Protestant
Resisting our ‘new dark age’
By Karen Swallow Prior — April 25, 2024
(RNS) — In a time of information excess, the need of the moment is more love and more rest.
United Methodists open first top-level conference since breakup over LGBTQ inclusion
By Peter Smith — April 25, 2024
(AP) – Thousands of United Methodists are gathering in Charlotte, North Carolina, for their big denominational meeting, known as General Conference.
In ‘Rift,’ author Cait West talks breaking free from Christian patriarchy
By Kathryn Post — April 24, 2024
(RNS) — As a stay-at-home daughter, West was told what to wear, whom to court and how to serve her future husband.
The Rev. Cecil Williams, who turned San Francisco’s Glide Church into a refuge for many, has died
By Olga R. Rodriguez — April 24, 2024
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Williams and his wife, Janice Marikitami, who passed away in 2021, appeared in Will Smith’s film “The Pursuit of Happyness,” which was based on the life of a homeless father and son who once found help at Glide Memorial Church.
Conservative faith leaders praise Johnson for House’s approval of foreign aid
By Adelle M. Banks and Jack Jenkins — April 22, 2024
(RNS) — Passage of the aid packages came in the wake of letters and last-minute lobbying from a spectrum of religious groups.
Do homeless people have constitutional rights?
By Kevin Nye — April 22, 2024
(RNS) — Overwhelmingly, faith groups who filed for Johnson v. Grants Pass did so against criminalizing homelessness.
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.
Mandisa, Grammy-winning singer and ‘American Idol’ alum, dies at 47
By Associated Press — April 19, 2024
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A representative said the cause of Mandisa's death was not yet known.
‘Flynn’ portrays the Christian nationalist evangelist’s fight with the ‘Deep State’
By Tess Owen — April 19, 2024
(RNS) — A new film hagiography portrays the former Trump adviser as a victim of the 'Deep State,' omitting his current mission to spread the gospel of Christian nationalism.
Nancy French had it all — then along came Trump. Her new book ‘Ghosted’ tells all.
By Bob Smietana — April 18, 2024
(RNS) — Once a go-to ghostwriter for conservative politicians, Nancy French lost friends and many of her clients for criticizing Donald Trump.
‘The Hopeful,’ film about Adventist origins, debuts in theaters
By Kathryn Post — April 17, 2024
(RNS) — ‘I think a lot of those misconceptions that Adventists maybe aren’t mainstream Christians, I think they’re going to be challenged,’ said director and co-producer Kyle Portbury.
How can a denomination based on reconciling differences split over its disagreements?
By David Eagle — April 16, 2024
(RNS) — The United Methodist Church has to stop fracturing over sexuality and learn to live with our differences.
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.
Feud with ex-president leads to lawsuit, alleged threats of violence at Calvin University
By Bob Smietana — April 15, 2024
(RNS) — The prominent evangelical school hired a former business executive as president in hopes of turning around years of decline. But his tenure ended abruptly after the board alleged he'd sent inappropriate messages to a woman he was not married to.
As a landmark United Methodist gathering approaches, African churches weigh their future.
By Peter Smith — April 15, 2024
(AP) — Today, members from four continents vote at legislative gatherings, serve on boards together, go on mission trips to each others’ countries and are largely governed by the same rules.
