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In a pastoral letter on the death of Pope Francis, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay and WCC central committee moderator Bishop Prof. Dr Heinrich Bedford-Strohm expressed both deep sorrow and unwavering hope upon the passing of Pope Francis on 21 April. 

As the World Council of Churches (WCC) marked the 12th anniversary of the abduction of Metropolitans Paul Yazigi and Youhanna Ibrahim on April 23, “our hearts remain heavy with longing and prayer,” said WCC general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay. 

As World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay visited Taiwan to attend the 70th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan, he shared reflections on transitional justice. 

[Episcopal News Service] April 22 is Earth Day, and many Episcopal congregations and ministries are observing the day by organizing and participating in various creation care-themed events through the coming weeks, including recycling collections, festivals, educational activities and more. “Now is not the time for The Episcopal Church to either falter or step away from our love and passion for God’s creation, rather it is a time for prophetic, visionary action,” the Green Caucus of The Episcopal Church said in a written statement for Earth Day 2025. Episcopalians can learn more about the church’s support for the environment and public health here. The Episcopal Church’s Creation Care ministry also offers Earth Day 2025 resources on its website. Anyone participating in an Earth Day event is encouraged to share prayers, photos and stories on social media using the hashtags #EpiscopalEarthDay, #EarthDay2025, #CreationCare and #EpiscopalClimate, or via email with creation@episcopalchurch.org. About 20 million Americans observed the first Earth Day in 1970, helping to launch the modern environmental movement. It led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Water and Endangered Species acts. These laws and the EPA’s regulatory oversight addressed many environmental concerns of the time — pesticide usage, oil spills, toxic waste dumps, pollution resulting from agriculture and industry. Environmental regulations have reduced pollution and contamination in some areas. Meanwhile, global dependence and investment in fossil fuels continue to dominate the energy sector over renewable sources. At the same time, temperatures continue to reach record levels, resulting in more frequent extreme weather events, including heatwaves, hurricanes, severe rain events, increased flooding and wildfires. Additionally, humans’ exponential increase in plastic production and use over more than a half century has contributed to a worldwide pollution crisis, killing millions of animals every year and dumping 12 tons of plastic waste into oceans every year. Today, Earth Day is said to be the largest secular observance in the world. “Recognizing that the church and global affairs are in times of transition and uncertainty, The Episcopal Church can continue to be a beacon of hope for our congregations and communities,” the Green Caucus said in its statement. The Green Caucus is an independent voluntary organization dedicated to the advocacy, monitoring and implementation of creation care and creation justice initiatives and resolutions passed by General Convention and Executive Council. “We celebrate all the actions The Episcopal Church has taken for over 50 years to preserve and protect God’s creation, and the Green Caucus urges The Episcopal Church to implement creation care resolutions passed by General Conventions and subsequently funded.” The following is a list of some Episcopal ministries and affiliates, dioceses and parishes hosting Earth Day events. Check online for additional events in your area. All events listed are free and open to the public unless otherwise specified. All times are local. Diocese of Chicago — Eco DioChicago, a creation care group in the Diocese of Chicago in Illinois, will share how it’s engaging churches and communities in environmental work at 6 p.m. via Zoom. The group will explain how individuals and congregations can also engage in environmental work. Click here to join the Zoom meeting. Davis, California — The Episcopal Church of St. Martin will host an Earth Day gathering on April 22 at 7 p.m. via Zoom. The Rev. Pamela Dolan, rector of St. Martin’s and dean of the Diocese of Northern California’s Wingfield Deanery, will lead the gathering and share the importance of caring for creation and how participants can help. Click here to join the Zoom gathering. Diocese of Newark — On April 22 and 27, the Community of St. John the Baptist in Mendham, New Jersey, will ring its bells and pray or meditate for 427 seconds. That number represents the global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration of 427 parts per million as measured by the Kneeling Curve, a daily record maintained by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego. Earth’s carbon dioxide levels are significantly higher than pre-industrial levels and continue to increase, leading to more frequent and devastating extreme weather events. Diocese of California — Between now and April 27, congregations throughout the San Francisco-based Diocese of California are participating in the California Interfaith Power and Light’s Faith Climate Action Week. This year’s action week theme is Grounded & Growing: Planting the Seeds for Change. The 2025 faith climate action tool kit includes information on the importance of trees and how deforestation, wildfires and other climate disruptions threaten their extinction. The tool kit also includes prayers, activities for children, group discussion questions and other resources. Cincinnati, Ohio — On April 27 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer’s creation care team will collect items listed for reuse on the Cincinnati Recycling and Reuse Hub’s website from the church’s parking lot. Listed items include binders, real corks, egg cartons, eyewear, fabric, clean and dry garden pots, greeting cards, batteries, hangers, non-power tools, office supplies, Styrofoam and prescription bottles with labels removed. Austin, Texas — St. David’s Episcopal Church’s environmental guild is hosting an Earth Day celebration 8:30-11:30 a.m. April 22. The celebration will feature sustainable garden information, environmental resources, advocacy information, exhibits from Barking Dog Ranch and the Refugee Collective Farm, children’s activities and more. Seward, Nebraska — On April 27 from 12:30 to 4 p.m., St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church will host an Earth Day festival, which will start with a brief worship service. Volunteers from the Fontenelle Forest Raptor Recovery will give a presentation featuring live raptors for families. Festival participants will also learn how to properly plant trees and meet animals from Blue River Pet Rescue. The festival will include a bake sale, storytelling, activities for children and more. Garden City, New York — The Diocese of Long Island will host the “Fight for Earth” Day Retreat and Spring festival on May 3 from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Mercer School of Theology. The free event will focus on climate action, justice and community. After breakfast, […]

