A LOSS of confidence in ordained ministry is the “major obstacle” to tackling the crisis in stipendiary-clergy numbers, a new report from the campaigning group Save the Parish concludes.
The report, Parish Ministry: Addressing the crisis in stipendiary clergy numbers in the Church of England, is due to be launched in Parliament on Thursday. It followed a consultation held by Save the Parish at St George’s House, Windsor, in March. Those who attended included principals of theological-education institutions (TEIs), bishops, archdeacons, directors of ordinands, and parish clergy.
Among the challenges identified are what the report describes as the “mixed messages” sent about the vocation to ordained ministry: a call to more ordinands alongside the message given when “nearly bankrupt dioceses” cut the number of stipendiaries they have.
Also See: Church leaders warn vicars becoming an 'endangered species'Episcopal Church celebrates first trans dean — woman in lesbian marriage to trans-identified pastor
A Wisconsin cathedral has installed what is believed to be the first trans-identifying dean in the history of The Episcopal Church.
The Very Rev. Micah Cronin, a woman who identifies as a man, took the helm of All Saints' Cathedral in Milwaukee on Aug. 16, according to Episcopal News Service. The cathedral draws an average of just 70 worshippers on a given Sunday.
Also See: Wisconsin cathedral welcomes Episcopal Church’s first transgender deanStatement regarding presentment of Bishop Chip Edgar
Last week, I shared a statement with the Province reaffirming our position of principled disengagement from those who promote false teaching.
I did so in the context of the participation of the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, ACNA, with a bishop of The Episcopal Church in a joint dedication of a local school chapel...
Also See: A Message from the ADOSC Standing Committee on the Porter-Gaud affairRochet, Chimere, Stole—and a Rush to Judgment
The controversy arising from the August 18 dedication of St. Timothy’s Chapel at Porter-Gaud School has been instructive, though perhaps not in the manner its loudest participants intended.
From what I have observed, clergy do not give as much thought to what they wear as the author of this piece might like them to do. This past Sunday I attended a "Fifth Sunday Singing" at a local church. I was greeted at the door by a gentleman, hair tied in a pony tail, a gold ring in each ear, wearing a brightly colored Hawiian shirt. I introduced myself and asked if he was the musician for the event. He replied, "I'm the pastor!" Someone commented later that the church's pastor was "non-traditional." He was an odd match for the church's aging congregation whose taste in music was gospel songs from a bygone era.Two Bishops and One School – Christian Leadership across Division
On August 18, Porter-Gaud School, a private, independent college preparatory day school in Charleston, South Carolina celebrated the dedication of a new chapel. Bearing the name St. Timothy, the space will serve the worship life of this K-12 co-educational school community, an institution dating back to 1867. Porter-Gaud was founded by an Episcopal priest, but is now governed by an independent board of trustees. Among the shared photos from the day were several showing Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and Bishop Chip Edgar of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. These two Christian leaders from different bodies both serve on the board and participated liturgically in the chapel dedication service. For those in the local context, Woodliff-Stanley and Edgar probably appeared to be two religious leaders from different churches gathering to celebrate a milestone in the life of the school. If one focuses a little more closely, one might recognize that these two leaders represent bodies with a history of tension and theological division. But one might likely still see two leaders who want the best for a school held in high regard by both constituencies.
But what do people see from a distance? For many beyond the local context, the photos were disconcerting.
Church trial of Anglican Archbishop Steve Wood, accused of sexual misconduct, begins Monday
‘Our young Province finds itself in a challenging and uncomfortable season,’ Julian Dobbs, who has taken over the archbishop’s duties, wrote in an email to the denomination on Tuesday. ‘Our unity, fervor, and faith are surely being tested.’
Study documents ICE hiring violent criminals as agents
At least 152 federal immigration agents have been charged with or convicted of violent crimes including rape, kidnapping, child molestation and murder at some time in their lives, according to a new report by the Ohio Immigration Alliance.
The organization delved into the criminal backgrounds of Department of Homeland Security immigration personnel after noticing an alarming pattern of sexual and other violent attacks against immigrants and women by agents based in Cincinnati.
Most US Protestant churches have grown since 2023, survey finds
Most Protestant churches in the US are growing, according to new data compiled by Lifeway Research.
In a survey of Protestant pastors in the US, sponsored by the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, 54 per cent reported growth of at least four per cent in their average worship service attendance since 2023. Almost a third (30 per cent) reported no growth, while only 16 per cent said their church had declined by four per cent or more.
On average, Protestant worship services were attended by 183 people, up from an average of 176 in 2023.
Every year in late August and early September, thousands of monarch butterflies gather at Stonington Peninsula, a sub-peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and wait for favorable weather and wind patterns before they begin their nearly 2,000-mile migration to central Mexico, where they will settle for the winter.
Most of these lightweight insects – up to 90% – won’t survive the nearly two-month journey because of harsh weather conditions, predators, light pollution, pesticides and a lack of food available on their route, but their survival is necessary for North America’s ecosystem. As the monarch butterflies fly south, roughly 50 to 100 miles daily, they will feed on wildflowers and crops, transferring pollen and helping plants, including food crops, reproduce in the process.
Episcopalians in the Marquette-based Diocese of Northern Michigan, which serves the state’s Upper Peninsula, and fellow Yoopers understand and appreciate the monarch butterflies’ importance. That’s why about 100 people gather every year at Peninsula Point Lighthouse for the annual “blessing of the monarch butterflies” event hosted by UP Wild Church, a ministry of the Diocese of Northern Michigan and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Northern Great Lakes Synod.
Researchers from universities in the U.K., Denmark and Sweden have proposed a new framework for understanding how repeated interactions with increasingly human-like artificial intelligence could influence people's behavior and self-perception.
