SBC President J.D. Greear speaks on a panel discussion about racial reconciliation during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention at the BJCC, June 11, 2019 in Birmingham, Ala. RNS photo by Butch Dill.
Need to know: Monday, June 17, 2019
Southern Baptists give greater attention to diversity but acknowledge more needed
'We’re not where we need to be on those things, but I believe a signal has been sent that we believe that’s where we need to go,' said Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear.
In new book, Muslim doctor encourages Christians to ‘love thy neighbor’
Facing his rural neighbors who feared the Muslim in their midst, Ayaz Virji spoke to them in a school auditorium. Now his talk is a book titled "Love Thy Neighbor."
Ethiopia tour for gay, lesbian travelers in jeopardy amid backlash from faith groups
A trip to Ethiopia planned by a Chicago-based tour company for gay and lesbian travelers is in jeopardy amid a backlash primarily from religious groups in the African country, where homosexuality is criminalized.
New York ends religious exemption to vaccine mandates
The measure follows this year's measles outbreak, which federal officials recently said has surpassed 1,000 illnesses, the highest in 27 years.
The incredible shrinking Mormon American family
New research shows that U.S. Mormon families are still larger than the nation’s, but the difference is smaller than it used to be, writes Jana Riess.
Progressive church to run drag queen story time after city officials try to stop event
Open Cathedral, an LGBTQ-affirming church in Texas, has rented out a room at the Leander Public Library to make sure the show goes on.
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Catholic bishops stop short of mandating lay involvement in abuse investigations
Some prelates at the USCCB's spring meeting, however, made clear that they support lay involvement regardless.
Closing of American Hebrew Academy marks end of Jewish boarding school experiment
The financial woes that beset the elite school located on a verdant, 100-acre campus in Greensboro, N.C., were not exactly those affecting other Jewish high schools. In its 18-year history, the school was an outlier.
Southern Baptist historic gavel a reminder of racist legacy
The so-called 1872 Broadus gavel, which calls to order a church body that has sought racial reconciliation within its ranks, is named for slaveholder John A. Broadus.
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There’s more to wellness than looking pretty
(RNS) — Wellness culture is about more than beauty. It’s about something even more complicated: purity.
US Catholic bishops adopt process for reviewing misconduct of bishops
(RNS) — The USCCB has established a process for investigating allegations of misconduct by bishops — but lay groups say the key will be lay involvement and transparency in its implementation.
Imagine Anne Frank at 90
The story about Anne Frank that you have never heard, Jeffrey Salkin writes.
