Diocesan News

The Rt. Rev. Julia E. Whitworth was ordained and consecrated a bishop in the Diocese of Massachusetts on Saturday, Oct. 19 at Trinity Church in Boston, surrounded in celebration by an attending congregation of 1,200 and an additional 3,800-plus viewers online via livestream and from seven watch party locations hosted by churches around the diocese.

There was much to celebrate in Everett on Oct. 12 as the bishops and bishop-elect gathered with the diocese's African Clergy Caucus, members of their families and worshiping communities, and friends from around the diocese for the dedication of the new Bishop Alan M. Gates African Anglican-Episcopal Mission Center.

The annual Indigenous Peoples’ Day Celebration on Oct. 14, offered with the participation of both Massachusetts dioceses, was hosted this year by Christ Church in Andover and welcomed as guest speaker Janine Tinsley-Roe (Shinnecock and Poospatuck Tribal Nations of Long Island), former national missioner for Native American Ministries for The Episcopal Church. The day included a special program for children, and was an opportunity for sacred listening, learning, worship and breaking bread together.

At a powwow on Sept. 7, Kind Warrior (Ken White), Council Chair of the Chaubunagungamaug Nipmuck Band, graciously received some historic cultural documents created at the end of the 20th century by a medicine man of that band. This came about through the efforts of the Rev. Barbara Smith-Moran, a retired Episcopal priest, and archeologist Shirley Blancke of Trinity Church in Concord, two members of the Right Relations Working Group, part of the diocesan Racial Justice Commission. 

Bishop Alan M. Gates issued the following message of farewell on Oct. 10, 2024.  In preparation for retirement, he will resign his office at the consecration of his successor on Oct. 19, 2024.

In this Oct. 3, 2024, message, our bishops and bishop-elect urge continued prayers and generous giving to Episcopal Relief & Development's Hurricane Relief Fund, in response to widespread destruction throughout the U.S. Southeast in wake of Hurricane Helene.