This is the ninth in a BNG series of articles on Christianity and democracy that will lead toward the July 4 celebration of America’s 250th birthday. The series has been curated by Carol McEntyre, senior minister at First Baptist Church of...
“Hey, are you OK? As soon as I heard, I thought of you.” That’s what I heard on the other end of the phone from my best friend the day Queen Elizabeth died. Why did the death of a monarch…
Reparations for America’s history of slavery must begin with recognition of human dignity, according to Andrew Delbanco, Alexander Hamilton Professor of American Studies at Columbia University. Delbanco delivered this year’s Jefferson Lecture sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities,…
Prayer is communication in the divine realm. When we pray, we share openly with God and listen attentively to the internal whispers of the Spirit in communion with our own. Whether audible or silent, our voice to God should be…
The Church of England will not allow same-sex marriage, despite renewed debate and calls for change in the state church. Bishops met Jan. 17 to finalize a recommendation after five years of debate on the issue that already has ripped…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Carlton Allen, to First Baptist Church, Greenwood, S.C., as interim pastor, effective Feb. 1. Steve Battaglia, to New…
A challenge of the U.S. Department of Education granting religious exemptions to faith-based schools that allow them to discriminate while receiving federal funding has been dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge. Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S. District Court…
It’s no secret that Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida plans to ride an anti-wokeness wave to the White House. To get there, he has turned his sights increasingly on higher education — specifically “woke” professors. Whatever “wokeness” means, for DeSantis…
Grief is relentless. The only way to get through grief is to grieve. The only way to get through the pain is to feel and process the pain. One of the best ways to manage the stress and anxiety that…
When someone shares a prayer request, what do you hear? We’ve been programmed to tell others when we have a need for God’s help. Many of us grew up going to Wednesday prayer service, where a significant block of time…
After denying three similar requests in recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case that challenges a 1977 court ruling defining what constitutes an “undue hardship” for an employer faced with a religious accommodation request….
The gap between Americans on immigration is steadily widening as conservatives increasingly embrace anti-immigrant attitudes that include a belief that migrants are invading the United States to displace white citizens, according to new research by Public Religion Research Institute. The…
Every disconnection from communal wholeness goes back to a disconnection within the self, which is fundamentally experienced in bodies. So the way Christians talk about Jesus being born as a human body has the potential to shape either wholeness or…
