This week, bishops from across the Episcopal Church are gathered in Minneapolis for a meeting of the House of Bishops.  The meeting, which began on September 17, will conclude on September 20.  The opening topic for the group was Lambeth Conference, an international meeting of bishops in the Anglican Communion, which begins July 22, 2020.  The initial meeting, which sought to share information about the conference, also took up the subject of the exclusion of spouses of LGBTQ+ bishops.

Lambeth Conference, […]

Earlier this week, a South Carolina judge denied The Episcopal Church in South Carolina’s motion to dismiss a betterments case brought against them by breakaway churches who retain physical control of more than two dozen parishes embroiled in legal controversy.  In November 2017, the breakaway group filed a betterments claim, seeking compensation for improvements made to the properties in question. Betterments are defined as, “improvements to a property or to surrounding infrastructure, such as roads or sewers, that boost the value […]

Earlier this week, a Summit County, Utah church made local news, something to which many churches aspire.  This time, however, it wasn’t for something to celebrate.  The church, unnamed in the article, made the local news because they have been the target of scammers four times in the past year.  Although, each scam was slightly different, each of the scams involved someone posing as clergy and asking for money, and the scams became increasingly more elaborate.

A member of the Summit […]

Curry writes, “The violence, intimidation and distortion of scripture associated with ‘Christian nationalism’ does not reflect the person and teachings of Jesus Christ, and so I stand with fellow leaders in the Christian community and call for a better way.”

This week, Church Pension Group (CPG) released their annual report.  The report, which has the subtitle “A Stable Presence,” details trends in investments, shares current statistics about their services, introduces new board members and employees, and gives a snapshot of current priorities for the organizations that fall under its purview.  Church Pension Group includes The Church Pension Fund, Church Life Insurance Corporation, The Church Insurance Companies, The Episcopal Church Medical Trust, and Church Publishing Incorporated.

At the of the end of […]

The resolution states, “All Episcopal institutions, programs, facilities, and services must ensure the safety of participants which should include requiring that all participants and staff participating are vaccinated in accordance with the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Immunization Schedule and/or applicable state law…”

The Church of England is bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase “high church” this week as they change regulations surrounding their investment funds, the Church Commissioners for England fund, allowing for the possibility of funds being invested in medicinal cannabis.  Medicinal cannabis was legalized in the U.K. in November 2018.

The Church Commissioners for England Fund is worth an estimated £8.3 billion ($10.5 billion). According to the Church of England website,

“The Church Commissioners exist to support the […]

The Anglican Church of Canada completed its fourth regional consultation on human trafficking last month in Nanaimo, British Columbia.  This was the final in a series of regional consultations taking place around the country. Human trafficking is defined as, “modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation.”  

In this most recent regional consultation, which included approximately 20 representatives from the province, attention was focused on populations who are at heightened risk for human trafficking, including […]

It was announced earlier this week that Heather Cook, a former suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Maryland, will be released from prison later this month after serving just over three and a half years of a seven year sentence stemming from a December 27, 2014 traffic accident in which she struck and killed a cyclist and fled the scene.  In 2015, Cook pleaded guilty to four charges associated with the accident, including vehicular manslaughter, texting while driving, driving under […]

The Rev. Gerald Toussaint, pastor of Mount Pleasant Baptist Church, told ABC, “the church is not that building. The church is the people…If we stay together as a congregation, the church is alive and well…We can rebuild the building as long as we stay together.”