’Round midnight

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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.,…

  Walter Parrish III takes over Jan. 1 as general secretary of the Progressive National Baptist Convention. MONTCLAIR, N.J. (ABP) — A New Jersey pastor who formerly worked for American Baptist Churches USA has been chosen to lead one of…

AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — Texas has become the first state in the nation to provide assistance to domestic human trafficking victims with a landmark law that Gov. Rick Perry (R) signed into law Aug. 20. Among the groups that helped…

Rose Wasilwa, regional director in Kitale for Buckner Kenya; Neal Knighton of Buckner International; and Katy Reynolds participate in the dedication of the Reynolds Center in Kitale, Kenya (Buckner photo). KITALE, Kenya (ABP) — One family’s desire to honor its…

MINNEAPOLIS (ABP) — Delegates to the national assembly of America’s largest Lutheran denomination voted by a wide margin Aug. 21 to open the door to allowing clergy in committed same-sex relationships to serve openly. The vote came just two days…