Author: wwedderburn

[Episcopal News Service] The dioceses of Central Pennsylvania and Bethlehem, which are in the process of merging, have announced plans to experiment with a “sibling parish” program, connecting congregations from one diocese with counterparts from the other to help smooth the transition to one diocese by next year. “Each parish in the Diocese of Bethlehem…

[Anglican Communion News Service] The Rev. Rachel Mash, environmental coordinator of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, has been appointed as a member of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) Faith for Earth Interfaith Women Council. This newly established council, launched Jan. 30, brings together women faith leaders from across the world to advocate for environmental…

[Diocese of Canterbury] The Church of England’s Diocese of Canterbury has five new chaplains for the LGBTQIA+ community after they were commissioned during a service of Evensong at Canterbury Cathedral on Feb. 5, during LGBT+ history month. The group includes two clergy and three lay people. Dover Bishop Rose Hudson-Wilkin has oversight for the diocese…

[Episcopal News Service] Easton Bishop Santosh Marray plans to conclude his official duties as bishop of the the Maryland diocese a year earlier than previously announced, according to a revision of his retirement plans that was announced Feb. 11. Marray initially said last November that he planned to retire in fall 2026, setting in motion…

Representatives of plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies participate in a Zoom news conference on Feb. 11. [Episcopal News Service] More than two dozen Christian and Jewish organizations, including The Episcopal Church, sued the Trump administration on Feb. 11 for allowing immigration officers to target churches and other “sensitive” places…

[Church of England] The Archbishops’ Commission for Racial Justice has published its sixth and final report, following three years of extensive interrogation and questioning of the Church of England’s willingness to embed racial justice in its structures and the practice of its ministry. Mandated to drive “significant cultural and structural change on issues of racial justice within…

[Anglican Communion News Service] The Rt. Rev. Danald Jute — bishop of Kuching, located in Malaysia and part of the Church of the Province of South East Asia, and chair of the Anglican Interfaith Commission — recently met with Ahmed El-Tayeb, grand imam of Al-Azhar Mosque, in Cairo. The meeting, held at Al-Azhar, reaffirmed the shared…

Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, left, and the Very Rev. Martini Shaw, celebrate the Eucharist during a Feb. 9 service celebrating the Feast of Absalom Jones. Photo: Kirk Petersen/Episcopal News Service [Episcopal News Service] To celebrate the Feast of Absalom Jones, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe traveled to the spiritual home of the first Black Episcopal priest:…

[Church of England] In a national online service Feb. 9 that marked the 30th anniversary of Racial Justice Sunday, viewers heard that racial justice reflects “core” Christian values and is “rooted in love.” The bishop of Edmonton, the Rt. Rev. Anderson Jeremiah, led the service, in a broadcast from St. Francis at the Engine Room…

[Church in Wales] The Rt. Rev. Anthony Pierce, who was bishop of Swansea and Brecon between 1999 and 2008, has appeared at Swansea Crown Court and has admitted five counts of indecent assault on a male child under the age of 16. The offenses date from between 1985 and 1990, when Pierce was a parish priest in…