After Halloween, What?
(WW) -- The stores are full of Halloween merchandise. How should Christians respond? Some churches condemn Halloween celebrations and forbid any emphasis of them in their church. Others respond more positively.
Study: Religious Attendance Flatlining, While Giving Remains Strong
(RNS) — All the available hard evidence shows that religious congregations are declining. But a new nationally representative study from the Lake Institute on Faith and Giving at Indiana University's Lilly Family School of Philanthropy finds that revenue is not necessarily declining along with attendance.
Time for Golden Rule Politics
Imagine a world where Christians — both those running for office and those just planning to vote — actually applied the Golden Rule. With that goal in mind, Baptist and other denominational leaders are calling for Christians to act Christlike, even in political conversations.
Age Is Just Another Number (Unless It’s Yours)
(WW) -- What is “old”? Let's distract ourselves from that answer with resources to celebrate life’s milestones. Here’s to celebrating the past or anticipating the future!
Cultivate Common Ground Regarding Faith in Public Life
(RNS) — The choices Americans make now about faith in public life will help to determine our course. With hate crimes and hostility toward certain faiths soaring, Americans have to decide whether we will tolerate this state of affairs or act to change it.
Helping Illinois Children, Stitch By Stitch
MARSHALL, Ill. (BP) -- In a Sunday school classroom at Marshall Missionary Baptist Church, the Loving Hands group work on quilts that have raised tens of thousands of dollars for Illinois' Baptist Children's Home and Family Services since their first one in 2005.
As Fewer Refugees Enter the US, One Chicago Group Decides to Go to Them
CHICAGO (RNS) — A woman dressed in beautifully designed fabrics had invited guests into her home and taken great care to show them hospitality. But the refugee's home was a tent made from tarps, insulated against the crisp air as best as possible.
Ukrainian Believers: ‘Standing on Our Knees’
KHARKOV, Ukraine (BP) -- What compels Ukrainian believers to get up daily and kneel in the snow? Why is it so important to meet together when they could whisper a prayer from the warmth of their beds?
No, My Synagogue Didn’t Just Violate the Johnson Amendment
On Rosh Hashanah, my Conservative synagogue put out postcards addressed to Speaker Nancy Pelosi, protesting the Trump Administration's immigration policy and calling on her to support a "framework" of pro-immigrant policies.
Nationalism & the Tribal God It Creates
(WW) — Nationalism always leaves us more enslaved, not more free. This is true because tribalism always shrinks us — a smaller world, more selfish goals, deeper fears and more distrust of the other.