Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service] There was a moment during the recent Friendship Camp in suburban Denver, Colorado, when “the whole room dropped into this space of reverence,” the Rev. Lauren Grubaugh Thomas told Episcopal News Service. It occurred during the campers’ daily time of meditation and prayer. A 12-year-old boy from the local mosque led his faith’s call to prayer in Arabic. It marked an opportunity at the camp for Muslims to practice their religion — and for campers from other faiths to learn about the diversity of all religious experience. “You could just feel the energy in the room shift,” Grubaugh Thomas said, and even the youngest of the camp’s cohort of kindergarteners through eighth graders snapped to attention. Grubaugh Thomas is an Episcopal priest who launched a new worshipping community known as Holy Companion about three years ago in Sterling Ranch, south of Denver. This year, Holy Companion developed plans for the interfaith Friendship Camp with another new worshipping community, the Highlands Ranch Islamic Association. The four-day youth camp drew participants and volunteers from a variety of other faith traditions, as well as the Interfaith Coalition of Douglas County. Friendship Camp, held June 22-25 at Grace Presbyterian Church, was supported by a $40,000 grant from The Episcopal Church’s United Thank Offering. The success of this inaugural event is already planting seeds for expansion in the coming years. Organizers, initially planning on 25 campers, easily reached capacity with 34, and Grubaugh Thomas said they hope to sign up as many as 60 children for next year’s Friendship Camp. “Our children are in school with peers of many faiths, and no faith,” Grubaugh Thomas said. Friendship Camp’s goals are both to provide children with fun enrichment activities in their own faiths and to raise their awareness of religious pluralism in their community and the wider world — to “create a space for learning how to intentionally practice respect and curiosity.” At least seven distinct religious faiths were represented at this first Friendship Camp, including Judaism, Buddhism and Brahma Kumaris, a form of Indian meditation. The structure of the camp was partly based on programming developed by the Interfaith Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. Each daily session ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The day started with an opening ceremony in the church. The campers were then divided into “practice groups” based on their faith traditions, so that they could participate in faith-specific activities, such as learning new prayers or meditations. For other activities, the campers formed religiously diverse groups based on their ages to learn about different religions’ teachings on four themes: gratitude, courage, forgiveness and care of nature. Each day, the age-based groups rotated to a different themed activity led by the more than 30 volunteers. The children ate lunch together and also had opportunities to play games outside on the church’s lawn before returning for closing ceremonies. Sister Rida Zafar of the Highlands Ranch Islamic Association said her community appreciated Friendship Camp as a safe space for children to have fun while learning about their neighbors. “From the daily opening ceremony, to shared lunches, team building games and STEAM [science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics] activities, everything was crafted precisely and wonderfully to help teach and encourage practice of shared values of gratitude, forgiveness, courage and respect for nature by children of all faiths,” Zafar said in a news release about the camp. The UTO grant helped pay for the time Grubaugh Thomas and other organizers put into planning the Friendship Camp, as well as hiring a documentarian to produce a short video about the camp that will help with next year’s fundraising and camper recruitment. UTO announced its latest round of grants last month, awarding nearly $1 million to support 25 projects in the United States and worldwide, including the Friendship Camp. Religious pluralism is something Episcopalians respect and value, “but we actually don’t have a chance to practice it most of the time, beyond mere tolerance,” Grubaugh Thomas said. Activities like Friendship Camp can encourage people to share and talk about different religions in a more affirming way. Plus, the activities were designed to be plenty of fun for the kids. “We had campers going home telling parents, ‘This is the best camp ever,’” Grubaugh Thomas said. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].

[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].

[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].

[Episcopal News Service — Rionegro, Colombia] “¡EJE veintiséis! ¡EJE veintiséis! ¡EJE veintiséis!” “EJE veintiséis,” Spanish for “EJE26,” are the words Episcopal youth from Latin America shouted as they greeted Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, President of the House of Deputies Julia Ayala Harris and other church leaders on July 13 here at De La Salle Casa de Encuentros. Their jubilant shouts and choreographed dance routine kick-started Evento de Jóvenes Episcopales, a gathering designed to celebrate Latino culture and youth empowerment. Myra Garnes, The Episcopal Church’s officer for youth, young adult and campus ministries, told Episcopal News Service she hopes young Latin American Episcopalians know how much the church “as a whole is committed to them and loves them.” “I hope that the youth from Province II and Province IX feel the electricity of God and of the love of Jesus this week, and that they know … that our young people are leading now in all sorts of ways in ministry and their communities,” Garnes said. “I hope that they will be lifted up and highlighted this week.” EJE26 brought nearly 100 young people ages 16 to 23 from South America, Central America and the Caribbean to Rionegro, a municipality in Colombia’s department of Antioquia, near Medellín, for the July 13-16 gathering. Delegations and volunteers came from five of the six Province IX dioceses and the dioceses of Cuba and Puerto Rico, which are in Province II. 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. This year’s EJE gathering will focus on forgiveness, discipleship and leadership. During the gathering, the delegates will break into discussion and reflection groups to address these topics. They also will participate in various workshops and activities, including a Q&A with Rowe and Ayala Harris, scheduled for July 14.  “The themes are selected so the youth can empower themselves and grow and mature in their faith,” William Muñoz Vanegas, a member of the EJE planning team from the Bogotá-based Diocese of Colombia, told ENS. “The youth can mature by learning to forgive themselves and to forgive others; develop discipleship skills so they learn to see their strengths and can follow God’s path; and develop their leadership skills and learn how to apply them in their church.” Welcomes continued throughout the first day. The delegates, for example, also greeted the six delegates from Cuba, who arrived shortly after the church staff, with cheers, claps, hugs and tears of joy. They were collectively celebrating the delegation’s safe arrival in Colombia after several months of uncertainty about whether they would receive their visas. Before the evening worship service began, Karla Sikaffy duPlantier, The Episcopal Church’s interim missioner for Latino Ministries, noted that the Rt. Rev. Antonio José Gallardo Lucena, who was born in Venezuela, was ordained and consecrated as bishop of Los Angeles on July 11. She and the Rev. David Ulloa Chavez, the church’s lead for Global Episcopal Partnerships, led the youth and adult leaders in recording a short video congratulating Gallardo on his ordination and consecration. Sikaffy duPlantier and Chavez told Gallardo they were unable to attend Gallardo’s ordination and consecration because they were heading to Colombia for EJE. “He said he remembers EJE and loves the youth and the conference that was held last time,” Sikaffy duPlantier told the crowd. The Diocese of Venezuela didn’t send a delegation to EJE26. The South American country, which neighbors Colombia to the northeast, has faced numerous conflicts in recent years and is still recovering from back-to-back major earthquakes last month that killed nearly 4,500 people. The evening healing and praise service started with joyful live worship, music and readings from Ephesians 6:10-18, Psalm 91 and Luke 8:26-39. Wilcania Ortiz Chemountd, a member of the EJE planning team from the Diocese of the Dominican Republic, gave a reflection on opening up to God while at EJE26 and other times in life. “God is here. … Let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit,” Chemountd said. When Chemountd concluded her reflection, several delegates moved around the worship space to hold individual prayer stations while the band performed contemplative music. Some delegates approached the prayer stations while others stood at their seats to sing as they held up tealight candles. The service concluded with the delegates and adult church leaders standing in a large circle within the worship space’s perimeter while holding hands and swaying in unison to the music. Based on the delegates’ enthusiasm throughout the first day, Garnes said she believes EJE26 is “off to a great start.” “It is beautiful. The Holy Spirit is on fire, and we can’t wait to hear from Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and President Julia Ayala Harris,” she said. “There’s a lot that’s coming, and we can’t wait to see the young people start leading some workshops and programming. It’s going to be awesome.” -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at [email protected].

