Faith & Culture

DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — Billy Graham will be buried on March 2 at the library he established in Charlotte, N.C., following a funeral service under a tent similar to the one where the evangelist held his first major revival nearly 70 years ago.

(RNS) — Billy Graham, a religious phenomenon who became a household name and preached to multitudes of people across the globe, died Wednesday (Feb. 21) after more than a half-century of ministry. He was 99.

(RNS) — Yes, Wakanda is a fictional place and “Black Panther” is “just” a film, but the spiritual imagination that undergirds the movie can be an opportunity for learning, and even a fostering of faith in the idea that we can build a better world, if we are willing.

(RNS) — Team USA freestyle skier David Wise has one foot in the snow, and the other in church. 

He and his wife, Alexandra, lead the youth group at their church in Reno, Nev., where Wise grew up. He’s needed her and his church family on the road to the Pyeongchang Olympics: It’s been a rocky one, offset by triumphs on the slopes.

(RNS) — “A child of God is dead.”

That message came Wednesday (Feb. 14) not from a religious leader, but from CNN counterterrorism analyst Phil Mudd as he broke down while discussing the school shooting that had happened earlier in the day.

(RNS) — After overcoming a life-threatening illness two years ago, Olympic pairs figure skater Alexa Scimeca Knierim had to relearn how to skate. The touch of her husband and skating partner Chris Knierim’s hand was enough to reopen the wounds from her surgeries.

(RNS) — For many this year, Feb. 14 is a day of mixed messages.

It’s Valentine’s Day, a time for chocolate, roses and perhaps a dinner date. But it’s also Ash Wednesday, which for many Christians is the start of Lent, a period of penitence that precedes Easter Sunday.

(RNS) — In 2002, Team USA Olympic snowboarder Kelly Clark, then 18, had everything she ever wanted: money, fame and an Olympic gold medal.

But at another competition, she heard someone tell a young female competitor who wiped out, “It’s all right, God still loves you.”

OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) — A red carpet. Friendly paparazzi. Limousine rides.

All of the above greeted the special-needs teens and adults — most clad in tuxedos and fancy dresses, many using wheelchairs — who showed up at the Putnam City Baptist Church on the Friday night (Feb. 9) before Valentine’s Day.

WASHINGTON (RNS) — This week, the National Prayer Breakfast reminded us that the dream needs to be stronger than the struggle.