Week Ending 05/17/21

 Church of England Investment Group Revises Ethics Statements

A revised and much strengthened ethics statement has been issued by the body that oversees the investments of the Church of England.  The statements provides specific principles that are to be applied to all investment decisions and positions they should take in dealing with corporate boards.  Human rights is especially prominent in their considerations.  You can find the policy here.

Church Calls for Peace in World Trouble Spots

Political protests in the last several weeks in Columbia have been met with a brutal police response, leaving more than 42 people dead.  Province IX of The Episcopal Church is made up of seven dioceses in South America and the Caribbean.  Among those is the Diocese of Columbia.  Its bishop has issued a statement of  concern and call for peace and justice.  His call was then reinforced with a video statement by the presiding Bishop, and the decision of the Episcopal Church's Office of Latino/Hispanic Ministries to begin offering daily prayer services for peace in Columbia at 9 p.m. streamed on Facebook.  The recent clashes between Palestinians and Israeli s has led the Anglican Archbishop of Jerusalem to issue his own pleas for global prayers and for both sides to stand down, but being especially critical of the Israelis and noting that the Anglican Church operates a hospital in the Gaza strip that is treating many of those wounded in the Israeli air attacks, and that the hospital is in desperate need of funds to pay for the fuel that keeps its hospital systems running.

Continuing Stories

Churches Taking Steps Towards Re-Opening

As larger groups of people are vaccinated and the pandemic cases begin to decline in some parts of the world, churches are beginning to move towards in-person worship again.  Three times Ireland has ordered shutdowns of businesses and other gathering places including churches in order to put the brakes on resurging numbers of covid-19 cases.  Now, for the third time they are rolling back some of the shutdown requirements, and clergy will once again be able to enter their churches.   In the U.S. the Diocese of Atlanta has issued a revised set of covid-19 pandemic protocols, that will allow weddings, funerals, and baptisms to take place without special permission, that allows fully vaccinated congregations to meet without masks and choirs to practice and sing.  Churches are also to make sure that they have a way to welcome those not vaccinated.  The new protocols are here.  Update has been noting changes in worship patterns in response to the pandemic.  The most recent previous notice is here.

House of Bishops Headed for More Diversity

Three dioceses have recently announced their slates for up-coming elections of bishops and all are slates that ensure greater diversity in the House of Bishops.  The Episcopal Dioceses of Iowa and Pittsburgh have each put forward slates of three women.  In the case of Pittsburgh two of the three are also African-Americans. The third has strong ties to the LGBTQA community. The Episcopal Diocese of Nevada has four candidates, three women and a Native American male.  Update covered the first several all-women slates in 2018, and has noted the trend in which diocesan search committees are putting forward slates with greater racial, gender and sexual orientation diversity on several occasions, most recently here. 

Episcopal Bishops Marking Anniversary of George Floyd's Death

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and the bishops of Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, Indianapolis, Washington and Colorado will preside over a special  virtual memorial service on the anniversary of George Floyd's death.  The service will call attention to not only Floyd's death, but the deaths of many other people of color killed by police.  The Episcopal Church has been focusing on ways to end systematic racism in its own institution and in the country at large.  Update has regularly called attention to these efforts, most recently here.