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Central New York is planning to relocate its diocesan headquarters to a larger facility in Syracuse that will expand its capacity to host meetings, house diocesan archives and foster ministry development. The diocese, which spans New York’s midsection from the Canadian border to the Pennsylvania state line, is currently based in Liverpool, a Syracuse suburb. Its lease on the 3,500 square feet it occupies in an office park there expires in April 2027. Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe said in a message to the diocese that the search for a new location originated in conversations that date back to 2018. “Our ability to remain connected and engaged is essential to the well-being of our parishes,” Duncan-Probe said, adding that the Liverpool facility does not meet the diocese’s needs. “Without the empowerment of a central hub, we are missing the necessary support to stay connected.” In June, diocesan leaders visited several potential new sites for the diocesan offices and agreed on a 6,000-square-foot facility that currently houses a podiatrist’s office and a law office and has a dedicated parking lot. The diocese made an offer of $400,000 and is waiting for the purchase to be finalized. “If the purchase is successful, we will renovate the space to meet the needs of the diocese with an eye to future potential. It is also our intention that this new Diocesan Center be as eco-friendly and sustainable as possible,” Duncan-Probe said. The diocese will use investment proceeds and revenue from the sale of closed churches to pay for the new property without raising congregations’ assessments, she said. “I am grateful for the faithful work of our discernment team and all those who contributed to making this possible,” she said.

[Episcopal News Service] Joshua Maria Garcia first downloaded TikTok as a joke. But what started as casual posts became genuine reflections on their faith journey. Then, Garcia said, “I kind of lived out my spiritual crisis on the internet.” They weren’t the only one. Over time, they encountered more people online who sought belonging and theological meaning in faith lives that, like Garcia’s, are complicated. Their TikTok now has over 25,000 followers. Garcia, an Episcopal seminarian at the School of Theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee, is among a growing number of creators ranging from clergy to lay people to monastics who make religious content accessible online. The most exciting videos to make, Garcia said, are collaborative. Sometimes they make videos with other Episcopalians, interact with commenters, and even get into arguments about matters of faith. “I think what we’re doing in those conversations is modeling what church can be, maybe should be, in my humble opinion,” Garcia, who is resident in the Diocese of Rhode Island, said. “The posts that show there’s a different way to respond, a different way to react, a caring, loving way to disagree, that’s actually really valuable.” Garcia said they grew up with a negative perception of Christianity on both sides of their family. While their mother’s family was what they described as “old-school Congregationalist” turned “pseudo-Baptist, evangelical non-denom[inational]” Christians, they chose to follow the faith of their father’s family, who immigrated to the United States as Jewish refugees escaping pogroms in Ukraine. “Judaism was a breath of fresh air for me because it had a lot of structure and a lot of openness at the same time,” Garcia said. “Kind of like The Episcopal Church.” After two years of rabbinical school at Hebrew College in Boston, Massachusetts, Garcia walked into the dean’s office and told her, “I think I’m a Christian.” Their dean responded with support that they said they will never forget. In the following years, Garcia explored their faith, experiencing Episcopal liturgy at the monastery of the Society of St. John the Evangelist in Boston, getting baptized in a pond by a United Church of Christ pastor and even reverting to Judaism. It was the frank, empathetic conversations with others – Jewish friends who nudged them back to Christianity and an Episcopal priest who invited them to worship – that Garcia said helped them find their way to the church where they would soon discern a call to ministry. Garcia said their honesty online about their faith identity, especially as a young, queer person who considers themself theologically conservative, has permitted others to be vulnerable. Some of these followers have also found a home in The Episcopal Church. “I think the traditional orientation and radical inclusion of the church is really where it’s at,” Garcia said. “And I think that’s what ‘all’ the young people of the internet are seeing in The Episcopal Church right now.” More of Garcia’s experiences and wisdom can now be found off the internet and on bookshelves with the publication of their new devotional, “A Tranquil Body: Finding the Peace of God in Breath, Movement, and Awareness.” “A Tranquil Body” is a collection of meditative exercises that Garcia intended to be accessible to people of many abilities. Garcia began meditating when they were 12 years old, but with ADHD, silent stillness never seemed to work for them. After being told too many times to “try harder,” they thought there must be another way to find spiritual peace. They said that while Episcopalians might be comfortable with traditional practices like lectio divina, this book presents methods of meditation that will be unfamiliar to some. “Once you start talking about moving your body in a spiritual way or actual breathwork or visualization, it’s like, ‘ooh that’s a little woo-woo,’” Garcia said. “But the reality is, for those of us who can’t do the silent, quiet thing, that’s what we need. And if that’s what we need to be also faithful Christians because that’s what we’re called to, then that’s what we need.” Offering spiritual practices in this format was daunting at times, they said. They wrote the manuscript during their first semester of seminary, surrounded by professors who are published academic authors. “I’m looking at their books, and I’m going like, “Oh my gosh, how dare I even pretend to be an author?” Garcia said. “So, it was also an experience of figuring out how to hold my own and how to hold myself and believe in what I was writing, even if it was a very different style and register from what my teachers had done that I so admire.” Ultimately, Garcia said the experience of writing “A Tranquil Body” helped them rethink notions of authority and approval. They said the church is begging for more young people to offer their perspectives. Online and in print, Garcia does what they said The Episcopal Church is good at: make God approachable to all, regardless of identity, ability or background. “My story is a really good example of how religion is not a zero-sum game and that we can support each other in differences,” they said. –Logan Crews is a freelance reporter and hospital chaplain resident in the Diocese of Missouri.

