PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (RNS) — Did God abandon Haiti? No, say its people of faith — and there are many here in a place without much beyond faith. The earthquake was a sign of God’s presence. So, it should be no…
Earthquake shakes, but doesn’t tumble, faith of Haitians
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (RNS) — Did God abandon Haiti? No, say its people of faith — and there are many here in a place without much beyond faith. The earthquake was a sign of God’s presence. So, it should be no…
Black churches team with hospitals to push better diets for congregants
CLEVELAND (RNS) — For Deborah Taylor, keeping her body fit and eating well is a way of honoring God. So, when Taylor, a financial assistant for University Hospitals Ireland Cancer Center, heard about the hospital’s Body & Soul program for…
YMCA seeks to reclaim ‘C’ in its name
SHERWOOD, Ore. (RNS) — The wooden box, not quite big enough to hold a pair of shoes, sits on the reception desk, just inside the Sherwood YMCA. Once a day, Roger Button empties the box, finds a quiet place to…
Church scores with men on football Sunday, attracting crowd to service
EAST ORANGE, N.J. (RNS) — Pastor Dwight Gill figures if there is one thing that will bring more men to church, it’s football. So, at New Hope Baptist Church, NFL doesn’t stand for National Football League, but rather for New…
Religious games and toys more than child’s play, authors insists
BOSTON (RNS) — On the first day of her introductory religion class at Merrimack College, professor Rebecca Sachs Norris put her students to work at having some fun. She assigned teams of three or four students to play some of the…
Tumultuous times fuel End Times preparations
WASHINGTON (RNS) — For years, Ken Uptegrove believed another Great Depression was at hand. A computer professional in Springdale, Ark., Uptegrove started a garden and researched ways to live more simply. He studied the lives of early Christians and launched…
Fear of flu prompts panic in cautious congregations
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Hand sanitizer appears at the sanctuary entrance. Worshippers greet each other with a cautionary bow rather than a warm handshake or hug. Absences increase in Bible classes. The H1N1 flu pandemic is shaking up religious communities and…
Handwritten ‘Bible Across America’ sells for $15,000
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The first handwritten copy of the New International Version Bible sold on eBay for more than $15,000. Zondervan’s handwritten Bible Across America project marked the 30th anniversary of the popular New International Version translation. The Christian publisher…