Dubbed “robotoid humanness,” the proposed phenomenon describes a two-way process in which AI systems become more human-like while people might adapt their behavior to become more compatible with machines.
How AI Is Shaping Bible Interpretation
Pastors have plenty of reasons to be wary of AI. New research from Barna, conducted in partnership with Gloo for the State of the Church initiative, finds that one concern rises above most others: AI misinterpreting Scripture. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (74%) say they are concerned about AI misinterpreting Scripture. Among practicing Christians, that figure rises to 83 percent, and among pastors, 94 percent.
Though concern about AI misinterpreting Scripture runs high, the way people want AI to handle scriptural interpretation varies significantly and, for Christians especially, seems to sit at odds with that concern.
Christians called to engage confidently amid growing curiosity in ‘dangerous’ New Age spirituality
Psychic nights at the local pub, celebrities ‘manifesting’, and “WitchTok” videos attracting millions of views: alternative spirituality has become an increasingly visible part of popular culture.
Now the Evangelical Alliance is encouraging Christians to engage confidently with the world of tarot, crystals, astrology, manifesting and other spiritual practices, while warning that such practices should not be regarded as harmless.
Its new free guide argues that growing spiritual curiosity in Britain presents churches with both a challenge and an evangelistic opportunity, particularly as renewed interest in New Age practices appears to be developing alongside greater openness to Christianity.
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Christianity Explored helps people discover who Jesus is, why he came, and what it means to follow him. Built around Mark’s Gospel, each session includes a short film and time for open, honest conversation. Get the complete course--free.
Creative Ways to Share the Gospel in Your Local Community
Join David Perrera from Pastors.com and Pastor Juan Vasquez from Unleashed Christian Church in Tucson, AZ for this FREE online webinar to discover new and innovative ways to share the Gospel in your local community using Healthy Church principles.
In a survey of Protestant pastors in the US, sponsored by the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, 54 per cent reported growth of at least four per cent in their average worship service attendance since 2023. Almost a third (30 per cent) reported no growth, while only 16 per cent said their church had declined by four per cent or more.
On average, Protestant worship services were attended by 183 people, up from an average of 176 in 2023.
Also See: Pastors report rising worship attendance, but fewer new commitments to Christ: studyNorthern Michigan bishop to bless monarch butterflies as they begin migration to Mexico
Every year in late August and early September, thousands of monarch butterflies gather at Stonington Peninsula, a sub-peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and wait for favorable weather and wind patterns before they begin their nearly 2,000-mile migration to central Mexico, where they will settle for the winter.
Most of these lightweight insects – up to 90% – won’t survive the nearly two-month journey because of harsh weather conditions, predators, light pollution, pesticides and a lack of food available on their route, but their survival is necessary for North America’s ecosystem. As the monarch butterflies fly south, roughly 50 to 100 miles daily, they will feed on wildflowers and crops, transferring pollen and helping plants, including food crops, reproduce in the process.
Episcopalians in the Marquette-based Diocese of Northern Michigan, which serves the state’s Upper Peninsula, and fellow Yoopers understand and appreciate the monarch butterflies’ importance. That’s why about 100 people gather every year at Peninsula Point Lighthouse for the annual “blessing of the monarch butterflies” event hosted by UP Wild Church, a ministry of the Diocese of Northern Michigan and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Northern Great Lakes Synod.
For more than six decades I have lived on the monarch butterfly migration route, first in southeastern Louisiana and more recently, for two decades, in western Kentucky. My mother took a keen interest in conservation, nature, and wildlife. For a number of years she was a monarch butterfly monitor.Does interacting with AI make people act more like robots? Researchers say 'yes'
Researchers from universities in the U.K., Denmark and Sweden have proposed a new framework for understanding how repeated interactions with increasingly human-like artificial intelligence could influence people's behavior and self-perception.
Dubbed “robotoid humanness,” the proposed phenomenon describes a two-way process in which AI systems become more human-like while people might adapt their behavior to become more compatible with machines.
How AI Is Shaping Bible Interpretation
Pastors have plenty of reasons to be wary of AI. New research from Barna, conducted in partnership with Gloo for the State of the Church initiative, finds that one concern rises above most others: AI misinterpreting Scripture. Nearly three-quarters of U.S. adults (74%) say they are concerned about AI misinterpreting Scripture. Among practicing Christians, that figure rises to 83 percent, and among pastors, 94 percent.
Though concern about AI misinterpreting Scripture runs high, the way people want AI to handle scriptural interpretation varies significantly and, for Christians especially, seems to sit at odds with that concern.
Christians called to engage confidently amid growing curiosity in ‘dangerous’ New Age spirituality
Psychic nights at the local pub, celebrities ‘manifesting’, and “WitchTok” videos attracting millions of views: alternative spirituality has become an increasingly visible part of popular culture.
Now the Evangelical Alliance is encouraging Christians to engage confidently with the world of tarot, crystals, astrology, manifesting and other spiritual practices, while warning that such practices should not be regarded as harmless.
Its new free guide argues that growing spiritual curiosity in Britain presents churches with both a challenge and an evangelistic opportunity, particularly as renewed interest in New Age practices appears to be developing alongside greater openness to Christianity.
Christianity Explored Content Offer
Christianity Explored helps people discover who Jesus is, why he came, and what it means to follow him. Built around Mark’s Gospel, each session includes a short film and time for open, honest conversation. Get the complete course--free.
Creative Ways to Share the Gospel in Your Local Community
Join David Perrera from Pastors.com and Pastor Juan Vasquez from Unleashed Christian Church in Tucson, AZ for this FREE online webinar to discover new and innovative ways to share the Gospel in your local community using Healthy Church principles.
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