National Church News

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry Receiving Medical Monitoring and Treatment

Over Memorial Day weekend, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry was admitted to the hospital in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he underwent testing for internal bleeding and a heart condition. He has been discharged and will be monitored while working on a reduced schedule from home.

Curry’s internal bleeding is under control, and additional test results are expected later this week. He has been receiving treatment for atrial fibrillation (AFib), which was detected in an annual physical. While in the hospital, Curry experienced two other episodes of irregular heartbeat, and he will wear a heart monitor to determine what further treatment is necessary.

Until he is cleared for air travel by his medical team, Curry will remain in Raleigh, resting and working from home on a reduced schedule. As more information becomes available regarding Curry’s health and schedule, his staff will provide updates.

Please pray for a full and speedy recovery—and for Curry’s medical team as they identify the best course of treatment.

Nominating Committee Presents Profile for 28th Presiding Bishop, Calls for Names

The Episcopal Church Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop on May 15 issued the following letter to the church announcing the availability of the “Profile for the Election of the 28th Presiding Bishop” and inviting Episcopalians to submit the names of bishops for the committee to consider as nominees. The deadline is July 15.

Now to God who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine —Ephesians 3:20

Dear Friends in Christ:

Please join us in this journey to nominate individuals to stand for election as the 28th presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church. The next presiding bishop will build upon the foundation created by those who came before them and will lead our church in the next stretch of our journey to become the church that Jesus entrusted us to build.

Through our work of discernment, we have learned that the environmental crisis, violence, conflict and war, and inequality and division are pressing issues facing the world and that we as a church are called to be active in addressing those issues. We also identified the challenges that our church is facing: to embrace our call to evangelism; to teach the faith; to nurture our own faith; and to adapt to current realities.

We have heard from you, including the thousands of people who responded to our churchwide survey and those who shared their thoughts during the interviews we conducted. Your contributions, along with our countless hours of conversation and prayers, tell us there are three important characteristics that we believe our next presiding bishop should have: strong leadership; a love of preaching and the ability to effectively communicate; and, above all, a person of strong faith.

To learn more about our work to date, please read the “Profile for the Election of the 28th Presiding Bishop,” available online in English, Spanish, and French (Ed. note: see links at end of letter).

As your servants in this process, we now invite the entire church to join us in this work in a particular way, by suggesting individuals who might be called to be our next presiding bishop, and to the work that lies before our church.

We invite you to submit the name of a bishop whom, after prayerful consideration, you think God is calling and has equipped to serve as the 28th presiding bishop. And if you are currently a bishop whose heart is burning to participate in this process, we would be honored if you let us know. Please submit the nomination by using this form, available online in English, Spanish, and French (Ed. note: see links at the end of letter). The deadline for submitting names is Saturday, July 15, 2023.

We will contact all bishops whose names are submitted to invite them to participate in our nomination process.

Please join us as we continue to pray for those who are discerning whether they are called to be our next presiding bishop, and for all of us Episcopalians as we prepare for the General Convention election in June 2024.

With gratitude,

The Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop

“Profile for the Election of the 28^th Presiding Bishop”

Nomination Form

Honor LGBTQ+ Forced Migrants in June Through Episcopal Migration Ministries’ Rainbow Initiative

Episcopal congregations seeking ways to observe Pride Month and World Refugee Day in June have a special opportunity to focus on LGBTQ+ and refugee communities through Episcopal Migration Ministries’ new Rainbow Initiative.

As of early May, 15 groups in the U.S. and Europe have partnered with EMM as “Rainbow Initiative Congregations/Communities,” committed to learning about and supporting LGBTQ+ forced migrants during the worldwide activities in June focused on those communities.

“We are thrilled at the interest and commitment of those who have already partnered with us, and we invite other churches and communities to consider joining this intentional focus on extending radical welcome to LGBTQ+ forced migrants,” said Sarah Shipman, director of operations for EMM.

Participants work with EMM to discern activities and direction for showing solidarity with LGBTQ+ forced migrants, such as highlighting them in Pride worship services and march activities or on World Refugee Day. Other options include holding fundraisers to benefit programs that provide housing and food, hosting film screenings, and providing lodging for LGBTQ+ forced migrants.

EMM announced The Rainbow Initiative in January, created in response to General Convention Resolution D045.

“We were overwhelmed with the amount of support the resolution received at the time of the online (General Convention) hearings,” said Janet Day-Strehlow, who proposed the resolution as part of the Committee on Social Justice and International Policy. “But even more overwhelming is to see how EMM is putting feet to the resolution by the creation of the Rainbow Initiative, plotting a course for the future, to give not only visibility but tools for our congregations and other groups to work with. I am excited to see where the Rainbow Initiative will go and filled with gratitude to EMM.”

To express interest in becoming a Rainbow Initiative Congregation/Community, email rainbowinitiative@episcopalchurch.org.

Find a list of Rainbow Initiative Congregations/Communities, as well as planned events and activities, on the Rainbow Initiative webpage at https://trinity-greeceny.org/Go/RI.

It’s All About Love

Across the church and around the world, we are hungry for revival and renewal. Join us for “It’s All About Love,” a churchwide festival of worship, learning, community, and action for the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, to be held Sunday, July 9 through Wednesday, July 12 2023, at the Baltimore Convention Center.

For more information and to register: https://trinity-greeceny.org/go/AllAboutLove