NEWS STORY
RNS-Sanctuary-Order: After 3.5 years in church sanctuary, one immigrant is moving out
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — Jose Chicas, an El Salvador native who has been living in church sanctuary for more than three years, will move out Friday after President Biden signed an executive order temporarily halting the deportation of undocumented immigrants. Dozens of others who took sanctuary in churches following former President Trump’s aggressive efforts to find and deport undocumented immigrants, are now talking to their lawyers to see if it might be safe for them to leave. By Yonat Shimron. 600 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Inaugural-Prayer: At inaugural prayer service, a message of renewal and ‘repairing the breach’
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Dozens of faith leaders participated in a virtual edition of the interfaith National Prayer Service hosted by the Washington National Cathedral on Thursday (Jan. 21), gathering digitally for a service that articulated a spiritual endorsement of diversity, healing and “repairing the breach.” By Jack Jenkins. 1300 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Schonfeld-Magid: Faith and the COVID-19 vaccine: ‘Muslims were among the first to believe in vaccines’
(RNS) — To explore what American clergy are doing to support the vaccine effort, Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, the former CEO of the Conservative Jewish movement’s Rabbinical Assembly and now a master’s candidate at the City University of New York’s School of Public Health, interviewed a series of faith leaders about their tradition’s views on public health and vaccination, and asked what they are doing in the vaccination effort. The series begins with Imam Mohamed Magid, a former president of the Islamic Society of North America. By Julie Schonfeld. 1,192 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Bishops-Biden: US Catholic Bishops divided over Biden presidency
(RNS) – U.S. Catholic bishops released a controversial statement after the inauguration ceremony on Wednesday, which took a hawkish stance on abortion, and fractured the episcopacy in the country while highlighting tensions between Catholic morals and the Biden administration. By Claire Giangravè. 500 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Biden-Inauguration: For President Joe Biden, an inauguration filled with faith
(RNS) — Biden started Inauguration Day at church. It was an appropriately spiritual beginning to a faith-infused day and what is shaping up to be an unapologetically religious presidential term for Biden, the second Catholic president in U.S. history. And unlike his predecessor Donald Trump, who spoke often of Christianity being under fire, Biden spent Wednesday invoking faith as a tool for healing and unity. By Jack Jenkins. 1,196 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Warnock-SwornIn: Rev. Raphael Warnock sworn in with two others as new senator
(RNS) — Atlanta pastor Raphael Warnock, long known as “the Rev.,” received the new title of “Senator” as he was sworn in at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday (Jan. 20). By Adelle M. Banks. 600 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Ossoff-Faith: 5 faith facts about Sen. Jon Ossoff, a Southern Jew with a passion for racial justice
(RNS) — He is Georgia’s first Jewish senator. And he grew up attending The Temple, Atlanta’s oldest synagogue. Its legacy of interracial harmony shaped him. By Yonat Shimron. 500 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-SBC-Candidates: Alabama Baptist pastor Ed Litton, known for work on racial reconciliation, joins crowded SBC presidential race
(RNS) – So far, four Southern Baptist leaders have announced plans to run for president of the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, which is divided over race, politics, and declining membership. By Bob Smietana. 731 words. (categories: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Stewart-Oped: Amanda Gorman, my grandma and the Black tears we cried
(RNS) — On the phone with me, my grandma remarked on how good of a job Amanda Gorman did with her Inauguration poem. And my mind went back to earlier, when I saw what all of us saw: a Black woman, using her words and her hands, using her eyes and her brilliance to help us see things in ourselves and in our country that we have avoided. “Make sure you show your children this moment,” Grandma said. By Danté Stewart. 1,237 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Reese-Oped: Catholic bishops split on how to deal with Biden
(RNS) — Archbishop Jose Gomez, as president of U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, tried to speak for all the bishops in a statement both welcoming the country’s second Catholic president and warning him of the USCCB’s resistance. He ended up inviting criticism from his fellow bishops. By Thomas Reese. 1,083 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Joshi-Oped: Kamala Harris can show Americans how we share our faiths
(RNS) — Harris’ America, people can be steadfast in their own faith and still engage with others. The way we live religion — make it part of our lives and identities — is so much more complex than any holy text could contain or express. By Khyati Y. Joshi. 884 words. (category: k)