News

On Nov. 25, vandals attacked Mount Vernon Missionary Baptist Church, a historic Black Baptist church in rural Callaway County, Missouri. On Dec. 6, Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor met Mount Vernon’s pastor, Gordon Coleman, at the church to talk about its legacy and the damage.

Coronavirus has canceled many Christmas pageants, but some churches turned to a new virtual format for the old classic. And with kids and the internet involved, virtual pageants, it turns out, are just as delightfully unpredictable as more traditional performances at churches.

Boise police are investigating after the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial was defaced by swastika stickers earlier this week. The stickers, which included the words, “we are everywhere” as well as the Nazi insignia, were discovered Tuesday (Dec. 8) by a visitor to the memorial in downtown Boise.

The U.S. State Department has added Nigeria to its list of countries deemed to have the most egregious violations of religious freedom. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom hailed the State Department’s decisions.

Thirty miles of rural Missouri separate the two churches, and so much else. Still, every Tuesday the pastors meet, seeking each other’s counsel, sharing their joys — and, more often, their burdens. Because in these pandemic-wracked days, they are sometimes overwhelmed by the crucible of ministering.

Astronomers have floated the idea that a conjunction of planets could be a scientific explanation for the star of Bethlehem in the Christmas story. One such conjunction will occur on Dec. 21.

In one of the most conservative cities in North Carolina, a United Methodist pastor gingerly approaches racial issues without alienating his flock. Being a Black pastor in a predominantly White church in the age of Trump has been a challenge.

A holiday tradition since the 1930s, Singing Christmas Trees draw in thousands of visitors who might never otherwise come to church and bring joy and a sense of community to cast and congregation members alike. But this year, COVID restrictions make such events nearly impossible to pull off.

Two Republican lawmakers put up a Christmas tree in the Wisconsin Capitol rotunda despite being told they weren’t allowed to do so — a show of defiance after Gov. Tony Evers opted not to display a holiday tree there this year because the building is closed to the public due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For 23 years, Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, has held a service on the second Sunday of Advent with a cross on its lawn for each person killed that year by homicide in the community. This year saw more crosses than ever for its service on Dec. 6,