From the Rev. Carolyn Bavaro and the Rev. Sandra Castillo In a unique and untoward manner, Texas Governor Abbott is presenting the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago with numerous opportunities to practice our Baptismal Covenant. After busing thousands of migrants to New York City and Washington, D.C., he has now bused several hundred men, women, teenagers,…
The Congregations Commission is now accepting applications for vitality grants for 2023. All congregations, regardless of parish or mission status, may apply for a grant, and applications are due on October 28. Grants are intended to help congregations become more faithful, healthy, and effective, and priority is given to congregations with demonstrated financial need. To…
Dear People of God in the Diocese of Chicago, As the Ordination and Consecration of the Thirteenth Bishop of Chicago approaches, I have been thinking back on that cold pandemic day in December 2020 when you elected Paula to be your bishop. Even as we peered through our Zoom screens at one another, navigating the…
Our hearts are broken by news of the mass shooting this morning at the Highland Park Independence Day Parade. As we write, six people are dead, 24 have been injured, a community has been devastated and the shooter is still at large. “Thoughts and prayers” have become devalued, thanks to the rhetoric of politicians who…
I am deeply saddened by the U. S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Across the country, this decision will insert gerrymandered state legislatures into deeply personal decisions that should be left to the person carrying the pregnancy. I am grateful that the right to end an unwanted or dangerous pregnancy will likely…
Dear People of the Diocese of Chicago, Like so many in the Episcopal Church, my heart breaks each time we endure the tragedy of gun violence in our communities. Most recently, we have been touched by those killed and injured in Buffalo; in Uvalde; and, last Thursday evening, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Vestavia…
