The Episcopal Church in the United States comprises mainly the US, but there are still several other dioceses in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition, Taiwan remains part of ECUSA. All will eventually be joined to other provinces. This report focuses on the United States.

The US, a country of 260,000,000 people, is still struggling to find its proper role in the world since the collapse of communism and the end of the Cold War. The current crisis in Kosovo that has led to the bombing of Yugoslavian military targets is a good case in point. Is this an unwarranted action by outside nations meddling in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation, or is it a humanitarian intervention meant to punish an evil dictatorship? Peace activists, especially those committed to non-violence, face the dilemma of condemning military action against Yugoslavia while condemning the behavior of the Yugoslavian government at the same time. This is no longer the 1960's when opposition to the war in Vietnam was based on much clearer grounds.

The political situations in Sierra Leone, Sudan, other countries in Africa, and elsewhere in Asia and Latin America, and the increased violence against Christian communities in India also represent areas of advocacy for the Episcopal Church because of US influence in these areas. The Executive Council approved several resolutions at its February meeting related to these concerns.

But perhaps it is in the economic arena that the issues are even more complicated. Globalization of the economy has opened new markets, jobs, and opportunities for many developing nations, but has also led Western nations under US leadership to impose harsh conditions through the World Bank and IMF upon borrowing countries' conditions that some people feel amount to a form of neo-colonialism. A huge challenge exists if the new world order that is emerging in global economic systems is to have a level playing field for all participants. The role of the IMF, the World Bank, and transnational corporations may present the severest challenge to peace and justice activists, who must become conversant with very complex and unfamiliar economic concerns. The new global economic order has also dramatically called for a new discussion of the whole question of national sovereignty, and how new economic trading arrangements, e.g. NAFTA, have possibly reduced governmental control over economic activities within their own borders.

ECUSA has named international debt and the Jubilee Year as its primary focus for peace and justice work in 1999-2000. It is working in coalition with other churches on a bill where the US would write off existing debt and provide greater and more rapid debt relief to more countries than would be possible in current World Bank/IMF proposals. In addition, the church is providing congregational resources to help local churches struggle with the meaning of a Jubilee year.

The Episcopal Peace and Justice Network is studying the implications of transnationals, corporations that take advantage of cheap overseas labor and lax environmental standards.

Arms transfers and increased military spending by the US run counter to church policy that calls for plans for economic conversion and a code of conduct for arms sales. In addition, the church has called for the abolition of nuclear weapons. A conference sponsored by the Episcopal Peace Fellowship in May will focus on some of these issues.

Additionally, the Episcopal Church, with the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, and other mainline Protestant denominations, has supported calls for an end to the economic embargo against Cuba on humanitarian grounds.

Domestically, racism remains the national stain on the country's conscience, and work on anti-racism is a major priority of peace and justice ministries. Racism is a fact of life in the church itself and is the cause of enormous pain and frustration within various sectors of church life.

Materials developed at the Episcopal Church Center provide hands-on help to congregations struggling to come to terms with this pernicious evil. Issues of wider inclusivity for women, gay men, and lesbians also are high on the church's agenda where opposing voices sometimes threaten division. The Executive Council, the church's governing body between General Conventions, has initiated a Stop Hate campaign to protect all persons who are victims of hate crimes. This includes support of federal legislation that would expand the definition of hate crimes to include crimes committed on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, and disability. The law now covers race, religious belief, and national origin.

The Presiding Bishop, Frank T. Griswold, has invited the whole church into a time of Jubilee, where the soil of conflict among us might be allowed to lie fallow for a period of reflection, renewal, and healing. Jubilee will serve as the General Convention's theme in Denver, July 2000. The church's Jubilee Ministries program has certified 340 congregationally-based service and advocacy ministries that will grow and continue as a network well beyond the year 2000.

The church maintains a network of 7,500 persons to respond to federal legislation in support of church policies. To obtain a summary copy of ECUSA social policies, write Dwacaster@dfms.org or call 800-228-0515.