MONTREAT, N.C. (RNS) — Evangelist Billy Graham returned to his North Carolina home Dec. 6 after a six-day stay in a nearby hospital where he was treated for pneumonia. Billy Graham continues to write two years after his last official crusade….
Archbishop says Jesus would be siding with Occupy movement
LONDON (RNS) — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says Jesus would have joined protesters from the anti-corporate Occupy movement who have been camped outside London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral for more than seven weeks. Protesters have been camped outside St. Paul's…
Association’s dismissal prompts churches to withdraw
MOUNT AIRY, N.C. — Two churches in Mount Airy, N.C., have withdrawn from the local Surry Baptist Association in response to its dismissal last July of an affiliated church which called a woman as pastor. Piney Grove Baptist Church voted…
Salvaged produce meets needs of hunger ministries
BIG ISLAND, Va. — An ancient biblical practice has been adopted by some Baptists in Southwest Virginia in response to increasing hunger needs in America’s uncertain economy. Old Testament farmers were told not to pick their fields and vineyards clean,…
What would Jesus occupy?
LONDON (RNS) — Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams says Jesus would have joined protesters from the anti-corporate Occupy movement who have been camped outside London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral for more than seven weeks. Protesters have been camped outside St. Paul's…
Passport’s “Following the Star†devotional series returns
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — “Following the Star,” an Advent and Christmas devotional series, will return to Passport Inc.’s devotional website d365.org on Sunday, Nov. 27, through Epiphany on Jan. 6. This series features Scripture, prayer and meditative thoughts, accompanied by gentle…
Religious groups spend nearly $400 million on advocacy in Washington
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The number of religious advocacy groups in the nation’s capital has more than tripled since the 1970s, with conservative groups seeing the biggest growth, according to a new report. Together, faith-based lobbying and advocacy groups spend $390…
Religious lobbyists spend $400 million a year in D.C.
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The number of religious advocacy groups in the nation’s capital has more than tripled since the 1970s, with conservative groups seeing the biggest growth, according to a new report. Together, faith-based lobbying and advocacy groups spend $390…
Congregations reach out to vets with PTSD, traumatic brain injury
NEWTON, Mass. (RNS) — Some wounds of war are all too visible — a missing leg, a shattered arm. The invisible wounds of mind and soul often are more difficult to spot and equally hard to treat. But those who…
Wounded Warriors: Returning veterans, families struggle to adjust
CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — Sitting around the kitchen table, the Riverses are a picture of the quintessential American family. Over a freshly prepared meal, they share stories of the day’s events. The room is filled with the warmth of smiles,…
Duke divinity school students aim to heal ‘unseen war wounds’
DURHAM, N.C. — Combat veterans, pacifists, pastors, and military leaders gathered at a Duke Divinity School event Nov. 11-12 to discuss how the church, the military, and academia can understand and begin to heal the unseen wounds of war. Initiated…
Chaplain in Afghanistan sees close calls, reflects Christ’s peace
ANDAHAR, Afghanistan (BP) — Capt. Kevin Humphrey’s last quarterly report to the North American Mission Board’s chaplaincy group reads like the script of a Hollywood blockbuster. But the combat incidents are real — true wartime stories of battlefield death, horrific…