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Seattle, WA—Today, three national and local faith-based refugee-serving agencies and nine individuals won a preliminary injunction in the case of Pacito v. Trump. The ruling came in the first lawsuit challenging President Trump’s Executive Order (EO) suspending the U.S. refugee resettlement program (USRAP), as well as the efforts by the Trump Administration to decimate USRAP by withholding critical, congressionally-appropriated funding ... Read More

[Episcopal News Service — Kansas City, Missouri] The Episcopal Parish Network’s 40th annual conference is underway as Episcopal clergy and lay leaders come together to learn from each other and share best practices for creating vigorous ministries and congregations. “I think every year there’s always something new to learn or something to take home, something to be and someone to be inspired by,” the Rev. Peggy Lo, rector of St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, and president of Episcopal Parish Network’s board of directors, told Episcopal News Service. “There’s so much going on in the church and lots to explore.” Nearly 700 Episcopal clergy and lay leaders churchwide are gathering at the Westin Kansas City at Crown Center here for the Feb. 25-28 conference. This year’s theme, “Together in Hope: Leading With Purpose,” is intended to inspire Episcopalians to be productive leaders during times of transition, both in the church and society.  Formerly known as the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes, the Episcopal Parish Network is a national, membership-based organization of clergy and lay leaders representing more than 250 parishes of all sizes and budgets. The network offers peer-to-peer online education and other leadership initiatives throughout the year. Its conference is the largest annual Episcopal gathering. Joe Swimmer, EPN executive director, told ENS that the organization and annual conference focus on local ministries. “I’m most enthusiastic to see how resources that come from the churchwide structure or from dioceses enable parishes and cathedrals to thrive,” he said. “Church is family … and I want The Episcopal Church to thrive so that we can have the impact within society that we should.” The conference officially kicked off on Feb. 25 with the Episcopal Preaching Foundation lunch, followed by a pre-conference session, with topics ranging from effective church communications to endowments and finance. Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe is scheduled to participate in a keynote conversation with Eric Motley, deputy director of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and chair of the Chapter at Washington National Cathedral, on the afternoon of Feb. 26. On the topic “Vision for Our Future,” they will look at innovative models of governance, collaboration and ministry to address necessary structural changes. The goal is to ensure The Episcopal Church remains animated and pertinent to a rapidly evolving secular world while compassionately responding to contemporary global challenges, according to the program.  The first full day of the conference, Feb. 26, will start with one final pre-conference session. The Rev. Fadi Diab, rector of St. Andrew’s Anglican/Episcopal Church in Ramallah, West Bank, Palestine, and the Rev. Ranjit Mathews, canon to the ordinary in the Diocese of Connecticut, will lead a keynote conversation on “Hope in the Shadow of Power: Leadership for the Sake of the Gospel and the World.” They will discuss how Episcopalians can be constructive leaders amid times of stress, anxiety and fear-inducing transition through a biblical lens. In all situations, Michael Sullivan, president and CEO of Kanuga Conference and Retreat Center, a nonprofit Episcopal camp and conference center in Hendersonville, North Carolina, and former president of EPN’s board of directors, told ENS that successful congregational leaders must be resilient.  “What is your ability to be agile, to address the situation – not just to maintain the status quo, but to see opportunities that situations bring? How do we as a church bring the Gospel in these places of darkness? Each place of darkness can have different characteristics, so how we do that in context is really important,” Sullivan said. The first series of workshops will begin following Diab’s and Mathews’ keynote conversation. Topics vary, covering multiple aspects of leadership, such as data-driven leadership transition planning and reimagining parish property. After the second round of workshops on the morning of Feb. 27, Bob Kendrick, president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, and William Mattox, a board member of The Village Square, a community-based civic organization in Tallahassee, Florida, will lead a keynote conversation on “Building Meaningful Conversations and Community: Lessons for the Church from Civil Society and the Ballpark.” They will share how Episcopal leaders can overcome adversity and build community, connection and resilience. A keynote conversation on “Data, Faith, and Resource Allocation in the Modern Church” will take place on Feb. 28 featuring Ryan Burge, a political scientist and professor at Eastern Illinois University; the Rev. Molly James, interim executive officer of General Convention; and Matthew Price, senior vice president of research and data for Church Pension Group. They will explain the importance of demographic data and trends and how The Episcopal Church can use them to make decisions that will foster proper resource allocation, clergy development and congregational growth. “What is the algebra of the church? I think that as we move into this new era for the church, those are the kinds of metrics that people in our vestries are going to want to know and dive in on,” said Adam MacDonald, director of development of St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, New York City, and co-chair of the conference’s planning committee. “As a church staff person, I’m going to want to be able to report on those metrics.” The Very Rev. Andrew McGowan, dean and president of Berkeley Divinity School and McFaddin professor of Anglican studies and pastoral theology at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, will lead the final keynote conversation on “Shifting Dynamics, Changing Landscapes, and the Future.” He will discuss the realities of declining membership in traditional churches and the cultural shifts that impact religion’s role in modern society. Karen Kraycirik, co-chair of the conference’s planning committee and chief operating officer of Christ Church Cathedral in Houston, Texas, told ENS that the planning committee knew when it began program preparation 10 months ago that participants would arrive at the conference with different emotions and needs. “We are at a time in which the United States and the world are undergoing a lot of […]

Despite the suspension of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, CWS remains committed to supporting refugee and immigrant families. Through essential services in CWS local offices—ranging from legal aid and housing assistance to medical support—CWS continues to provide a lifeline for newcomers in need. For more than 75 years, CWS has stood alongside refugees and newcomers, working in partnership with communities, ... Read More

In a letter to Pope Francis, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and WCC moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm offered sincere prayers for his rapid recovery and renewed health in these coming days. 

Amid a news cycle filled with stories that can cause overwhelm and disorientation, the season of Lent will begin next week on March 5. Sharon Fennema, Join the Movement curator and storyteller, described how many of the movement-makers she has…

The post Lent 2025 resources offer nourishment, challenge, and encouragement to dig deep   appeared first on United Church of Christ.

On February 25, the Western District of Washington heard oral arguments in Pacito v. Trump, the first lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s refugee ban executive order. Following the hearing, the judge issued a preliminary injunction from the bench blocking the administration’s indefinite refugee ban and funding freeze. In the ruling, U.S. District Judge Jamal Whitehead said that the administration’s refugee ... Read More

In the latest installment of “On My Mind Today,” the new blog written by UCC General Minister and President/CEO the Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson talks about the plight of relocating families due to political conflict, economical unrest, and climate migration.…

The post Thompson’s ‘On My Mind Today’ explores the ‘risk’ of relocating the displaced in an ever-growing inhospitable world appeared first on United Church of Christ.

The Pension Boards-United Church of Christ, Inc., announced the sudden and unexpected passing of its President and CEO Brian R. Bodager on Feb. 15. Bodager had recently announced his departure from the organization just a few weeks prior on Feb.…

The post Remembering Brian R. Bodager, former President and CEO of the Pension Boards-UCC appeared first on United Church of Christ.

Since 1933, with Franklin D. Roosevelt’s swift response in helping a struggling U.S. economy soon after removing his hand from the inaugural bible, the first 100 days of a new presidency has become an important harbinger for a nation. The…

The post A faithful response to the first 100 days: Online advocacy resource page now available appeared first on United Church of Christ.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) submitted a comment on 21 February to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on the court’s draft policy on environmental crimes.