Summary

St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral set to install its first female dean – The Oklahoman – “In a great gift to my mother…

Oregon’s new Episcopal bishop follows journey of faith to a historic first for church in U.S. – The Oregonian – First Asian American woman in the United States to become a bishop in the Episcopal Church…

St Matthew’s Church to Hold Final Service Capping 38 Years in County – The Scott County Times – Mary Jo Walsh, the only remaining founding member of St. Matthew’s and a licensed Diocesan Worship Leader, said it will be difficult to say goodbye to a church that has been a part of her faith journey in Forest with her husband, the late Ron Walsh, since it was organized.

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St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral set to install its first female dean –

The Oklahoman – Oklahoma City, OK

The young woman had watched her mother’s breathing grow more labored.

The family priest entered the room and began praying for Katie Churchwell’s beloved mom.

It was in this moment that Churchwell, the new dean of St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral, finally accepted her call to the ministry.

She recalled that in some religious circles, the prayers her priest lifted up are called “last rites,” but in her Episcopalian tradition, they are simply known as prayers offered at a time of death and dying.

And Churchwell’s mother was dying of cancer […]

Oregon’s new Episcopal bishop follows journey of faith to a historic first for church in U.S.

The Oregonian – Portland, OR

A woman raised in Hood River and forever aware of the injustices perpetrated against her grandparents during World War II is completing a symbolic circle that began with a dark era in the nation’s history.

After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a 1942 executive order that resulted in 120,000 men, women and children of Japanese ancestry being evicted from their homes and imprisoned.

“When my grandfather was in jail in Portland, my grandmother visited him,” said the Rev. Diana Akiyama, 61. “During that visit he told my grandmother to get the kids baptized to show they were American, so she had a Japanese Methodist minister baptize them.” […]

St Matthew’s Church to Hold Final Service Capping 38 Years in County

The Scott County Times – Forest, MS

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Forest will conclude the final chapter in its 38-year history in October with its last service and closure.

Many of the residents of Forest and Scott County practice their Christian faiths with one of the other denominations in the area including Baptist, Methodist, and Catholic, among others. Through it all, a small group of Episcopalians have maintained a presence nestled near the center of Forest for almost four decades. Most of that time, members worshipped in a small building at the corner of East Third Street and North Graham Street. While the building looks more like someone’s residence than a church in the traditional sense, the Holy Spirit of being a welcoming place of worship as a home of Christ and God is just as strong in the hearts of its members. […]