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The Watchword for the week: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! Revelation 5:12 This is the day that the Lord has made, We will rejoice and be glad in it. God is worthy of our praise and thanksgiving. We offer shouts […]

The updated Catechism for the Moravian Church in America was introduced in 2021.  Researched and developed by the Interprovincial Faith & Order Commission, the updated Catechism is intended to be a summary of the Christian faith, to be used for the instruction of confirmands and new members of the Moravian Church. This catechism is not […]

Filipino communicators are learning new ways to reach people through social media.

At a time when financial responses to the climate crisis lean heavily on market-based models, faith-based organizations are raising a prophetic voice. During a side event at the United Nations Economic and Social Council’s Financing for Development Forum on April 29, they challenged the dominant “Wall Street climate consensus” and urged a shift toward public, […]

The post Justice Over Profit: Faith-Based Organizations Challenge Wall Street’s Climate Finance Model, Call for Reform at UN Forum appeared first on WCRC.

Stan Dueck will retire as director of Formation Leadership for the Church of the Brethren, effective July 31.

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of New Jersey’s Episcopal Community Services will host its annual Sunday campaign, a day dedicated to raising awareness of designated social justice issues and galvanizing congregations to volunteer, donate money or spread awareness, on May 4.  The campaign is held every first Sunday of May. This year’s theme is “Building on a Firm Foundation,” focusing on the ongoing refugee and immigration crisis. “We in the diocese are appalled by what’s happening to migrants. … Anybody who looks like they might be Hispanic can be rounded up and taken away without due process of law, including infants who are American citizens and people who have judicial orders permitting them to stay because of credible fears of being tortured if they return to their home countries,” Rosina Dixion, chair of Episcopal Community Services’ advisory council and prayer committee, told Episcopal News Service. Since beginning his second term in January, President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders restricting immigration to the United States, including the asylum process, and increasing security along the U.S.-Mexico border. In his first 100 days back in office, ICE has arrested 66,464 undocumented immigrants and deported 65,682, though many other immigrants who have been arrested and deported were in the United States legally. In March, hundreds of Venezuelan migrants – many of whom were legally in the United States – were arrested and sent to a maximum-security prison in El Salvador that has been criticized for alleged human rights abuses. The Trump administration has alleged the illegally detained migrants have ties to the Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua. However, many of the migrants’ families and lawyers insist they have no gang ties, and documents show that about 90% of them have no U.S. criminal record. Many have disappeared from the U.S. detainee tracking system. Episcopal Community Service members have been distributing red cards to immigrants that describe their legal rights ahead of the campaign. They also have been providing churches information to learn how to participate in immigration justice work as a congregation and individually, as well as liturgical resources focusing on justice for marginalized and displaced people. “ECS Sunday is really to celebrate the outreach throughout the diocese, and we try to balance charitable giving with advocating for justice. We take the source and the symptoms of oppression and try to stamp it out wherever we can,” Dixion said. “ECS Sunday is one way to remind people that we’re prioritizing our work with immigrants because of the current situation. That seems to be the biggest attack on Gospel justice right now.” The first ECS Sunday campaign launched in 2021. Since then, Episcopal Community Services has used campaign donations to award $479,000 in grants to 37 ministries throughout the diocese. St. John’s Episcopal Church in Little Silver is one of ECS Sunday’s 24 founding congregations. The Rev. Tammy Young, St. John’s rector and a member of Episcopal Community Services’ advisory board, told ENS that she plans to use ECS Sunday’s special liturgy during Sunday worship. Her homily, based on the story of Paul’s conversion from Acts 9, will address how anyone can make a positive difference in their community and that everyone is called by God to salvation.  “We like to think that salvation is a one-way ticket to heaven, but that’s not what biblical salvation is,” Young said. “Our role in advocacy – in seeing need and responding to it – we must teach people to stop being afraid each other, take a chance and go out and start bringing healing to people.” Episcopal Community Services has provided parishes materials to use to promote ECS Sunday so that the campaign and immigration justice can be incorporated into their May 4 worship services in some way. Money donated to the campaign will fund various outreach ministries throughout the year, including feeding and housing initiatives. Dixion said Episcopal Community Services is hoping to raise $125,000, with $75,000 for the grant budget and $50,000 for additional expenses. The grants “are designed to expand existing compassion and justice ministries of congregations and make new ones possible,” according to Episcopal Community Service’s website. Young said St. John’s congregation donates money to Episcopal Community Services throughout the year rather than strictly on ECS Sunday. Most recently, St. John’s donated $1,000 at the beginning of 2025. The church also has been an ECS Sunday grant recipient and used the money to build a community vegetable garden that will help feed nearby pantries and ministries. The garden’s “grand opening” is June 1, when New Jersey Bishop Sally French is scheduled to visit. “It’s our co-mission with God to make this world the way he intended it to be, that everybody has access to resources to take care of themselves and their families,” Young said. “ The Rev. Marshall Shelly, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Spotswood and vice president of Episcopal Community Services’ board of trustees, told ENS that having a designated campaign day allows the organization to focus on one theme for the year, maximize positive impact locally and further encourage participation. “Having an ECS Sunday puts our fundraising and advocacy efforts to the forefront of people in the pews, so they understand that this is an ongoing thing. It invites people to partner with us as congregations, as households and individuals, and across the region. We get people to really connect to the mission and the vision of it,” said Shelly, who also is a member of the advisory board and previously served on the Diocese of New Jersey’s Task Force on Refugees and Resettlement. This year, “we are encouraging people to advocate for those who are sojourners in the land and helping to welcome all to a place of refuge and rest.” Congregations that participate in ENS Sunday will be given a virtual medallion on their websites to show their commitment to supporting immigration justice and other forms of social justice. Episcopal Community Services […]

After more than two years of visioning and planning, the long-held dream of creating a dynamic, connected network for the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey alumni and ecumenical partners became a reality.

In an effort to combat climate change, participants at the California-Nevada Summit on Fossil Fuel Divestment approved a resolution that will now go before annual conference voters.

Washington, D.C.—In response to a recent heinous proposal in the House of Representatives by Republican lawmakers, Christine Lemonda, Senior Director Children’s Services, issued the following statement “The proposal to levy massive fees on potential sponsors of unaccompanied children is nothing less than a policy of family separation. These kids are fleeing violence, persecution, and desperation and should be swiftly released ... Read More

The United Church of Canada’s strategic plan report reveals ambition for impact, using resources to support the church and transform communities and the world.