[Diocese of Los Angeles] The Rt. Rev. Antonio José Gallardo Lucena was ordained and consecrated the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles on July 11 – the first Latino to hold the office – in a festive multilingual ceremony celebrating the diocese’s rich cultural diversity. Rousing Korean drummers called out joyful welcome as hundreds of lay, clergy and ecumenical colleagues gathered at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, where the Venezuela-born Gallardo served as pastor for Latino ministries from 2015 to 2019. The inter-tribal Native American Sisters of the One Drum led processions of more than 30 bishops from across The Episcopal Church. Thousands more joined the livestreamed celebration in watch parties at churches and from homes across the six-county diocese. A moment of silence recalled victims of the June 24 earthquakes that struck Venezuela, killing nearly 4,000, injuring another 16,000 and displacing more than 18,000. The offertory collection was dedicated to support Episcopal Relief & Development’s International Disaster Fund. The organization is providing critical relief and long-term recovery support to those impacted by the earthquakes. Gallardo’s election represents “God doing a new thing,” according to the Rev. Norma Guerra of St. Paul’s Church in Tustin, preaching in Spanish and English. “One of the most important things to remind you is, you are not alone in this journey; God is by your side and we are, too,” Guerra said, offering advice from her father, the Rt. Rev. Armando Guerra, who served as bishop of Guatemala from 1982 to 2018 and archbishop of the Anglican Church in Central America from 2010 to 2015. “I know you can feel the love in this room and across the diocese and across the distance all the way to Venezuela and in other places,” she said. “You also stand on the shoulders of earlier bishops whose faith and integrity have provided a sure foundation and cornerstone for your ministry. You have the wisdom and support of your fellow bishops and a wonderful diocesan staff,” Guerra said. Gallardo chose the theme “In the Spirit of Love and Truth” for both the consecration and his episcopate, from Ephesians 4:15: “Speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him, who is the head, into Christ.” Banners depicting the theme in a specially designed shield lined the entryway to the Pasadena church. Bishop John Harvey Taylor presented Gallardo with the diocesan crozier, a pastoral staff carried by all previous bishops of the diocese. In a written word of gratitude in the service program, Gallardo offered thanks to God, family, mentors and teachers, with a special thanks to his Aunt Yeya, “for instilling in me the love for God and Jesus since I was a little child.” “This day we begin a new stretch in our life as a diocese,” Gallardo wrote. “I look forward to exploring, discovering, and growing together. May the road ahead be inspired by the desires of our hearts to grow closer to Jesus, to be one in Christ, and to be led by the Spirit of Love and Truth.” Gallardo was elected bishop Nov. 8 on the eighth ballot by the 130th annual meeting of the diocese. Born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, he was ordained a priest in 2019 in Los Angeles. He holds a doctorate in business and economics from Lehigh University. Prior to ordination, he served as chief program officer for First 5 Los Angeles, a public foundation, from 2010 to 2013; as deputy director of the Farmworker Institute of Education & Leadership Development; and as president and CEO of Philadelphia Area Accelerated Manufacturing Education. He is a lecturer at Cal Poly Pomona’s Business School and served as instructor in UCLA’s Department of Engineering, Information Systems and Technical Management from 2008 to 2015 and professor in the School of Sciences, Universidad Centro Occidental Lisandro Alvarado, Venezuela, from 1990 to 1993. Gallardo succeeds Taylor, who served as diocesan bishop for nine years. The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles was established in 1896 and encompasses 49,000 members worshipping in 132 congregations, 26 schools and institutions located in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.

[Diocese of Kansas] The Council of Trustees, acting as the canonical Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, on July 9 released a slate of four candidates for the diocese’s 11th bishop. The candidates are: The Rev. Grant Ambrose, rector, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in York, Pennsylvania, Diocese of the Susquehanna. The Rev. David Gortner, rector, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, Diocese of Spokane. The Rev. Whitney Rice, canon to the ordinary, Diocese of Missouri. The Rev. Lisa Senuta, canon for spiritual life and clergy care, Diocese of Kansas. Nominees may be added by a petition process July 9-18. Petition forms can be accessed on the diocesan website. Lay members and clergy of the Topeka-based diocese will have opportunities to meet the candidates in person through a series of meet-and-greets held in all four convocations. These gatherings will be held Sept. 15-18. Full details will be announced soon. The election will take place Oct. 24 during the Diocese of Kansas’s convention at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka. The ordination and consecration is scheduled for April 17, 2027, at Grace Cathedral, with Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe officiating. More information about each candidate is available on the diocesan website. The diocese’s former bishop, the Rt. Rev. Cathleen Bascom, resigned on Jan. 31 to serve as a consultant to The Episcopal Church to help create eco-region networks in the U.S. and Province IX.

[World Council of Churches] On July 16, the World Council of Churches Commission of the Churches on International Affairs’ peace and security working group will present a webinar on the relevance of international law in Cuba and Venezuela. The webinar will address the implications of the United States’ intervention in Venezuela and the blockade of Cuba for regional and global peace and security. Read the entire article here.

[World Council of Churches] The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and its allies have been attacking El-Obeid, a Sudanese city of 500,000 people, with drones since June. The strikes have hit schools, markets, fuel stations, vehicles and transport routes. El-Obeid Bishop Ismael Gabriel Abudigin said the strikes were killing civilians and causing blackouts and shortages of food, water and fuel. “It is our prayer that this war stops,” Abudigin said. At least 45 people were killed in 15 drone strikes between June 6 and June 28, according to the United Nations. El-Obeid is a key humanitarian and commercial hub for the Kordofan, a region in central Sudan. Read the entire article here.

