WASHINGTON (ABP) — While the Supreme Court was hearing legal arguments on the Pledge of Allegiance case March 24, hundreds of protestors outside had their own oral arguments. But theirs tended to be more about volume than about legal nuances….
Missionary shooting survivor recovering in Dallas hospital
DALLAS (ABP) — The lone survivor of a March 15 drive-by shooting in Iraq that killed four Southern Baptist mission workers is recovering well in a Dallas-area hospital, according to an International Mission Board spokesman. Carrie Taylor McDonnall, 26, of…
Gay-marriage supporters file suit in Oregon, as Iowa rejects amendment
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A civil-rights group has filed suit against the state of Oregon on behalf of a group of gay couples, and Iowa legislators have rejected an anti-gay-marriage amendment to that state's constitution — the latest salvos in the…
Women’s ministry group relocates to Atlanta
ATLANTA (ABP) — Baptist Women in Ministry, started in 1983 to support Southern Baptist women serving as ministers, will move its offices to Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology in northeast Atlanta. The group celebrated its 20th anniversary last summer…
Baptist leader testifies as House examines faith-based programs
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A March 23 congressional hearing designed as a celebration of President Bush's faith-based initiative served as a platform for a Baptist lawyer to recite the dangers she believes it poses to religious freedom. Several religious-freedom experts and…
Suspected arson thwarts reopening of black church in Louisiana
CYPREMORT, La. (ABP) — March 12 was the day 100 former members of Mount Olive Baptist Church near Cypremort Point planned to gather for their first service since the church closed its doors five years ago. However, an arsonist set…
Senate panel holds first hearing on anti-gay-marriage proposal
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A Senate panel held its first official hearing on an updated version of the Federal Marriage Amendment — less than 24 hours after the legislation was introduced. While supporters of the amendment praised changes in its language,…
Amendment sponsors change wording to allow more room for civil unions
WASHINGTON (ABP) — On the eve of the first official congressional hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, its principal sponsors announced a change they say clarifies the proposal — but the amendment's opponents say the change…
Louisiana College president leaves, VP resigns, trustees ignore protests
PINEVILLE, La. (ABP) — Trustees of Louisiana College met March 16 without revisiting a controversial textbook policy or commenting on the recent resignations of the Baptist school's president and academic vice president. Trustees did add an unscheduled meeting for April,…