World Mission Sunday, celebrated every year on the last Sunday after Epiphany, is a commemoration established by mandate of General Convention Resolution 1997 A205 to help Episcopalians increase awareness of and participation in global mission.

The 2006 theme was inspired by the work of Episcopal and Anglican women from around the world who gathered at last year's meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. The endeavors of the Commission are just one of many examples of how each Episcopalian can include and celebrate world mission in the fulfillment of the mission of the church "to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ."

Materials for congregational use will include a specially designed poster, and a downloadable bulletin shell, bulletin insert, a sermon, a homiletical note and other web site links. Propers for World Mission Sunday are the same as the ones for Last Sunday after Epiphany, Lectionary Year B:

• 1 Kings 19:9-18
• 2 Peter 1: 16-19 (20-21)
• Mark 9:2-9
• Psalm 27 or 27:5-11

Also, a special DVD developed by Women's Ministries titled "Shall We Gather" will be available.

For additional information on World Mission Sunday contact Tracy Andres at 212.716.6226 or email tandres@episcopalchurch.org.

Note: The following titles are available from the Episcopal Book/Resource Center, 815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017; 800.334.7626; http://www.episcopalbookstore.org/

FAITH IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: Belonging by Lucinda Mosher (Seabury Books, New York, New York, 2005, 186 pages, $15.)

Faith in the Neighborhood explores what it means to live and worship among the many faiths unique to America's neighborhoods. Each book in the series illuminates the questions Christians have about other faiths-Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Bahái, Zoroastrianism, Afro-Caribbean religions, Native-American religions, Confucianism, and Shinto. Interwoven with interviews and personal stories, Belonging is intended for interfaith education of all kinds. A quick guide to each religion, a glossary, and recommended reading are included.

Lucinda Mosher holds a Th.D. from General Theological Seminary. She serves on the Diocese of New York Episcopal-Muslim Relations Committee, and teaches courses in World Religions, Islam, Christianity, and inter-religious relations. Mosher lectures extensively in parishes and coordinates the Neighbor-Faith Project, an initiative funded by Trinity Grants.

STOP THE NEXT WAR NOW: Effective responses to violence and terrorism
by Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans (Inner Ocean Publishing, Inc., Maui, Hawaii, 2005, 234 pages, $14.95.)

In an effort to stop the war in Iraq, a powerful global movement demonstrated a passion for peace. Armed with insights from the trenches and a vision for a world without war, more than 70 experts, scholars, artists, activists, and journalists come together to stop the next war now.

Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans are mothers, concerned citizens, and lifetime leaders in the global peace movement. In 2002, they co-founded CODEPINK: Women for Peace, online at www.codepinkalert.org.