Daily Archives: November 19, 2013
BREAKING: Methodist Church gives pastor 30 days to desist or give up credentials
By Renée K. Gadoua — November 19, 2013
(RNS) A United Methodist jury Tuesday night gave the Rev. Frank Schaefer 30 days to agree not to break church law again by presiding at same-sex weddings or give up his clergy credentials.
Quote of the Day: United Methodist pastor Frank Schaefer
By Ron Ribiat — November 19, 2013
“I couldn’t pass on the other side of the road like a Levite to preserve a rule. All I saw was love for my son.” — The Rev. Frank Schaefer, who was convicted Monday by other United Methodist clergy for officiating at the wedding for his gay son in 2007, invoking Jesus’ parable of the […]
What Dallas pastors preached the Sunday after JFK was killed
By Kevin Eckstrom — November 19, 2013
(RNS) Dallas clergy took to the pulpits on Nov. 24, 1963 to try to make sense of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy just two days before. As they drew their sermons to a close, some would learn that the president's assassin had just been gunned down.
The Miracle of the Turkey
By Mark Silk — November 19, 2013
Every 70,000 years or so, Hanukkah and Thanksgiving overlap, permitting those of us who celebrate both to recall the Miracle of the Turkey. It goes something like this.
Jurors weigh revoking clergy credentials for Methodist pastor
By Renée K. Gadoua — November 19, 2013
(RNS) A jury of United Methodist pastors began hearing testimony Tuesday (Nov. 19) that will help determine if the Rev. Frank Schaefer will lose his clergy credentials for breaking church law by officiating at the same-sex marriage of his son in 2007. Testimony in the penalty phase of the trial may continue Wednesday.
COMMENTARY: Mary J. Blige, my guardian angel
By Cathleen Falsani — November 19, 2013
LOS ANGELES (RNS) When I think about the guardian angels who I’ve been told surround me like spiritual body guards, I picture the Angel In Charge looking and sounding a lot like the Grammy-winning singer Mary J. Blige.
Church of England ‘one generation from extinction’ says former archbishop
By Trevor Grundy — November 19, 2013
(RNS) A former Archbishop of Canterbury has warned that the Church of England faces extinction in less than 25 years unless it can attract more young people now.
Survey: Same-sex couples create own rules in wedding planning
By Katherine Burgess — November 19, 2013
(RNS) A survey of 916 gay and lesbian couples found that religious leaders officiated at just one in four same-sex marriages, and that only 12 percent of ceremonies were held in religious spaces.
Jews challenge worship rules at holiest of Jerusalem sites
By Neri Zilber — November 19, 2013
JERUSALEM (RNS) Known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Haram As-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary), the most sensitive site in this most sensitive of cities is buffeted by a growing chorus of Israelis demanding their government allow Jewish worshippers access to the site, and thereby reverse decades of political and religious precedent.
COMMENTARY: Sunday mornings are broken
By Tom Ehrich — November 19, 2013
(RNS) Church-as-Sunday-morning isn’t working; it probably never worked as much as we wanted. It certainly isn’t what Jesus envisioned. Christians were to share a common life and pray “unceasingly,” not gather occasionally for worship in a large, walled-off space.
Schaefer Verdict * Atheist Manual * Cheney Feud Part II : Tuesday’s Religion News Roundup
By Lauren Markoe — November 19, 2013
A verdict in the case of the United Methodist minister who presided at the wedding of his son to another man. An atheist's guide to "converting" the faithful is flying off the shelves. And Dick Cheney picks a side in his daughters' fight over same-sex marriage.
Student dies in shooting at Liberty University women’s dorm
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey — November 19, 2013
(RNS) "The student was shot and killed and the officer was transported to Lynchburg General Hospital for treatment," Liberty said in a statement.
Journalists, editors eligible for $5,000 scholarships for religion courses
By Wendy Gustofson — November 19, 2013
(Columbia, Mo.) — RELIGION | NEWSWRITERS invites journalists to apply to its Lilly Scholarships in Religion Program. The scholarships give full-time journalists up to $5,000 to take any college religion courses at any accredited institution at any time. Religion headlines are dominating news coverage—politics, religion, Islam in America — now is the perfect time to […]
Christianophobia: Q&A with author Rupert Shortt on the global persecution of Christians
By Brian Pellot — November 19, 2013
Tying into the surge of debate around Christian martyrdom and persecution, here are some highlights from a recent interview with Rupert Shortt, author of Christianophobia: A Faith Under Attack.
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