[Episcopal News Service] Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally will visit The Episcopal Church Sept. 25-28, including stops in the dioceses of New York and Connecticut, and at the House of Bishops’ fall gathering at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas. While in New York, Mullally will also visit the United Nations, where she will meet with senior representatives and host a roundtable discussion on health and peace. On Sept. 27, Mullally will preach at Christ Church in Greenwich, Connecticut.   Mullally, who officially took office in January, has made a few trips outside the Church of England since her consecration in March. The first one was Rome, Italy, in April, where she preached during a choral Evensong at St. Paul’s Within the Walls, which is a part of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe. In her sermon, she addressed what the church is called to be in an increasingly polarized world. Mullally also visited the church’s Joel Nafuma Refugee Center.  During her stay in Rome, she also met and prayed with Pope Leo XIV at the Apostolic Palace in Vatican City in an act of “shared ecumenical commitment.” While on a Holy Land pilgrimage last month, Mullally preached at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in the Palestinian Christian town of Birzeit in the West Bank. She also met with Layan Nasir, the Palestinian Anglican woman who has spent three periods in Israeli administrative detention and prison over the last five years. Mullally most recently presided for the first time over the Anglican Consultative Council meeting in Belfast, Northern Ireland. During the June 28-July 4 meeting, the council chose not to adopt changes known as the Nairobi-Cairo proposals, leaving the role of archbishop of Canterbury unchanged. The proposed structural changes also would have revised the Anglican Communion’s definition, or description, so that member provinces that are now expected to be “in communion with” the office of the archbishop of Canterbury would need only a “historical connection” to the office. Instead, the ACC adopted a resolution that affirmed the existing understanding of Anglican identity.  “Especially given the productive and hopeful commitments emerging from last week’s Anglican Consultative Council meeting, I look forward to having Archbishop Sarah with us as an expression of our renewed commitment to the Anglican Communion and our hope for the future of our ministry together,” Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe told Episcopal News Service.  Mullally was ordained to the priesthood in 2001 after a career as a nurse treating cancer patients, and had served as the bishop of London since 2018. As archbishop of Canterbury, she now leads the Church of England. She serves as a “focus of unity” for all 42 autonomous, interdependent provinces of the Anglican Communion, including The Episcopal Church, which have historical roots in England. She is the first woman to hold the office of archbishop of Canterbury in its 1,400-year history.

[Episcopal News Service] St. John’s Cathedral in Denver, Colorado, is home to a new immersive, multisensory show that tells a story of creation, awakening and belonging. “Celestia” incorporates lights, ethereal music and the cathedral’s neo-Gothic architecture to depict spiritual experiences in five different parts: awakening, becoming, transformation, belonging and radiance. Its music is an original piece composed and produced by Simon Chenaux. Sean Friar, a Denver-based composer, also composed a piece for the show. The 45-minute night program is a collaboration between St. John’s, Paquin Entertainment Group and Normal Studio. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit the cathedral’s outreach ministries. “I would describe ‘Celestia’ as a spiritual experience for a secular audience,” Rebecca Richardson, the cathedral’s arts and architecture program chair, told Episcopal News Service. “Everything you experience in this program is open to interpretation.” Tara Tzirlin, marketing director of Paquin, described the show as a “reflection of a soul’s journey through different stages of life.” “The symbols and pictures, what the music feels like and the architectural space that they’re in – all of those pieces come together to try to convey that emotional journey for people,” Tzirlin told ENS. The audience, seated in chairs in St. John’s nave, look up and see birds flying overhead, or notice that they are under water surrounded by aquatic animals and plants. Or they will find themselves surrounded by shooting stars or a forest full of wildlife. The projectors’ lights also illuminate the cathedral’s stained-glass windows. Every show begins with a 15-minute meditation. Some audience members meditate, while others opt to take in St. John’s interior. Many people have said in their reviews that they’d never visited the cathedral until “Celestia,” and commented on how well its architecture blends with the music and projections. Those who attend “Celestia” on a Friday or Saturday night also will hear a professional choir, hired by Paquin, sing live throughout the program. Click here to watch a trailer for “Celestia.” Twenty-four projectors deliver 480,000 lumens and 83 million pixels to show the moving 360-degree images. The most important number to Paquin’s producer Kurt Baker, though, is 99. “The show is 99% human created,” Baker told ENS. “It was not artificially generated by computers. Real artists – real human beings – created the narrative and designed the visuals. The remaining 1% is the machinery and the editing software that used a little bit of artificial intelligence to tweak a few images. But in terms of the actual creative ideas and visuals of the story and the show, they’re all human generated.” Richardson described the timing of debuting “Celestia” as the latest of many events in recent years that have made St. John’s congregation move “full speed ahead with no signs of stopping.” The cathedral, for example, completed a multimillion-dollar capital campaign to pay for repairs, renovations and replacements throughout the building, which was built in 1911. Those physical changes, according to Richardson, made it possible for St. John’s to host “Celestia.” The cathedral is also in the middle of a new dean search after the Rt. Rev. Richard T. Lawson III left earlier this year to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Alabama. “We’ve been undergoing a lot of changes, but the congregation is growing (2,200+ members) with many young families, our finances are good and we’re in a good place to serve Denver’s diverse community through different means, whether it’s through our ministries or sharing beautiful art,” Richardson said. “We want to keep moving forward with this kind of energy.” “Celestia” is scheduled to run through September. St. John’s, Paquin and Normal will then decide whether to extend the program a few more months. Baker said he hopes “Celestia” will still be around by late February 2027, when the Episcopal Church in Colorado will host the Episcopal Parish Network’s annual conference, which is the largest annual gathering within The Episcopal Church and the largest overall church gathering other than the triennial meetings of General Convention. As of now, Baker’s wish may be a possibility. “Celestia” has been selling out or been close to selling out most nights since it launched last month. “St. John’s is such a beautiful space with incredible history, and Denver is a great city for something like ‘Celestia’ because it’s a young, artistic community,” Baker said. “It’s a perfect canvas for us to tell this story of life. It’s really exciting.” -Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at [email protected].

