Church

Donald V. Wideman, 95, passed away Wednesday (May 3) in Kansas City, Missouri. A leader in Missouri Baptist life, Wideman served as executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention from 1987–1997 and was elected as second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Dwindling attendance by an increasingly elderly congregation at a historic Alabama church has prompted the difficult decision to close its doors for good, with the final worship service held this Sunday after 182 years.

Under the theme “Swords into Plowshares: Achieving Enough for All & Pursuing Peace,” the Ecumenical Advocacy Days conference met for the twentieth year in a row to worship and mobilize advocacy on a number of domestic and international policy issues.

As we celebrate the second birthday of A Public Witness, this edition recounts a few articles whose importance and impact stood out, highlights some of the attention our work has received, and reveals what you can expect from us in the future. 

A group of mostly Baptist churches in North Carolina is retrofitting vacant church-owned buildings for refugee housing.

United Methodist bishops from across the globe are meeting this week for the first time in person since the COVID-19 pandemic.

A powerful Southern Baptist committee was looking to appoint a new leader Monday who could navigate controversies over its handling of sexual-abuse reforms and the ousting of churches with women serving as pastors. 

Patterns of worship are shifting across generations, but academics, pastors, and parishioners agree that churches remain fundamental to Black communities, providing refuge and hope, especially during times of challenge.

For only the second time in more than three decades, a Southern Baptist Convention president will face a challenge for reelection.

A Wisconsin bishop had required clergy whose churches were disaffiliating to give up their jobs or their credentials.