From liberated to liberators
“March forward,” the Rev. A. Lincoln James Jr. told about 125 people at the New Year’s Day program celebrating the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation, the great Civil War document that took the first big step toward abolishing slavery in …
Ruins of ancient Nero’s Theater discovered near Vatican
Rome’s next luxury hotel has some very good bones: Archaeologists said Wednesday that the ruins of Nero’s Theater, an imperial theater referred to in ancient Roman texts but never found, have been discovered under the garden of a future Four …
Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing long-standing ties to Jewish allies
Cydney Wallace, a Black Jewish community activist, never felt compelled to travel to Israel, though “next year in Jerusalem” was a constant refrain at her Chicago synagogue.
Richmond church gains $1.25M mental health program grant
A historic East End church has been awarded $1.25 million from the Lilly Endowment to promote mental health and hire psychologists and other professionals to serve congregants and the community.
Send-offs show Carlton Pearson’s split legacy spurred by his inclusive beliefs, rejection of hell
Before his peers would label him a heretic, the late Bishop Carlton D. Pearson was once one of the best known preachers in the nation.
Staying the course while steadying church’s finances is Rev. James’ mission
The Rev. A. Lincoln James Jr. still isn’t ready to use the “R” word. Rev. James still has a spring to his step, an energetic approach and plenty of words to share with the Trinity Baptist Church congregation he has …
250 years later, ‘Amazing Grace’ has filled churches, concerts, even commercials
James Walvin, a former Church of England choirboy and professor of history at the University of York, doesn’t remember encountering “Amazing Grace,” in song or in his hymnal. It wasn’t until he traveled to the United States to research the …
Celebrating community
Two Dinwiddie County Baptist churches, Rocky Branch in Sutherland and Central in Church Road, both celebrated their 150-year anniversaries in October. To mark the occasion, the predominately white congregation of Central Baptist and the predominately Black congregation of Rocky Branch …
Documentary on Black millennials depicts wide range of religion, rebellion
A member of the second-oldest Black Catholic order in the United States. A voodoo priestess. A gay atheist woman. A new documentary from the National Museum of African American History and Culture explores the range of faith and spiritual expressions …
Churches continue to alter services in era of COVID-19
Like other parts of the United States, the COVID-19 pandemic transformed church services throughout the Greater Richmond Region.
Florida faith leader: Black history toolkit gains interest outside the state
When the Rev. Rhonda Thomas decided to create a toolkit to help teach Black history outside the public school system — after Florida legislators approved revisions to its required instruction — she expected Black churches like her own would be …
Funds available for groups hurt by Enrichmond’s collapse
A promised $250,000 bailout fund for more than 80 community groups that lost most of their money in the 2022 collapse of the Enrichmond Foundation is finally available.
Harvard Divinity School selects first Black woman as dean
A cultural anthropologist of the Black religious experience has been named dean of the Harvard Divinity School, effective Jan. 1.
Coming full faith circle
The Rev. Donté McCutchen has taken the pulpit at Greater Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, adding to an already busy schedule.
Thousands gather for March on Washington’s 60th anniversary
Thousands of people assembled near the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 26 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, paying tribute to the historic civil rights gathering led by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while voicing new …
