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[Anglican Communion News Service] This Easter, the Anglican Communion is one of 12 Christian World Communions to issue a letter marking a joint celebration of Easter 2025 and the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea. ‘You are witnesses of these things.’ Luke 24:48 Dear brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world, Alleluia! Christ is risen! As representatives of 12 Christian World Communions, present in every nation on earth, we are moved and grateful to speak with one voice and one heart about our Lord’s resurrection, which we have witnessed and profess together. Together, from East and West, North and South, in this year of our Lord 2025, we have been given by God the great gift of a shared date of Easter. Devout Christians have prayed for generations that this may be possible. Though we have not yet achieved agreement on the date of Easter in perpetuity, we have no doubt that the Lord calls us to agreement, and unified witness, so that the world may believe (John 17:21). As a further summons, God in his mercy has enabled us this year to mark the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and its Creed. We are humbled and amazed that we can, on this Easter, profess together the fact that: On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. In the light of these gifts, we call upon the Holy Spirit to move our Communions to live and walk together, in obedience to the call of Jesus’ that all his disciples may be one. We hope to hear his ‘words’ anew, just as when he appeared to his disciples after his resurrection and ‘opened their minds to understand the scriptures,’ namely, that the Messiah must suffer and rise, ‘and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations’ (Luke 24:44-47). At this time of great political instability in the world, when so many live with fear, suffering, persecution, famine, and other forms of instability and vulnerability, we would seek together to be ‘witnesses of these things’ of God, accomplished by our Lord and Saviour (24:48). For this purpose, we pray over and over again with eager expectation and hope that we may all be one, ‘clothed with power from on high’ (24:49). May the Lord grant us his Spirit of cooperation and obedience, forgive us our sins, and use us as his instruments of reconciliation and healing in the world. And may God bathe our hearts and minds in the cleansing light of his resurrection from the dead. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! List of Signatories The Very Revd Fr Hrant Tahanian Ecumenical Officer Armenian Apostolic Church, Holy See of Cilicia The Right Revd Anthony Poggo Secretary General Anglican Communion The Revd Elijah Brown General Secretary & CEO Baptist World Alliance Tina Bruner General Secretary and Executive Director Christian Church and Churches of Christ Bishop Maximos of Melitene Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain Ecumenical Patriarchate The Revd Christoph Amstad Schuler Ecumenical Officer International Old Catholic Bishop’s Conference/Old Catholic Church The Revd Anne Burghardt General Secretary Lutheran World Federation The Revd Jørgen Bøytler Unity Board Administrator Moravian Church Worldwide Unity Board The Revd César García General Secretary Mennonite World Conference The Revd David Wells Vice-Chair Pentecostal World Fellowship Commissioner Jane Paone Secretary for International Ecumenical Relations The Salvation Army The Revd Reynaldo Ferreira Leão Neto General Secretary World Methodist Council

World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay expresses deep shock over recent attacks in North Darfur, Sudan, particularly the assaults on displacement camps in Zamzam and Abu Shouk, and the town of El Fasher.

Bishop Rubén Saenz sets a vision for the United Methodist mission at its first annual meeting since the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Faith & Leadership] On any given Friday or Saturday, when many churches might be empty, a steady stream of visitors heads to Holy Family Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas. Despite the bell tower and steel cross above the entry, guests may not initially realize they are in a house of worship. “Some people still enter and don’t know it’s a church,” said Chap Edmonson, Holy Family’s ministry operations director. That’s because these visitors are looking for art, and they’ve come to the right place as they enter the Lanecia A. Rouse Gallery. Inside, an attendant offers a guest book and materials about the current show. To the left, a bright, airy space is carefully curated with art. Narrow windows illuminate the gallery’s white walls and polished concrete floors. The nave rests just behind the welcome desk — and, as Edmonson explained — sometimes visitors, only after poking their heads through and seeing the waiting pews, ask if they are in a church. “It happens all the time,” he said, smiling. “And it’s really cool.” Edmonson encourages them to tour the building, since the artwork does not end with the gallery. Nine large abstract paintings by Rouse, the gallery’s namesake and the church’s artist-in-residence, grace the sanctuary, back hall and offices. The paintings were commissioned by the vicar, the Rev. Jacob Breeze, before there were walls for hanging them, when the congregation was just being planted and members met in living rooms to shape a vision. The goal was to create “a church for people without a church.” Read the full story here.

She’s long had the reputation as the Gospels’ bad girl, but the biblical account of Mary Magdalene is very different. United Methodists think her role as apostle offers lessons for today.

<article class="media media--image display--large"> <div class="image-container"> <div class="field field-media-image"> <img loading="eager" width="430" height="323" alt="Len Hofman visited the CRCNA offices in Grand Rapids in 2021." class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-04/Leonard%20Hofman.JPG?itok=4xt452Nt" /> </div> </div> </article> <br /> The former general secretary of the CRCNA passed away on April 11, 2025.

<article class="media media--image display--large"> <div class="image-container"> <div class="field field-media-image"> <img loading="eager" width="430" height="323" alt="Left to right: Cory Grim (worship leader), Pastor Scott Van Voorst, Jean Dyk (office administrator), and Gord Dyk (lay leader and president of the board)" class="lazyload" data-src="/sites/default/files/styles/default_mobile/public/2025-04/Cornerstone%20Prison%20Church%20staff.jpeg?itok=iNuHTiOO" /> </div> </div> <div class="field field-image-credit">Cornerstone Prison Church</div> </article> <br /> At its annual banquet, Cornerstone Prison Church marked its 20th year with memories from pastors and members through its history.

During a leadership summit held 9-11 April in Nairobi, Kenya, the World Council of Churches (WCC) offered a listening ear, accurate information, and a sense of solidarity for people living with HIV, who are facing a sudden lack of resources.

World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay extended greetings to all Jewish communities around the world on the joyous occasion of Passover. 

As the Easter calendar coincides this year for Western and Eastern churches, theologians, clerics, and ordinary Christians in Africa have viewed the occurrence as a boost for efforts towards Christian unity.