Emily McFarlan Miller
Emily McFarlan Miller is a national reporter for RNS based in Chicago. She covers evangelical and mainline Protestant Christianity.
All Stories by Emily McFarlan Miller
5 faith moments from Rep. John Lewis’ funeral
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 30, 2020
(RNS) — The civil rights leader’s life was marked by his deep Christian witness, and so it was fitting that his funeral also was marked by powerful moments of faith.
Chicago’s Soldier Field rolls out blue carpet for drive-in screening of movie ‘Fatima’
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 29, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — ‘Just like the churches, we had to pivot, too,’ said Jeanne Berney, chief operating officer of Picturehouse Entertainment, the film’s distributor.
Barbecue Baptist Church delivers meals, a message and a little levity amid pandemic
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 27, 2020
(RNS) — Barbecue Baptist Church, an outreach of First Baptist Church of Navasota, Texas, is traveling the South with fresh BBQ, a little levity and a reminder that people care.
Evangelical, Midwestern, Southern churches most likely to be meeting in person again
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 24, 2020
(RNS) — But even for those churches that have reopened, services likely don’t look like they did before COVID-19 upended everyday life in the United States.
Fired from Wheaton, former chaplain Tim Blackmon speaks out on allegations, what’s next
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 23, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — The Rev. Tim Blackmon describes what he believes to be a clash of cultures between his ‘Dutch upbringing’ and the ‘deeply religious and very Midwestern culture of Wheaton College.’
State of the Bible: Left unread during the coronavirus pandemic
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 22, 2020
(RNS) — ‘What we saw between January and June was that 13 million people in America, who were previously really engaging meaningfully with Scripture, no longer were, and that was a serious drop-off,’ said John Plake of the American Bible Society.
Can kindness heal a world divided by pandemic, protests and politics? Pastor Ashlee Eiland thinks so
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 21, 2020
(RNS) — ‘I think sometimes what kindness means, if we’re doing it well, is that we are righteously angry,’ said Ashlee Eiland, formation and preaching pastor at Mars Hill Bible Church near Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Counselor Aundi Kolber shares what it looks like to ‘Try Softer’ during a pandemic
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 14, 2020
(RNS) — The Colorado-based counselor’s message that it is OK to ‘try softer’ rather than to try harder — or ‘white-knuckle’ one’s way through life, as she puts it — feels especially relevant in the midst of a pandemic.
As depression, anxiety, grief spike during pandemic and protest, churches offer hope, mental health resources
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 13, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — As people across the country deal with the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and the country’s reckoning over racism, many Christian leaders, organizations and churches are providing resources not only to care for their spiritual and physical health, but also their mental health.
Racial slur, ‘The Idiot’s Guide to Kama Sutra’ led to chaplain’s firing, says Wheaton College
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 9, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — Meanwhile, the former chaplain says his firing comes after he shared theological articles the college ‘deemed ideologically problematic.’
Wheaton College chaplain fired over allegations of ‘racial and sexual’ comments
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 7, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — The flagship evangelical Christian college announced the Rev. Tim Blackmon’s dismissal Friday (July 3) in an email to the campus community from Wheaton President Philip Ryken.
Dakota Access pipeline temporarily shut down in legal and ‘spiritual’ battle
By Emily McFarlan Miller — July 6, 2020
(RNS) — Oil must stop flowing through the Dakota Access pipeline by Aug. 5, according to a decision Monday (July 6) by Judge James E. Boasberg.
In a summer of pandemic, Vacation Bible School programs go online and outside
By Emily McFarlan Miller — June 26, 2020
(RNS) — Across denominations, VBS is one of the biggest outreach ministries of the year for many churches and draws a huge number of volunteers from congregations.
How Jesus became white — and why it’s time to cancel that
By Emily McFarlan Miller — June 24, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — Nearly a century later, both ‘Head of Christ’ and criticism of its role in enshrining Jesus as white endure.
Chicago celebrates Juneteenth with interfaith march through iconic Grant Park
By Emily McFarlan Miller — June 19, 2020
CHICAGO (RNS) — Thousands of people came out for a faith community-led march celebrating Juneteenth on Friday afternoon (June 19) through downtown Chicago’s Grant Park, home to some of the city’s most iconic landmarks and attractions.