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Florida on July 8 announced a slate of three nominees for the election of its next bishop, marking a significant step toward ending the Jacksonville-based diocese’s yearslong leadership transition. The diocese has been without a bishop diocesan since former Bishop John Howard retired in October 2023. The three nominees to succeed Howard all are priests from other dioceses. They are: The Rev. J. Randolph (Randy) Alexander Jr., rector of Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill in Alexandria, Virginia. The Rev. Dorian Del Priore, rector of Holy Cross Church in Simpsonville, South Carolina. The Very Rev. Thomas Clayton (Tom) Purdy, rector of Christ Church in St. Simons Island, Georgia. “After a comprehensive national search and a prayerful time of discernment, we are excited and grateful to share three nominees for election as the ninth Bishop of Florida,” Florida’s standing committee said in its announcement. It will consider additional nominees by petition through July 15. “Please join us in praying for guidance and grace for our nominees, wisdom for our voting delegates, and unity and strength for the Diocese of Florida,” the standing committee said. The electing convention is scheduled for Sept. 11, and the diocese hopes to consecrate its new bishop in early 2027. Additional information on the bishop search and the nominees is available on the diocese’s website. Tensions flared publicly within the diocese when it previously tried twice to elect Howard’s successor in 2022. The diocese was blocked from consecrating its bishop-elect over churchwide concerns about the election and Howard’s leadership. After Howard’s retirement, he faced two disciplinary complaints under the church’s Title IV canons governing clergy conduct; one accused him of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination and the other of financial improprieties. In September 2025, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, with the backing of the Disciplinary Board for Bishops, chose to resolve those complaints against Howard with a negotiated accord that did not require Howard to admit wrongdoing or submit to any disciplinary action. During the diocese’s prolonged leadership transition, clergy, lay leaders and other members of the diocese across the theological spectrum have participated in a facilitated process of healing to address underlying conflicts. The standing committee has said healing and reconciliation would remain “one of our top priorities” as the diocese moves toward a new bishop election this September. “This moment has been long prepared for, prayed over and shaped by the faithful labor of many across our diocese, and I could not be more encouraged by the caliber of the persons discerned to us by the search committee,” the Rev. Justin Yawn, president of the standing committee, said in a written statement that accompanied the slate announcement. “I want to name something equally important,” Yawn said. “The work of these past several years has not merely been logistical or procedural. It has been, at its heart, the work of healing, of rebuilding trust, of listening carefully to one another, and of recovering a shared sense of who we are called to be as the Body of Christ in this region.” – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church’s three representatives to the 19th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council say they are returning to their dioceses with a message of hope from the ACC’s recent meeting after hearing stories of faith and perseverance from other members of the global Anglican “family.” The ACC, one of the four “Instruments of Communion” that connect the 42 autonomous provinces of the Anglican Communion, met June 28-July 4 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Its meetings, typically held every three years, offer a week of inter-Anglican fellowship, presentations on global Anglican initiatives and discussions and votes on a range of resolutions proposed by Anglican commissions and ACC members. ACC-19 chose not to adopt structural changes to the Anglican Communion that would have diminished the authority of the archbishop of Canterbury, instead approving a resolution that commits the member provinces to continued dialogue across theological differences, particularly regarding human sexuality. “I’m going [back] to The Episcopal Church and to my diocese with a great spirit“ about the future, Puerto Rico Bishop Rafael Morales Maldonado told Episcopal News Service during a joint interview in Belfast with the church’s three ACC members. The Rev. Ranjit Mathews, canon to the ordinary of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, and Yvonne O’Neal, a lay leader from the Diocese of New York, also represented The Episcopal Church. “I recognize that we have a lot of work to do. We need to continue walking together,” Morales said. His interactions with Anglican leaders from other provinces, he said, indicated they shared a desire to “build a culture of understanding” and to “continue building bridges of communication.” About 100 bishops, other clergy members and lay leaders from 37 provinces attended the meeting, held in a conference hall at the Presbyterian Church’s Assembly Buildings Conference Centre in central Belfast. The members were seated at 17 tables spread across the room, and some of the most meaningful conversations happened within those table groups, Mathews said. The daily Bible studies that Mathews shared with members at his table resonated in ways that helped the ACC engage in more difficult conversations in other sessions, he said. When he resumes his diocesan duties in Meriden, Connecticut, he said he will carry those conversations with him. “I am not able to let go of these people that I’ve connected [with] and heard stories from,” Mathews said. Their differing perspectives, including on matters of doctrine, are helpful rather than a hindrance, he added. To connect with them helped him “know more about the Gospel.” O’Neal agreed. “There is a lot of camaraderie among people, even if we have differing ideas,” she said. “I find that people have a love of the Anglican Communion. … We see it as a family.” Even so, she felt that “the big elephant in the room isn’t really being addressed.” Leaders from more conservative provinces still hold theological views on same-sex relationships that are far apart from the more progressive stances of The Episcopal Church and some other provinces. Conservative leaders from the provinces in Nigeria, Uganda and Rwanda have refused to participate in this and other Anglican gatherings for years because of their opposition to women’s ordination, gay ordination and same-sex marriage. Other Anglican leaders from conservative provinces have continued to engage with their counterparts in The Episcopal Church and other LGBTQ+-inclusive provinces. Some ACC members don’t see an option for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in their contexts, O’Neal said, because of potential negative reactions from their communities in more conservative parts of the world, including Africa, South America and other regions that make up the Global South. As a matter of doctrine, however, O’Neal said The Episcopal Church still needs to affirm its beliefs, including respect for the dignity of every human. “I don’t see how we can say to our brothers and sisters in Christ, because you’re in a same-sex marriage something is wrong with you,” she said. The difference between structure and doctrine was mentioned frequently at ACC-19. The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Unity, Faith and Order, or IASCUFO, introduced potential structural changes in its Nairobi-Cairo proposals, which it developed in response to an earlier resolution approved three years ago by ACC-18. In one of its two principal proposals, IASCUFO recommended adjusting a nearly century-old description of the Anglican Communion’s membership from provinces “in communion with” the office of the archbishop of Canterbury to provinces with a “historical connection” to that office. The other proposal sought to diversify the leadership structures in the Instruments of Communion, which also include the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops and the Primates’ Meeting of provincial leaders. During discussion of those proposals, ACC-19 members generally agreed that the proposals were overly focused on structure in response to divisions that were more about doctrinal differences. Rather than act on the structural proposals, ACC passed a resolution that “welcomes a period of further dialogue … that will help rearticulate and develop our Anglican identity.” Mathews told ENS that separating doctrinal differences from the structural conversations helped focus ACC’s work, acknowledging that some differences of doctrine are not easily reconciled. “We’re with people who profoundly disagree with us around doctrine, but how can we continue to show up as we are?” he said. Mathews also attended an informal conversation in Belfast with IASCUFO members about their process for developing the Nairobi-Cairo proposals. He was heartened to hear that the commission members had developed “a deeper understanding” of each other despite some being at opposite ends of the theological spectrum. He thinks that suggests a way forward for the rest of the communion. Morales gave an example from his table discussions. At the beginning of ACC-19, a member from the Anglican Church of Chile acknowledged to Morales that his province was among a group of conservative provinces unhappy with the Church of England’s prominent role in the Anglican Communion after it allowed blessings of same-sex couples in 2023. Talk of “impaired communion” between provinces over theological […]

