RICHMOND, Va. — On an overcast Sunday morning in Richmond, 500 volunteers gathered at Gayton Baptist Church in the city’s western suburbs to make a difference a half a world away, preparing healthy meals to feed 277 malnourished children a…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Misguided notion
I enjoy the Herald and I usually agree with all that is in it, but I must respond to the opinion column of Sept. 26 written by Zachary Bailes [“Whom shall we kill?”]. It is “whining” at its best that…
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Unique opportunity
Chaplain Service Prison Ministry of Virginia Inc. is the official agency that provides chaplains to Virginia’s state prisons and juvenile correctional centers. Virginia is unique in that its prison chaplains are not state employees. They are not compensated by the…
HeraldBeat
GOT NEWS? Send information for this page to HeraldBeat editor Barbara Francis at [email protected]. Even better — add the Herald to your church’s newsletter e-mail list, send us a link to your online newsletter page or mail the newsletter to…
Proposed Virginia Baptist budget almost $1 million lower than current
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Virginia Baptists’ 2012 ministry budget will be almost $1 million less than their current one, if they adopt a proposal next month at the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The proposed $12.4 million…
Balance needed to make churches welcome and safe places
By definition, a "sanctuary" should be a place of refuge and protection where people feel welcome and feel safe. In practice, churches struggle with what it means to open their doors to everyone while providing a sense of security for…
Churches advised to begin by assessing risks
Concerned about developing a church security plan? Security expert Chester Quarles suggests starting with a risk assessment. "Risk assessment is usually historical. We need to know what has gone before," said Quarles, professor emeritus of criminal justice at the University…
Virginia Baptists to consider renewed ties with Averett University
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Virginia Baptists will consider in November a proposal to renew ties to Averett University, a 152-year-old school in Danville, Va., whose relationship with the state’s Baptists was severed in 2005 in a dispute over homosexuality. The Virginia…
How to conduct a basic church security survey
Walk around your church. Stand at each entryway and look closely in every direction. Think like a thief or a criminal. Are you surrounded by suburbs, or is your church now located within a business community? No matter your site,…
U.S. Supreme Court says World Vision can hire only Christians
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a lower-court ruling that the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision can fire employees over religious doctrine. The high court declined without comment Oct. 3 to review an August 2010 ruling by…
Haitian leader released unharmed
CAP-HAITIAN, Haiti — The Haitian Baptist leader who was kidnapped early Sept. 29 was released unharmed later that day without a ransom payment, the Baptist World Alliance reported Sept. 30. Emmanuel Pierre, general secretary of the Baptist Convention of Haiti,…
Some British Christians outraged as BBC drops B.C./A.D. dating method
LONDON (RNS) — Some British Christians are incensed after the state-funded BBC decided to jettison the terms B.C. and A.D. in favor of B.C.E. and C.E. in historical date references. The broadcaster has directed that the traditional B.C. (Before Christ)…