“…And also with you” is the response on Sunday mornings and on occasions where the peace is “shared” or “passed” as a part of the liturgy. These are important words which are expressed as we extend a handshake, a hug,…

The post Peace Be With You… appeared first on United Church of Christ.

[Religion News Service] As more than a billion Catholics mourn the death of Pope Francis, cardinals around the world are preparing to travel to Rome to begin the solemn tradition of choosing a new pontiff. And when the prelates gather at the Vatican in the coming weeks to elect a new Bishop of Rome, Francis, who died at age 88 on April 21, stands to have an outsize impact on the vote. That’s because, unlike some of his predecessors, Francis has appointed the overwhelming majority of clerics who can cast a ballot in the conclave — namely, members of the College of Cardinals who are under age 80. He crossed a crucial threshold in September 2023, when he finally appointed enough voting-eligible cardinals over the course of his papacy to constitute more than two-thirds of voting members in a conclave, the margin required to elect a pope under the current rules. And according to an analysis by Religion News Service, as of April 21, of the 135 members of the College of Cardinals eligible to vote, 108 — 80% — were appointed by Francis. An additional 16.3% were appointed by Pope Benedict, and only 3.7% were tapped by Pope John Paul II. By comparison, when Francis was elected pope in 2013, 57.9% had been appointed by his recently retired processor, Pope Benedict. An additional 42.1% were appointed by Pope John Paul II. The current electorate is also more geographically diverse than in years past. In 2013, for instance, Italian cardinals alone made up nearly a quarter of voting members at the conclave, but they only constitute 12.6% of those eligible in the coming conclave. Meanwhile, prelates hailing from Asia expanded from 8.8% in 2013 to 17% today, and representatives from Africa have also increased their numbers from 8.8% to 13.3%. Outside of Italy, Europe has roughly maintained its influence, representing around 28% of the conclave in 2013, compared to around 26.7% today. North America has lost ground, dropping in representation from 17.5% to 14.1%, while South American prelates have slightly increased their numbers under Francis, the first Argentinian pope, rising from 11.4% to 13.3%. How these changes will impact the vote remains to be seen. Francis’ 12-year papacy was marked by a focus on the poor, immigrants and the effects of climate change, and he has tended to select like-minded cardinals. But cardinals aren’t the same as members of Congress with specific party loyalties, and voting outcomes can sometimes be difficult to predict. It’s also possible some of the numbers could shift in small ways before voting begins, as past conclaves have seen some surprise last-minute changes. Even so, whoever becomes the next pope will be chosen by a group largely hand-selected by Pope Francis himself.

This Eastertide, the United Church of Christ remembers the Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell and the Rev. Dr. Stuart Campbell Haskins, Jr., two individuals whose lives and ministries exemplified the barrier breaking and renewing love of God, and who left…

The post Breaking barriers and forging loving partnerships: Two servants of God are remembered appeared first on United Church of Christ.

Tim Rowlands, head of Evangelical Alliance Wales and lead pastor of Festival Church, shares the extraordinary shifts he is witnessing of people coming to faith in his context

The Rev. Julia L. Brown has a love/hate relationship with this time of year. “I dislike the rain and the allergies, but I love the new growth we see all around. What’s brown is turning green,” she said. “We are…

The post Getting down and dirty in the soil: Rural congregation discovers ‘life has the last word’ appeared first on United Church of Christ.