LGBTQ advocates react to the Traditional Plan being passed by the UMC General Conference on Feb. 26, 2019. RNS photo by Kit Doyle
Need to know: Wednesday, February 27, 2019
United Methodists pass Traditional Plan, keep ban on LGBTQ clergy, same-sex marriage
Delegates to a special session of the United Methodist Church decided Tuesday to strengthen the denomination’s ban on the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ people.
Bishop Will Willimon on why no plan can unite United Methodists
"There are people, left and right, who just say, ‘This is it. We’ve waited. We’ve watched. We’ve tried. And now we can’t stay,'" said the retired bishop. "To me, that’s the story, more than which plan passes."
Southern Baptist executive group urges caution before investigating church abuse
The work group determined that six on Greear’s list require 'no further inquiry,' three should be investigated and one is not a Southern Baptist congregation.
India’s Hindu nationalists vow to restore deity’s birthplace to former glory
Local politicians are attempting to remake a town whose name is synonymous with anti-Muslim violence into a tourist destination for Hindus from India and around the world.
Christians and Jews agree: The Bladensburg Cross is no secular symbol
Claiming that a cross is a generic memorial to all the war dead ignores real differences in our religions' teachings about eternal life and violates the fundamental aspect of religious liberty, write Holly Hollman and Marc Stern.
The Essential Black Muslim Reading List
Black Muslims are not lost in history, even if their history has been disregarded, writes Vanessa Taylor.
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Jews and Muslims say Belgian animal cruelty law trammels religious freedom
PARIS (RNS) — A ban on slaughtering livestock without stunning them first is seen as a direct attack on kosher and halal practices.
Most senior Catholic charged with child sex abuse convicted in Australia
Cardinal George Pell, the Vatican's economy minister, faces a potential maximum 50-year prison term after a sentencing hearing that begins Wednesday.
United Methodist committee rejects One Church Plan, which would allow LGBT clergy
The plan recommended by the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops will 'almost certainly still come up' as a minority report during Tuesday's plenary session, according to one LGBTQ advocacy group.
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Abortion Survivors Protection Act vote shows how both parties are unserious
(RNS) — The GOP’s Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act was defeated in the Senate 53-44 — precisely the result the Republicans were looking for, and precisely the problem with our politics.
I miss my Mormon Sunday School class
Two-hour church is great, says screenwriter and guest blogger Cinco Paul--except when it makes it harder to have deep, honest discussions in Sunday School.
Bishops told transparency needed to overcome clergy abuse crisis
The real work of reconciliation will begin when the bishops go home and start to hold each other accountable about what they are doing to protect children, writes Thomas Reese.
