News

Bishop Alan M. Gates and Bishop Gayle E. Harris issued the following directive on March 11, 2020, effective immediately and until further notice.  It replaces previously issued guidelines.  A Spanish-language version is attached below.  See a growing list of congregations live…

In our own backyard, across the country and around the world, faith communities are working together to help curb climate change. On Cape Cod, the Faith Communities Environmental Network is actively working together to take action. They now number over 25 faith communities strong. Currently co-led…

Amory Houghton Jr. made a habit of welcoming new challenges at ages when many people think their life’s most significant work is in the past. Elected to Congress at 60, he served for 18 years and for a while counted among his interns one with an unusual resume: the Right Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, the…

Bishop Alan M. Gates issued the following update on March 11 to the diocesan community. Dear Friends, This is just a brief note to let you know that Bishop Barbara Harris has been transferred to a residential hospice facility.  She is comfortable and receiving excellent care there, and…

Street artist Dennis Boylet hasn’t had an easy winter. Since mid-December, he’s slept every night at a Boston shelter and spent days walking the streets, often with nowhere to hunker down and ply his craft as a painter. Even so, “Sidewalk Dennis” has had a place to paint, pray and enjoy two meals…

With the emergence and spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), updated guidelines from Episcopal Relief & Development's U.S. Disaster Program are a recommended and helpful resource for congregations and ministries as they seek to make a conscientious and measured response. The guidelines include…

Overall, Massachusetts is one of the biggest destinations in the U.S. for people from Brazil. And Brazilians are among the most-represented immigrant groups throughout communities in Central Massachusetts. In general, Brazilian-born Massachusetts residents earn considerably less than their native…

Christ Church in Swansea is partnering with Vet to Vet/Boston, an all-volunteer nonprofit veterans organization, to host a free coffee hour for veterans on the first Saturday of each month in the church hall from 8 to 9:30 a.m., beginning on Saturday, March 7. All veterans are welcome. …

At St. Peter's Church-Iglesia San Pedro in Salem, there is a tradition--dating back to the building's origins in the 1800s--in which members of the congregation climb up to the bell tower and sign the doors with their name and the year of their signing. This tradition led to the congregation's…