In the News

Two dozen members of the Episcopal clergy surrounded Julia E. Whitworth and placed their hands on her head as she knelt in prayer. A few minutes later, she was on her feet with a red stole and cape draped over her shoulders and a golden shepherd’s crook in her hand. The crowd Saturday morning in…

Last Sunday, worshipers at a morning service in Norwood discovered welcome flags with rainbow designs had been yanked down, multi-colored Adirondack chairs symbolizing the church’s support for the LGBTQ community had been rearranged, and a rainbow banner reading “Be the Church” had been covered…

The Rev. Julia Whitworth, who will be consecrated Oct. 19 as the 17th Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, is eager to address the challenges of leading a large diocese based in the city of Boston. “I want to come in and know the diocese and be known. I want to build trust, be a keen listener,…

The families moved into the basement of St. Paul's Church in Newburyport a few months after they fled Afghanistan in 2021. The church's rector, the Rev. Dr. Jarred Mercer, is leading an effort to develop a system of housing for the families and others who've been forcibly displaced from their…

Leaders of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts on June 1 ordained five women as deacons, welcoming them into ministry as the church prepares next month to mark the 50th anniversary of the first ordination of women as priests.

St. Anne’s Episcopal Church members began a yearlong celebration of the church’s 200th anniversary on May 19 led by diocesan Bishop Alan Gates and joined by parishioners and clergy from area Episcopal churches, including St. John’s Church in Lowell, St. Anne’s Church in Billerica and All Saints…

For the first time in its 240-year history, a woman will be the top bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The Rev. Julia E. Whitworth, an Indianapolis priest, was elected Saturday by clergy members and lay delegates during a special convention at Boston's Trinity Church.

The Rev. Julia E. Whitworth, an Indianapolis priest, was elected the next bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts on Saturday, becoming the first woman elected to the role.

Agroecologist Peter Jensen, a former Peace Corps permagarden training specialist, worked in Haiti and East Africa for over two decades, “building landscapes back better than they ever were.” Since leaving Ethiopia in 2019 and moving back to Orleans, where he grew up, he has been applying that…

As part of the island's Interfaith Climate Action Team, the Rev. Stephen Harding, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Vineyard Haven, meets with a group of a dozen or so people who have gathered regularly since COVID to brainstorm ideas around climate and ecology, and turn those ideas into action…