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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.
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.”
Democratic hopefuls seek support from young black faith leaders
Three Democratic presidential hopefuls fielded questions from black church leaders last week, bouncing between politics and prayer as they vied for support from an audience of about 5,000 black millennials.
Climate crisis increasingly a refugee crisis, faith resettlement groups say
For Monique Verdin, the apocalypse came in 2005.
Muslim superhero who fought Nazis in comic books making a comeback
In 1944, the world met Kismet, an Algerian superhero who fought against fascists in southern France while wearing a yellow fez. He punched Nazis, foiled Hitler’s plans and came to the aid of civilians in need.
In Canada, Pope Francis apologizes to Indigenous peoples, says it’s only ‘first step’
Pope Francis issued his first apology to the Indigenous peoples in Canada for the Catholic Church’s role in administering residential schools, which robbed many of their families and culture.
Human Rights Campaign kicks off election focus on LGBTQ, religious relations
The Human Rights Campaign, which works to promote LGBTQ equality, has started an election season tour in which its president will visit houses of worship of different faiths to build relations between the religious and the gay communities.
Pope calls for ‘all-out battle’ against sexual child abuse
In his final address to nearly 190 bishops attending last week’s Vatican summit on sex abuse, Pope Francis called for the eradication of abuse both inside and outside the Roman Catholic Church.
President calls on religious groups to speak out on poverty
The African-American boy who grew up with an absent father, who started his work life as a community organizer on the payroll of a Catholic agency and who later became U.S. president had plenty to say about poverty in our “winner-take-all” economy. President Obama spoke Tuesday of “ladders of opportunity” once denied to black people and now being dismantled for poor white people as their difficult lives get that much more difficult: “It’s hard being poor. It’s time-consuming. It’s stressful.”
Who are the Black Hebrew Israelites?
On Dec. 10, two individuals opened fire on a kosher supermarket in Jersey City, N.J. The violent attack — which occurred shortly after the assailants allegedly killed a police officer in a nearby cemetery — ultimately left three bystanders dead and three people wounded, including two police officers.
At Christmas, babe in manger is not always white
When the Rev. Kip Banks’ family pulls out its nativity scene each Christmas, the African features of the baby Jesus provide lessons on both the Bible and self-esteem.
Donnie McClurkin: 'I'm at a time now I sing when I want to'
Two decades ago, gospel singer and pastor Donnie McClurkin stepped on a London stage to record his second album. Now, he’s returning to the United Kingdom for 20th anniversary concerts on Oct. 18 and 19 to reprise the music of his “Live in London and More” CD that featured the songs “That’s What I Believe” and “We Fall Down.”
SBC president: Racial insensitivity disregards the gospel
Speaking at a black church last Sunday in a city that is nearly 75 percent African-American, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Dr. J.D. Greear, said white Christians who are racially insensitive are disregarding the gospel.
Civil rights advocate and adviser to Dr. King recommended for Congressional Gold Medal
The Rev. James Lawson, a United Methodist minister known for his advocacy of nonviolence in the civil rights era and beyond, has been recommended for a Congressional Gold Medal.
Boston church stamping Harriet Tubman on its $20 bills
Three years ago, the Treasury Department announced that it would put Harriet Tubman’s face on the front of the $20 bill by 2020. A portrait of the abolitionist, championed by activists, would replace that of President Andrew Jackson, who would be moved to the back of the bill.
Frank Lloyd Wright synagogue continues 60 years later as work of art
Sixty years ago, just before the Jewish High Holy Days, members of a Conservative synagogue processed into their new sanctuary, marking a new era in their congregational life and in modern religious architecture.
The role of Blackness in the Hamline Islamic art controversy
We’ve heard little about the students who initiated the complaint and why they objected to a painting of the prophet.
In early October, Erika López Prater, a professor at Hamline University in Minnesota, showed her online Islamic art history class an image of the Prophet Muhammad. A Muslim student in the class complained, citing Islamic tradition barring representations of the prophet. Other students joined in to express their view that this incident was part of a larger problem of Islamophobia on campus. The administration agreed, and eventually Ms. López Prater’s contract to teach during the spring semester was rescinded.
Report urges congregations to support family caregivers
A new report on family caregivers details how congregations can play a role in supporting the increasing number of members caring for elders.
From Senate subcommittee to Easter sermon: Raphael Warnock on life as a pastor-politician
Raphael Warnock, U.S. senator and Baptist pastor, was wrapping up his time on Capitol Hill before heading back to his native Georgia in time for what is perhaps the busiest week of the year for Christian clergy.
Dementia and religion: Inside a church’s Alzheimer’s support group
They sat in a circle in a room usually used by high schoolers and talked about the people they loved who no longer recognized them or who had died forgetting the names of family caregivers in their last days.
