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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.
Meditation apps don't always provide enlightenment
Search your smartphone’s app store for “meditation” and you’ll get more than 1,000 results.
Muslims respond to Trump with #MuslimsReportStuff
During the second presidential debate last Sunday, Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump encouraged Muslims to report suspicious behavior when they see it happening.
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.
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.
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.
National clergy group outraged over attempts to block court appointment
Black clergy from across the country are expressing outrage about the Republican-led U.S. Senate’s vow to block any nominee President Obama picks to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, saying it reflects racism and disrespect.
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.
Christian coalition protests Trump’s planned budget cuts
With ashes on their foreheads, sackcloth draped around their necks and the U.S. Capitol as a backdrop, Christian leaders used the words “evil” and “immoral” to describe the federal budget cuts President Trump has proposed and many Republican lawmakers favor.
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.
5-time Grammy nominee Bishop Rance Allen, known for blending rock, south and R&B with traditional gospel music, dies at 71
Gospel legend Bishop Rance Allen, a Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee perhaps best known for his gospel hit “Something About the Name Jesus,” has died at 71.
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.
Black churches do better weathering decline in number of Christian faithful
At Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, the pews start to fill more than half an hour before the service begins. Ushers guide people of all ages to their seats. Some stand and wave their hands in the air as the large, robed choir begins to sing.
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.
Presbyterians, Southern Baptists vote to end racism and racist symbols
Religion News Service The nation’s second largest Presbyterian denomination has passed legislation repenting for “past failures to love brothers and sisters from minority cultures” and committing its members to work toward racial reconciliation. The “overture,” or legislation, was approved overwhelmingly Thursday, June 23, at the national meeting of the Presbyterian Church in America. The issue had been deferred from the previous year’s meeting, where there was a lengthy debate on similar legislation.
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.
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.
Dean of nation’s black preachers dies
Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, widely considered the dean of the nation’s black preachers and “the poet laureate of American Protestantism,” died Sunday, April 5, 2015, after a ministerial career that spanned more than six decades. He was 96. “Dr. Taylor was a theological giant who will be greatly missed,” the Rev. Carroll Baltimore, past president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, said of the minister who received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.
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 the ones to use it.
