NEWS
Here’s where you’ll find good news stories about how we–as a diocese, as parishes, and as individuals–are drawing people to Jesus and embodying His love for the world by growing our skills as leaders, deepening our faith, and striving for justice.
The Rev. John Kellogg’s Diocesan Convention Homily
On Saturday, January 31, the Episcopal Diocese of Washington gathered for its annual convention, a day-long meeting with clergy and lay representatives from every congregation. A full report of the convention will be the subject of next week’s newsletter, and you can read my annual address to the diocese here.
Upholding One Another in Love: Diocesan Convention Address, 2026
May I never cease to thank you for the honor of serving as your bishop and of addressing you when we gather in Convention. I’d like to share some of what I see from the vantage point of my role, looking back on the past year, and forward, to the year ahead.
A Joint Letter from 154 Bishops of The Episcopal Church: Whose Dignity Matters?
We, the undersigned bishops of The Episcopal Church, write today out of grief, righteous anger, and steadfast hope. What happened a week ago in Minnesota and is happening in communities across the country runs counter to God’s vision of justice and peace. This crisis is about more than one city or state—it’s about who we are as a nation. The question before us is simple and urgent: Whose dignity matters?
EDOW 2025 Annual Report
Our 2025 Annual Report reflects on that question through stories of worship, formation, justice, renewal, and care across the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. Told through a new, narrative approach, the report traces a diocese learning, responding, and walking together through moments of challenge, growth, and grace.
Belovedness… Showing Up
Every Sunday — and at more diocesan gatherings than most of us realize — The Rev. Linda Mahler, deacon at The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Silver Spring, arrives in her scooter or wheelchair, navigating sidewalks, ramps, curbs, and buildings not designed with her in mind. She relies almost entirely on public transportation to get where she needs to be, often adding layers of uncertainty, waiting, and patience that many of us never have to consider.
Expanding Our Vision of Reparations
Encouraged, hopeful, and eager—these were the words members of EDOW’s Reparations Committee used to describe how they felt at the close of their recent two-day, in-person strategy session. The gathering marked both the culmination of the Committee’s first six months of work and the beginning of a new phase of focus and action in the year ahead.
Praying with Our Lips and Our Lives: A Statement from Bishop Budde and Dean Hollerith
The second killing in Minnesota of a U.S. citizen at the hands of federal agents in less than three weeks has shaken our country’s trust not only in our institutions but in the fundamental health of our democracy. These tragic events coming so closely to our country’s celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King only add salt to our wounds. It is during times like these that we need to come together in prayer and action to build community, to support one another, and to stand with those who have the least and need us the most.
What We’ve Learned About Building A Faith Community at The Well: United In Faith
The Episcopal Church has so many wonderful expressions of our faith; no two churches are the same. We are united by the Book of Common Prayer but then after that, well the Holy Spirit does the rest. I’ve worshiped at Epicopal churches where they sing the Lord’s Prayer every Sunday, others where they all gather around the altar during the Eucharist, and another where they dance! The community shapes the prayers and life of the church.
When Hardship Is Close to Home—Emergency Relief Fund Report
In moments of sudden change—lost jobs, disrupted income, individuals and families living with uncertainty—timely support can make a real difference. That conviction led the Episcopal Diocese of Washington to establish the Emergency Relief Fund (ERF) in March 2025, offering practical assistance to parish and community members facing hardship.
Shall We Gather: Listening for Healing in Southern Maryland
On a low hill in Valley Lee, Maryland, St. George’s Episcopal Church has stood for nearly four centuries—shaped by faith, community, and a history that includes both gathering and exclusion. Today, the congregation is listening closely for how the Holy Spirit is calling them to face that history honestly and to seek deeper reconciliation with their neighbors.
