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[Episcopal News Service] The dioceses of Texas and Maine are leading Episcopalians in lamenting the human toll of two killings in a week by federal immigration officials, while calling for prayer and peaceful action in response to “holy rage” at the deadly government violence. On July 9, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who has lived in the United States for 35 years, was shot and killed during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas, while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, was searching for another individual. In a separate enforcement action July 13 in Biddeford, Maine, ICE shot and killed Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a Colombian immigrant who, relatives said, was living in the United States legally. Like Araujo, Guerrero was killed by gunshots fired into his vehicle, and it was not immediately clear if he was the focus of the ICE’s investigation. In response to public outcry over the shootings, the Trump administration said it would halt traffic stops by ICE. President Donald Trump later said the traffic stops should continue, as part of his administration’s campaign of mass deportations targeting both legal and illegal immigration. Texas Bishop Andrew Doyle, whose diocese is based in Houston, issued a lengthy pastoral letter in response to the killing of Araujo. “People in our country should not be shot for a civil immigration infraction. This is similar to being hunted, pursued, and shot for a misdemeanor,” Doyle said. Doyle added that Scripture teaches that Araujo, like all people, was made in God’s image. “Scripture will not allow us the convenience of dehumanizing another human being, for any reason,” Doyle said. “The Bible says, ‘The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.’” The killings of Araujo and Guerrero have been compared to the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in January during federal immigration enforcement operations there. Those killings of unarmed civilians sparked intense criticism of federal tactics, after the incidents were captured on widely shared videos. No video has yet surfaced of either of the two shootings this month, though witnesses have disputed official claims that the ICE officers were acting in self-defense. The Diocese of Maine, in a July 14 email message, acknowledged the “shock, outrage and grief” residents of Maine feel at the latest ICE killing. “Our hearts are with Guerrero’s family, community, and everyone grieving his loss, and we join the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, and other social justice organizations in calling for complete accountability,” the diocese said. It offered a prayer for both Guerrero and Araujo. “Even as we pray, at this point in our lives as Americans it is understandable to feel weary and despondent. But because we are also followers of Jesus Christ, we look to him for solace and strength,” the Diocese of Maine said. It invited Episcopalians who are feeling “the horror and holy rage of one of our community members being killed by ICE” to join immigrant advocates in a protest July 14 outside an ICE facility in Scarborough. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].

The Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians condemned the violence perpetrated against foreign nationals in South Africa. The circle also expressed deep concern for the profound mental, psychological, and physical suffering endured by those affected.

The United Methodist forum gives young delegates, youth leaders space to foster fellowship, focus on discipleship and imagine the future church.

Students from two academic courses of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Ecumenical Institute at Bossey visited the WCC headquarters in Geneva on 14 July.

For decades, Resonate Global Mission missionaries Abe and Elaine Lee have seen God transform lives through the “God’s Image” seminars they have led throughout Mexico and South America. Now they’re requesting prayers as they partner with church planter Pablo Lee to bring the seminars to a church plant in Hudsonville, Michigan. Iglesia Todas Las Naciones (All Nations Church) in Hudsonville is hosting a “God’s Image” seminar July 17-18 for members of the congregation and the surrounding Latino population. Through biblical teaching, guided reflection, small-group discussion, and prayer, participants explore God’s design for identity, relationships, and healing. “This seminar is a very good tool for Latin American Christians,” said Pablo, who experienced the impact of the ministry firsthand when he attended...

When the eight-month Hearts Exchanged learning journey comes to an end, a common, weighty question often arises for participants: What’s next? Reconciliation is a lifelong posture. Recognizing this, the Hearts Exchanged team is offering continued support to churches through Communities of Practice (CoPs) in partnership with Thriving Practices through Thrive and their grant from Lilly Endowment, Inc. These groups are designed to extend the learning journey by an additional one to two years, providing coaching, peer connection, and grant funding to help local congregations turn head-knowledge into long-term, transformative action, equipping them to build meaningful relationships with Indigenous neighbors. Liz Tolkamp, a regional connector for Thrive, will be a participant in a British Columbia-based CoP starting this summer. Looking at...

After a four-day, three-state 50th-anniversary tour, members of the gospel group The Singing Hims filed off the tour bus late in the day at Faith Community Christian Reformed Church in Wyoming, Mich. They were tired but pleased to have performed time-honored praise music to audiences in Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin as a way to celebrate five decades of singing their hearts out for God. While several chorus members have been part of the group for many years, two trace their participation to its beginning. One of them is Jack Ponstine, the group’s founder and director. He, in fact, organized the tour as a way to mark the span in which The Singing Hims have been performing in predominantly CRC congregations...

