Episcopal News Service

Tensions escalated July 29 as Arizona's contentious immigration law went into effect, with both opponents and supporters vowing, "we will not comply."

The amount of assets the Church Pension Fund has available for benefits "rebounded well" in the past fiscal year, according to the Church Pension Group's 2010 annual report.

Activists hailed a federal judge's July 28 decision to partially block sections of Arizona's controversial immigration law and said they will proceed with prayer vigils and protests as planned for July 29, the day the law was to take effect.

Domestic poverty, immigration, Anglican Communion relations, Haiti and Sudan were among the diverse topics discussed July 28 during a 45-minute conversation with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori broadcast over the internet live from the Episcopal Church Center in New York

The Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion adjourned its July 23-27 meeting here with its members celebrating a renewed focus on mission and greater commitment to transparency.

"Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints," the new book of commemorations on the Episcopal Church calendar (succeeding "Lesser Feasts and Fasts") was recently published for trial use by Church Publishing Inc. The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music has launched a one-year review period, during which Episcopalians are encouraged to comment on the new book

The Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion has agreed that separating the Episcopal Church from the rest of the Anglican Communion "would inhibit dialogue and ... would therefore be unhelpful," according to a July 26 bulletin from the Anglican Communion Office.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori challenged those attending Sung Eucharist at historic St. Paul's Cathedral here July 25 to be "ready, willing and able" to speak out and take action against the world's injustices and indignities.

The Anglican Communion, the environment, domestic poverty, immigration and Haiti will be among the topics featured in a July 28 webcast, "A Conversation with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori," according to a July 21 press release for the church Office of Public Affairs.

Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town Desmond Tutu has called it "deeply distressing" that President Barack Obama has decided "to spend less than he promised to treat AIDS patients in Africa." Tutu, writing in the New York Times on July 20, said he is "saddened" that Obama has chosen to cut U.S. contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS

On July 30 each year the Episcopal Church remembers William Wilberforce (1759 – 1833), a British statesman and evangelical Anglican who used his position as a Member of Parliament from the Yorkshire area to advocate for the abolition of the slave trade throughout the British Empire. ENS Weekly bulletin inserts for Aug. 1 mark Wilberforce's contributions to ending slavery

Two stalwarts of the post-Hurricane Katrina recovery effort on the Gulf Coast will close their doors at the end of August, just after the fifth anniversary of the devastating storm that destroyed a wide swath of the coast. Mission on the Bay in Bay St. Louis, which had earlier merged with the Diocese of Mississippi's Camp Coast Care, is due to close by Aug. 31

General Theological Seminary has reached an agreement in principle with its bank for a $5.3 million short-term loan "that will provide working capital for the upcoming school year," according to a July 14 announcement.

"What an exciting time to be an Episcopalian!" writes Bishop Dean Wolfe of Kansas in "Maintain an attitude of gratitude," the ENS Weekly bulletin inserts for July 25. Wolfe writes about the vibrant ministries of the Episcopal Church, and about the need for its members to support those ministries in spite of a struggling economy.

Following years of debate, the Church of England July 12 backed legislation that paves the way for women to become bishops, much to the dismay of traditionalists who had hoped for more robust provisions for those in opposition.

Retired Suffragan Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Cuba Nerva Cot Aguilera died suddenly on July 10 after a brief battle with severe anemia. She was 71.

The Episcopal Church remembers its first presiding bishop, William White, on July 17. ENS Weekly bulletin inserts for Sunday, July 18 briefly tell how White was ordained in England as bishop of Pennsylvania and was a major player in the establishment of the Episcopal Church after the Revolutionary War, drafting its constitution, advocating for the voice of the laity, and serving as a moderate and reconciling voice in its councils

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preached on Sunday, July 4, at Christ Church St. Lucia, in the Diocese of Brisbane, as part of an informal visit to the Anglican Church of Australia.

The Anglican Communion Office has announced that two new members will serve on the Standing Committee beginning with the July 23-27 meeting in London: Bishop Paul Sarker, moderator of the Church of Bangladesh and bishop of Dhaka; and the Rev. Canon Janet Trisk, rector of the parish of St. David, Prestbury, in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.

Global church leaders have condemned the murders of two lay members of the Philippine Independent Church in what is being reported as the latest spate of political killings under the controversial presidency of Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who stepped down June 30 as the country's leader.