When my editor called me Friday and asked if I’d like to fly to Chicago to cover what’s happening here, I, of course, said yes. News had just broken that a Presbyterian pastor had been shot in the head with…
Chicago pastor sues Trump after ICE assaults him while praying
A Presbyterian minister attacked by ICE agents during the peaceful protest of a Chicago-area migrant processing center has joined a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s violence against demonstrators and media. David Black, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of…
Chicago churches urge calm resistance ahead of expected federal intervention
The Rev. Marshall Hatch urged congregants of a prominent Black church on Chicago’s West Side to carry identification, stay connected to family and protest as the city readied for an expected federal intervention.
Watching Rome from Chicagoland: Muslims measure new pope’s promise
The announcement of the first U.S.-born pope is important for all Americans but resonates especially strongly in Chicago and its larger community, known locally as Chicagoland. Born on the city’s Southside and raised in the nearby suburb of Dolton, Robert…
Big-city coalition makes a case for why immigrants are essential to U.S. economy
A coalition including Chicago business, faith and municipal leaders announced a nationwide campaign to press the White House to extend work permits to undocumented immigrants who are long-term residents of the U.S. “I remain steady in my belief that a…
In Chicago, an unlikely pastor learns love requires proximity
Jonathan Brooks moved his family into their new address in the dead of night. He didn’t want his neighbors in the tough Englewood section of Chicago to see the computers or televisions or nice furniture his family owned. He told…
Minister’s healing from sexual abuse intersects #MeToo era in new memoir
Lucille F. Sider is an ordained minister called to bring healing to others while carrying dark, painful secrets inside her for decades.
Frustration, fear and faith inspired youth to March for Our Lives
The diversity and scope of Saturday’s March for Our Lives was as surprising as it was inspiring, say many of the youth involved in the protests against gun violence in American schools that were held in Washington and around the nation. And for some of those, it was their Christian faith which prompted them to participate.
Like God, hip-hop gives voice to the oppressed, Chicago preacher says
Jonathan Brooks was introduced to faith growing up in a Missionary Baptist church on Chicago’s Southside. But he met Jesus through Christian hip hop. “For me, it’s always been the fact that [hip-hop] was a voice for the marginalized and for the oppressed,” Brooks says. And the same, he adds, is true about God.
‘Faith-inspired social justice’ is continued theme as Wild Goose festival expands geographically
The Wild Goose Festival held its first-ever regional event on Saturday — and not in one of the major urban centers its leaders originally envisioned. Cities like Atlanta, Chicago and Nashville were initially considered to host the one-day events. But a passionate…
Bluefield scholar seeks to take a bite out of interfaith tensions
Anti-Islamic sentiment is driving U.S. and European politics while religious hatred fuels world terrorism. Rob Merritt sees the roots of that animosity. “Most of the global conflict we see today has to do with religious controversy,” says Merritt, dean of the…