All over our region, congregations are embracing new ways of working on behalf of the Gospel. If you have a story to tell about work your community is doing, please email us.
October 11, 2021 Friends, After much prayerful consideration and several months of discussion, the Standing Committees of the Dioceses of Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania have voted to extend by two years the timeline for evaluating the historic partnership our dioceses initiated at our joint convention in October 2018. These votes were finalized on…
Materials for the upcoming diocesan convention are now available on the convention portion of the website. Delegates to the 2021 Diocesan Convention can visit the page to review the budget, resolutions, and nominations ahead of the joint business sessions on Thursday, October 14 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. on Zoom. A recording of the pre-convention meeting…
Dear Friends: By now, we had hoped that COVID-19 would be behind us and that we would, at long last, be able to gather as a large group for diocesan convention. However, the number of COVID cases in Erie, where we had planned to hold our conventions, continues to rise, and across our region, health…
Leaders and congregations in the Diocese of Western New York are preparing to assist the 330 Afghan evacuees expected to settle in the region, and are asking Episcopalians to help.
How did you first get involved with the Bishop James Theodore Holly Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians? I was working in the partnership office, and we were putting together the resolutions for diocesan convention and I heard that Wayne Blassingame [former chapter president] and the group had wanted to come up with a…
Gabrie’l Atchison, missioner for administration, has been selected to serve on the Presiding Bishop’s delegation to the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) taking place from October 31 to November 12. During the conference, delegates will attend two to five hours of online events per day and follow a particular issue within the climate negotiations. The following online…
Dear Friends: In recent months, I have worked with leaders in both dioceses to reconfigure the roles of the canons on the partnership staff so that we can better respond to the post-pandemic needs of our congregations and communities. Last Thursday, I met with the diocesan councils and standing committees of both dioceses to review…
On Saturday, September 11, the Rev. Roland Cooper and Good Shepherd, Irving, hosted 30 people from across the partnership dioceses, including Bishop Sean, for worship and to visit the grounds of the former Thomas Indian School. The school tour was led by Faith Stewart, senior warden at Good Shepherd and a local school teacher. The…
Dear People of God in Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania: In late May, as COVID-19 cases and deaths declined, I wrote to you with revised guidelines for reopening our church buildings. At that time, I invited congregations to gather outdoors whenever possible and recommended that masks and social distance be required indoors until all…
