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Pastor refrocked * Abuse settlement * MLK award: Wednesday's Roundup

A United Methodist pastor has been reinstated after being defrocked. The Archdiocese of Seattle announced a $12.1 million settlement. Plus, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King were posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
Pastor refrocked * Abuse settlement * MLK award: Wednesday’s Roundup
United Methodist Rev. Frank Schaefer serves communion to his supporters at the end of his two-day church trial. Photo by Kathy L. Gilbert/United Methodist News Service
Sarah Pulliam Bailey

Happy hump day. Here’s what you need to know to get your day started:

United Methodist Rev. Frank Schaefer serves communion to his supporters at the end of his two-day church trial. Photo by Kathy L. Gilbert/United Methodist News Service

United Methodist Rev. Frank Schaefer serves communion to his supporters at the end of his two-day church trial. Photo by Kathy L. Gilbert/United Methodist News Service

A Pennsylvania pastor who was defrocked last year for violating United Methodist law after he officiated at his son’s same-sex wedding has been reinstated.


The Archdiocese of Seattle announced a $12.1 million settlement in 30 claims of sexual abuse by members.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King were posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor, on Tuesday.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry summoned the American and South Sudanese ambassadors after Christian-convert Meriam Yahya Ibrahim attempted to travel to the United States using documents issued by the embassy of South Sudan.

Baptists, once resistant, are becoming more receptive to incorporating art and liturgical elements in their worship. And the left-leaning Wild Goose Festival is putting the spotlight on visual arts this year.

ESPN profiles a pastor who has baptized 66 professional baseball umpires. The best cutline ever: Pastor “Dean hates baseball, but he’s committed to watching all nine innings, to reciprocate the respect his umpires pay him when he’s preaching.”

Women’s ordination advocate Kate Kelly said it’s unlikely she will seek rebaptism anytime soon into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which excommunicated her on Monday.

The Economist is accusing Pope Francis of following the ways of Vladimir Lenin, the founder of Soviet communism.


The Right Rev. Foley Beach was elected Saturday to succeed Archbishop Robert Duncan as head of the Anglican Church in North America.

The only abortion clinic in north Alabama is expected to close within a week. Also, the House appropriation committee has approved covering abortions for Peace Corps volunteers in cases of rape or threat to the life of the mother.

Finally, a sweet photo to start your day:

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