News

For almost 20 years, the Rev. Pam Werntz, Rector of Emmanuel Church in Boston, has been spending her Monday nights in prison.  She is the creator of the art and spirituality program at the Suffolk County House of Correction at South Bay, a volunteer ministry that provides time, space and…

At its June 19 hearing, the Massachusetts Legislature's Joint Committee on the Judiciary heard testimony on a range of proposed criminal justice reform measures focused on sentencing and correctional services.  The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher attended the hearing, and the following statement is…

Four years after they first began delivering brown-bag lunches to local children, volunteers at the Food for Kids program at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Orleans are planning to serve 35,000 meals this summer, reaching kids in all eight towns of lower/outer Cape Cod. Food for Kids helps fill…

Know a young leader whom the church needs to raise up? For more than 20 years, the Youth Leadership Academy (YLA) in the Diocese of Massachusetts has gathered rising 9th and 10th graders for this one-year leadership program to discern how their gifts and abilities can meet the needs and concerns of…

The Episcopal bishops in Massachusetts join the nation in grief over yesterday’s shooting in Virginia as yet another manifestation of the constant, deadly gun violence which confronts us.Our colleague bishops in Virginia and Washington have issued the following letter.  We thank them for the…

The Rev. Silvestre Romero, Rector of St. Peter's-San Pedro Church in Salem, was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Guatemala during its May 26-27 convention held at the Catedral de Santiago Apóstol in Guatemala City.  Pending the consent process, Romero will succeed the current bishop,…

Bishop Gayle E. Harris ordained six transitional deacons on Saturday, June 3 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston.  Pictured with her, from top left, they (and their sponsoring congregations) are:  The Rev. Daniel Bell (St. Stephen's Church in Lynn), The Rev. Emily Garcia …

The diocesan Treasurer’s Office distributed 2018 assessment calculations to congregations on June 1 using a new assessment formula adopted by Diocesan Council in April.  The new formula is a response to requests from congregations for assessment relief, voiced during the mission strategy…

I had not anticipated the level of grief.  The departure of Episcopal Divinity School to New York City was announced in February.  The trustees had declared last summer that the school would cease granting degrees in Cambridge as of May 2017.  The decision to partner with Union…

The Office of the Bishop has issued the following notice:May 23, 2017Dear Friends and Colleagues,We are saddened to inform you of the death of the Rev. Harold R. Bronk Jr. in Milton, Mass., on May 20, 2017. Over the course of nearly 63 years of ordained ministry, Ray served numerous congregations…