With Strawberries and Goats, a ‘Farmastery’ Reaches Out to Its Neighbors
Part of the new monastic movement began three decades ago among lay Protestants, Spring Forest is a model for how Christians can work, eat and worship as a community.
Reconsidering the Bible Photo Op
This Saturday marks four years since the photo op where Trump awkwardly held a Bible outside a church after police teargassed BLM protesters. Despite all the attention to evangelicals, if you look at the photos all you will see is the influence of mainline Protestantism.
Aiding and Abetting Christian Nationalism
This edition of A Public Witness looks at how denying the problem of Christian Nationalism or putting the blame on the shoulders of others avoids the discomfort of identifying our own complicity and having to alter our practices.
Why ‘Baptizing America’ Matters
This issue of A Public Witness explores what it was like to edit the forthcoming book “Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism” from the perspective of a lifelong mainliner.
United Methodists Scrap Their Anti-Gay Bans. A Woman Who Defied Them Seeks Reinstatement As Pastor
Earlier this month, delegates at a United Methodist Church conference struck down the UMC’s longstanding anti-LGBTQ policies and created a path for clergy ousted because of them to return.
Moving Foreword
This issue of A Public Witness shares the foreword, written by The Riverside Church's Rev. Adriene Thorne, to our forthcoming book "Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism."
Methodists End Anti-Gay Bans, Closing 50 Years of Battles Over Sexuality for Mainline Protestants
The nation’s largest Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and Lutheran denominations have all now removed barriers to LGBTQ participation in the pulpit and at the altar.
United Methodists Condemning Christian Nationalism Should Address Their Complicity
The thinning of the UMC’s conservative ranks makes this week’s conference a perfect time to address the issue.
United Methodists Repeal Longstanding Ban on LGBTQ Clergy
The consensus was so overwhelming that it was rolled into a 'consent calendar,' a package of normally non-controversial measures that are bundled into a single vote to save time.
United Methodists Begin to Reverse Longstanding Anti-LGBTQ Policies
The 667-54 vote, coming during their legislative General Conference, removes some of the scaffolding around the UMC's longstanding bans on LGBTQ-affirming policies regarding ordination, marriage, and funding.