At Christmases past, parishioners at Middle Collegiate in New York City rejoiced over gospel hymns, carols, and soul tunes played on a Steinway piano that is now only metal and ashes after the historic church was destroyed this month by fire.
Posters linking Christ’s birth with the climate emergency have been springing up all over the country. Read full piece
That sermon, as I recall (having failed to locate the cut sheets of newsprint containing the actual words), was about his friend Phil, an American priest who was serving in Guatemala. While the bulk of the story is no longer with me, the memorable line came after
This year more than others there could be an understandable tendency to seek distraction. But as further spikes are driven by observance of the holiday season itself, our choice is whether to look away or to face death as an inevitable part of the 2020
Columnist Heather Feeler says she made a list of the things she loves about Christmas and the things she just trudges through because, well, it’s “tradition.” And this year she is only going to do the love list.
In an occasional series of conversations about Christianity, Nicholas Kristof interviews Jim Wallis, an evangelical Christian pastor, author and justice activist. Read full piece
Especially in a year when the COVID-19 pandemic will rule out many people’s favorite Christmas traditions, they have a right to express their dislike of the decidedly untraditional Nativity scene on display in the center of St. Peter’s Square, said a priest who specializes in
Christmas will look a little different this year, but everyone is still jonesing for a tree all their own. Read full piece
After a weekend of Christmas services earlier this month at First Baptist Church in Hendersonville, North Carolina, at least 75 people contracted COVID-19. The church’s pastor, Steve Scoggins, just finished his tenure as president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
Like most Holy Land Christians, Hagop Karakashian’s ceramic shop in the Old City here has always relied heavily on the presence of Christian pilgrims, especially in December. But the narrow alleyways of his shop’s ancient neighborhood are painfully empty this year.