In the News

Old North Church, with attendance from RUFF North End dog group, hosted their annual Blessing of the Animals on Sunday afternoon in honor of St. Francis Day. Dozens of pets, accompanied by their humans, congregated on the Prado to receive individual blessings from Rev. Ellie Terry and Rev. Stephen…

St. Peter's Episcopal Church went to the dogs and stuffed animals during a special “Blessing of the Animals” service on October 8. The special service is a popular one, held on or close to the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi to commemorate the famous saint of pets and animals. The Feast of St…

On Friday, Sept. 20, children from the preschool at St. David's Church in South Yarmouth helped to ring the church bell to raise awareness for climate change and caring for creation. "We just had a bell-ringing experience with our preschoolers and people from our congregation to…

Numbering about 60, a coalition of youth groups and concerned citizens gathered at Memorial Field across Roosevelt Avenue from Smith & Wesson headquarters on Sept. 13 to call on executives to work with them to address gun violence. Joining the groups were two of the state’s Episcopal bishops and a…

The start of the gospel during Sunday service isn’t supposed to raise a chuckle. But Rev. Bradford Clark couldn’t help it. A goose honked. Some crows briefly joined the chorus but, on the whole, the domestic and wild animals in the neighborhood didn’t disturb proceedings. This wasn’t the annual…

Every month for the past two years, members of Winchester’s Parish of the Epiphany, along with other faith groups, have gathered at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Boston and Burlington to pray, sing, and hold signs of support for the detainees. From inside…

This summer’s team worked with two families, one a couple with two young children and another an elderly man who lives alone. Volunteer Helen Pulizzi said she helped replace a beam in the little girl’s bedroom and re-sided part of the house. The goal of Appalachia Service Project (ASP) is to make…

This August marks the 400th anniversary of the first landing of enslaved Africans in British North America. It happened in 1619 at Point Comfort in Hampton, Virginia. The National Parks of Boston took part over the weekend in what the National Parks Service called the "National Day of Healing."…

Eleven historic bells chime daily on top of the high bell tower at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Salem. One of them dates back to 1740, where its tolled for the death of every president preceding George H.W. Bush. In January 2018, a series of three snowstorms destroyed the mechanism that rings…

The bells of St. Anne’s Episcopal Church tolled for four minutes as a crowd gathered to stand in silence and reflect on that day 400 years ago when African slaves first arrived in England’s American colonies. Late August sunlight and a strong breeze hinted at fall’s fast approach as the bells rang…