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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.
Docuseries on Black church highlights history, links to biblical orthodoxy
“How I Got Over,” a five-part series, examines the history of seven historic Black denominations and highlights major Black Christian leaders — well-known and lesser-known — who have contributed to American society. Officials of the AND Campaign, a nonpartisan think tank that promotes Christian civic engagement, released the first episode on YouTube Feb. 13.
Princeton University scraps exhibit of Jewish American artists with Confederate ties
Last summer, Princeton University agreed to organize an exhibit of works by American Jewish artists in the second half of the 19th century.
Baltimore cemetery offers Easter sunrise dramatization of the resurrection
Just before he started practicing his exit from a replica of Jesus’ tomb, Andre Roberson admitted that, at first, playing the key role in a cemetery’s dramatization of the resurrection was just “something to do.”
William Barber launches new center at Yale
Yale Divinity School is launching a new Center for Public Theology and Public Policy, an advocacy-focused body to be led by prominent pastor and activist the Rev. William Barber II.
Report disputes N.C. pastor’s claim of ties to Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee
The Washington Post Fact Checker is challenging claims that the Rev. Robert W. “Rob” Lee IV, a North Carolina pastor and social justice activist, is a descendent of Robert E. Lee, arguing they could not find evidence to support his repeated assertion that he is related to the Confederate army general.
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 history of slavery that he came upon the hymn introduced by John Newton, a former slave trader, in 1773.
African-American millennials more likely to skip church than white counterparts
African-American young adults are more likely than their Caucasian counterparts to drop out of Protestant churches during their early adult years, new research shows. But equal percentages of black and white young adults say they currently attend services regularly.
‘Fifth Little Girl’ of 1963 Klan bombing reunites with nurse
On Sept. 15, Birmingham commemorated the explosion that proved to be a turning point in the Civil Rights Movement
When an initially blinded, and nearly lifeless, 12-year-old girl found in the rubble of a church bombing was wheeled onto the 10th floor of University Hospital in Birmingham nearly 60 years ago, one of the first people to tend to the child was Rosetta “Rose” Hughes, a nurse.
A Black preacher, ‘no longer at war with her body,’ on connecting flesh with the divine
Lyvonne Briggs describes herself as “a Black woman spiritual leader who is no longer at war with her body.” Her mission, in her new book, “Sensual Faith,” is to help other women stop being at war with their bodies too.
Trump pledges to prevent 'unacceptable' repression of school prayer
President Trump, surrounded by schoolchildren of a variety of faiths, announced what he called “historic steps to protect the First Amendment right to pray in the public schools.”
‘Blessing of Elders’ lauds 7 Black Christian luminaries at Museum of the Bible
Well-known names from the world of gospel music and the Black church gathered at the Museum of the Bible to hail the contributions of African-American churches and to call for continued efforts toward building unity and bridging divides.
Beyonce Mass draws crowd, criticism
The worship service began with the voice of Beyoncé singing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” the Black National Anthem. Over the next hour, a choir-backed quintet of African-American women singers belted out other songs in the pop star’s repertoire. Beyoncé’s music filled the air between prayers, a sermon and a Communion-like time when congregants dropped rocks labeled “homophobia,” “body shaming” and “racism” into white plastic buckets that were placed before an onstage altar.
Black clergy memorialize the dead; ask gov’t. to address disparities
The Rev. Frank Williams has been so busy leading two black churches in the New York borough of the Bronx that he hadn’t really considered the full extent of COVID-19’s impact on his congregation, his family and his community.
’You can’t just jump to hope’
The weekend before Election Day, Bishop Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, led an interfaith prayer service live streamed from Washington National Cathedral in the nation’s capital.
‘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.”
Dr. LaKeesha Walrond is breaking glass ceilings as new seminary president
Sitting in her office on Manhattan’s far west side, the new president of New York Theological Seminary, Dr. LaKeesha Walrond, recalled how she was reprimanded as a youth for crossing the pulpit area of her church during a choir rehearsal.
Justice Clarence Thomas talks about his faith in new documentary
U.S. Supreme Court Jus- tice Clarence Thomas, who is known for his reticence, speaks for much of a new two-hour documentary about his life.
Veterans Administration revises policy on religious displays
In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision permitting a cross to remain on a public highway, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has revised its policies on religious symbols in displays at VA facilities.
Stacey Abrams’ zeal for activism began with preacher parents
Stacey Abrams, the former Georgia House minority leader who lost a razor-thin race for governor in 2018, voted on Oct. 15, driving her ballot to a local drop box.
