News

ST. LOUIS (RNS) — A special session of the United Methodist Church decided Tuesday (Feb. 26) to strengthen the denomination’s ban on the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ people, by a delegate vote of 438-384.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- After a workgroup of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee released a statement Feb. 23 on 10 churches noted by SBC President J.D. Greear in a report on sexual abuse, Baptist Press attempted to contact the churches for their response.

ST. LOUIS (RNS) — In a surprise, the plan recommended by the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops was rejected Monday (Feb. 25) by the denomination’s decision-making body.

(RNS) — For many Catholics in the Upstate, the 10-county westernmost region of South Carolina, Catholic bias is a startling yet eerily familiar part of being a minority amid a vast sea of Protestants. But when Aimee Maddonna's foster parent application to Miracle Hill Ministries was rejected because of her church, she decided to fight back.

ST. LOUIS (RNS) — Delegates to a special session of the United Methodist Church decided Sunday (Feb. 24) to start deliberations over the denomination’s future by talking about money. Then they will talk about sex.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (RNS) — Doreen Abubakar arrived at Manjares Restaurant and Fine Pastries in New Haven, Conn., catching her breath and waiting for a miracle.

Erected just outside Washington, D.C., by the American Legion more than 90 years ago, the cross — also known as the "Bladensburg Cross" — is the center of a lawsuit the association filed in 2012, arguing the cross' location is unconstitutional. On Wednesday (Feb. 27), the case will be heard by the Supreme Court.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) -- Jayson Albers, who grew up in a Baptist church, made a living for a long time as an opening shift supervisor for Ryan's steakhouse. Then life came crashing down -- his wife and son died in an accident. One thing led to another and Albers started living in a tent in 2000 near the railroad tracks in Birmingham.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- As U.S. lawmakers continue to debate the best approach to illegal immigration, most Protestant pastors say the solution should be multifaceted, according to a study released Wednesday (Feb. 20).

On Feb. 19, a three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District ruled unanimously for the Missouri Baptist Convention in its more than 16-year legal battle that trustees of Missouri Baptist University and The Baptist Home did not have the authority to move to self-perpetuating status and should be elected by the MBC.