Leaders & Institutions
Hiking, disc golf, flower arranging: UMC initiative connects people around non-church interests
By Yonat Shimron — April 19, 2024
NORWOOD, N.C. (RNS) — 'Fresh Expressions' is a denominational initiative intended to connect people who may not be interested in church but are interested in learning a new skill or making new friends.
Maurizio Cattalan, Zoe Saldana join iconoclastic Vatican Biennale exhibition inside women’s prison
By Colleen Barry — April 19, 2024
What happens when most of the Catholic churches in Baltimore close?
By Mark Silk — April 18, 2024
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Hindu Lord Ram road-trips through the United States
By Richa Karmarkar — April 17, 2024
(RNS) — For the first time in North America, an image of Lord Ram is being paraded from temple to temple on a two-month-long road trip, just in time for the deity’s birthday, Ram Navami.
Reagan’s great America shining on a hill twisted into Trump’s dark vision of Christian nationalism
By Diane Winston — April 17, 2024
(The Conversation) — Reagan and Trump − two of the most media-savvy Republican presidents − used religion to advance their political visions, but their messages and missions could not be more different.
After traditionalist churches left, UMC may be more — not less — diverse
By Yonat Shimron — April 16, 2024
(RNS) — Even after the departures, 24% of North Carolina clergy remaining in the denomination disagree with allowing LGBTQ people to get married and ordained within the denomination.
Unfazed by danger and power, Guatemalan cardinal keeps up fight for migrants and the poor
By Giovanna Dell'orto — April 15, 2024
HUEHUETENANGO, Guatemala (AP) — Elevated by Pope Francis to the top hierarchy of the Catholic Church, Cardinal Álvaro Ramazzini has continued his unflinching focus on the poor, the Indigenous and the migrant.
Vatican complains after French court rules in favor of nun dismissed from religious order
By Nicole Winfield — April 15, 2024
ROME (AP) — The case is highly unusual, because it represented a secular civilian court essentially determining that the Vatican’s in-house canonical procedures grossly violated the nun’s fundamental rights.
Far-right pastor Doug Wilson meets with local critics in Idaho
By Tracy Simmons — April 12, 2024
MOSCOW, Idaho (FaVS News) — More than 100 people attended the forum, which was held on the University of Idaho campus and organized by the student group Collegiate Reformed Fellowship.
Bollywood is playing a large supporting role in India’s elections
By Preminda Jacob — April 11, 2024
(The Conversation) — Ahead of elections in India, a series of films that promote the ruling party’s right-wing ideology are seeking to influence voters. An art historian explains how the trend started.
Trump assails Jewish voters who back Biden: ‘Should have their head examined’
By Bill Barrow — April 11, 2024
ATLANTA (AP) — The Gaza conflict has sandwiched Biden between conservatives – both Christian and Jewish – who want stalwart support for Netanyahu’s government, and progressives.
Morocco’s earthquake killed thousands. But survivors marking Ramadan say it didn’t shake their faith
By Sam Metz — April 11, 2024
AMIZMIZ, Morocco (AP) — On Wednesday, as Eid al-Fitr began, the holiday mood for many Moroccans vacillated between festiveness and despair.
Brazil’s Yanomami leader asks the Pope to support President Lula in reversing damage to the Amazon
By Nicole Winfield — April 11, 2024
VATICAN CITY (AP) — History’s first Latin American pope has made caring for the environment, especially the Amazon, a hallmark of his papacy.
At Yale, Christian pastors sign a declaration opposing religious nationalism
By Yonat Shimron — April 9, 2024
(RNS) — The declaration commits Christian leaders to preaching on moral issues and rejecting a political movement it says is exploiting traditional values to undermine democracy.
A dramatic schism over social issues? The United Methodist Church has been here before – but this time, America’s religious landscape is far different
By Christopher H. Evans — April 9, 2024
(The Conversation) — The United Methodist Church will hold its General Conference, delayed several years by the pandemic, in April 2024. The meeting comes amid a dramatic divide over LGBTQ+ rights.
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