Agnes Abuom, global ecumenist, peacemaker and African church leader, dies at 73
Kenya Agnes Abuom, a global ecumenical leader and peacemaker, died on Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at the age of 73 while undergoing treatment in a hospital in Nairobi.
Climate crisis increasingly a refugee crisis, faith resettlement groups say
For Monique Verdin, the apocalypse came in 2005.
Report: AME Church suspends payments to retirees, investigates missing pension funds
One of the nation’s largest Black Protestant denominations has stopped making payments to retired ministers on its pension plan, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
Pope Francis uses Ash Wednesday to advocate for peace in Ukraine; sends top Vatican officials to advocate for war’s refugees
Pope Francis used Ash Wednesday to praise practical and spiritual efforts to promote peace, encouraging people to dedicate prayers and fasting to ending the conflict in Ukraine as the church season of Lent begins.
Black Muslim life honored in new online portrait exhibit
A new online exhibit featuring portraits of Black Muslims was launched earlier this month by Sapelo Square, a Black Muslim education and media collective.
Second ‘George Floyd’ Pieta stolen from Catholic University
A second painting of Jesus and his mother, Mary, in which Jesus is widely thought to be depicted as George Floyd, has been stolen from the walls of the Catholic University of America’s law school.
African faith leaders combat fake cures for COVID-19
When some African church pastors ordered their followers to eat grass or gulp petrol or even drink poison-laced water, their congregations have obeyed the instructions, thinking the practices would bring them closer to God.
Religious groups call for commission on Indian boarding school policy
A number of Catholic groups and Protestant denominations are calling for the United States to establish a Truth and Healing Commission to reckon with the country’s history of boarding schools that separated thousands of Indigenous children from their families and cultures during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Hundreds arrested in D.C. at faith-led protest for voting rights
As police escorted a demonstrator in a wheelchair away from the chanting throng descending on the U.S. Capitol on Monday, fellow protesters turned to watch the person go. The group paused for a moment, then altered their call. They screamed in unison: “Thank you! We love you!” The lone protester nodded, fist raised. The crowd erupted in applause. It was a moment that played out again and again over the course of the afternoon.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, others encourage U.S. to rebuild refugee resettlement
Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota thanked Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service during an online event June 17, in the name of “all the refugees you have settled and the millions around the world who have benefited from your work.”
Is it safe to sing at church yet? Depends on who you ask
On Pentecost Sunday, some members of Southwood Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Neb., sang hymns without masks for the first time in more than a year.
Poor People’s Campaign, lawmakers unveil sweeping resolution to tackle poverty
Lawmakers and leaders of the faith-based Poor People’s Campaign unveiled a sweeping new resolution on May 20 designed to eradicate poverty in the United States, with activists touting it as a broad-based legislative framework that hopes to do for poverty what the Green New Deal proposes to do for environmental issues.
Kyrie Irving’s recent conversion puts spotlight on athletes observing Ramadan
NBA star Kyrie Irving’s recent conversion to Islam has brought new attention to the relationship between Muslim athletes and Ramadan, the holiest month on the Islamic calendar, when Muslims abstain from food and drink during the day.
Documentary details past and present of AME Church
The African Methodist Episcopal Church has released a short film online about its history that includes an interview with the Rev. Clementa C. Pinckney, the pastor killed in a June 2015 racial attack on his historic Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C., church, in which he talks about the historically Black denomination’s significance.
Faith leaders react to Chauvin verdict
As the Minneapolis judge thanked jurors for their “heavy-duty jury service” on Tuesday, reactions already had begun to the three guilty verdicts in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the May 25 death of George Floyd.
Bishop J. Drew Sheard named new presiding bishop of Church of God in Christ
A Detroit bishop of the Church of God in Christ has been named the new presiding bishop of the nation’s largest historically Black Pentecostal denomination.
Forget Black protestants; white evangelicals least likely to get COVID-19 vaccine
Since before the COVID-19 vaccines hit the market, it has been predicted that Black Americans would choose to be vaccinated at dramatically lower rates than white Americans due to a historic mistrust of the health system. Media stories defined the causes for “vaccine hesitancy” while physicians worried about how to overcome it.
