NEWS STORY
RNS-Seattle-Pacific: Seattle Pacific University faculty vote no confidence in board over LGBTQ exclusion
(RNS) —The faculty of Seattle Pacific University, a Christian school associated with the Free Methodist Church, has taken a vote of no confidence in its board of trustees after members of the board declined to change its policy prohibiting the hiring of LGBTQ people. The no-confidence vote, approved by 72% of the faculty, was the latest in a series of escalating clashes between faculty, students and the school’s governing board. By Yonat Shimron. 800 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Minneapolis-Churches: Minnesota churches caught in standoffs between protesters and police
(RNS) — Two Minnesota have found themselves caught in standoffs between protesters and police despite working to strike a balance between abiding by law enforcement and ministering to protesters decrying racism and police brutality. 1,389 words. By Jack Jenkins (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-LA-Verdict: At scene of LA’s 2020 protests, faith leaders gather to praise Floyd verdict
(RNS) — A small group of faith leaders on Tuesday (April 20) gathered at Grand Park in downtown Los Angeles to await the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial in the murder of George Floyd. Months after protesters set up camp in the park to protest Floyd’s death, this gathering featured no protest signs, chants or demonstrations, only a sense of expectation as word came that the jury had come to a decision. By Alejandra Molina. 450 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Verdicts-Reax: Faith leaders praise Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdicts, acknowledge work ahead
(RNS) — Religious leaders and faith-related organizations reacted swiftly to the three guilty verdicts in the trial of former Minneapolis Officer Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. By RNS staff. 2,200 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Facebook-Prayer: Likes and prayers: Facebook tests new ‘prayer post’ feature
(RNS) — A Facebook spokesperson confirmed to Religion News Service that the social media platform is currently testing a prayer post feature. The idea for prayer posts grew out of the myriad ways users have connected over Facebook while distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the spokesperson. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 500 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-USCIRF-AnnualReport: Russia, China, Myanmar recommended for State Department list of religious freedom violators
(RNS) — A religious freedom watchdog is urging the State Department to name four additional countries to its list of the worst religious freedom offenders. In its 2021 annual report, released Wednesday (April 21), the U.S. Commission on Religious Freedom said India, Russia, Syria and Vietnam should be considered “countries of particular concern.” By Adelle M. Banks. 500 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Salkin-Oped: A kaddish for George Floyd
(RNS) — To all those who quibble about the use of the phrase Black Lives Matter: Understand what that phrase means. It does not mean that Black lives matter to the detriment and negation of other lives. It means that Black lives matter — because for four centuries in this country, those lives have not mattered. By Jeffrey Salkin. 777 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Gilkes-Oped: The Chauvin verdict is an island of justice in a river of Black pain
(RNS) — We need to begin to heal from all the horrors of our histories and heritages. Doing so involves naming the horrors and understanding the forces that shape them. This moment of accountability, this island in a river of painful history, invites us to engage our gifts of courage, sanity, love and personal energy to imagine criminal justice and policing anew. By Cheryl Townsend Gilkes. 1,169 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Dates-Oped: Derek Chauvin’s guilty verdict might be an exodus for America
(RNS) — The guilty verdict of former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd might be an exodus for America. This guilty verdict is an opportunity for the liberation of not just Black, brown and Asian Americans, but for white Americans, too. Chauvin, like many anti-Black authoritarians before him, was imprisoned by his sense of supremacy long before he was assigned a prison cell in Minnesota on Tuesday afternoon. By Charlie Dates. 947 words. (category: k)
COMMENTARY
RNS-SmithPollard-Oped: In wake of Chauvin trial, what can faith leaders learn from the Rodney King LA riots?
(RNS) — As we anticipate reactions to the the Derek Chauvin verdict, we only have to look back to Los Angeles in 1992 to know what to do and what not to do. The Rev. Cecil L. Murray wrote the playbook for this situation. By Najuma Smith-Pollard. 795 words. (category: k)