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Hospital Chaplain J.S. Park’s new book explores grief
“The biggest myth I see is that grief is a poison to get past”
“Everything happens for a reason” might be one of the least helpful things you can say to someone who just lost a loved one, according to veteran hospital Chaplain J.S. Park.
At National Cathedral, leaders of different parties, perspectives call for civility
Sitting under the imposing columns of the Washington National Cathedral, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox turned to longtime political strategist Donna Brazile and shared his change of heart about her.
Biden calls out ‘poison’ of white supremacy in address at Mother Emanuel in S.C.
President Biden, taking his 2024 re-election campaign to South Carolina, denounced the white supremacy that he said led to deadly violence at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church almost nine years ago.
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.
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.
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.
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 of Black millennials and the choices they have made to reject — or embrace — the religious rituals of their childhood.
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.
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.
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 frustrations with political extremism that threatens racial progress.
Women at the first March on Washington: A secretary, a future bishop and a marshal
In front of the crowds and the cameras, the speeches of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other men loomed large 60 years ago at the March on Washington. But the women, including those of faith, who played roles in its organization, its music and its news coverage were mostly left off the official program.
Frederick D. Haynes III on succeeding Jesse Jackson, marching and ‘woke preaching’
The Rev. Frederick D. Haynes III, who has led a Black megachurch in Dallas for 40 years, has just been chosen to succeed the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who was president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition for more than five decades. Like Rev. Jackson, the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church has been known for preaching and protesting, following in the footsteps of role models like the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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.
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.
John Blake, journalist on religion and race, goes personal with new memoir
Journalist John Blake, who has long written about religion and race in America, is the author of “More than I Imagined: What a Black Man Discovered About the White Mother He Never Knew.” The book recounts how multiracial churches helped lead him to learn to love and forgive the white side of his family.
How Black clergy are reframing approach on abortion with congregations
For the Rev. Irene Prince, discussions around reproductive choice start in Bible study.
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.
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.
Faith leaders react to Tyre Nichols police video beating with grief, goals
Religious leaders reacted swiftly — with legislative appeals and collective grief — to the release of video footage of police officers beating Tyre Nichols, a Black man who died days after a traffic stop in Memphis, Tenn.
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.
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