Faith Brought Olympic Figure Skater Alexa Scimeca Knierim ‘Back on the Ice’
(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.
When Ash Wednesday Falls on Valentine’s Day, What’s a Clergyperson to Do?
(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.
‘It’s All Right,’ Christian Kelly Clark Says After Final Olympics Run
(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.”
Glitz and a Surprise Guest at the Prom for Those Who Often Don’t Get to Go
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.
IMB President Asks Trustees to Begin Search for Successor
RICHMOND, Virginia (IMB) — International Mission Board President David Platt has asked the mission agency’s trustees to begin searching for his successor. Platt announced his decision to IMB field personnel and staff on Monday, Feb. 12, in person and via email to those not in Richmond.
‘Purpose over Politics’ at the National Prayer Breakfast
WASHINGTON (RNS) — This week, the National Prayer Breakfast reminded us that the dream needs to be stronger than the struggle.
Study: Churches on Solid Ground as Economy Rebounds
NASHVILLE (BP) -- Church collection plates were a little bit fuller last fall, according to a new study released today (Feb. 8) by LifeWay Research.
If You Build It, Will They Pray? Constructing Religious Worlds with Minecraft
(RNS) — Jeremy Smith wanted to talk about Jesus, so he picked up a shovel and headed out to build a tunnel.
A virtual shovel, that is.
As Cape Town’s Water Crisis Nears ‘Day Zero,’ Faith Groups Spring into Action
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (RNS) — The sound of running water, once considered soothing, now triggers anxiety in drought-stricken Cape Town, where residents are hoarding bottled water and showering over buckets in anticipation of “Day Zero.”
South Sudan May Spur Africa’s Largest Refugee Crisis
Ongoing violence in South Sudan is projected to result in "Africa's largest refugee crisis since the mid-1990s," the United Nations announced on Feb. 1.