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[World Council of Churches] A new booklet produced by the World Council of Churches invites churches to accompany preparations for the WCC’s Sixth World Conference on Faith and Order in 2025, a major gathering intended to advance Christian unity. The 16-page full-color booklet offers more details about the event, its theme and its setting in…

Leaders from the dioceses of Milwaukee, Fond du Lac and Eau Claire gather May 4 in Baraboo to approve a reunion agreement that will go before the 81st General Convention for final approval in June. Photo: Graicey Van Spankeren/Diocese of Milwaukee [Episcopal News Service] The dioceses of Milwaukee, Fond du Lac and Eau Claire voted…

[Religion News Service] On May 2, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria and all of Africa ordained in Zimbabwe the first deaconess of any patriarchate in the global Eastern Orthodox Church, marking the culmination of years of efforts to revive the female diaconate in the Church. The Archbishop of Zimbabwe, Metropolitan Serafim, ordained Angelic Molen at the…

  Cheers and applause greet Bishop Coadjutor Austin Keith Rios and his spouse, Maleah Rios. Photo: Sharon Jones [Diocese of California] The Rt. Rev. Austin Keith Rios was ordained and consecrated bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of California on May 4 at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. The consecration paves the way for Rios to…

The Rev. Russ Levenson, rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas, will retire this month after celebrating his final services May 5 at St. Martin’s, the largest congregation in The Episcopal Church. Photo: St. Martin’s Episcopal Church [Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Russ Levenson was packing boxes when Episcopal News Service reached him…

Idaho Episcopalian Ronald Braman, a member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, spoke during the 23rd annual United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, April 15-26, 2024, to address the high number of missing and murdered Indigenous people in the United States. Photo: Lynnaia Main [Episcopal News Service] A two-member Episcopal delegation attended the 23rd annual…

[World Council of Churches] The World Council of Churches Commission on Education and Ecumenical Formation held its second meeting on May 2, focusing on the relevance of theological education for churches and the ecumenical movement. Some 30 commissioners gathered online to reflect on questions related to the place given to theological education and ecumenical formation…

[Religion News Service — Charlotte, North Carolina] United Methodist delegates adopted a revised definition of marriage on May 2 at their quadrennial meeting called the General Conference and deleted from their rule book a condemnation of homosexuality that has riven the denomination for 52 years. The afternoon actions on the floor of the Charlotte Convention Center…

[World Council of Churches] The latest issue of Current Dialogue, the journal of the World Council of Churches on interreligious dialogue and cooperation, takes as its theme “Gender Justice and Interreligious Relations.” “The struggle for gender justice has become a cornerstone of liberative and transformative practice within and across religious communities,” writes interim editor the…

From left, the Rt. Rev. Matthias Clement Tze-wo Der, bishop of Hong Kong Island, and the Most Rev. Titus Chung Khiam Boon, archbishop of South East Asia and bishop of Singapore, walk ahead with an interpreter after leaving the Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere as part of the Primates’ Meeting pilgrimage in Rome. Photo:…