EDS: RNS-Meditation-Schools will come tomorrow
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Catholic-Vandalism: Virgin of Guadalupe mural, St. John and Mary statues vandalized in California Catholic churches
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — A number of Catholic churches in California, from the San Fernando Valley to Sacramento County, have reported vandalism throughout the month of April. By Alejandra Molina. 380 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-India-Covid: ‘We need a place to serve’: As India’s COVID-19 cases spiral, faith groups step up
MUMBAI India (RNS) — In the grip of a deadly second wave of COVID-19, religious charities and faith-based organizations are among the many civil society groups in India that have stepped up to mobilize relief efforts. Besides lending out their premises for hospitals or quarantine centers, the religious volunteers deliver food, medicine and other vital supplies to those recovering at home. By Bhavya Dore. 975 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-CAIR-Discrimination: New report details discrimination faced by American Muslims
(RNS) — A new report from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) notes a rise in hate crimes directed at the nation’s Muslims. The survey details complaints and hate crimes that the nation’s largest Muslim advocacy organization has addressed since it last published a report on the topic in 2018. The report titled “Resilience in the Face of Hate: Civil Rights Report 2021” found a 9% increase in complaints since 2018 as well as a notable decrease in hate crimes. By Joseph Hammond. 500 words (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-AME-Documentary: AME Church historical documentary features Mother Emanuel pastor Clementa Pinckney
(RNS) — The African Methodist Episcopal Church has digitally released a short film about its history, with footage of the Rev. Clementa Pinckney, the pastor killed in a 2015 attack on his South Carolina church, speaking of the denomination’s historic significance. By Adelle M. Banks. 600 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Hillsong-Instagram: Another Hillsong East Coast pastor resigns, this time over revealing Instagram selfies
NEW YORK (RNS) — Darnell Barrett, 32, resigned from his role as a pastor and creative director for the Montclair, New Jersey, Hillsong campus on Tuesday (April 27) after he shared two “mirror selfie” photos of himself shirtless and wearing white Nike compression leggings that left little to the imagination. Barrett sent the photos on Instagram stories to his “close friends” — followers he would have manually selected — but he also included a 30-year-old woman who once volunteered for him at the New Jersey church. By Roxanne Stone. 752 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Pope-Transparency: Pope Francis cracks down on corruption in new decree
(RNS) – Pope Francis cracked down on corruption in Vatican finances on Thursday by issuing a decree on transparency requiring that anyone holding a management position at the Vatican, be they clergy or lay people, must sign a declaration stating that they have a clean record and don’t hold assets in tax havens. By Claire Giangravè. 800 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Coffee-Covid: The beloved church coffee hour may soon return as COVID fades
(RNS) — Coffee has long fueled after church conversations and helped churchgoers build long-term friendships. Banished by COVID-19, the church coffee hour might soon return.By Bob Smietana. 900 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Bering-Disaffiliation: Historic Houston church leaves United Methodist Church over LGBTQ stance
(RNS) — Bering Church in Houston is the latest United Methodist Church to announce its departure from the denomination — the second in the past year from the denomination’s Texas Annual Conference — over its decades-long debate over the ordination of LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriages. And it likely isn’t the last as the denomination faces a long wait before its next General Conference meeting, which was set to discuss a possible schism over the disagreement last year before it was postponed to 2022 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. By Emily McFarlan Miller. 1,200 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Silk-Oped: Evangelicals are losing their climate skepticism
(RNS) — White evangelicals have clearly become more willing to acknowledge anthropogenic climate change over the past decade. Indeed, while they remain less concerned about the issue than other major American religious communities, Climate Nexus found them to be closer to mainstream opinion than they used to be. By Mark Silk. 633 words. (category: k)