Nation

Like his late father, Billy Graham, Franklin Graham is not a marcher. But ahead of the presidential election, the evangelical preacher is borrowing a tactic used by civil rights leaders and Black Lives Matter protesters.

For decades, Catholic voters have been a pivotal swing vote in U.S. presidential elections, with a majority backing the winner nearly every time. How they vote in the battleground states this year could decide the outcome, and the campaigns are targeting them with fervent appeals to vote based on their faith.

Prominent faith leaders are condemning the apprehension of an undocumented immigrant on church grounds by federal officials, arguing the action violates a government policy that discourages agents from raiding “sensitive locations” such as churches, hospitals, and schools.

Community and religious leaders in Springfield, Missouri, gathered downtown Saturday (Sept. 19) for a soil collection ceremony to honor three innocent Black men lynched there in 1906.

An Idaho church plans to reopen in person despite its pastor being hospitalized for COVID-19. Candlelight Christian Fellowship in Coeur d’Alene posted a notice on the church website with an update on the condition of its pastor and his wife. Both have been recovering from COVID-19.

The head of the Federal Election Commission chastised Catholic bishops during a pair of interviews this week, accusing church hierarchy of “hiding behind” their nonprofit status and declaring that this year’s U.S. election amounts to a “spiritual war” that threatens the country’s “Christian moral principles.” 

When the Chicago Marathon was canceled due to coronavirus, Sister Stephanie Baliga decided to put on her sneakers and run the standard 26.2 miles — in her convent’s basement. 

Leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the pastor of an AME congregation in Wilmington, Delaware, are condemning a Trump-Pence campaign ad that uses footage of Joe Biden kneeling in the sanctuary of a Black church, describing it as racist and demanding an apology.

President Donald Trump’s campaign released a digital advertisement late Wednesday (Sept. 9) extending its argument that Americans “won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America” with images of angry or violent protest — and Biden peacefully meeting with people in a Black church.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge granted a preliminary injunction Thursday (Sept. 10) against Grace Community Church, prohibiting Pastor John MacArthur from holding indoor worship services.