[Episcopal News Service — Rionegro, Colombia] Young Episcopalians from South American, Central American and Caribbean countries spent the second day of Evento de Jóvenes Episcopales, or EJE26, on July 14 engaged in prayerful reflection and participated in workshops on forgiveness and discipleship, as well as a discussion on leadership. These topics make up the theme of this year’s EJE gathering, which is taking place July 13-16 at De La Salle Casa de Encuentros here. On discipleship, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe quoted the parable of the pearl in Matthew 13:35-46 in his sermon during the morning Eucharist: “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” “You’re gathered here because you are disciples of Jesus. The Kingdom of God will come through you,” Rowe said. “You are the human treasure of such great value. … You are the pearls of great price.”  EJE is a gathering of youth and young adult Episcopalians from Province IX and the dioceses of Cuba and Puerto Rico, which are in Province II. Together, they celebrate Latino culture and youth empowerment. The event is styled after the Episcopal Youth Event, which has historically been held triennially in the United States. The first EJE gathering took place in 2019 in Panama City, Panama. Follow EJE26 on Facebook and Instagram using the hashtag #EJE26. Members of EJE26’s planning team led the workshops. During the morning workshop on forgiveness, participants shared how they personally define forgiveness. “Forgiveness, to me, means cleansing the heart,” one delegate said. “Forgiving others is what God wants because God wants us to love others as we love ourselves,” another delegate said. Some planning team members also gave testimonies explaining how they’ve had to forgive others. Sofia Manchego of the Bogotá-based Diocese of Colombia, for example, shared how she learned to forgive the people who’ve abused her. “I suffered. …I found God and over time I was able to forgive those who’ve hurt me and my family,” she said. The delegates were invited to write down their negative thoughts and feelings on a piece of paper and drop them into a bowl to symbolically “let them go.” “Forgiveness is a process. It takes time and reflection to analyze what hurt us,” Luis Jordy Arévalo Cunalata of the Guayaquil-based Diocese of Litoral Ecuador told the delegates. “Detaching from the past and letting it go is a step forward for healing.” During the discipleship discussion, the delegates were separated into smaller groups to complete discipleship-building activities. Members of one group, for example, answered a series of questions explaining what they would or wouldn’t do in certain situations, and discussed if their choices would keep them on a Christ-like path. “The lessons were about living, growing and multiplying in Christ – how one lives,” Gabriela Hernandez Richardson, a member of the EJE planning team from the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, told Episcopal News Service. The leadership workshop is scheduled for July 15. The Q&A discussion with Rowe and President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris focused on faith and leadership. Cecy Alomia and Gaby De Casto were their Spanish interpreters. Rowe said that fear is a natural feeling for leaders, and it’s possible to overcome it. “Leadership is a heavy weight, but the yoke of Christ is light,” Rowe told the delegates. Rowe also encouraged the young Episcopalians to follow their calling to serve the church. “Embrace it and follow it with everything you have,” he said. Ayala Harris explained the House of Deputies’ structure and its importance to The Episcopal Church. She encouraged everyone to consider running when they become eligible. “This is the perfect time to get young Episcopalians energized and excited about all the different ways that they can exercise leadership,” Ayala Harris told ENS in a July 14 interview. “I have noticed when I go to places and give a lecture on church governance, people love it and are interested, and it doesn’t matter what age they are.” Ayala Harris noted that Episcopalians as young as 16 years old can run to become a deputy or General Convention delegate in most dioceses. The House of Deputies also integrates high schoolers into its governance through the Official Youth Presence at General Convention. Two youth delegates from each of The Episcopal Church’s nine provinces are selected to serve each triennium.  The EJE26 delegates’ day was full of learning and reflection, and they also had opportunities to sing, dance, play games and befriend fellow young Episcopalians from other dioceses. “I’ve met many like-minded Christians here at EJE. Everyone is full of love and respect,” a delegate from the Episcopal Church of Cuba told ENS. “I’m having a wonderful time. I’m very grateful to be here.” -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at [email protected].

The United Methodist Church’s Upper New York and Susquehanna annual conferences approved a project to build a women’s dormitory in response to a pressing need for student housing.

Sara Speicher is the deputy general secretary of the World Association for Christian Communication and an advisor to the World Council of Churches (WCC) Faith and Science Working Group. She also works for the WCC with a focus on strategic advocacy communication in the field of digital justice and artificial intelligence. She reflects on the first Global Dialogue on AI Governance held in Geneva 6-7 July.