WASHINGTON (RNS) — Patrick Conroy was sworn in May 25 as House chaplain, making him the first Jesuit – and only the second Catholic — to hold the position, and the first candidate forced to navigate around the Catholic Church’s…
Texas Baptist board calls for renegotiated agreement with Baylor
DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board voted to take steps to renegotiate the relationship agreement between the state convention and Baylor University. At its May 24 meeting in Dallas, the board directed Associate Executive Director…
Baptists help Myanmar quake victims after learning of collapsed church
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Several Baptist groups are pooling resources for aid after receiving news that a Baptist church in Myanmar collapsed during a March earthquake, killing 24 and injuring 57. According to the Myanmar Times, about 200 people…
OPINION: An opportunity to work together
Bill Webb It is about 4 p.m. on Monday, May 23. Updates have been trickling in all day after a tornado clawed through the south side of Joplin less than 24 hours earlier, leaving a death toll of at least…
Chainsaw units, chaplains activated as Baptists respond to Joplin tornado
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — As disaster relief volunteers prepare to assist in Joplin, Mo., in the aftermath of Sunday's devastating tornado, other Baptists in Missouri can assist through donations, particularly of funds for supplies. (See related story here.) The tornado,…
Three die at Joplin, Mo., church hit by tornado that tears across Midwest
JOPLIN, Mo. (ABP) — At least two Missouri Baptist churches are among the scores of institutions, businesses and homes destroyed when one of 68 reported tornadoes that swept across the Midwest on Sunday struck Joplin. (See related story here.) News…
TRENDING: Froth or prophecy?
My wife, Mary, has a Yahoo home page. At the top is a “Trending Now” column. It lists the top 10 most frequently accessed internet stories. Today’s top four trends are: 1. Zsa Zsa Gabor John Chandler 2. Katie Couric…
Virginia Baptist working to secure passage of bill to prohibit trafficking
ARLINGTON, Va. — Selling people is the fastest growing criminal activity in the world and the third largest criminal industry after drugs and weapons, according to information distributed by the United Nations. UNICEF statistics indicate that nearly two million children…
VA Briefs
Leland developing 'virtual campus.' The John Leland Center for Theological Studies in Falls Church, Va., is in the process of developing a new “virtual campus,” thanks to $267,000 in donations — including an anonymous gift of $200,000, the second largest…
Baptists in Central Virginia focus on ways to end global human trafficking
RICHMOND, Va. — An April 30 awareness event sponsored by International Justice Ministries, the Richmond Justice Initiative and First Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., drew dozens of people from Central Virginia to focus on human trafficking. The day’s activities included…
US / World Briefs
Religious freedom ambassador sworn in. Suzan Johnson Cook, an American Baptist pastor, author and motivational speaker, was sworn in May 16 as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom by Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero. Johnson Cook…
NC Briefs
Causey to retire. Jack Causey will retire at the end of May as director of services to ministers at the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., a position he has held since 1996. Causey, who will continue as ministerial…