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[Anglican Communion News Service] Twenty-five new and recently consecrated bishops from around the world are gathering through Nov. 9 in Canterbury, England, to explore their calling as bishops within the Anglican Communion. Canterbury Cathedral, with support from the Anglican Communion Office, is hosting the annual “New Bishops’ Conference,” which began Oct. 29. The participating bishops represent 12 member churches and 13 countries in Africa, Asia, North America and Oceania. The program is designed to help the bishops learn from each other through discussions, reflection and sharing insights. It’s built around the Five Marks of Mission – tell, teach, tend, transform and treasure – and combines daily worship at Canterbury Cathedral with Bible study, teaching sessions, shared meals and conversation. Read the full article here.

The Connectional Table, which coordinates The United Methodist Church’s ministry and resources, affirmed the work of the Leadership Gathering. That’s significant because the Connectional Table can help give life to the gathering’s guidance.

[World Council of Churches] As the Global International Humanitarian Law Dialogue took place Nov. 3-4 in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Council of Churches, Caritas Internationalis and ACT Alliance presented a joint statement calling for respect for international humanitarian law. “Respect for international humanitarian law is built within our societies, through the values, institutions and relationships that shape them,” the Nov. 4 statement says. “It requires sustained commitment from political leaders, armed forces and every sector of society.” International humanitarian law, also known as the law of war or the law of conflict, is a set of rules that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict by protecting people who aren’t participating in hostilities. It also seeks to restrict and regulate the means and methods of warfare available to belligerents. Read the full statement here.

(Read the first installment of this story here.) On Friday evening of the Oct. 8-10 Wisdom in the Age of AI conference at Calvin University, keynote speaker Andy Crouch of Praxis invited participants to join in “Waking from our AI Dreams.” He began with a prayer of lament: “O Lord, are we losing the battle for AI? Our fantasies are racing ahead of us. Our tools no longer belong to us. They are shapeshifters, trained on the shifting shapes of our own sin, willed into being and knowing nothing real of love. They are powerful, but without the wisdom that comes from powerlessness, mortality, vulnerability, frailty. But humble us. Cause us, even when we are so far from you, to...

The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA) has launched a revamped media kit for its central agencies. The kit is designed specifically for local church communicators and administrative staff. Church staff and pastors juggle a variety of responsibilities each week as they prepare for Sunday services and support their congregations. Finding time to create graphics, write bulletin announcements, update websites, or edit videos can quickly become another task on an already lengthy to-do list. “We want to make it easier than ever for local congregations to share stories of how their denominational agencies are making a difference locally and globally,” said Dan DeKam, director of operations for the U.S. Ministry Board. The online resource kit provides ready-to-use, high-quality materials...

This article originally appeared on Dordt News , the news page of Dordt University. The Center of Advancement for Christian Education (CACE)—a vision of the Sid & Carol Verdoorn Foundation, Dordt University, and Christian school thought leaders for the promotion of Christian education at all levels of learning—has partnered with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) to help expand the reach of the Children’s Tuition Fund. The Children’s Tuition Fund (CTF) is a ministry of ACSI that partners with Christian schools, families, and contributors to facilitate tax-credit-based contributions that provide scholarship funds for students seeking a Christ-centered education. Ultimately, CTF connects tax-advantaged contributions with scholarship assistance, helping more families afford tuition at participating Christian schools. CTF currently administers scholarship...

Friends and colleagues remember the former leader of the United Methodist Commission on Archives and History as a “spiritual guidepost” and powerful preacher who helped history and faith come alive for new generations.

