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Parish News

In an adaptation of the traditional vigil at the altar of repose, McAdams will be reading Scripture, praying, singing and speaking for the 24 hours between 8 p.m. on Maundy Thursday, April 17 through 7 p.m. on Good Friday, April 18. 
She hopes others will drop in at the church at any time during the vigil, or join the livestream  via Facebook at stjohnsfranklinma.

Reflections

During the 45th anniversary week of Óscar Romero’s March 24 martyrdom, the Episcopal-affiliated independent nonprofit Cristosal hosted an ecumenical group on a four-day pilgrimage in El Salvador to commemorate his life and teachings.  The Rev. Max Sklar, who is serving a diocesan-supported curacy at two parishes, Trinity Church in Haverhill and St. Anne's Church in Lowell, and Vivian Ruiz, also of St. Anne's Church, were among the 14 people taking part in the March 21-24 pilgrimage. Their reflections follow.

Diocesan News
The Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Greenfield, N.H., is organizing a Spring Work Weekend to complete various projects on the property ahead of the summer season. Individuals, families and church groups are invited to take part, for a day or overnight, in this weekend of both work…
Diocesan News

The Rev. Shannon Kelly has joined the diocesan staff as interim missioner for youth and young adult formation.

In the News
As the state works to adapt and find alternative solutions to divert families from shelters, a network of nearly a dozen churches in the Greater Boston Area has collaborated with the Brazilian Workers Center — an immigrant support and advocacy organization— to fill in the gaps. “We began working…
In the News
Dozens of people gathered on the town common in Franklin April 6 to share song and prayer at a vigil in response to two hateful acts of vandalism in town last week, including one that targeted a Jewish temple. "The acts of vandalism to the temple this week are acts of violence," said Rev. Kathy…
Diocesan News

The Rt. Rev. Julia E. Whitworth, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, issued on April 1, 2025, the following statement on the detention of Tufts University doctoral student, Rümeysa Öztürk.

Diocesan News

Following the Racial Justice Commission's annual work retreat in February, its co-chairs report progress on two key projects adopted at recent Diocesan Conventions, and they commend the commission's five subcommittees for undertaking an evaluation of the mandates that have guided their work since their formation four years ago--with an eye toward updating those mandates to meet the moment.

Diocesan News

In 2019, the Rev. Cristina Rathbone decided to leave MANNA, her Cathedral Church of St. Paul-based ministry among unhoused people in Boston, in order to spend a season on the U.S.-Mexico border at a time when migrant families, including asylum seekers, were being apprehended and separated under the first Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy. The Asylum Seekers: A Chronicle of Life, Death and Community at the Border, her new book about that experience and the people she encountered, is just out from Broadleaf Books, along with a reader's guide from Episcopal Migration Ministries.

In the News
Lowell's early history was inextricably linked to slavery through its many cotton mills where young women from rural New England and immigrants from Europe wove what Black people from slave-holding states in the South picked.  One vehement opponent of slavery was the first rector at St. Anne…