RNS Morning Report: UMC Conference Rescheduled to 2021; Digital Ramadan; NY Imam Saad Jalloh

Supporters of full inclusion for LGBTQ people in United Methodist Church life hold hands in the observers’ area at the 2019 United Methodist General Conference in St. Louis on Feb. 25, 2019, while waiting for vote totals to be displayed. Photo by Mike DuBose/UMNS

Need to know: Thursday, May 28, 2020

United Methodists reschedule meeting — and decision on splitting — to 2021

United Methodists plan to head to Minneapolis for their General Conference in 2021, where they will discuss the denomination's future. The meeting was postponed for more than a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

What Muslim digital community organizers learned from a remote Ramadan

Re-creating the experiences of communal iftars and reflection circles virtually ended up adding something participants say they don’t want to forfeit when their mosques reopen.

At Manhattan mosque, an imam eases a pandemic’s grief

A spiritual leader reassures families that COVID-19 victims will be accepted into paradise despite restrictions that disrupt funeral traditions.

Kneeling to venerate hate: The meaning of a police killing in Minnesota

When we see a white police officer kneeling on a black body, we are witnessing an act of worship honoring the demons of racism, writes Cheryl Townsend Gilkes.

COVID-19 virus puts a spotlight on inequality and racism

We should not be surprised that African Americans are 2.4 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than whites, writes Thomas Reese.

Former Obama staffer offers a primer on religion in public life

In a new book, Faith in American Public Life, Melissa Rogers offers a comprehensive primer on religious belief and government policy, examining these difficult questions with an eye toward developments and challenges under the Trump administration.

 


 

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Meet eight pastors who pushed to keep their churches open

How church leaders have fought back against government orders to restrict their gatherings.

Uighur activists celebrate religious freedom agency’s first Uighur commissioner

Uighur activists say lawyer Nury Turkel’s appointment to USCIRF is a clear signal to the Chinese government that the U.S. government will not tolerate human rights violations in Xinjiang.

Breakaway Anglican group that left Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth wins property fight

The Texas ruling may be the first time that a breakaway diocese has prevailed in a legal fight over church property.

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Death in the middle of death: On the execution of Walter Barton

The pandemic has caused us to rethink a lot of things, and one can only hope that executing people is one of the things we don’t want to return to, writes Shane Claiborne.

‘AKA Jane Roe’ and the humiliation of the pro-life movement

(RNS) — The FX documentary about the Roe v. Wade case is another humiliation of pro-lifers in the media. But humility is what it takes to be truly in favor of the protection of the unborn child.

Why governments should not be deeming in-person worship essential

(RNS) — Whether congregations should be permitted to meet or not is a different question.