With the advent of small-batch clothing lines launched easily and cheaply through websites and social media feeds rather than brick-and-mortar retail stores, many fashion entrepreneurs like Floryn C. Ajuzie are creating new clothing brands, products and strategies driven by their personal faith and beliefs. Their success raises questions about branding strategy as well as ethics of retail.
Read More(ANALYSIS) As late as 1970, according to figures from the Cremation Association of America, only about 5% of American chose cremation over burial. But in 2020, more than 56% Americans opted for it. And by 2035, the he National Funeral Directors Association predicts nearly 80% of Americans will opt for cremation.
Read More(REVIEW) A new book by historian Randall Balmer called “Passion Plays: How Religion Shaped Sports in North America” explores the relationship between sports and religion. Specifically, he writes that the book “examines how the history of religion across North America connects in fascinating ways to the emergence of modern team sports.”
Read More(REVIEW) Leonard Cohen’s life and musical legacy are explored in a thoroughly engaging new documentary through the lens of his famous song “Hallelujah.” The documentary explores Cohen’s inner turmoil regarding his Jewish faith and his humanity and how that influenced his music. It also proves the massive influence of the song on music history by making “Hallelujah” accessible to everyone.
Read More(OPINION) Grand Rapids, as much as any northern town a symbolic buckle on an established Bible (especially Calvinist) Belt outside of the South, is divided this election season. Underscoring hopes to flip the Michigan seat, House Democrats’ campaign arm horrified some party stalwarts by spending $435,000 on ads to boost John Gibbs’s name recognition, while undercutting Peter Meijer as the far stronger November opponent.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Crystals aren’t just eye-catching stones. Quartz is used in electronics because it possesses piezoelectric properties that cause it to release an electric charge when compressed. But, as skeptics are quick to point out, there is no evidence crystals can bring health, prosperity or any of the other properties that crystal enthusiasts may attribute to them.
Read MoreFrom the beginning of their journey into the Orthodox faith, Meghan and Michael Jones were metaphysically connected to Alaska. But their sense of calling to spread the gospel, expand the church and launch socially redemptive initiatives eventually led the couple and their four children to Fiji.
Read MoreThere has been an increase in crimes committed against houses of worship across North America, predominantly aimed at Catholic churches, since last year. Many of these incidents have taken place in the weeks prior and after the Supreme Court decision to roll back federal abortion rights.
Read MoreOrthodox Christians in North America and around the world already are venerating the Alaskan matriarch for her care and concern for abused women.
Read More(REVIEW) The creative team behind “The Chosen” put together a documentary in which nine members of Gen Z binge-watched the first season of the show and shared their reaction. The documentary showcases a lot of genuine spiritual growth, but don’t expect it to solve all the problems present with young people and the church.
Read MoreThe arrival of St. Herman and a group of eight monks on this island on Sept. 24, 1794, planted a seed for the Orthodox Church on the continent. Since then, Alaska has been a spiritual cradle of Orthodox Christianity in North America.
Read MoreFor years, Fairfax church members — including older Christians such as Harrington, Jan Johnson and Juanita Wheeler — have connected in person with immigrants through FriendSpeak. But when the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown came in the spring of 2020, face-to-face studies with friends from China, El Salvador, Syria and elsewhere became impossible.
Read MoreSeveral young Orthodox converts who live at the St. James House, a self-directed program for young Orthodox adults, kept asking me during my visit last November if I had met Joe, the beekeeper. From what I had gathered, this guy named Joseph “Joe” Dunham, 68, was a living legend of the Eagle River community. He sounded quirky. I had to meet him.
Read MoreWhile less than 1% of Americans identify as Orthodox Christians, 5% of Alaskans identified as Orthodox in 2014, according to Pew Research. And while the number of regular attendees at Eastern Orthodox churches in the U.S. has declined 14% from 2010 to 2020, the number of parishes grew 3% over the same decade, according to the latest data in the 2020 Census of Orthodox Christian Churches.
Read More(ANALYSIS) One of the most sacred places in the Latter-day Saints temple in Washington is the Celestial Room on the sixth floor, where people come, sit quietly and pray. The Mormon leaders say this is a place to “feel close to and commune with God.” There are no ceremonies in this space.
Read MoreWhile there has been a prevailing narrative since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in June that pro-lifers don’t care about women, the facts tell a different story. For over 50 years, even preceding the Roe v. Wade decision, Christians have been serving women in unexpected or crisis pregnancies.
Read MoreThe Central Lutheran Church of Dallas just celebrated its 100th anniversary. The congregation, which recently merged with 70-year-old Bethany Lutheran Church of Dallas, is starting to reckon with the decline in attendance and membership that is plaguing mainline traditions across the United States.
Read MoreJoshua Prager’s book, “The Family Roe” was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction and received broad acclaim for Prager’s painstaking research into the life of the Roe v. Wade plaintiff — Norma McCorvey in real life and “Jane Roe” to the court — and many people connected to her, including the daughter born to her before abortion was legalized.
States, lawyers and legal scholars are continuing to evaluate the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, which overturned the decision in Roe v. Wade and subsequent abortion cases and held the U.S. Constitution does not, in fact, recognize a right to terminate a pregnancy.
Read MoreFor four weeks each summer, Kids & Christian Camp brings children ages 3 to 12 together in the nation’s capital to cook Jamaican food, listen to African music, learn about Mexican history and Japanese clothing, practice Brazilian martial arts and tour the Tanzanian embassy.
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