Mainline
For church worship teams, Auto-Tune covers a multitude of sins. Especially online.
By Bob Smietana — June 22, 2023
(RNS) — The boom in livestreaming and the ubiquity of Auto-Tune and other technologies have led churches to up their game when it come to sound technology. But has it gone too far?
Welcoming the stranger on World Refugee Day
By Bridget Moix — June 21, 2023
(RNS) — Accepting refugees professionally and compassionately is part of America’s history.
Poverty is a lethal epidemic. It’s time to address it.
By William J. Barber II and Liz Theoharis — June 20, 2023
(RNS) — Politicians who fail to act are complicit in the deaths of thousands.
William Barber departs pulpit of Greenleaf Church with an ode to the power of disability
By Yonat Shimron — June 19, 2023
(RNS) — The sermon, which capped his 30-year tenure as pastor of the Disciples of Christ church in Goldsboro, North Carolina, was unusually personal.
Should white Christians celebrate Juneteenth?
By Chuck Mingo — June 14, 2023
(RNS) — Yes, and like any celebration, it’s better with friends.
Four ways to leave your denomination: How churches are disaffiliating from the UMC
By Emily McFarlan Miller and BeLynn Hollers — June 14, 2023
(RNS) — To date, 5,550 of the United Methodist Church’s approximately 30,000 US churches have disaffiliated from the country’s second-largest Protestant denomination since 2019.
Three years after George Floyd’s death, faith groups quietly advance racial healing
By Adelle M. Banks — June 9, 2023
(RNS) — A range of Christian groups are working separately to continue to address the often-fraught divisions along racial lines among their members and in the wider society.
Welton Gaddy, former Southern Baptist who became a champion of liberal Christianity, dies
By Jack Jenkins — June 8, 2023
(RNS) — The pastor is also credited with helping found the Alliance of Baptists.
Seattle’s Quest Church leaves ECC as church affirms LGBTQ Christians
By Emily McFarlan Miller — June 5, 2023
(RNS) — The Seattle megachurch’s move to disaffiliate from the denomination comes as the ECC was prepared to vote this summer on expelling Quest and Awaken Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, over the churches' support for LGBTQ Christians.
Bishop Vashti McKenzie on leading National Council of Churches as it nears 75 years
By Adelle M. Banks — May 31, 2023
(RNS) — ‘I think that the difference, at this point, is that I am adding activism to advocacy,’ she said as she became NCC president after serving as interim leader.
New asylum policies after Title 42 ‘don’t address root cause,’ say faith-based groups
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 23, 2023
(RNS) — New policies that took effect last week are exacerbating the strain on many shelters on the southern side of the United States-Mexico border.
A new documentary takes a deep dive into the ancient and modern practice of Sabbath
By Yonat Shimron — May 22, 2023
(RNS) — Martin Doblmeier's latest documentary takes viewers to various religious communities to illustrate their Sabbath practices.
Extending a financial lifeline, Episcopal Church credit union launches in the Bronx
By Meagan Saliashvili — May 19, 2023
NEW YORK (RNS) — 'Most of us are not wealthy,' said one local resident. 'It’s impossible for us to get a loan from the commercial banks. So the only opportunity is to go to the loan sharks,' where the interest charged is 'overwhelming,' she said.
Judge clears way for disaffiliations from United Methodist Church in north Georgia
By Emily McFarlan Miller — May 18, 2023
(RNS) — The North Georgia Conference had barred churches wishing to leave the UMC from disaffiliating before the 2024 General Conference.
Poll: Religious attendance is shrinking but those who remain are happy
By Yonat Shimron — May 16, 2023
(RNS) — In the PRRI study, 57% of Americans say they seldom or never attend religious services. Among those who do, 89% said they were proud to be associated with their congregation.
