Though many congregations in the U.S. are relatively homogeneous, others are sharply divided. In some cases, divisions are becoming more pronounced as midterm election season heats up, leaving clergy to keep the peace while still meeting the spiritual needs of all of their members.
College Park Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., found itself in the news last week when the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee voted to remove it from its rolls because of its “open affirmation, approval and endorsement of homosexual behavior.” That action came 23 years after
For two decades, Hinkle was editor of The Pathway, the official publication of the Missouri Baptist Convention, founded in 2002 amid a feud between conservatives and moderates in the state. Conservative leaders hired Hinkle, a former newspaper editor turned seminarian and Christian journalist, to lead
Contributing writer Sarah Blackwell offers her thoughts on how the church's model of the larger group tending to the few in need was swept away during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our pastors were like skippers left on ships trying to throw out as many lifelines as
The community-based air quality monitoring initiative, AirWatch St. Louis, has been keeping track of what’s in the city’s air since December 2021. Low-cost sensors are placed on the roofs of Metropolitan Congregations United churches spread throughout the city to measure particulate matter, a mixture of
Houses of worship on Martha's Vineyard have long worked together to meet the needs of their neighbors. So they were ready to spring into action when refugees arrived unexpectedly after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday flew two planes of immigrants to Martha's Vineyard, escalating
A group of United Methodist bishops in Africa announced Thursday that it will no longer work with the Africa Initiative or the Wesleyan Covenant Association, accusing the groups of spreading misinformation. The bishops claim the Africa Initiative, which was formed in 2008 to give African
An arson investigation is under way after fire destroyed Victory Baptist Church, a historic church in South Los Angeles early Sunday, authorities said. The Los Angeles Times said Victory Baptist has played a major role in the spiritual and political history of South LA.
Elizabeth II of England, Britain’s longest-serving monarch and official head of the Church of England, died Thursday at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at age 96. She came to the throne in 1952 and her two titles of Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of
As the COVID-19 pandemic stretched from that first spring into summer, researcher Eileen Campbell-Reed said, she realized its impact on ministry wasn’t going to be short-lived.