Clergy & Congregations
Abortion vote in Ohio pushes ‘pro-life pro-choice’ Black clergy to take a side
By Kathryn Post — November 6, 2023
(RNS) — For some clergy, the fall of Roe v. Wade has motivated them to speak out on abortion for the first time.
Head of China’s state-backed Catholic church will visit Hong Kong as ties with Vatican are strained
By Kanis Leung — November 6, 2023
HONG KONG (AP) — Joseph Li, the state-appointed archbishop of Beijing, will take a five-day trip to Hong Kong starting Nov. 14 at the invitation of the city’s newly appointed cardinal Stephen Chow
Baltimore church to end religious services after priest suspended over sexual harassment settlement
By Associated Press — November 6, 2023
BALTIMORE (AP) — Church officials have said the complaints regarded “alleged sexual harassment of an adult man.”
Middle Collegiate Church nears time for demolition of its historic facade
By Adelle M. Banks — November 1, 2023
(RNS) — ‘We tried to save a couple of ornamental pieces that we hope we can repurpose in the new building,’ said the Rev. Jacqui Lewis, its senior minister.
5 years after massacre, Tree of Life rabbi inspires ‘A Psalm for Pittsburgh’
By Kathryn Post — October 27, 2023
PITTSBURGH (RNS) — Psalm 121, which gave Rabbi Jeffrey Myers solace in the wake of the tragedy, has been set to music in a piece commissioned by the Tree of Life congregation and composed by Gerald Cohen.
Francis wants the synod in every parish. Here’s how to bring it to yours.
By Thomas Reese — October 23, 2023
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Such a process is a far cry from a parish meeting presided over by the pastor who announces and defends his preordained decisions.
Florida faith leader: Black history toolkit gains interest outside the state
By Adelle M. Banks — October 13, 2023
(RNS) — What the Rev. Rhonda Thomas started as a state-focused response has attracted interest in a far wider stretch of the country than she ever imagined.
Clergy burnout is a growing concern in polarized churches. A summit offers coping strategies
By Giovanna Dell'orto — October 9, 2023
STILLWATER, Minn. (AP) — Faith leaders have increasingly stepped into the frontlines of care for growing mental health distress across the U.S., from college campuses to the military and rural communities.
A green card processing change means US could lose thousands of faith leaders from abroad
By Giovanna Dell'orto — October 2, 2023
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS, Minn. (AP) — This change means that only applications filed before January 2019 are currently being processed, giving clergy with expiring visas no option but to leave their U.S. congregations behind.
A Yom Kippur sermon warns American Jews of Israel’s growing messianic rule
By Yonat Shimron — September 27, 2023
(RNS) — In a barnburner Yom Kippur sermon Monday (Sept. 25), Rabbi Sharon Brous said elements of Israel’s new government have a messianic agenda that aims to turn the country into a fascist theocracy.
Less-redacted report on Maryland church abuse still redacts names of church leaders
By Brian Witte and Lea Skene — September 27, 2023
BALTIMORE (AP) — The Maryland Attorney General’s Office said in a statement last month that the five officials whose names remain redacted “had extensive participation in the Archdiocese’s handling of abuser clergy and reports of child abuse.”
Sex abuse allegations against a deceased cardinal add to the German church’s troubles
By Geir Moulson — September 26, 2023
(AP) — In 2018, a church-commissioned report concluded that at least 3,677 people were abused by clergy in Germany between 1946 and 2014. More than half of the victims were 13 or younger, and nearly a third served as altar boys.
This Yom Kippur, she’ll pray inside the synagogue, he’ll secure it on the outside
By Yonat Shimron — September 22, 2023
(RNS) — Shana Silverstein and Tom Barbieri are among a growing rank of intermarried synagogue members.
Suspended UMC Latina bishop found not guilty on all charges
By Yonat Shimron — September 22, 2023
(RNS) — Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, a leader of the California-Nevada Conference, or region, of the United Methodist Church, will return to her role after an 18-month suspension.
From Rockettes to Riverside: Senior minister Adriene Thorne leads NYC church
By Adelle M. Banks — September 22, 2023
(RNS) — ‘I love bringing dancers that I know into the space,’ she said. ‘We had some at my installation.’
