A small Yiddish music workshop in the 1990s became a wild success. So composer Alan Bern founded what is now known as Yiddish Summer Weimar, a five-week summer institute and festival for the study, creation and performance of Yiddish culture and music in the heart of Germany.
Read More(OPINION) There have been fires at 10 Canadian churches — mostly Catholic ones — and multiple acts of vandalism this summer. Why? That’s the question more mainstream journalists should be asking. So why not ask it?
Read MoreThe University of St. Thomas in Houston is launching a uniquely Catholic MFA program with literary stars like Rod Dreher, California’s poet laureate Dana Gioia and Jessica Hooten Wilson. Few Christian colleges and universities - Protestant or Catholic - have developed MFA programs in the past.
Read MoreSolidarity with Israel among evangelical Christians has evolved for the last decade while one man reigned over the Holy Land. After his stinging defeat, Christian leaders are trying to heal the fractures it created.
Read More(OPINION) A narrowly-framed Supreme Court victory — the Fulton v. Philadelphia case — will allow Catholic Charities (at least for now) to preserve religious conscience and avoid placing foster children and children available for adoption with same-sex couples, despite the city's non-discrimination statute. However, this does not settle the many similar legal disputes the media will be covering the next few years.
Read MoreCapitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. has reached a $220,000 settlement with the District of Columbia and Mayor Muriel Bowser in a civil case filed over the District’s restrictions on gatherings at places of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read More(REVIEW) “The Chosen” season two is not as strong as its first season. It rushes scenes and narrative arcs and lacks the multi-episodic drama of the first season. But these weaknesses don’t strike to the essential strengths of the show: a show that portrays a Jesus and disciples faithful to scripture and embraces creativity in the art form.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Recent data released by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) showed that US mainline Protestants outnumber evangelicals for the first time. But that conclusion was immediately met with skepticism online. Here’s why.
Read More(ANALYSIS) On July 9, 2021, South Sudan will celebrate its 10th anniversary of independence – but it does so amid concern over violence in the young nation. Recent attacks on two Catholic priests have also put a focus on the role of the church in South Sudan. The country’s freedom was achieved after two lengthy civil wars against its now northern neighbor, Sudan, in which religious identity played a key role.
Read MoreThis week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights recent news coverage of plagiarism in the world of faith. Plus, catch up on all the week’s top religion news and best reads.
Read MoreA hit squad of gunmen killed Haiti’s president this week, pitching the small Caribbean nation into a state of lawlessness and emergency. Outside the capital, a U.S. Christian mission team of teens and adults is going ahead with their plans, helping local churches host Vacation Bible School activities for kids in the community.
Read MoreMany congregations had to cancel VBS in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that vaccines are being distributed and restrictions are easing, some churches are putting the summer program back on their calendars.
Read More(OPINION) An unmarried Catholic school teacher was dismissed from her position because she became pregnant through engaging in premarital sex. While religious freedom should include the right to remove an employee violating the school’s faith standards, the school could have handled the case of an unwed mother choosing life over abortion much differently.
Read More(OPINION) Cracks inside the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops widened with the election of President Joe Biden, a rosary-carrying Catholic who – in word and deed – has evolved into a fierce defender of abortion and LGBTQ rights.
Read More(ANALYSIS) The biannual U.S. Catholic bishops’ meeting received more than its usual attention this June due to one particular item on its agenda: a proposed document on the Sacrament of the Eucharist, a ritual also known as Holy Communion. What is the Eucharist, and what does it mean to be denied it?
Read MoreWhile many churches have resumed in-person services, the Jehovah’s Witnesses remain completely virtual in their operations with no plans to reopen. While the deaf-blind make up a tiny portion of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the organization has innovated ways to minister to this group, using everything from advanced electronic readers to macaroni.
Read MoreRural villages in the Dominican Republic’s hot, barren southwestern region struggle to access clean drinking water. This entrepreneurial minister created a business that filters water using ultraviolet light and an elaborate storage system and delivers clean water at affordable prices or no cost to families, schools and businesses.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Concerned over the direction that some leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have recently taken, a number of pastors in the denomination have formed the “Conservative Baptist Network” while others have left the denomination altogether. A history of the “Baptist battles” provides context for the SBC’s recent infighting along race, gender and ideology.
Read More(OPINION) Whenever the Southern Baptist Convention gathers in times of trials and turmoil, one thing is certain – someone will preach a sermon that makes a difference. That's how Southern Baptists do what they do. These sermons may not produce as many headlines as SBC elections or fiery debates about hot-button social issues, but the sermons matter.
Read MoreLinda Byler, 63, is an Old Order Amish wordsmith who began writing out of financial desperation. With 39 published novels, she has captivated Amish and non-Amish audiences (called English)—readers from around the nation who sometimes drop by her farm just to meet the writer who captures the simple life of the Amish sect, more than 300,000 strong in the United States alone.
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