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church’s headquarters in New York was one of several buildings in Midtown Manhattan that were evacuated early July 7 after emergency crews responded to falling debris at a nearby high-rise construction site. Some news reports indicated that the building under construction at 235 E. 42nd St. was at risk of collapse, and that inspectors found that steel support beams on the 21st floor had buckled and that upper floors were sagging. The 37-story building, the former headquarters of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, reportedly is being converted from a commercial office building into residential units. Work was halted and the site evacuated after fire inspectors responded to reports that bricks had fallen off the building. No injuries have been reported. The construction site is located just a block south of the Episcopal Church Center at 815 Second Ave., often referred to by the shorthand “815.” The church’s 12-story building contains the offices of its New York-based staff, though in recent years much of the churchwide staff has worked remotely in locations across the United States and Europe. Church operations or affiliated organizations now occupy less than half the 146,000-square-foot building. The other space is vacant or has been leased to outside tenants. “Our building staff learned of the nearby incident around 8:30 a.m. and instructed all building staff and tenants to shelter in place,” a church spokesperson said in a written statement to Episcopal News Service. “Shortly after, our staff followed FDNY orders to evacuate the building out of an abundance of caution.” The Episcopal Church announced in June that it intends to market 815 Second Ave. for possible sale or redevelopment, an effort to follow through on a 2012 General Convention resolution calling on the church to search for a new location for its headquarters. The church is considering a range of options for the Episcopal Church Center building, possibly including “a long-term ground lease with a group that would redevelop the building, potentially as affordable housing,” according to last month’s news release. That discernment about the Episcopal Church Center comes at a time when residential conversions are transforming dozens of other office buildings in Manhattan, including the former Pfizer building, now under construction. “Since 2020 many office buildings have started the process of converting to residential use, a trend that has accelerated after changes to the tax and land use codes were introduced in 2024,” the New York City Comptroller’s Office said in a July 2025 report. It counted 44 such projects adding about 17,400 apartments to the market. – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at [email protected].

[Episcopal News Service] The Nashville-based Diocese of Tennessee is extending its bishop search process to find “a Christ-centered, theologically astute, energetic, forward-thinking and visionary leader.” The process for receiving new applications opened July 6 and will close on July 27. The final candidate slate is expected to be released in September, according to the diocese’s election webpage. The date of the electing convention is pending. The 12th bishop will succeed Tennessee Bishop John C. Bauerschmidt, who has led the diocese since 2007. In June 2025, Bauerschmidt announced his plans to retire in January 2027. “Serving as your diocesan bishop has been the singular privilege of my ordained ministry, and a personal joy,” Bauerschmidt said in his announcement. “I am grateful to all of you for your support and encouragement in this work. I am especially grateful to my wife, Caroline, who has accompanied me in this ministry.” In recent years, Bauerschmidt, known as one of the church’s more theologically conservative bishops, has been a prominent figure in churchwide efforts to foster greater “communion across difference,” engaging in dialogue involving Episcopalians at all points on the theological spectrum. “This new bishop will be able to preserve the sense of unity we have nurtured, while working creatively with parishes that differ in size, resources, regional needs and varied differences in theological and missional emphasis,” the announcement said. Pending consents from diocesan standing committees and bishops, the bishop’s consecration will be held on April 10, 2027. The Diocese of Tennessee, one of three dioceses in the state, includes Episcopal congregations in the central third of Tennessee.

[Episcopal News Service] Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally preached July 4 during the closing Holy Eucharist of the weeklong 19th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The service was held at Belfast Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral Church of St. Anne. It concluded the June 28-July 4 meeting, which was attended by ACC members from 37 Anglican provinces from around the world, including The Episcopal Church. The following is the text of Mullally’s sermon, as released by her office. The theme that has gathered us – “Called to One Hope” – has been a challenging one. It was an invitation – despite our differences and disagreements – to trust the God who has called us together, and therefore hope in the future he is preparing for us. We have prayed together, studied the scriptures and walked together despite the deep pain of our differences. Together we have tended the soil of trust from which hope can grow. But this work is not finished yet. Walking together in Derry-Londonderry, we witnessed how Christian hope had been a daily resistance against conflict, as the hard work of peace and reconciliation was built. It reminded me of my recent pilgrimage in the Holy Land with my brother, Archbishop Hosam [Naoum], where we witnessed Christian hope – a faithful daily resistance against injustice and despair, lived out by those who carry the light of Christ in their hearts, even in the darkest times. We have heard stories from each other about how member churches across the Communion are proclaiming the message of hope that we have in Jesus Christ. We have heard stories of care for Creation; standing up against violence against women and girls; welcoming the stranger and the refugee; building a safer church; peacebuilding; and revitalizing and planting new churches. Stories that tell us of our shared purpose in Jesus Christ. Our reading from Amos speaks of hope in a broken world and God’s promises of restoration. “The days are coming, declares the Lord, New wine will drip from the mountains and flow from all the hills, and I will bring my people back from exile. They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit.” The prophet Amos tells us that God wants to rebuild lives and promises new hope. We have gathered here from our various ministries and member churches seeking to follow Christ. Just as those in exile heard the words of Amos, so it is for us – we hear this promise in a fractured world. And we hear those words within a fractured church, which may make them more difficult to trust, but God has promised to do a new thing. We have thousands of years of evidence that God will raise up, he will repair. He will rebuild. We will plant vineyards—and even though we will not always tend them well, by God’s grace we will drink their wine. God doesn’t wait for us to have it all together. God calls us by name and invites us to be with him in the light of the resurrection, to trust that we are known and loved. He invites us to join him in building his church: the bride of Christ. In the Old Testament, the relationship between God and the people is likened to a vineyard owner and the vines. God has brought a vine out of Egypt, declared the Psalmist, and planted it in good land. The prophet Isaiah sings a song about God’s vineyard. Hosea spoke of God finding Israel like grapes in the wilderness. The image of the vine and the grapes is a thread through the Scriptures which continues to remind us of God’s promises. And Amos records that despite Israel’s disobedience, which led to their exile from the original “vineyard,” God allows them to return. God taught them to rebuild their cities. To replant their vineyards. God was gracious and faithful to his people just as he is to us now. Not because we are already perfect and fully formed, but precisely so that he can transform us into the people and the church he intends us to be. The scripture also uses the image of the vine to speak about the care God expects of us to show to others because we are equally known and loved by God. Jesus says that wine, the fruit of the vine, cannot be put in either old or new wine skins without care. If carelessly put into old wine skins, the wine causes the skin to crack. If unwisely put into unprepared new wine skins, the skin will burst as the wine ferments. Jesus calls us to take care of the church he loves in the same way, knowing that people are far more important and precious than wine, and knowing that the church is sometimes more fragile than wineskins. He calls us to care for one another with tenderness and to repent where we have caused harm. We are called to treat the church with patience, with commitment to our relationships, which are sometimes strained. Care of the church needs to be one of deep listening, with the study of Scripture, with attention to theological reflection and with prayer. None of this can be rushed. The Spirit is not asking us to choose between the old and the new, but to care for both, so that the wine of God’s mission is not wasted. I must admit that I don’t know very much about fermenting wine. I do, however, as a potter, know much about clay. In the ancient world, there were two types of clay jars: One kind was heavy, dark, designed for domestic use; the other was very thin and fragile. These fragile jars would crack when put in the kiln. This was intentional. When a light was placed inside […]

