G. Jeffrey MacDonald
G. Jeffrey MacDonald is an award-winning reporter and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ.
All Stories by G. Jeffrey MacDonald
Two Lutheran seminaries to close and reopen as new school
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — January 15, 2016
(RNS) The new plan comes as mainline Protestant seminaries take steps to weather financial storms caused by an average drop in enrollments of nearly 24 percent since 2005.
Faith-based groups earn millions on refugee loan commissions
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — December 1, 2015
(RNS) Debt collection from refugees brings upward of $5 million a year to faith-based groups that are playing an increasingly central role in the refugees' resettlement while arguing that America has a moral obligation to accept thousands of Syrian refugees. Some observers say the call to moral action rings hollow when these groups stand to benefit financially.
Oldest US graduate seminary to close campus
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — November 13, 2015
(RNS) The 208-year-old school calls the move part of “a bold new direction” as it vies to stop running big deficits and struggles to find a financially sustainable model.
Sister Helen Prejean: Tsarnaev ‘genuinely sorry for what he did’
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — May 11, 2015
BOSTON – "I walked in the room, I looked at his face and said, 'Oh my God, he's so young!' " said Sister Helen Prejean. Throughout its case, the defense team emphasized Tsarnaev's youth and impressionability.
Parents of murdered boy want life for Boston bomber
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — April 17, 2015
BOSTON – In a statement published on the front page of Friday's Boston Globe, William and Denise Richard said a death sentence for convicted bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev "could bring years of appeals and prolong reliving the most painful day of our lives."
Boston bombing jury excludes some Catholics
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — January 26, 2015
BOSTON (RNS) Potential jurors in bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's trial must be able to impose the death penalty. That standard eliminates most Catholics who heed their church's catechism.
Boston grieves rabbi killed in Jerusalem synagogue
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — November 19, 2014
SWAMPSCOTT, Mass. (RNS) When word spread that Boston native Moshe Twersky was among those murdered in a Jerusalem synagogue attack, local Jews grieved not only a native son but also a loss to a great rabbinic tradition.
Should a seashell adorn Boston’s Episcopal cathedral?
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — February 13, 2014
BOSTON (RNS) Since May, a giant aluminum sculpture depicting a cross-sectioned chambered nautilus has been lighting up the pediment in a brilliant blue and turning heads at one of the city's busiest corners.
At Adventist restaurants, meals are good for the body and the planet
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — December 19, 2013
(RNS) Some patrons of The Ark are now rethinking how they relate to the natural world and other creatures -- even if they aren’t signing on to Adventism, which encourages but does not require a meatless diet.
From burlap sack to digital file, church records get makeover
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — September 19, 2013
(RNS) Preservationists are working to digitize and otherwise safeguard historical riches that rest with Massachusetts Congregationalists, whose churches were the center of community life in colonial days.
As denominations decline, numbers of unpaid ministers rise
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — September 17, 2013
(RNS) As churches face declining numbers and look to new ministry models to make ends meet, mainline Protestant churches are relying more on unpaid clergy.
Mass. Supreme Court weighs challenge to Pledge of Allegiance
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — September 4, 2013
(RNS) Challengers are taking a new tack by arguing the Pledge of Allegiance violates terms of the Massachusetts’ equal rights amendment, which provides that “all people are born free and equal,” and that equality cannot be abridged by “sex, race, color, creed or national origin.”
Non-Christian groups could win free Mass. campus
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — September 3, 2013
(RNS) The National Christian Foundation has been seeking a new owner for a campus and is now entertaining proposals from organizations that do not seek to spread the Christian gospel – at least not explicitly.
New Gettysburg museum explores role of faith in Civil War
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — June 25, 2013
(RNS) On July 1, marking the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, Schmucker Hall, located on the campus of Lutheran Theological Seminary, will reopen as a museum depicting the epic battle, the costly war and the complex role of faith.
ANALYSIS: Where are the Christians on burying Tsarnaev?
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald — May 8, 2013
BOSTON (RNS) Most faith leaders agree everyone deserves a dignified burial, no matter what crimes they've committed, as a matter of Christian principle. But a mix of factors is leading them to keep low profiles on the debate over how to handle the remains of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.