[Episcopal News Service] The American Cathedral in Paris has, for years, welcomed LGBTQ+ persons. But while the cathedral’s inclusivity was a given to the congregation, it was not always obvious to others in the community. That began to change in 2023, when the cathedral signed on as a Rainbow Initiative covenant congregation and leaned into awareness, updating the cathedral’s website to tell the church’s story of LGBTQ+ full inclusion in French and English, and to direct refugees to service providers. “It was that LGBTQIA-plus page that really put us out there. … the American cathedral was already an inclusive place, committed to full inclusion as an Episcopal Church cathedral,” Angelina Stelmach Blundell told Episcopal News Service. “Putting up those resources put us on the map for folks who would have otherwise never known about The Episcopal Church and how inclusive it is,” she said. That same year, for the first time, the American Cathedral participated in the Paris Pride March, carrying the Rainbow Initiative banner and handing out pamphlets, stickers, and a litany of love, an affirming and inclusive prayer that they had handwritten during Lent. “When you march in a pride march as a church with really affirming messages on your posters, on your banners, people are quite touched by it,” Stelmach Blundell said. In 2022, The Episcopal Church’s 80th General Convention adopted a resolution calling on the church to support LGBTIQ+ refugees and asylum-seekers through awareness and advocacy. The resolution resulted in Episcopal Migration Ministries’ Rainbow Initiative, which has since been integrated into its Migration Response Network. Following participation in the Pride Parade came the question: What’s next? In the early 2000s, as The Episcopal Church stepped up its LGBTQ+ advocacy, the cathedral’s gay members formed their own advocacy group. At that time, though the cathedral’s leadership supported LGBTQ+ members, the congregation did not. As one cathedral member said, “It was a very different time, more socially conservative.” Eventually, LGBTQ+ members were integrated into the congregation and, for various reasons, the group disbanded. About three years ago, cathedral member Hope Newhouse, an American woman living in France, discovered the Rainbow Initiative while visiting an Episcopal church during a trip to the U.S. When she returned to Paris, she shared what she’d learned with other members. They didn’t see how their small team could assist LGBTQ+ refugees, and there wasn’t an urgent need because state-run programs exist. Still, they wanted to be involved, and through discernment they landed on a need they could fill: “In France the thing most needed for LGBTQ+ people is something to show that we exist as a very affirming church. So, let’s do prayers,” Marie Bellando-Mitjans told ENS. Bellando-Mitjans, who is French, came to the cathedral after a long history with the Catholic Church, which, even in Paris, they said, still is conservative. “I turned 30, I was still not married, still not a mother and I was obviously hanging out with the gays. “We had a new priest, and the priest told me, ‘You should really come confess every week if you want to be part of this community.’ I won’t do that,” Bellando-Mitjans said. In France, and across Europe, LGBTQ+ rights are legally protected. Depending on the country and the region, however, society can be conservative on gender and sexuality. Therefore, there’s a real need for LGBTQ+-affirming spaces. The Rainbow Ministry at the cathedral meets on Wednesdays for Evening Prayer, fellowship and Compline. Moreover, it has led to growth in other ministries, such as the cathedral’s 20s/30s young adult fellowship, the Sandwich Ministry and Jazz Vespers. The cathedral identifies as an affirming and inclusive space, which has attracted newcomers, gay and straight. “It tells people who we are,” Kim Powell, the cathedral’s senior warden, told ENS. “Knowing that this ministry exists proves to them that our witness is for all people, and that alone has grown other ministries that are unrelated because it shows the wider welcome, that we love everybody,” she said – and, she added, it’s not posturing. Googling “inclusive Christian church Paris” renders the American Cathedral as the top result. “A number of people came to the Wednesday night Compline because of the query,” Stelmach Blundell said. Some people who came to the cathedral through the Rainbow Ministry have chosen to be baptized, confirmed or received at Pentecost over the past three years. “It always feels really special, wonderful, when people are able to integrate their whole lives, their spirituality and their lived experience, and all under the banner of being proud of who they are,” she said. “In my experience, for a lot of people, in some spaces you might be a closeted Christian, and in other places you might be a closeted queer; to be able to be both openly in a space that historically has been and is and continues to be associated with persecution and diminishment … It’s very powerful for people to reclaim who they are and be able to reclaim a space for their spirituality to express who they are.” Tim Buffet-Delure, born in France and raised nonreligious, but culturally Catholic in the United Kingdom, moved back to Paris two years ago. For a year he felt a bit lost, as he struggled to connect with Parisians and to find a community that reflected his values. Then, a friend invited him to the interdenominational American Church in Paris. When he Googled it, he found the American Cathedral. “And I thought, oh, this place looks really good; actually, it looks amazing. They have a rainbow ministry, a 20s/30s ministry,” Buffet-Delure told ENS. Finding the cathedral and its “radical welcome” – its affirmation and normalization of same-sex relationships  – was a wonderful moment in his life, he said. “I had never had that in my life, a space where I felt affirmed. In fact, before I came to the cathedral, it was very hard for me to talk about my identity, to be open about […]

Top prize awarded to "Jaffa, School of Peace," documenting a place of encounter and shared life in a reality marked by the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.

The Pacific Conference of Churches is calling on churches and faith communities across the Pacific to observe Break the Silence Sunday on 22 November, under the theme “Ensure Justice, Protect Survivors of Violence and End Impunity.”