[Episcopal News Service – Belfast, Northern Ireland] The 19th Anglican Consultative Council, on the final day of its June 28-July 4 meeting here, approved a resolution that affirmed the existing understanding of Anglican identity — leaving the archbishop of Canterbury’s central role unchanged — while calling for further discernment on proposed structural changes to the Anglican Communion. The debate before the July 4 vote underscored the persistence of significant theological differences, particularly on issues of human sexuality, across the Anglican Communion’s 42 autonomous provinces, including The Episcopal Church. The conservative leaders of some provinces describe themselves as in “impaired communion” with the archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England over those differences, raising concerns that some provinces might disengage with the ACC and other major Anglican bodies, known collectively as the Instruments of Communion. Proposed structural changes, known as the Nairobi-Cairo proposals, would have revised the Anglican Communion’s definition, or description, so that member provinces that are now expected to be “in communion with” the office of the archbishop of Canterbury would need to have only a “historical connection” to the office. The proposed changes, developed by an Anglican commission, also offered new ways of sharing leadership across the worldwide provinces, potentially diminishing the archbishop of Canterbury’s role. ACC chose not to adopt any of those proposed changes. Instead, its standing committee drafted a resolution that called for three more years of discernment and conversation. After more than an hour of impassioned, respectful discussion about that resolution and its wording, it was adopted by a large majority. The official count of votes by hand was 72 ACC members supporting the resolution and eight against. The Episcopal Church’s three ACC members voted yes. “This has been a very good conversation,” ACC Chair Maggie Swinson, a lay leader from the Church of England, said before the vote. “A lot of views have been expressed, and a wide range of members have been able to contribute.” The Rev. Berthier Lainirina of the Province of the Indian Ocean spoke in favor of the Nairobi-Cairo proposals earlier in the week. On the final day, he again raised concerns that without such changes his province and other conservative churches might feel they no longer have a place in the Anglican Communion, because of the Church of England’s continued position of authority. The archbishop of Canterbury is both a global Anglican leader and the top cleric in the Church of England, which began allowing blessings of same-sex couples in 2023. “It is very sad that we don’t want to accept the reality” of the Anglican Communion’s divisions, Lainirina said before the July 4 vote. “It is very sad that we suppose that everything is OK when things are not OK.” Other leaders from conservative provinces raised similar concerns but also stressed the importance of remaining together as one Anglican “family,” a metaphor for the Anglican Communion that was used frequently throughout the week. “Come, let us reason together,” Ambrose Otieno Weda, a lay member, said just before the vote. His province, the Anglican Church of Kenya, is often aligned with other conservative provinces from regions known as the Global South. “We should not entertain the idea of walking away, leaving empty chairs, dividing ourselves.” All 42 provinces are allowed to send two or three representatives to ACC, which is the only one of the four Instruments of Communion to give lay leaders equal voice and vote alongside bishops and other clergy. The other Instruments of Communion are the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops, the Primates’ Meeting of provincial leaders and the archbishop of Canterbury, whose office is referred to as “a focus for unity” between the provinces. This ACC meeting, held in the Presbyterian Church’s Assembly Buildings Conference Centre in central Belfast, was the first attended by Archbishop Canterbury Sarah Mullally since she officially took office in January and her ceremonial installation in March. The amended resolution adopted by ACC-19 acknowledged the messages of forgiveness and reconciliation that members heard during their July 1 pilgrimage to Derry, a city with a history of sectarian divisions that sits at the border of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, The resolution also invokes Mullally’s own words earlier in the week emphasizing that “lasting unity is built by trust.” “Our present reality is a communion of autonomous churches, identified by full communion with the See of Canterbury, that now experiences the pain of some describing themselves as being in full communion with Canterbury whilst others do not,” the resolution says. An additional clause noted “widespread agreement that communion with the See of Canterbury remains vital to any rearticulation of Anglican identity.” That clause was opposed by some ACC members, who questioned the accuracy of the word “widespread,” but efforts to eliminate that clause failed by a margin of more than two to one. Some members expressed gratitude to Mullally for her remarks to ACC-19 on July 2, when she offered some next steps that could build on the Nairobi-Cairo proposals and the work of ACC members in Belfast. The solutions to doctrinal differences “may not be structural,” but rather “spiritual and relational,” Mullally said, echoing points made by several ACC members. She intends to meet with the Primates’ Standing Committee in September about possible models for sharing leadership across various Anglican provinces, and those conversations would inform the next Primates’ Meeting, which Mullally intends to schedule in early 2027. She also revealed that she is in early discussions to plan a future Lambeth Conference, the gathering of Anglican bishops that typically occurs about once every 10 years. The last was held in 2022 under Mullally’s predecessor, former Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby. “I am convinced that hope is inviting us forward, and for us to build trust is important, because trust is how we learn to walk together despite our deep differences,” Mullally said. Mullally acknowledged she was in an “interesting” position, as ACC president, to be in […]