Dr. Cornel West returns to Union Theological Seminary after 2nd Harvard rift
Dr. Cornel West is rejoining the faculty of Union Theologi- cal Seminary in New York, where he started his teaching career more than 40 years ago, the seminary said Monday.
Dean Yolanda Pierce on grandmother theology, Black Jesus
Dean Yolanda Pierce of the Howard University School of Divinity has been shaped by, and now teaches, womanist theology, the study of religion through the lens of gender, race and class.
Rev. Raphael Warnock, now U.S. senator, said he heard ‘echoes of the spirit’ in swearing-in
On the first Sunday after he became a U.S. senator from Georgia, the Rev. Raphael Warnock described his election and the changing scene at the U.S. Capitol — from insurrection to inauguration — as forms of divine messaging.
Do you see what I see? Planetary alignment to create a ‘Christmas star’
A star, a star will dance in the night on Monday, Dec. 21.
Drive-thru live nativities are tailor-made for a COVID-19 Christmas
At the Nativity display outside Faith Church of Lafayette, Ind., the baby will be laid in a manger this year, surrounded by friendly beasts — except for the donkeys. They bite. In the past, the camels have been known to kick.
Rev. Warnock locked in battle for U.S. Senate seat
The Rev. Raphael Warnock, the 51-year-old pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the historic church once co-pastored by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., is running as a Democrat for U.S. Senate in a special election in Georgia.
Black Jesus version of Michelangelo’s Pieta divides Catholics on race and politics
An interpretation of Michel- angelo’s iconic Pietà featuring a Black Jesus has unexpectedly caused a debate about Black Lives Matter, the sanctity of art and the evangelization of Africa after the Pontifical Academy of Life, an official Vatican think tank, tweeted out a photo of the reimagined statue on Sept. 12.
Black woman chaplain makes rank of colonel and history
The U.S. Army has promoted an active-duty African- American woman chaplain to the rank of colonel for the first time.
5 faith facts about VP pick Kamala Harris – a Black Baptist with Hindu family
Few, if any, vice presidential candidates have had as much exposure to the world’s religions as U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, the 55-year-old from California whom Demo- cratic presidential contender Joe Biden named Tuesday as his running mate.
Clergy testify to outrage, hope in D.C. demonstrations
A series of religious demonstrations in Washington last weekend mixed prayerful calls for racial equality with frustra- tion with law enforcement, lawmakers and the Trump administration.
As Ramadan nears, prisons urged to accommodate faith needs during pandemic
A coalition of 20 faith groups is pressing prison officials across the country to accommodate all prisoners’ religious needs during the outbreak of the coronavirus, particularly with Ramadan beginning this week.
Play about first African-American priest in U.S. highlights current issues
Actor Jim Coleman stood at the front of a dimly lit stage and recounted the joys and hardships of being a black man of Catholic faith.
Entire Bible translated into American Sign Language
When Howard Mallory first saw the Gospel of Matthew rendered in American Sign Language nearly 15 years ago, he said he was able to understand it more easily than when reading it in English.
New Air Force rules allow turbans, hijabs and beards
Muslim and Sikh advocacy groups are welcoming new guidelines issued by the U.S. Air Force allowing personnel to request a waiver to wear religious apparel, including turbans and hijabs, and to have unshorn hair or beards for religious reasons.
Court documents show pastor targeted by government for officiating at immigrant weddings
New documents unearthed in an ongoing federal lawsuit indicate the U.S. government surveilled and investigated a New York pastor and immigrant rights activist over allegations that she committed marriage fraud by officiating immigrant weddings along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Nativity scene shows Holy Family separated in cages
The Nativity scene at Claremont United Methodist Church is striking. Mannequins of Jesus, Mary and Joseph are separated in individual cages topped with barbed wire. A baby Jesus is wrapped in what resembles a Mylar blanket, similar to the sheets migrants have been given in holding cells.
