the Feast of Creation in Christ in member church calendars, while also leaving space for churches to draw on ecumenical materials or develop their own. Read the entire article here.

[Episcopal News Service] Washington National Cathedral has announced it will host the funeral for South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Olin Graham next week, including a tribute from President Donald Trump. The service is scheduled for 2 p.m. Eastern July 28. A native of Central, South Carolina, Graham served as U.S. senator from the state from 2003 until he died unexpectedly on July 11 at 71 from an aortic tear caused by cardiovascular disease. At the time of his death, Graham served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, Appropriations Committee, Environment and Public Works Committee and as chair of the Budget Committee. “The cathedral is proud to serve as a sacred space where people gather during times of both celebration and sorrow. We believe that God is present with us in all of life’s moments,” the Very Rev. Randolph Marshall Hollerith, dean of Washington National Cathedral, said on the cathedral’s web page announcing Graham’s funeral details. “Our prayers are with Senator Graham’s family at this difficult time.” Hollerith will officiate the service. Before he was elected to the U.S. Senate, Graham was a U.S. representative for South Carolina’s 3rd District and a South Carolina state representative. He also served in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a colonel in 2015. Graham, a Southern Baptist, never married and had no children. His younger sister, Darline Graham Nordone, was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to serve the remainder of Lindsey Graham’s term, which ends in January. Graham was campaigning for reelection in November before his death. The service will be by invitation only. The public is invited to watch the service online via the Washington National Cathedral’s YouTube channel.

The 2nd International Congress on Human Mobility will take place in Panama from 22–24 July, bringing together academics, church leaders, faith-based organizations, and international partners to address the challenges of human mobility in Latin America and the Caribbean. The World Council of Churches (WCC), along with its member churches and partners, will contribute to the event.

Rev. Frank-Dieter Fischbach, general secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), was part of a World Council of Churches (WCC)-led delegation that made a solidarity visit to Ukraine on 14-17 July. He took time to reflect on his impressions of the people he met, and on why a solidarity visit can ultimately be an expression of apostolic truth. 

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal leaders are offering support for Haitian immigrants in their communities while calling on Congress to help protect them from deportation after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to end federal protections. In Springfield, Ohio, which became a flashpoint during the 2024 presidential campaign over the city’s growing Haitian migrant community, some Haitian families had begun attending worship services at Christ Episcopal Church. The Rev. Michelle Boomgaard told Episcopal News Service that attendance noticeably declined after the Supreme Court’s June 25 ruling. Some Haitians already had legal residency through other federal programs. Others have begun applying for asylum or green cards, which should again provide them with at least temporary protection from deportation, Boomgaard said, as returning to their home country isn’t a safe option. “At the end of the day, the situation in Haiti has not improved.” More than 300,000 Haitians had been allowed to live and work in the United States for years under a program known as Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, that has long been supported by The Episcopal Church. It allows the Department of Homeland Security to declare certain foreign nationals protected from deportation if they would face hazards in their home countries from conditions such as natural disasters, civil unrest or other violence. Those protections were thrown into limbo when the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s history of racist and discriminatory statements toward Haitians and other immigrants did not negate the presidential authority to end TPS protections for those immigrants. The ruling also directly affects a small group of Syrians, and it could make it easier for the Trump administration to roll back TPS for immigrants from 10 other countries. The Episcopal Church’s Washington, D.C.-based Office of Government Relations released a statement on the day of the ruling, lamenting that “families who have built their lives, raised children, worshiped, worked and contributed to their communities in the United States may now face the loss of work authorization and protection from deportation.” On July 16, the Office of Government Relations’ Episcopal Public Policy Network followed up with an action alert calling on Episcopalians to urge their representatives in Congress to enact legislative protections for Haitian families. It warned that Haiti “continues to face a profound humanitarian and security crisis” with “widespread violence, kidnapping, political instability, and limited access to basic services.” “Conditions remain so dire that many advocates, faith leaders, and humanitarian organizations have warned that there is no realistic opportunity for a safe and orderly return for Haitian nationals at this time,” the action alert said. On July 2, New York Bishop Matthew Heyd joined a grew of faith leaders in speaking in support of TPS a vigil outside a federal building in Manhattan. In addition, a group of about 20 Episcopal bishops launched a letter-writing campaign this month calling on Senate leaders and the Department of Homeland Security to renew TPS for Haitians. “They are our friends, they are our neighbors, they are our congregants, they are our clergy,” Massachusetts Bishop Julia Whitworth said July 20 in a Facebook video about the bishops’ effort. “This is personal, and it’s urgent.” General Convention has long supported immigration policies that treat migrants with dignity. In 2015, it approved a resolution pledging to support Temporary Protected Status “for all immigrants fleeing for refuge from violence, environmental disaster, economic devastation, or cultural abuse or other forms of abuse.” The Diocese of Haiti is part of The Episcopal Church’s Province II, and Haitian immigrant communities in some American cities have grown large enough to support sizable Episcopal congregations, like St. Paul’s et Les Martyrs d’Haiti in Miami, Florida,  and the Haitian Congregation of the Good Samaritan in New York City. In Elizabeth, New Jersey, Haitians helped revive the dwindling congregation of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church, according to a Religion News Service report, though fear of federal immigration authorities this year has kept many families away. When Trump first took office in 2017, his administration tried to end protections for many of those with TPS, saying the status never was intended to offer immigrants permanent residency. Then during the 2024 presidential campaign, Trump specifically targeted the growing Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, using dehumanizing and false rhetoric about Springfield residents eating pets. After returning to office in January 2025, Trump has prioritized sharp reductions of both legal and illegal immigration and now is following through on efforts to end TPS for Haitians and other immigrant groups. An estimated 15,000 Haitian migrants had moved to Springfield since 2020, seeking jobs that local leaders were desperate to fill in the city’s ongoing effort to reverse decades of economic decline. In a small city with a population of less than 60,000, that sudden influx of new residents strained resources and services, though a network of Springfield organizations, including Christ Episcopal Church, coordinated efforts to better welcome these newest neighbors and ease their transition into the local community. Since the Trump campaign’s attacks on those Haitian migrants, “folks in Springfield definitely feel like they have a target on their backs,” the Rev. Michelle Boomgaard, rector of Christ Episcopal Church, told Episcopal News Service in an interview this month. Now, the church and other community groups are scrambling to assist those who fear deportations after losing TPS. “These are human beings and neighbors and friends and people we wave and say ‘hi’ to,” she said. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].

Ecumenical International Youth Day 2026 will be commemorated on 13 August under the theme “Creating Healing Spaces: R.E.S.T. - Restore, Empower, Strengthen, Thrive,” inviting young people, churches, and faith communities around the world to become active agents of healing, restoration, reconciliation, and hope.