[Episcopal News Service – Belfast, Northern Ireland] The Rev. Ranjit Mathews, one of three Episcopal delegates to the 19th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council, was elected July 4 by the Anglican Communion body to its standing committee. Mathews, canon to the ordinary of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, was one of five ACC members elected on a ballot of 17 candidates. He first attended ACC-18 in Accra, Ghana, in 2023. His service on the standing committee will take him through the end of his term, which will conclude with ACC-20, scheduled for 2029 in North India. “I am humbled and honored to be elected to serve on the Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council,” Mathews said in a written comment to Episcopal News Service. “It’s been some time since we have had an Episcopal Church representative on the standing committee of ACC, and I hope to bring the beauty and breadth of our church’s voice to these forthcoming meetings.” The Anglican Consultative Council, or ACC, meets about every three years, bringing together up to three representatives from each of the Anglican Communion’s 42 member provinces for a week of inter-Anglican fellowship, presentations on global Anglican initiatives and discussion and votes on a range of resolutions proposed by Anglican commissions and ACC members. ACC-19 met July 28-July 4 in the Presbyterian Church’s Assembly Buildings Conference Centre in central Belfast. The Episcopal Church’s other two representatives to ACC are Puerto Rico Bishop Rafael Morales Maldonado and Yvonne O’Neal, a lay leader from the Diocese of New York. O’Neal was also on the ballot for the standing committee but was not elected. The ACC Standing Committee’s 15 members include seven elected members of the ACC, as well as an elected chair and vice chair. The archbishop of Canterbury is its president, and the five members of the Primates’ Standing Committee also serve as ACC Standing Committee members.

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal churches nationwide are hosting and participating in events commemorating the United States’ 250th anniversary this weekend. While the commemoration is intended to be joyful and festive in nature, many Episcopal-led events will be more nuanced and reflective. The 250th anniversary celebration throughout the afternoon of July 5 at All Saints Episcopal Church in Frederick, Maryland, for example, won’t shy from acknowledging the United States’ imperfect history. “It’s very clear to us here at All Saints, and to many members of our community, of the state that we’re in in terms of the ideals of our democracy and how far we are from God’s vision for all of humanity,” the Rev. Catherine M. Thompson, All Saints’ rector, told Episcopal News Service. “How do you balance those two things, a love of the country in which you live and serve, and a desire to live more fully into God’s vision?” All Saints’ celebration will begin with a concert that includes the premiere of Hollis Thoms’ “Mneme,” featuring the poetry of Phillis Wheatley, a West African woman enslaved during the period of the American Revolution who became the first published African American author. Her enslavers, so impressed with her work, got her book, “Poetry on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral,” published in 1773. She was freed shortly after her book was published. Wheatley’s poetry attracted the attention of Founding Fathers George Washington, who praised her work, and Thomas Jefferson, who dismissed her literary talents as “below the dignity of criticism.” “By me setting [Wheatley’s] poems to music and having a Black woman sing her words, we’re trying to say that her poetic talent is of value and is part of our society,” Thoms, an All Saints parishioner, told ENS. “Phillis Wheatley’s words are a part of our American history and American way of life … a part of this idea that we’re all striving for, that all persons are created equal.” Jouelle Roberson, a soprano based in Washington, D.C., will sing Wheatley’s poetry in “Mneme.” After the concert, members of All Saints’ truth and reconciliation committee will lead roundtable discussions on select writings and speeches from historical American figures of different backgrounds, including Logan, a Cayuga orator and war leader, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, the Declaration of Sentiments and others. Participants will gather in small groups to discuss the readings and reflect on their significance today. All Saints’ celebration will conclude with a choral Evensong using the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The Rev. Jennifer Mariano, the church’s associate for pastoral care, will preach. “The United States is politically and socially divided, but we don’t have to stay stuck in this division. We don’t have to be like this,” Mariano told ENS. “We can move forward by God’s grace. The ideal that we are all created equal is still appropriate and worth striving for.” Many Episcopal churches share All Saints’ sentiment and will express similar messages during their celebrations. The following is a list of some Episcopal churches hosting or participating in community-led America 250 events. Check online locally for additional events. All times listed are local. New York, New York — The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine will host “Truth Is a Common Good: A Vigil for Our Unfinished Democracy” on July 2 at 6 p.m. The livestreamed vigil will incorporate readings, live music and time for reflection to “consider the ideals that have shaped our nation and the ongoing work of building a more just and inclusive society.” Washington, D.C. — Washington National Cathedral will host an interfaith service on July 3 at 10 a.m. The livestreamed service, taking place instead of the cathedral’s annual Independence Day concert, will include curated Scripture, readings and music from different religious and cultural traditions, as well as contributions from spiritual and civic leaders. The service also will honor “individuals who have shown extraordinary courage and bravery in service to our shared life together, affirming that the work of a more perfect union is never finished and never done alone.” Boston, Massachusetts — Old North Church’s Evensong service on July 3 at 6 p.m., and Choral Matins service on July 5 at 11 a.m., will include patriotic hymns, choral anthems and historic prayers for the nation. Old North Church has a direct connection to the American Revolution. The lighting of two lanterns on the church’s steeple signaled to Paul Revere that British soldiers were on their way to arrest colonial militia leaders. The lit lanterns ignited his “midnight ride” to Lexington, Massachusetts, to warn the militia leaders. Omaha, Nebraska — Trinity Episcopal Church will host a celebratory prayer service on July 4 at 9:30 a.m. commemorating the “inextricable link” between the establishment of the United States and The Episcopal Church. Lorton, Virginia — Pohick Episcopal Church will host several events throughout the day on July 4, beginning at 12:30 p.m. with a bicycle ride around the Pohick Cemetery. There will also be a reading of the Declaration of Independence, a prayer service and more. Founding Fathers George Washington and George Mason served on Pohick’s vestry and supervised the church’s construction, which was completed in 1774 by enslaved and indentured laborers. East Hampton, New York — The commemorative communitywide service on July 5 at 10 a.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church will feature parishioners reading excerpts from speeches, writing, and documents from historical U.S. figures, including U.S. presidents, Emma Lazarus and Martin Luther King Jr.  New York, New York — The Rt. Rev. Ann Ritonia, The Episcopal Church’s bishop suffragan for Armed Forces and Federal Ministries, will preach at a festive livestreamed worship service on July 5 at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. The service will take place while an international fleet of tall ships is in New York for various weeklong celebrations commemorating the 250th anniversary, including an Independence Day parade, public tours and a regatta. Trenton, New Jersey — St. Michael’s Episcopal […]