By Egan Millard Episcopal News Service Drawing on the words of Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry implored Americans to choose community over chaos in a message to The Episcopal Church as the United States reels from the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol, incited by President Donald Trump and led by his supporters. “This past … [Read more...] about Curry, Other Bishops Condemn Insurrection
violence
The Toughness of Salvation
Review by Victor Lee Austin Grievous By H.S. Cross Farrar, Straus and Giroux pp. 525, $30. What does the title of this book mean? It is the nickname, spoken by the boys just so — “Grievous,” sans honorific — of a housemaster at St. Stephen’s Academy in Yorkshire in the year 1931. St. Stephen’s is a boys’ boarding school with a scandalous past, a dingy … [Read more...] about The Toughness of Salvation
Hong Kong Bishops Call for Tolerance, Mutual Trust in Protest-Wracked City
By Mark Michael The House of Bishops of the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui (HKSKH) issued a pastoral letter on August 8 calling the people of Hong Kong to kindness and dialogue in response to escalating violence between pro-democracy demonstrators and police. Tensions, the three bishops say, “permeated the city, causing anxiety and pain.” This is the bishops’ third missive issued … [Read more...] about Hong Kong Bishops Call for Tolerance, Mutual Trust in Protest-Wracked City
Guilt and Persecution
The United Kingdom is beset by a post-colonial guilt that makes it likely to ignore pleas for help from Christians around the world who are persecuted for their faith, the Bishop of Truro has said. The Rt. Rev. Philip Mounstephen believes that while people of many faiths are persecuted, Christians are more likely than others to be victims. Pew Center statistics gathered … [Read more...] about Guilt and Persecution
Haiti: Stay or Go
Increasing unrest, advisories to leave the country, and dwindling supplies reveal how missionaries grapple with potential life-or-death questions. By G. Jeffrey MacDonald Disruptive protests, blocked highways, and worsening shortages in Haiti forced missionaries in February to grapple with a wrenching dilemma: heed a U.S. State Department advisory to “strongly consider … [Read more...] about Haiti: Stay or Go
‘Therefore Choose Life’
The mass murder of 11 people at Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh has prompted several bishops to reflect on anti-Semitism, evil, and violence and to call for a vigorous Christian response. Excerpts follow. The Rt. Rev. Dorsey W.M. McConnell Bishop of Pittsburgh The newscasts, sickeningly, are referring again and again to this horror as a “tragedy.” It is no such … [Read more...] about ‘Therefore Choose Life’
Bp. Breidenthal on Shooting Deaths
The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal, Bishop of Southern Ohio, responds to a shooting incident in Cincinnati: The active shooter situation this morning in downtown Cincinnati is yet another reminder of the impact that violence has on us all. The fact that this event happened only two blocks from my office makes the shock of all such shootings even more real. Please join me in … [Read more...] about Bp. Breidenthal on Shooting Deaths
Church Worker Shot to Death
Joseph Kiri, national youth coordinator for the Episcopal Church of South Sudan, has died after being shot while traveling to Yei. Thousands of young people gathered at Kiri’s home Sept. 27 to pay their respects for the youth worker and evangelist. Kiri was killed just days after Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, Primate of South Sudan, said a peace deal should become peace on … [Read more...] about Church Worker Shot to Death