Wednesday's Catch: '‘The hand of God is clearly at work’: Fla. Episcopal Church welcomes 3,000th member' And More

‘The hand of God is clearly at work’: Fla. Episcopal Church welcomes 3,000th member
A Florida-based congregation of The Episcopal Church is defying the denomination’s overall trend of decline, having recently reached the milestone of 3,000 members. Church of the Redeemer of Sarasota announced that it surpassed the 3,000-member mark on Feb. 16, when they baptized infants Casey Jane Clegg and Ruby Mae Spears. The two babies represented the 3,000th and 3,001st members of the congregation, with the parish celebrating the occasion with gold balloons of the two numbers.

FIRST-PERSON: Standing With the Persecuted
Persecuted believers want the global church to not just remember them in prayer but also to extend love and friendship to them.

'Russian jihadism': Ukrainian patriarch fearful for church's survival
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine now 3 years old, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church told those gathered in Washington last week that his church will not survive if Russia succeeds, saying most parishes in occupied territories have been destroyed. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk joined a Thursday discussion at the Hudson Institute think tank to discuss ideas for lasting peace in Ukraine, warning about the end goals of the Russian worldview that he called "Russian jihadism." His visit preceded the President Donald Trump-led U.S. government voting Monday against United Nations resolutions condemning the Russian invasion and supporting Ukraine's territorial integrity.

Moldova appeals to clergy for solidarity on Ukraine
The Moldovan government has called on the nation’s clergy to take a stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, appealing for them to “tell the truth” about a war that has seen the destruction of some 500 places of worship—and taken a terrible toll on human life. Speaking on the eve of the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of its smaller neighbour, government spokesperson Daniel Voda said the conflict, which Moscow still calls a ‘Special Military Operation’, was not just a territorial dispute, but a spiritual threat. “From the beginning of the invasion, more than 500 churches, synagogues and mosques have been destroyed or damaged. That's one every two days,” Voda said, according to Reuters. “Do not remain silent. Tell the world the truth. The aggression is not just a fight for territory, it is the destruction of shrines

Judge Blocks ICE Enforcement at Some Churches
A federal court judge temporarily blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement from conducting raids in and around some Baptist, Quaker, and Sikh houses of worship in a narrow ruling on February 24. Judge Theodore Chuang of the U.S. District Court of Maryland, an Obama appointee, sided with the plaintiffs in a lawsuit that is similar to one filed on February 11 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, to which the Episcopal Church is a party. Both lawsuits challenge the Trump administration’s Inauguration Day decision to revoke the Homeland Security Administration’s “protected area policies,” which date back to 2011 (though similar restrictions had been in place for decades).

Related: CBF and coalition win temporary order against ICE raids in churches and Faith groups claim legal victories on refugees, ICE raids at houses of worship

Immigration and the Dignity of the Human Person
People are sometimes confused by the stands that the Roman Catholic Church takes on moral and social issues because they rarely fit neatly into American political categories. The teaching on human dignity is the key to unlocking the meaning behind such seeming inconsistency. It is why the response of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to the flurry of actions taken by the Trump administration in its first couple of weeks has been praise for some things, like the pardoning of nonviolent protesters outside of abortion clinics, along with strong condemnation of other things, like the authorization of mass arrests of immigrants, including refugees and asylum-seekers, extending even to arrests inside of schools and churches.

Jesus fed the 5,000, but the people of God can't fill the chasm left by USAID
Stop pretending that well-meaning Christians can take over where USAID left off.

Related: America has walked away from the battle for international goodwill

IVF Is Not Pro-Family
Trump’s executive order once again highlights the divide between the pro-life movement and the pronatalist crowd. Lila Rose of Live Action pointed out that a mere “7% of embryos created via IVF will result in a live birth” and that “93% of these lives are frozen indefinitely, miscarried, or aborted.” Trump ally and pronatalist advocate Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has twelve children with three women (and purportedly his thirteenth child was born to a conservative influencer several months ago). At least eight of them were conceived via IVF. Most pro-lifers oppose IVF on the grounds that it commodifies unborn children and results in massive loss of life; the pronatalists want more babies at any cost.

5 Signs of an Unhealthy Church
Here are the five signs of an unhealthy church. There is no such thing as a “perfect” church. Honestly, there will never be a perfect church because the people who occupy the church are imperfect.

3 Teams That Are Critical to Church Growth
Church growth should be a team effort, with God as the head of that team. God has provided the people who are leading the church with you—staff and volunteers—and they need to understand their critical role in the health and church growth as a whole. Each person and every ministry team they’re leading is important and their team’s operations can have an impact on the church’s future. But when it comes to Sundays, some teams have a more critical role in helping or hindering church growth than others.

Prepare for Lent and Engage Meaningful and Life-Changing Practices
As Lent approaches, it’s a time for both clergy and laity to deepen their spiritual practices. Andreá Cummings invites us to commit to meaningful growth through daily Bible reading, engaging devotionals, and acts of service as this season calls for reflection, generosity, and connection, encouraging both personal transformation and communal renewal in faith and service.

Ask Better Questions: Turn Sunday Small Talk into Sacred Conversations
Why do so many Sunday morning conversation get stuck in small talk? Laura Heikes challenges church leaders to move beyond chit-chat and create meaningful connections through Sunday morning questions. With just a little preparation, you can spark deeper conversations that help people notice God’s work, reflect on their spiritual practices, and connect their lives to the church’s mission. Here’s how to start asking questions that matter.

A child dies of measles in West Texas outbreak
At least 124 cases have been reported in Texas, with at least 18 hospitalizations. Most are children.

Related: CDC Issues Travel Warning Amid Measles Outbreak in the United States, After Infectious Disease Crosses Two State Lines

Image Credit: Church of the Redeemer, Sarasota, Florida