WASHINGTON (ABP) — Religious-liberty advocates added their voices Aug. 26 to the thousands mourning the death of longtime Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy after a battle with brain cancer. Supporters of strong separation between church and state lauded Kennedy's longtime advocacy…
Religious-freedom groups mourn Kennedy, cite church-state views
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Religious-liberty advocates added their voices Aug. 26 to the thousands mourning the death of longtime Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy after a battle with brain cancer. Supporters of strong separation between church and state lauded Kennedy's longtime advocacy…
Blessing Schools: Initiative seeks to link local churches, schools
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Scarce funding for public education may offer churches an opportunity to work more closely with public schools in their neighborhoods. That’s the assessment of Diane Smith, children’s-ministry specialist at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, who is…
Blessing Schools: Baptist mentors seek to change children’s lives
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Joan Porter has 20 grandchildren, but after meeting 9-year-old Jasmin Sherman through Kids Hope USA, she was happy to make that 21. “She calls me grandmother,” Porter said. “She says: ‘You’re not just a mentor…
Blessing Schools: Project educates city about student needs
WICHITA FALLS, Texas (ABP) — Cheryl Ritchie did not wake up one morning and say, “I’m going to collect school supplies for the students.” But she did wake up to the needs of those in her own small city, she…
Blessing Schools: Baptist college’s literacy program hopes to spread
WACO, Texas (ABP) — An encounter with a woman at a local middle school eight years ago underscored for Baylor University education professor Randy Wood the impact education has on parents — especially Hispanic immigrants with little or no English…
Edward Kennedy’s 1983 speech at Liberty articulated view of faith
RICHMOND — Senator Edward M. Kennedy, whose death at 77 following a battle with brain cancer was announced early Aug. 26, left his mark on wide-ranging legislation, including civil rights, health care, education, voting rights and labor. But the scion…
Blessing Schools: Churches work with public schools to bless, improve
HOUSTON (ABP) — Some American Christians may have written off public education, but others are discovering innovative ways to develop meaningful relationships with public schools. Over the last decade, the Exodus Mandate captured the attention of some conservative evangelicals with…
Blessing Schools: Program makes dreams a reality for poor Texas kids
Ali Piran, a lecturer and laboratory coordinator in the physics department at Stephen F. Austin State University, teaches students about measurement as a part of his life-lessons class. NACOGDOCHES, Texas (ABP) — A church-based program in a poor part of…
Torture opponents renew calls for inquest after release of CIA report
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Religious anti-torture groups said the Aug. 24 release of a partially declassified 2004 CIA report on treatment of terrorism suspects justified their critique of Bush administration policies on detainee treatment. But they also said the decision by…
Virginia youth minister faces additional charges
YORK, Va. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist youth pastor arrested Aug. 13 on sex charges involving a teenage girl now faces more than 30 additional charges involving a second teenager. Police originally charged Jack Duffer, 40, youth minister at Seaford…
Black Baptist group elects new leader
MONTCLAIR, N.J. (ABP) — A New Jersey pastor who formerly worked for American Baptist Churches USA has been chosen to lead one of America's largest black Baptist denominations. Walter Parrish III, senior pastor of Union Baptist Church in Montclair, N.J.,…