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‘You wear out’: How chronic illness grounds and inspires William Barber’s activism
Standing outside a church in rural North Carolina this spring, the Rev. William Barber II leaned on his dented and scuffed wooden cane. With one powerful hand he pushed himself up and into the seat of a long black Chevrolet Suburban, then swung his legs in, using the cane, wedged against the door, as a fulcrum. The effort left him out of breath, his expansive chest heaving as he lay back in the seat, reclined to afford him space. No sooner had an aide closed the door before a man from the church rapped gently on the window. “Rev. Barber,” he said, “you’ve been a role model, an inspiration.”
Multiracial churches growing, but challenging for clergy of color
For four hours at a megachurch outside of Dallas, pastors of color shared their personal stories of leading a multiethnic church.
AME bishops address COVID-19, critical race theory, voting rights as annual meeting opens
The bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church opened their denomination’s major meeting — a year after it was delayed due to the coronavirus — with a call for greater worldwide access to COVID-19 vaccines and testing.
At Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, business leaders reflect on ethics
Roughly one-sixth of the 613 commandments in the Torah, the Hebrew Scriptures, touch on business and monetary practices. The Talmud, the commentary on Jewish law, fleshes out these principals with real-life scenarios.
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.
Mother Emanuel’s pastor in Charleston reassigned
After an unusually short time on the job, church officials have reassigned the pastor of the Charleston, S.C., church where a gunman killed nine people during Bible study a year ago.
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.
Trump wooing evangelical Christians
Donald Trump is moving quickly to rally the evangelical base of the Republican Party as the presumptive GOP presidential nominee pivots toward a general election contest where the conservative Christian vote will be crucial to his chances for winning the White House.
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.
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.
Catholic bishops call for the root causes of racism to be addressed
The president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops kicked off a gathering in St. Louis of approximately 250 of the nation’s bishops by referring to Ferguson, Mo., where an unarmed black teenager was killed last August by a white police officer.
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.
Pastor whitewashes history of Southern Baptist denomination
Dr. Robert J. Jeffress Jr., senior pastor of the First Baptist Dallas megachurch, is the most prominent evangelical pastor to back Republican Donald Trump’s candidacy for president.
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.
Faith leaders call for de-escalation after missile strike kills Iranian general
Concern about the growing tensions between the United States and Iran has been bubbling within the Vatican, as Pope Francis and other faith leaders urge global leaders to employ self-restraint and dialogue.
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.
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.
President Obama to host Pope Francis at White House
President Obama will welcome Pope Francis to the White House during the pontiff’s U.S. visit in September to “continue the dialogue … on their shared values and commitments on a wide range of issues,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest has announced.
Educators worry science will be casualty of Trump administration
Science and education professionals are increasingly alarmed about the impact President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet picks — many of them evangelical Christians — could have on science standards in public schools.
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.
