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[World Council of Churches] A World Council of Churches prayer on Sept. 16, held during the World Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel, focused on how Christians can be a source of hope amid the crushing war in the Holy Land. The theme of the 2024 World Week for Peace is “Whatever you did…,…

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Framingham, Massachusetts, collects crocheted and knitted octopuses for premature infants at Boston Children’s Hospital. Medical studies show that babies who have an octopus to cuddle are less likely to pull out their tubes and monitors. Cuddling an octopus can also help regulate breathing. Photo: Joanne Prentice [Episcopal News Service] Joanne…

[The Melbourne Anglican] Faith communities are calling on Australia’s major political parties to commit to divesting from coal and gas, as community members gather for a week of climate action. St. Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne was among the churches hosting an event and calling for action. Dean Andreas Loewe said Australia needed to act, as…

[The Church of England] A baptismal font dating back to the Middle Ages has been restored and repaired more than 80 years after it was destroyed by German bombers during the Second World War. It features “extraordinary” carvings including St. Catherine, holding her wheel. The font, installed in 1500 in the village church of Nettlestead St….

Participants, including two Haitians, pose for a photo at a Christ Episcopal Church game night, which the congregation holds at bars and restaurants in Springfield, Ohio. The Rev. Michelle Boomgaard said she tries to bring at least one game that can be shared regardless of any language barrier, so French-speaking members of the growing Haitian…

Michigan Bishop Bonnie Perry (center) joins members of the Old Crow Medicine Show band Morgan Jahnig (left) and Ketch Secor (right) after a Sept. 13 concert to benefit the Breakfast Program at St. Andrew’s, Ann Arbor, Michigan. Photo: Todd Nissen [Episcopal Diocese of Michigan] At a Sept. 13 benefit concert for the Breakfast Program at…

The Rt. Rev. Philip LaBelle was ordained and consecrated as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Olympia on Sept. 14 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, Washington. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry served as the chief consecrator. Photo: Courtesy of the Diocese of Olympia [Diocese of Olympia] The Rt. Rev. Philip N. LaBelle was ordained…

[Anglican Taonga] Prayers proposed for the latest edition of A New Zealand Prayer Book/He Karakia Mihinare o Aotearoa came under scrutiny as General Synod considered them for a first round of approvals on the way to becoming authorized “formularies” of the church. Motion 13 called for approval of a 300-page schedule of sentences, collects (an ancient…

[World Council of Churches] The first Asia Pacific Christian Youth Assembly met Sept. 4-8 in Jeju, Korea, under the theme “Repent and Make a Just Transition Happen!” The assembly was hosted by the National Council of University YMCAs of Korea and the National Council of YMCAs of Korea as an incubating space of ecumenical formation…

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of West Texas, poised to become one of the few Episcopal dioceses to employ a bishop suffragan, announced Sept. 13 a slate of three nominees in the running for the new leadership position. The nominees are the Rev. Angela Maria Cortiñas, associate rector of St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas;…