Progress at UNCSW: Christopher Esposito-Bernard (Diocese of New York)
“Why are they sending you?” My mother’s question poked with an edge of suspicion. Undoubtedly, she was still reeling from the GOP’s decision to deny women from testifying before congress and allowing five MEN to compromise, I mean, comprise the panel designed to talk about women’s health issues. Fortunately for me, the United Nations identified […]
EPPN reflections to focus on the culture of violence
For so many of us, Lent is a period of time we set aside to reflect on our understanding of the meaning of our lives and our role in joining God’s purposes for each of us. Each year, Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN) establishes a theme and sponsors a series of reflections and discussions on a […]
St. Alban Pilgrimage
Greetings from The Episcopal Church, and its 82 churches named for Alban – one in Haiti and the others in 40 of the United States. They are celebrating their patronal feasts this weekend as well. Our communications director told me recently about a conversation she had at a trade conference with various Hollywood […]
Forgiving Seventy Times Seven, Proper 19 (A) – 2014
Five Amish schoolgirls killed, 11 wounded, by a shooter in Pennsylvania, the headlines cried in 2006. The Amish community not only comforted the shooter’s wife and children, they forgave him. The Amish were reviled by many in the press because they forgave even as they mourned the death of their own innocent children. In 1948, […]
Presiding Bishop addresses crisis of unaccompanied children at the U.S. border
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has issued the following statement on the current crisis of unaccompanied children and families at the United States border. The influx of vulnerable people from Central America, including unaccompanied minors as well as mothers with children, continues to challenge the United States to respond compassionately. Like Sudanese or […]
Immigration Advocacy Newsletter July 2014
Immigration Advocacy Network Newsletter- July 2014 Humanitarian crisis at the southern border edition: background, updates, and resources Advocacy Calendar Background Administrative Update Resources Advocacy Calendar Look for an EPPN alert next week and more items to come as the situation at the border continues to evolve Want to take action in support of refugees and […]
Request for Increased Funding to the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement
February 28, 2013 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear President Obama and Members of Congress: We, the undersigned faith, refugee, and humanitarian leaders and organizations, write to ask for your leadership as the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program faces a crisis. Without your intervention, America’s ability to provide […]
Eight DFMS staff appointments announced
Bishop Stacy Sauls, Episcopal Church Chief Operating Officer, has announced the appointments of eight full-time positions to the staff of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS). The positions reflect the priorities of Episcopal Church General Convention 2012 and focus on the Five Marks of Mission. Lisa Bellamy has been named Development Research Analyst […]
EPPNAlert : Senate preps for final S. 744 vote – Why The Episcopal Church supports the bill
This week, after months of debate in the Senate and advocacy across the country, the United States Senate will vote on S.744, the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. This historic legislation, if passed, will bring our nation that much closer to enacting the first comprehensive reform of our immigration laws since 1986. […]
Presiding Bishop issues statement on Senate introduction of Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori issued the following statement on the US Senate Introduction of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. We affirm that human beings are made in the image of God, created with dignity and intrinsic value. Dignified and productive work is one way in which people give expression to that divine creativity, […]
EPPN Lenten Series: "Transforming Our Culture of Violence"
Today, as Christians observe Ash Wednesday and begin their Lenten journeys, the Episcopal Public Policy brings you, as it does every year, the first in a thematic series that will span the weeks of Lent. This year’s theme is “Transforming our Culture of Violence.” It is inspired by the emerging conversation in the United States, […]
EPPN Alert:: Lent: – Border Violence
Before he became one of the thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children who left their homes last year to make the solitary journey across some of the world's most dangerous borders in search of safety, Mario was a high school student in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. San Pedro Sula is one of the most violent cities […]
Coalition Letter: Opposing Cuts to the FY2013 Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) Account
Dear Members of the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, As faith leaders from across the country, we write to ask for your support during a challenging time for refugees in our communities. Specifically, we ask you to prevent proposed cuts to the Refugee and Entrant Assistance (REA) account in fiscal year 2013 (FY13). The United […]
First Sunday after Christmas
Several years ago, I visited a congregation in western Kentucky, where the teen-aged boys and girls gave me a T-shirt with their motto: Grace Church Acolytes – playing with fire since 1853. On Christmas morning at St. George’s Cathedral I met an 8-year-old doing the same thing – he was entrusted with carrying the gospel […]
Presiding Bishop in Ramallah: “Are you looking everywhere for Jesus?”
“Are you looking everywhere for Jesus?” Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori asked in her December 30 sermon at St. Andrew’s in Ramallah. “Go and seek out other anxious children, those brothers and sisters of ours, who are also looking for him. We’ll find him in our father’s house, even if it’s in a […]
Opening Address – Sesquicentennial
Greetings from the whole of the Episcopal Church, and congratulations on your sesquicentennial – the whole of this church rejoices with you in marking this notable anniversary! Your bishop has asked me to reflect on where we’re going as a church and what your particular vocation might be here in Hawai’i. In order […]
On-demand now available of Episcopal Church forum: The Intersection of Poverty and the Environment
The on-demand video is now available for the groundbreaking forum initiated by the Episcopal Church, The Intersection of Poverty and the Environment at www.episcopalchurch.org/intersection During the two-hour presentation originating from the Cathedral of St. Mark’s in Salt Lake City, UT, experts from religious, political and community-organizing areas examined the impact of Can Sustainability Initiatives Lift […]
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori expresses concern to President Obama about Gaza incident
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has sent a letter to United States President Barack Obama “to express deep concern for the circumstances surrounding Israeli forces” interception of a flotilla of ships bound for the Gaza Strip earlier this week.” In today”s letter, Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori noted, “The proximity talks your Administration currently […]
Presiding bishop expresses concern to Obama over Israel's seizure of aid to Gaza, ongoing blockade
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori June 2 sent a letter to President Barack Obama expressing deep concern surrounding Israel’s interception of an aid flotilla bound for Gaza. Nine activists were killed May 31 when Israeli commandos boarded the six-ship convoy carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, which has been under a heightened Israeli blockade since the […]
Archbishop of Canterbury’s Christmas sermon at Canterbury Cathedral
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams preached his Christmas sermon at Canterbury Cathedral on Dec. 25. The full text follows. This morning's reading from the Letter to the Hebrews begins with the boldest and most unambiguous statement possible of what's new and different about Christmas. God has always been communicating with humanity, in any […]