Pastoral Letter from the Rector

Dear saints of James and Andrew,

Yesterday Bishop Fisher called the clergy of our diocese together to discuss the ICE surges in Minnesota and Maine. We heard from clergy with experience in both contexts and began to learn how we might prepare for what may unfold here in Western Massachusetts. 

We may be called upon to support our vulnerable neighbors in new ways in the coming months, particularly if ICE determines they are going to occupy any Western Massachusetts communities.  If you know that you would be open to helping in some capacity, please email me [email protected] and I will add your name to an internal volunteer list. Should it become clear from those most impacted by the injustice that help is needed, we will be better equipped to take action. 

For now, we continue to pray. Starting this Sunday, we will experiment with incorporating some prayers composed each week by the Episcopal Church to address current events following the Prayers of the People. This is meant to help us put to words some of the burdens that most distress us at this hour in our common life, by entrusting them into God’s care and to guide us in embodying God’s Love in our world. 

I commend to you Bishop Fisher’s letter below, and Presiding Bishop Rowe’s letter also listed below. The last two Sunday’s I have quoted Bishop Craig Loya, the Bishop of Minnesota in my sermon as he gives a word to the Church during this tender hour in our common life, as well as how to help above and beyond prayer. You can read those sermons here (Jan 18 - Come and See; Jan 25 - Change your hearts).

Yours in Christ,

Rev. Heather J. Blais,
Rector

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From Bishop Douglas Fisher: 
A Word to All the Faithful

January 27, 2026

This morning I met with clergy serving our congregations to discuss the ICE surges in Minnesota and Maine. We were blessed to have clergy with first-hand experience, in both contexts, share their personal witness and the benefit of their training. We prayed together for Renee, and for Alex. And we will continue to pray and seek God's justice for all who are detained unjustly. 

While we all pray and advocate for an end to the ICE operations in both places, we are facing the reality of current events and preparing, to the extent that is possible, to be witnesses and advocates for non-violent action here in Western Massachusetts, rooted in our relationships with the people most impacted by injustice.

I want to commend to you the words of our Presiding Bishop* and the testimony of the Rt. Rev. Craig Loya, Bishop of Minnesota. And I want to thank the clergy of our diocese for their steadfast faith in this challenging moment. One Body, many parts. Together, we are prayerfully discerning how we might stand with and for the most vulnerable among us.

Though I am small, my God, my all, you
Work great things in me
And your mercy will last from the Depths
Of the past to the end of the age to be
Your very name puts the proud to shame
And to those who would for you yearn
You will show your might
Put the strong to flight
For the world is about to turn
My heart shall sing of the day you bring
Let the fires of your justice burn
Wipe away all tears
For the dawn draws near
And the world is about to turn!
Canticle of the Turning, Rory Cooney © 1990, GIA Publications, Inc.

With faith in the risen Christ,

The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher
Bishop, Western Massachusetts

*See Presiding Bishop Rowe’s Letter below)

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From Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe:
Death and despair do not have the last word

January 25, 2026

Dear people of God in The Episcopal Church:
 
Like Jesus, we live in frightening times. His earthly ministry began, as we heard in today’s Gospel reading, when John the Baptist was imprisoned by authorities who wanted to silence his preaching and prophesying.
 
Jesus knew what happens when earthly powers persuade human beings to fear one another, regard one another as strangers, and believe that there is not enough to go around. In Jesus’ time, the power of these divisions motivated John’s beheading and Jesus’ own death on the cross at the hands of Roman authorities. 
 
In our time, the deadly power of those divisions is on display on the streets of Minneapolis, in other places across the United States, and in other countries around the world. As has too often been the case throughout history, the most vulnerable among us are bearing the burden, shouldering the greatest share of risk and loss, and enduring the violation of their very humanity.
 
But we do not grieve without hope. The Christian story is full of people who lived in frightening and brutal times, and who followed Jesus’ call that we heard in church today. His proclamation turns us away from the fear born of sin and death and toward the kingdom of God, toward Christ’s ministry of justice, reconciliation, and love. “From now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view,” the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth (2 Corinthians 5:16), exhorting them to reject the divisions of their time in favor of being ambassadors for Christ.
 
This is God’s call to The Episcopal Church now, and it is not an easy one. In the United States, we no longer live in a time when we can expect to practice our faith without risk, and we are confronting what vulnerable communities of faith have experienced for generations. Our right to worship freely as one church, committed to the dignity of every human being, has been curtailed by the fear that too many immigrant Christians face when they leave their homes. Peaceful protests, a right long enshrined in the Constitution, are now made deadly. Carrying out the simple commands of Jesus—feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, visiting prisoners, making peace—now involves risks for the church and grave danger for those we serve. As Christians, we must acknowledge that this chaos and division is not of God, and we must commit ourselves to paying whatever price our witness requires of us. 
 
In the coming years, our church will continue to be tested in every conceivable way as we insist that death and despair do not have the last word, and as we stand with immigrants and the most vulnerable among us who reside at the heart of God. We will be required to hold fast to God’s promise to make all things new, because our call to follow God’s law surpasses any earthly power or principality that might seek to silence our witness.

To those of you who are in the center of the storm, please know that I am praying for you as you embody the love of Christ in your ministries and communities. To those of you who are watching with concern and fear, I ask you to pray for those who have died in protests and detention, for those who witnessed their deaths, and for everyone who bears authority and responsibility in this moment, that they may exercise wisdom, restraint, and courage. Pray too, especially in the days to come, for the witness of our church in these times and for a hedge of protection around all the beloved children of God who live in fear this day.
 
The Most Rev. Sean Rowe
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church

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From Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe: 
​Support emergency migration ministry

Feast of John Chrysostom
Jan. 27, 2026
 
Dear people of God in The Episcopal Church: 
 
As the situation in the United States grows more fraught, The Episcopal Church is working to find new ways to care for God’s people in our immigrant communities. Many of you have asked how you can help. 
 
Please join me in making a generous donation that will allow us to provide emergency funding for ministry with migrants. Your gift will allow us to rush financial support to dioceses that are loving and caring for immigrants in these difficult times.

GIVE TODAY
Last week, we sent funds to our siblings in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota to support Casa Maria, a place for vulnerable neighbors to receive food and clothing and network with others. Your gift will help support ministries like this across The Episcopal Church. 
 
As we approach the season of Lent, I will invite us all into a season of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving as we turn toward Christ’s ministry of justice, reconciliation, and love during divisive times. Please watch for these invitations in the coming days. 
 
About 1,500 years ago, John Chrysostom, whose feast we celebrate today, had his own share of trouble with the forces of this world. In a famous homily, he said, “If Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? Though the waves and the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than a spider’s web.”  
 
The anger of princes is raging around us, but Christ is with us, and God is calling us into the waves. Please give as you are able and pray for the witness of the church in these times, and for a hedge of protection around the people we serve who live in fear.    
 
Yours in Christ,
 
The Most Rev. Sean Rowe
Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church