North Star Church of the Arts opened its doors in January 2019, in Durham, N.C. RNS photo by Yonat Shimron
Need to know: Wednesday, August 28, 2019
A Durham, NC, church sees the arts as its North Star
An old church is refurbished and reimagined to focus on the arts and the ways in which artistic expression can be a vehicle for transcendence.
Some Pittsburgh Jews upset by decision to seek death penalty in synagogue attack
Two of the three congregations that met inside the Tree of Life synagogue said they were saddened by the news that federal prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against a gunman who killed 11 Jews at their place of worship last year.
Christians lend an anthem, and a pacifist spirit, to protests in Hong Kong
Since protests began more than 12 weeks ago over an extradition bill that would allow Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China for trial, the city's Christian community has taken an active role.
Our major parties offer no place for a rising moral middle
Millions of American voters believe that we must uphold the dignity of every human from conception to natural death while ensuring access to food, shelter, education and health care, writes Charles C. Camosy.
With new gun rule, Mormons take a step away from Republican right wing
This marks the latest small step the church has taken away from the GOP, either by tweaking its policies or upholding its usual position to the right of center, while Republicans swing ever further to the right, writes Jana Riess.
Faith and freelancers: Why churches are turning into co-working spaces
Slick flexible working spaces are everywhere, but faith organizations offer a more basic service – with some unconventional benefits.
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Trailblazing sociologist of religion Wade Clark Roof dies at 80
Despite his seminal book on religion among Baby Boomers, his former students say Roof’s most lasting presence will likely be felt in those he mentored.
Interfaith group pledges to use religion’s influence to address climate change, poverty
Azza Karam, the newly elected leader of the interfaith group Religions for Peace, urged delegates to the group's recent World Assembly to harness the power of religion to address climate, nuclear arms, and income inequality.
Pastor whose child was shot at Texas church runs for office
Frank Pomeroy had not been outspoken politically in the two years since a discharged Air Force airman with a history of violence opened fire in the church where the gunman's wife and mother-in-law attended, killing 22 people.
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India ends Kashmir’s separation, giving hope to Hindus looking homeward
In the 1990s, thousands of Pandit homes, businesses and temples were destroyed or occupied, and 350,000 Pandits fled in a mass exodus. So, when earlier this month the Indian government finally abrogated Articles 370 and 35A ... my family celebrated, writes Rajiv Pandit.
Why Trump’s tweets on Omar and Tlaib go to the heart of American Jewish politics
The president’s recent tweets have capitalized on a tension embedded within two paradigms of the place of Israel in American Jewish life, writes Noam Pianko.
Glamour and unattainability is out. Spiritual refreshment is in
Today’s advertisements are designed to evoke different and more numinous emotions: spiritual well-being, an inward journey, a moral sensibility. We’re buying the very things that organized religion used to provide us for free, writes Tara Isabella Burton.
