A dozen people gather in a quiet spot in the Ventura River Preserve about 70 miles north of Los Angeles for a Sunday meeting of the Ojai Church of the Wild. Photo by Cathy Lynn Grossman
Need to know: Thursday, July 5, 2018
Church goes ‘wild’ as believers and seekers head for the trees
In these outdoor services across the country, worshippers consider the moose, bears, deer and foxes as part of their small congregations.
An ICE raid leaves an Iowa town divided along faith lines
The detention of 32 workers at a concrete plant opened fissures among the town’s churches and secular leaders. (Subscription may be required.)
In L.A., federal grant to combat extremism stirs up concerns about targeting Muslims
Los Angeles lawmakers are wrestling with whether to accept a federal grant to counter extremism, a move that critics believe would lead to targeting Muslims.
Episcopal Church needs to look for #MeToo in the details
This week, the Episcopal Church’s General Convention will hear more than 20 resolutions on sexual abuse, harassment and exploitation. But that's just the tip of iceberg, Sean Rowe says.
Next to a shelter holding immigrant children, church’s congregants defend family separations
Yards away from one of the largest shelters for immigrant children in Texas, congregants said Trump was right to split up families who entered the country illegally.
Latest news from RNS
Catholic bishops end border trip by suggesting alternative to family detention
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' president suggested the White House replace family detention with “family case management” that includes cooperation from Catholic Charities.
Australia bishop to appeal conviction for protecting pedophile
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — The most senior Roman Catholic cleric to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse said Wednesday that he would appeal the verdict and resist public pressure to resign as archbishop of an Australian city.
Church ‘detains’ Jesus, Mary, Joseph to protest Trump’s immigration policy
INDIANAPOLIS (USA Today) — The caged holy family protests President Trump's zero-tolerance policy, which has resulted in holding families arrested near the U.S.-Mexico border in detention centers, said the dean of the cathedral.
More views from RNS
By any other name: Why the ‘travel ban’ really is a Muslim ban
The phrase 'travel ban' is neither neutral nor objective, Todd Green says. "When journalists repeat this language, they become complicit in amplifying Trump’s propaganda and in inscribing anti-Muslim prejudice into federal immigration policy."
Why white evangelicals voted for Trump: Fear, power and nostalgia
(RNS) — Eighty-one percent of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump, but why? Especially when there were three experienced evangelical candidates in the primary season? Historian John Fea traces a legacy of fear, power, and nostalgia among white evangelical voters.
At last, bad news is good news in the Catholic sex abuse scandal
(RNS) — The truly bad news of the scandal, of course, has been the horrible abuse of children and the negative effects of the abuse will be with them for the rest of their lives. The good news is that perpetrators have been caught and exposed. Accusations are being investigated and the guilty are being punished.
