Baptist News Global

Vermont is first state to approve gay marriage legislatively

MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABP) — On April 7, Vermont became the first jurisdiction in the United States to legalize same-sex marriage through legislative means. The decision comes less than five days after the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously overturned a law banning…

From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap

STAFF CHANGES David C. Meadors, to Broadus Memorial Church, Charlotesville, as senior pastor, effective May 1. Fernando Mangieri, to First Church, Springfield, as pastor for the Hispanic Fellowship. Mort Robson, to Calverton Church, Calverton, as pastor. Michael Dyer, to Fairview…

FAITHSHAPERS: Being tough on kids

Sometimes I’m tough on my kids. Once my daughter was lined up to spend the night with her grandparents, but she disobeyed her teacher at school that day and I made her stay home. She missed out on a great…

Virginia Baptists plan ‘hunger dialogues’

RICHMOND — The Virginia Baptist Mission Board and Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia are hosting a series of dialogues across the state focused on alleviating hunger. The dialogues are designed to open doors to new ideas, ministries, networks and resources…

Youth, NASCAR team up for Christian event at RIR

RICHMOND — For the third consecutive year, Central Virginia Raceway Ministries is sponsoring Bring-A-Kid Race Night, an evening of fellowship with children, parents and youth groups around the sport of NASCAR. The event is scheduled for Friday, May 1. “We…

FAITH DIGEST

Court rules against Christian legal student group. A federal appeals court has upheld an “open membership” rule for student organizations at a University of California law school, making a Christian student group ineligible for recognition because the group requires adherence…

Smorgasbord religion on the rise throughout United States

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Friday afternoons find Ann Holmes Redding at the Al-Islam Center in Seattle, reciting Muslim prayers. Come Sunday, she heads about two miles south to kneel in the pews of St. Clement’s of Rome Episcopal Church. “My experience…

Religious groups mobilize to keep alleviating poverty a priority in D.C.

The group, The Mobilization to End Poverty, plans to bring thousands of religious and community activists to Washington later this month to urge President Obama to make the poor a priority and continue his goal of reducing domestic poverty by…

Will proposed tax plan hurt churches? Maybe; maybe not

WASHINGTON (RNS) — President Obama’s proposed 2010 federal budget contains a 7 percent cut in charitable tax deductions for the nation’s wealthiest taxpayers. Some religious groups are asking how that will affect their bottom line. The answer: It depends who…

VIRGINIA BRIEFS

Children’s resource celebrates Baptists’ 400th. Children in Baptist churches will enjoy participating in Baptists’ 400th anniversary celebration through the new issue of Heritage Seekers, a full-color magazine containing stories, games and activities. The issue tells the stories of John Smyth…

Keep me

‘Keep me a hundred years, and you shall find a use for me.” In 1885 William H. Whitsitt penned this line on the inside front cover of his secret diary. The diarist painstakingly and neatly recorded his activities and his…

Finding an antidote to biblical dummies?

Did you hear the one about little Johnny’s Sunday school teacher talking to the boy’s father, a deacon? The teacher good-naturedly approached the dad in the church parking lot. “You’ll never believe what happened in Sunday school,” he began. “I…

What you’re not seeing: Tens of thousands of children separated from parents

The way we were

Talarico’s pastor pushes back on Daily Wire’s claims

Spiritual formation is how churches learn whom to hear