Chaplain service releases new DVD. The Chaplain Service Prison Ministry of Virginia has released a new DVD describing the agency’s ministry to 32,000 adult prisoners in 31 state prisons and three juvenile correctional centers across Virginia. The DVD includes comments…
OUT LOUD
“I’d love to say that we atheists did it all ourselves; I’d love to be able to say that our dazzling wit and slashing rhetorical attacks are persuading people to abandon organized religion in droves. But the truth is that…
VITAL SIGNS: Mind the gap
Three years ago, our youngest son graduated from college. Yeah! Following graduation, he had no idea what he wanted to do with his degree. Boo! Solution: take a “gap year” and spend it in South Africa working in a ministry…
WINN RECOMMENDS
Justice in Love, Nicholas Wolterstorff (Eerdmans) Often, the Christian themes of justice and love are held in tension. Philosophers have posited them as incompatible starting points for thinking about ethics while the rest of us have often wondered if the…
OPINION: Looking for laughter after 9/11
It’s coming. The sun’s daily rise and set prompts the inexorable turn of calendar pages and guarantees it. This Sept. 11 marks 10 years since the day the world stood still as 19 terrorists commandeered four huge jets and flew…
EDITORIAL: That pivotal day
September 11, 2001 is a day we will never forget. On that day, John Upton became the executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. As noteworthy as that event is, however, and as much as it should be…
Baptist relief agencies begin Mid-Atlantic cleanup in wake of Irene
RICHMOND, Va. — As Hurricane Irene continued its destructive track north Aug. 28, Baptist relief agencies in the Mid-Atlantic began deploying volunteers in the region, which was left with rising water and little electricity in the wake of the storm….
Churches offer ‘Soul Food,’ encouragement to the unemployed
When people are in trouble following natural disasters, churches usually respond rapidly and generously. The disaster of chronic unemployment creates a different set of challenges, but some churches across the country provide models of ministry to people affected by economic…
If God made us for meaningful labor, what if we can’t find a job?
In an uncertain and unstable economy, how do Christians reconcile work as a reflection of the image of God in them with high unemployment and under-employment rates? Should believers reexamine what defines "meaningful" work? How do Christians reconcile faith issues…
Beyond immediate ministry, a call to address social inequities
While many churches reach out to meet the immediate needs of people who have lost jobs, Christians also are called to tackle underlying social issues related to employment and to partner with others to help make long-term changes, some ethicists…
Two lies for Labor Day: A transforming theology of work
I am a Christian because of the ministry of two "laymen." One was a mechanic, the other a salesman. When I was a teenager, they invited me to ride their bus to church. If they had not knocked on my…
National Cathedral suffers ‘significant damage’ in quake
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The earthquake that rumbled up the East Coast from Virginia on Aug. 23 “significantly damaged” the central tower of Washington National Cathedral, shaking carved stone finials from atop the iconic church. The quake also left cracks in…