NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Olympics-Churches: Tokyo archbishop bans Olympians from Catholic churches amid surge in COVID-19 cases
(RNS) — Parishes in the Tokyo archdiocese have canceled all the plans they had made to “address the spiritual needs of the many people who would come to Japan” for the upcoming Summer Olympics. 500 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-PromiseKeepers-Event: Promise Keepers says it has changed. The times have changed more.
(RNS) — More than 80,000 men are expected to gather at the Dallas Cowboy’s stadium in Arlington, Texas, Friday and Saturday (July 16-17) for Promise Keepers’ first major in-person event in two decades. The 2020s, though, to put it mildly, are not the 1990s. The cultural flashpoints of the late 20th century are downright lightning rods two and a half decades later. An organization once committed to a post-political future has reemerged into a culture entrenched in a bitter partisan battle. By Roxanne Stone. 1,994 words. (category: a)
NEWS-STORY
RNS-Sikh-Truckers: Sikhs, finding religious freedom on the road, take outsize role in American trucking
(RNS) — As more and more native born Americans retire from trucking, Sikh-American immigrants and there families are increasingly an important part of the American trucking industry By Joseph Hammond 900 words. (category: a)
NEWS BRIEF
RNS-Graham-Britain: British borough apologizes for removing bus ads promoting Franklin Graham festival
(RNS) — A British borough council and its transportation provider publicly apologized on their websites for removing bus ads promoting a 2018 event with evangelist Franklin Graham in the English seaside town of Blackpool. A consent order detailing the remedies in the case was issued on July 9 and included monetary damages of 109,00 pounds. By Yonat Shimron. 450 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-McKenzie-QA: Retiring Bishop Vashti McKenzie, first AME Church woman prelate, reflects on a groundbreaking career
(RNS) – Bishop Vashti McKenzie, who was elected the first woman bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2000 and retired last week, talked with Religion News Service about her journey as a female bishop, who paved the way for her to reach that role, and what’s next for her and for her denomination. By Adelle M. Banks. 1,450 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Swain-Obit: Amid revival, Nashville megachurch mourns death of beloved staff pastor Chris Swain
(RNS) — A Nashville megachurch is grieving the loss of a beloved staff pastor. Chris Swain, discipleship pastor at Long Hollow Baptist Church, died Thursday at age 47, after being found unresponsive and not breathing a week earlier. His death comes as the church is in the midst of a massive revival – with over 1,300 baptism – leading to questions about unanswered prayers. By Bob Smietana 750 words. (category: a)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Nigeria-Burnings: Nigeria militants kill 33, burnt churches, days after kidnapping school children
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) – Barely a week after the kidnapping of nearly 140 students at a Baptist boarding school in northwest Nigeria state of Kaduna, a fresh terrorist attack in the region has left at least 33 people dead, and four churches and hundreds of homes burnt down. By Fredrick Nzwili. 700 words. (category: i)
NEWS STORY
RNS-Clergy-Abortion: Clergy among advocates suing Texas over new law deputizing citizens to enforce abortion ban
(RNS) — Religious leaders are part of a coalition of abortion providers and advocates that filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday (July 13) seeking to stop a Texas law that would allow any person to sue those who help a woman get an abortion. By Alejandra Molina. 750 words. (category: a)
COMMENTARY
RNS-Jones-Oped: Despite white Christianity’s role in Capitol assault, some signs of hope and change
(RNS) — On Jan. 6, an undulating sea of rioters revealed, with their flags and signs and totems, that this attack on our democracy was animated not just by fealty to a single leader but also by deeper allegiances to both white supremacy and Christianity. By Robert P. Jones. 1,520 words. (category: k)