Latest News

Dallas church hosts first anniversary celebration of United Methodist Church lifting restrictions for LGBTQ participation.

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expressed profound sorrow and concern over an aerial attack on the Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) hospital in Old Fangak, South Sudan, on 3 May. 

[Diocese of West Missouri] The Diocese of West Missouri ordained and consecrated the Rt. Rev. Amy Dafler Meaux as its ninth bishop on May 3 at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City. More than 600 people attended. Dafler Meaux, the former dean and rector of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, Arkansas, succeeds the Rt. Rev. Diane M. Jardine Bruce, who has served the diocese since December 2021 as bishop provisional. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe was the chief consecrator. He was joined by Bruce, Arkansas Bishop John Harmon, Missouri Bishop Deon Johnson, California Bishop Austin Rios and Bishop Susan Candea of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The diocese elected Dafler Meaux on Nov. 9, 2024, on the first ballot during its 135th Diocesan Convention, held in Kansas City at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral. “Over the last 18 months, I have witnessed the enormous capacity of our people to share the good news of Jesus Christ,” Dafler Meaux said. “From north to south and east to west, Episcopalians in this region of Missouri share the Gospel every day through radical acts of hospitality, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick and suffering, and bringing the reconciling word of God to our communities. I am excited, honored, and privileged to officially be yoked with them in ministry.”

[Church of England] The Bishop of London, the Rt. Rev. Sarah Mullally, who is the Church of England’s lead bishop for health and social care, has responded to the government impact assessments on the bill to introduce assisted suicide in England and Wales. The Department of Health and Social Care, together with the Ministry of Justice, published a main assessment and an equality impact assessment on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on May 2. Mullally said, “The impact assessment of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill makes for chilling reading as it highlights particular groups who would be put at risk by a change in the law, including those who are subject to health inequalities, and those vulnerable to domestic abuse. “It also sets out the financial savings of introducing an assisted dying service, through reduction in care costs, palliative and end of life care costs and state-provided benefits. “It is crude to see these cost savings set out in this way, and it is easy to see how numbers of this nature could contribute to someone feeling that they should pursue an assisted death rather than receive care. “Each human life is immeasurably more valuable than the money that may be saved through their premature death. “Every person is made in the image of God and holds an irreducible value that is worthy of care and support until the end of their life. “We must oppose any change in the law that puts the vulnerable at risk rather than working to improve access to desperately needed palliative care services.”

[Anglican Communion News Service] The Safe Church conference of Anglican provinces in East Africa took place April 30–May 4 in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by the Anglican Church of Kenya. Featuring local experts, testimony from survivors and panel discussion, the conference gathered bishops, clergy and laity from across East Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sudan. The theme of the conference was “Breaking the Silence: Restoring Dignity,” inspired by Proverbs 31:8-9: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.” In his opening words, the primate and archbishop of all Kenya, the Most Rev. Jackson Ole Sapit, said, “Our theme is not merely a conference slogan. It is a divine call: a call to repent, to reflect, and to reform. A call to speak where the church has been silent. A call to restore what has been trampled – the dignity of the wounded, the trust of the faithful, and the holiness of the sanctuary.” Bwibo Adieri, executive director of the Anglican Development Services Kenya and conference director, told the Anglican Communion Office, “The intentional and deliberate approach the Anglican Communion has taken to build the capacity for Safe Church at every level of her churches’ leadership has enabled this buy-in by the provinces in East Africa to address and prevent abuse. In Kenya, the investment from the very top – from our archbishop and including the whole House of Bishops – is set to transform the way the church handles safeguarding issues, particularly the prevention and mitigation of existing abuses. I want to see all churches across East Africa having a safeguarding policy and, importantly, implementing this in their churches.” One of the speakers, the Rt. Rev. Rose Okeno, bishop of the Diocese of Bukere in the Anglican Church of Kenya, affirmed Safe Church as central to mission in the East Africa provinces. She said, “Safeguarding is not an attack on the church: it is the fulfillment of her mission.” Mandy Marshall, director for gender justice for the Anglican Communion, who was invited to join the local organizing team, commented, “Safeguarding is central to the good news of Jesus. Implementing safeguarding policies, practices and procedures are critical to ensuring all who come into contact with our church and church workers are not only kept safe from harm but also can worship without fear. “The Safe Church Commission wants to see provinces and churches taking action and utilizing the resources of the commission and bringing it ‘home’ to their own provinces and dioceses. It is wonderful to see how the provinces in East Africa are responding to the challenge and embracing the principles, adapting them as needed for their own culture and context.” Find out more about the Anglican Communion Safe Church Commission.

[Diocese of Dallas] The Episcopal Diocese of Dallas on May 3 elected the Very Rev. Rob Price as the diocese’s bishop coadjutor. He was elected on the second ballot at a special convention that took place at St. Michael and All Angels in Dallas, Texas. Price currently is the dean of St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Dallas. In a statement to the convention, Price said, “Thank you for your faith and your trust in me.” He added, “I look forward to working with you all. Let me say clearly, I need your help to do this wonderful work.” He was chosen from a slate of three nominees, including the Rt. Rev. Fraser Lawton, assistant bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas; and the Rev. Bill Carroll, rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Longview, Texas, in the Diocese of Texas. “We give thanks for Bishop Coadjutor-elect Price and for the grace and faithfulness shown by all the nominees and their families, said the Rev. Perry Mullins, president of the Standing Committee. “Today is a joyful day for the Diocese of Dallas, and we are excited for the road ahead.” Dallas Bishop George R. Sumner expressed his gratitude to all three candidates for participating in the process. “I know that Dean Price will bring many gifts to the episcopal office and will prove well suited to the time into which we as a church now move,” he said.  “Keep praying for him and his family.” Pending consents, Price will be ordained and consecrated bishop coadjutor in September. He will serve in that role until Sumner’s retirement.

When I started to think about World Press Freedom Day (3 May) this year, my mind – and fingers on the keyboard – went first to the existential crisis facing the traditional media industry, battered as it is from so many economic, political, technological, and...

“No man is an island,” wrote John Donne, reminding us that we are all bound together — not by geography alone, but by the fragile, profound threads of our common humanity. That truth, so often spoken and lived by Pope Francis, echoed powerfully in St. Peter’s Square. “As the coffin was lifted, I gasped,” recalled […]

The post “The bells tolled — not just for Francis, but for all of us, connected by our common humanity” appeared first on WCRC.

The election for the 2025 World Zionist Congress has been a significant success for our 3 slates, representing the majority of liberal Jewry in the U.S.

Third Sunday of Easter Temple of Dirt The clay stretches and thins as it starts to take the shape of a bowl. Hands away, I slow the wheel down to have a look. Levered back against the wheel, getting a better perspective, I see it’s almost there. The bowl needs more volume, and the shape […]