NEWS STORY
RNS-Minnesota-Faith: In Minneapolis, faith groups rush to aid demonstrators as they decry racism
(RNS) — Faith leaders in Minneapolis, Minnesota are offering aid to demonstrators who have taken to the streets to decry racism and police brutality, working to balance religious calls for justice with an aversion to violence and a desire to prevent the spread of infection during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. By Jack Jenkins. 1,640 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Liberty-Resignation: Liberty professor resigns after Falwell’s ‘Governor Blackface’ tweet
(RNS) — Liberty University online professor Christopher House resigned after university president Jerry Falwell Jr. tweeted a picture of a face mask depicting figures in blackface and dressed as a Klansmen. The tweet, seemingly an intended jab at Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, comes as Falwell has been under fire for minimizing the danger of the coronavirus. By Kathryn Post. 835 words. (category: a).
NEWS STORY
RNS-Smith-QA: Efrem Smith on the heart-breaking death of George Floyd and what keeps white and black Christians apart
(RNS) — “Another unarmed African American killing,” Rev. Efrem Smith wrote on Twitter. “This time in South Minneapolis in the neighborhood where I grew up. The heartbreak continues. I shouldn’t have to fear for my life because of the color of my skin.” The church planter and author of “The Post-Black and Post-White Church: Becoming the Beloved Community in a Multi-Ethnic World,” spoke with RNS this week following Floyd’s death. By Bob Smietana. 1,472 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Baptists-USDA: Trained in disaster relief, NC Baptists now deliver food boxes
(RNS) — They’re best known for their post-hurricane disaster relief efforts, ripping up damaged homes damaged by floodwaters and rehabilitating them from the studs. But in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Baptists on Mission, an auxiliary of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, has reconfigured itself as a food distribution network, having won a $1.6 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant. By Yonat Shimron. 500 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Pope-Prayer: Pope Francis to lead global prayer ceremony on eve of Pentecost
VATICAN CITY (RNS) – As many countries slowly attempt to return to normalcy, easing the safety measures imposed during the coronavirus pandemic, Pope Francis has called for an international moment of prayer to entrust all of humanity to the Lord and the Virgin Mary on the Vigil of Pentecost, the feast marking the rebirth of the Church. By Claire Giangravè. 700 words. (category: i)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Keller-Oped: How Ravi Zacharias changed the way evangelism is done
(RNS) — The Indian-Canadian evangelist Zacharias, who died May 19, saw that Western culture was fast becoming a “post-Christendom” society, where Christianity no longer felt true or even plausible. His vision was a new apologetics that didn’t wait for people to come to church, but would go out to them. By Timothy Keller. 1,200 words. (category: k)
