Join EPF in celebrating our 86th anniversary: Pray, Study, and Act for Peace by Kerith Harding
Worth Reading: "Jerusalem archbishop says 'samud,' or resilience, helped his people cope, minister during Gaza war" by Melodie Woerman, Episcopal News Service
In Memoriam: Mel Jenkins
Host a #FreedomToLive vigil for ending gun violence during the week of Dec. 10-14
Peace Calendar

Join EPF in celebrating our 86th anniversary: Pray, Study, and Act for Peace

By Kerith Harding

Dear friends in peace,

As we approach EPF’s 86th anniversary on November 11, I’m filled with gratitude for the steady, courageous witness you embody in parishes and communities across the country. Since 1939, our calling has been the same: to pray, study, and work for peace in the way of Jesus — especially when war, fear, and partisanship would drown out conscience.

This past weekend, our EPF Rhode Island chapter exemplified that calling. Working with allies across the diocese, they helped secure passage of a resolution titled “On Gaza” at the 234th Diocesan Convention — approved by a vote of 71–27. The resolution calls for a permanent ceasefire, unimpeded humanitarian aid (including lifting all blockades of food, water, and medical supplies), urges the United States to curtail military support and stop providing diplomatic cover for ongoing violations of international law, and invites congregations to stand in solidarity through advocacy, humanitarian assistance, and public prayer. It also forwards a parallel resolution to the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church.

This is exactly the kind of faithful, local leadership that has marked EPF from the beginning. Our founders — including figures like Bishop Paul Jones and the Rev. John Nevin Sayre, remind us that Christian conscience speaks clearly in difficult hours. Jones’s ringing conviction, “War is unchristian,” still steadies our steps; Sayre’s lifelong witness as a “peace apostle” calls us to persevere with courage and humility. Their legacies, and those of their co-founders Mrs. Katharine Curtis Pierce, Bishop William Appleton Lawrence, and Dr. Charles Radford Lawrence, live on whenever EPF members educate, pray, and nonviolently act for the protection of human life and the possibilities of a just peace.

As we mark 86 years, I invite every chapter, parish, and member to join me:

Pray. Reject the recent militarization of our city streets. Pray for the end of violence in your local community and in the world; and, for a just peace in the Holy Land, Ukraine, Sudan, and all those places where God’s children are suffering from war and famine. Consider using the Collect for Paul Jones in your personal or corporate worship.
Study. Educate yourself or your congregation about the witness of Bishop Paul Jones. Consider hosting an adult forum that revisits our Church’s teachings on war and conscience and creates space for faithful, informed conversation.
Act. Take one concrete step — organize a vigil, meet your elected officials about ending violence in your community, teach a teen about conscientious objection, oppose frightening new concealed carry legislation in congress, launch a peace partner ministry in your parish, or make a contribution to EPF.

As EPF turns 86, my deepest thanks to those who came before us and to all who carry the baton today — advocating for justice and laboring for peace across our fellowship. Thank you for your persistence, your care for neighbors near and far, and for choosing the hard, hopeful work of nonviolence.

Faithfully,

The Rev. Kerith Harding

Executive Director, Episcopal Peace Fellowship

[Photos: (1) EPF's Ethan Vesely-Flad and Kerith Harding at U.S. Capitol in June 2025 during the Pentecost Witness for a Moral Budget.(2) EPF member, now bishop, Edward Lee with others worshipping at the Pentagon to end the U.S. war in Vietnam, 1970, courtesy of EPF Archives/ The Voice of Conscience book.]

Worth reading: "Jerusalem archbishop says 'samud,' or resilience, helped his people cope, minister during Gaza war"

By Melodie Woerman, Episcopal News Service

October 20, 2025

Jerusalem Archbishop Hosam Naoum on Oct. 19 spoke at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, preaching at one of the church’s services and taking part in a forum discussion afterward. During both events he said the Palestinian people he serves exemplify the Arabic term “samud,” meaning resilience.

In his sermon, which was based on the parable of the persistent widow found in Luke 18:1-8, Naoum said the pleading of the widow for help from an unjust judge describes the miracle “that even a corrupt man can be pushed to do the right thing by strong, never-ending persistence.”

The gospel’s encouragement to trust that prayers will be heard “is something we in the Holy Land deeply understand,” he said. Samud, or what he described as a “quiet, active and strong will to stay to the last,” is characterized by the staff of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, which he said has faced great danger and suffering the past two years. Some of the staff were killed, some were imprisoned and some lost homes and loved ones, and yet “as a team, as a community, they persevere.”

He said he hopes the Gaza Peace Deal, which was agreed to on Oct. 13, will hold since it already has allowed large quantities of food to be brought into Gaza and people to begin returning home.

But what really needs to be restored in the days ahead, beyond clearing tons of rubble and rebuilding thousands of homes, is trust between Palestinians and Israelis. He urged those listening to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” a phrase from Psalm 122:6. [...]

[Read the full article via ENS.]

Melodie Woerman is an Episcopal News Service freelance reporter based in Kansas.

In Memoriam

Melvin Jenkins, Presente!

Melvin "Mel" Jenkins, 82, an EPF member in Columbia, South Carolina, who was a longtime advocate for social and environmental concerns, died on October 4th. Jenkins was a media professional and was active in several local and national organizations committed to social justice and civil life, including the ACLU and the Sierra Club. He coordinated an EPF chapter in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina in the early 2010s, and was involved in EPF conversations about the death penalty, militarism, congregational peacemaking, creation care, and other topics. An obituary from the Jenkins family is published here.

Peace Calendar

Host a #FreedomToLive vigil for ending gun violence during the week of Dec. 10-14

EPF is partnering once again this year with our allies at the Newtown Action Alliance, and we invite you to join us in a nationwide initiative this December. We encourage you to reach out to faith leaders and other Gun Violence Prevention (GVP) supporters to stand in solidarity with gun violence survivors in your communities, by hosting a #FreedomToLive local vigil or GVP event in mid-December.

These vigils and events will be anchored by the 13th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence being held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill in Washington DC on Wednesday, Dec. 10th, shortly before the anniversary of the tragic Sandy Hook mass shooting.

Join EPF as a national partner organization by signing up your regional or statewide organization as a partner HERE.
Register your #FreedomToLive event HERE.
Access the Nationwide Vigils/Events to #EndGunViolence toolkit HERE.

Oct. 24-31: U.N. Disarmament Week

Nov. 1: All Saints Day

Nov. 2: All Souls Day/ Dia de los Muertos/ Day of the Dead

Nov. 4: Election Day (USA)

Nov. 8: Birth date of Dorothy Day (1897)

Nov. 9: Kristallnacht (1938)

Nov. 11: 86th anniversary of the founding of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship (1939)

Nov. 11: Armistice Day/ Veterans Day (USA)

Now is a great time to join us in our work for justice and peace!

To become a member of EPF, click here

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