Faith groups sue Trump administration over refugee resettlement order
Three faith-based groups that assist with refugee resettlement are suing the federal government, arguing a recent executive order granting state and local officials the authority to block refugee resettlement violates federal law and inhibits their ability to practice their faith.
Church grapples with aftermath of latest school shooting
Soon after a 16-year-old shot and killed two of his classmates and wounded three others at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, Calif., on Nov. 14, Grace Baptist Church Senior Pastor David W. Hegg and members of his church opened their doors to the community.
New rule would allow foster care, adoption agencies to exclude on religious grounds
The Trump administration is proposing a new rule that would allow adoption, foster care agencies and other social service providers receiving taxpayer funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to refuse to serve people based on religion, sexual orientation and gender identity.
Chicago churches join growing movement of congregations paying off medical debt
This Thanksgiving, 5,888 families in Cook County, Ill., will receive a card with the names of several congregations belonging to different Protestant Christian denominations throughout the city of Chicago and these words: “Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. We want you to know that all your debts have been forgiven.”
Meditation apps don't always provide enlightenment
Search your smartphone’s app store for “meditation” and you’ll get more than 1,000 results.
Resilience after the hurricane
The president of the historically African-American Progressive National Baptist Convention traveled to the Bahamas island of Grand Bahama on Sept. 11 to assess the damage from Hurricane Dorian and came away with stories of damage and determination.
Pope Francis preaches message of peace, care of the sick and environmentalism during 3-nation visit to Africa
Pope Francis greeted packed stadiums full of celebrating locals and spoke to crowds numbering up to 1 million people in Madagascar, the second stop on his weeklong, three-nation trip to Africa.
Sister Helen Prejean, activist nun, talks about getting Jesus 'right'
Sister Helen Prejean wants to get religion “right.”
Support grows for new hate crime reporting bill
Nearly three years ago, Khalid Jabara, an immigrant from Lebanon, died on his own doorstep in Tulsa, Okla., when his neighbor gunned him down.
High-intensity workouts end with prayer
On a Tuesday evening under the roof of a public picnic shelter, a group of women ages 20 to 55 groaned through a series of high-intensity exercises in the 88-degree heat and humidity.
Report notes U.S. Jews of color overlooked, undercounted
The typical photo of American Jews on synagogue websites, camp brochures and Jewish organizations’ fliers features happy-looking white people.
Widow of Mother Emanuel pastor: ‘Much prayer is needed’ four years after attack
Jennifer Pinckney had hoped to be in Bible study on the evening of June 17, 2015. But her 6-year-old daughter had other plans.
New D.C. archbishop poised to become first African-American cardinal
Archbishop Wilton Gregory of Atlanta has been tapped to head the influential Archdiocese of Washington, filling a slot left vacant in October after its previous archbishop, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, was accused of mishandling cases of sexual abuse by priests during his time in Pittsburgh.
New Zealand shooting hits home for American Muslims
For Muslims, Fridays are special. Mosques come to life with the mandatory Jummah prayer services, where imams deliver sermons and lead rows of worshippers in congregational prayer. Muslims dress in their Friday best and greet one another with “Jummah Mubarak” or “blessed Friday.”
Rep. Omar, anti-Semitism and Islamophobia
A Muslim civil rights organization has called on Fox News to fire host Jeanine Pirro for questioning Rep. Ilhan Omar’s loyalty to the United States in a monologue on her weekend show “Justice with Judge Jeanine” and suggesting the Minnesota Democrat’s decision to wear a hijab is “antithetical” to the U.S. Constitution.
Devotional guide marks 400 years since the arrival of Africans in Virginia
A Christian anti-hunger group has released a devotional guide to mark the 400th anniversary of the arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown.
NFL team owner, human trafficking and faith-based communities
The news that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has been charged with soliciting sex and prostitution in a spa as part of a monthslong investigation into a massive human trafficking ring is dominating headlines for its shocking revelation about a legendary owner and current Super Bowl champion.
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