Whitney Houston’s church mourns her death

Barry Carter

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) Anyone who knew Whitney Houston understands that her talent came from one place, the God she served at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark. This is where it all started for its daughter, where she was the darling of the choir as a child who left people speechless, belting outgospel songs and hymns. By Barry Carter.
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Fans to be shut out of Whitney Houston’s church funeral

James Queally and Peggy McGlone | Feb 16, 2012

NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) With TV trucks and camera crews clogging the streets and thousands of fans hoping for a glimpse of the event, Whitney Houston's family has decided that no one but invited guests will get near her church funeral on Saturday. By James Queally and Peggy McGlone.
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Marvin Winans to lead private funeral for Whitney Houston

Barry Carter and James Queally | Feb 15, 2012

“God allows a time for people to leave his Earth,” Newark native Jethro Townes said, recalling the recent death of Etta James and the loss of Michael Jackson in 2009. “But if you look at what has happened over the past few years, God has a great choir now.”
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Monday’s Religion News Roundup: Minaj a-huh?; Catholic bishops retrench; B16 suit dropped

Daniel Burke | Feb 13, 2012

Oh America, you are so weird. At the Grammys last night, LL Cool J opened with a pretty nice prayer for the late Whitney Houston, the addled pop star who got her start in a New Jersey Baptist church choir. (Israel's Black Hebrew community said it is also mourning the loss of Whitney Houston, whom their leader called "his spiritual daughter.")
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Friday’s Roundup: Drive-thru edition

Kevin Eckstrom | Feb 10, 2012

A quick drive-thru tour of the contraception debate, on your way to a drive-thru funeral home (!!!!) where you may find the former archbishop of Philadelphia but hopefully not the pope.
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Mormons confront ‘epidemic’ of online misinformation

Peggy Fletcher Stack / Salt Lake Tribune | Feb 1, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY (RNS) "The problem is not so much the discovery of particular details that are deal breakers for the faithful; the problem is a loss of faith and trust in an institution that was less than forthcoming to begin with."
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Gay bishop documentary ‘Love Free or Die’ takes center stage at Sundance

Lisa Schencker / Salt Lake Tribune | Jan 24, 2012

"If my story can help a young boy or girl in their teens believe they can have a wonderful and productive life and family," says the Episcopal Church's first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, "then it's worth my putting up with a film crew following me around for two years in order to comfort and inspire them."
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Megadeth star David Ellefson takes thrash metal—and seminary—on tour

Tim Townsend / St. Louis Post-Dispatch | Jan 23, 2012

CLAYTON, Mo. (RNS) David Ellefson was an honest-to-God founding member of the legendary thrash metal band Megadeth. And his studies at a Lutheran seminary here illustrate why distance-learning programs are increasingly popular as seminarians don't have to uproot their lives to attend. For Ellefson, his new quest for the ministry is also about a peculiar foray through the apparent contradictions of rock and religion.
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The long spiritual journey of singer Paul Simon

Kim Lawton | Jan 13, 2012

(RNS) Paul Simon says there's always been a spiritual dimension to his music. But the overt religious references in his most recent album, "So Beautiful or So What," surprised even him. There are songs about God, angels, creation, pilgrimage, prayer and the afterlife. Simon says the religious...
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Has Matisyahu left Judaism?

Lauren Markoe | Dec 13, 2011

(RNS) Matisyahu, the improbable but undeniable reggae star, announced on Twitter on Tuesday (Dec. 13) that he is shaving the beard that has long marked him as a Hasidic Jew. Fans are confused. Is he giving up the Orthodox brand of Judaism he adopted 10 years ago, and the ultra-religious persona that...
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Young hip Jews leading a Hanukkah music makeover

Lauren Markoe | Dec 8, 2011

(RNS) Put on your boogie shoes -- the new Hanukkah songs are here! What last year seemed like a happy coincidence has become a hip new Hanukkah tradition: groups of harmonizing young Jews releasing seriously Jewish, yet seriously danceable, songs for the Festival of Lights. The Maccabeats, who score...
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