Alan Chambers
Alan Chambers is an author at Religion News Service.
All Stories by Alan Chambers
Alan Chambers: President Obama is right to try to end ex-gay therapy for minors (COMMENTARY)
By Alan Chambers — April 9, 2015
(RNS) I don’t want to see any more kids throw themselves off of a bridge or in front of a train because we as a society have told them they are less worthy because they are “different.”
In Land of Jesus, Christians Struggle
By Alan Chambers — August 3, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service BETHLEHEM, West Bank _ Nakla Qaber, whose Greek Orthodox roots stretch back generations in a Christian enclave on the West Bank, runs a successful restaurant at a time when most Palestinians are struggling. But when it came time for his son and three daughters to make their own way in […]
NEWS STORY: Priest Shortage Is One of New Pope’s Biggest Challenges
By Alan Chambers — April 29, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) As Pope Benedict XVI begins his papacy, one of the most troubling issues he faces is a growing priest shortage. In the United States, as the number of priests and nuns has declined steadily since the 1960s, the Roman Catholic population has steadily risen. This has led to more […]
NEWS STORY: Sex-Abuse Survivors Criticize Cardinal Law’s Role in Mourning Pope
By Alan Chambers — April 9, 2005
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) After Cardinal Bernard Law resigned in disgrace as archbishop of Boston in December 2002, many in the Catholic reform movement were angry when he was later transferred to an important position in Rome. On Thursday (April 7), the announcement that Law would celebrate one of nine official Masses to […]
NEWS FEATURE: Catholics to honor relics of St. Therese during U.S. tour
By Alan Chambers — October 7, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service UNDATED _ The bones of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower of the Roman Catholic Church, are making their first trip to the United States more than a century after her death, and the visit is stirring new interest in devotion to religious relics. A part of church tradition […]
NEWS FEATURE: Archdiocese seeks to train a new generation of Hispanic leaders
By Alan Chambers — February 26, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service UNION CITY, N.J. _ In a restored classroom once filled with immigrant German Roman Catholic students, Veronica Chavez sat in rapt attention with 44 other Latino adults as the Rev. Fernando Gomez offered pointers on the best way to lead a prayer group. Chavez, who leads a weekly charismatic meeting, […]
NEWS FEATURE: Building the Catholic Church in Africa
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service BENIN CITY, Nigeria _ As rows of wooden ceiling fans whirred uselessly against the 90-degree heat, Catholics danced in the church aisles, swaying slowly but methodically toward collection boxes for a typical third offering. Women in bright red, green and blue African robes released crumpled bills into already overflowing wooden […]
NEWS FEATURE: African men, women flock to seminaries
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service IBADAN, Nigeria _ Grace Ngozi Agboifoh was attending a Catholic grammar school in the Delta State of southern Nigeria when she got the call from God. Now 22, she is a novice studying at Our Lady of Apostles convent to be a missionary nun. “It’s a beautiful thing to have […]
NEWS FEATURE: Archdiocese seeks to train a new generation of Hispanic leaders
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service UNION CITY, N.J. _ In a restored classroom once filled with immigrant German Roman Catholic students, Veronica Chavez sat in rapt attention with 44 other Latino adults as the Rev. Fernando Gomez offered pointers on the best way to lead a prayer group. Chavez, who leads a weekly charismatic meeting, […]
NEWS FEATURE: Helping devout keep the faith when faith becomes extreme
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Rachel was 13 when she began having persistent thoughts of blasphemy. As an Orthodox Jew living in a Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn, the urges ran so contrary to her beliefs they nearly drove her insane. Any visit to temple triggered a panic attack. Eventually, Rachel stopped attending worship […]
NEWS FEATURE: Helping devout keep the faith when faith becomes extreme
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service UNDATED _ Rachel was 13 when she began having persistent thoughts of blasphemy. As an Orthodox Jew living in a Hasidic neighborhood in Brooklyn, the urges ran so contrary to her beliefs they nearly drove her insane. Any visit to temple triggered a panic attack. Eventually, Rachel stopped attending worship […]
NEWS STORY: After Mitch, social justice undergirds rebuilding effort in Central America
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service UNDATED _ The bishops of Central America, with the moral support and financial backing of the greater Roman Catholic Church, are attempting to build a”new heaven and a new earth”in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch that goes beyond simply feeding and clothing survivors. The ambitious $500 million effort to build […]
NEWS STORY: Religious leaders find calls for peace go unheard
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service UNDATED _ As head of the tiny Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States, Metropolitan Christopher had something to say about the NATO bombing in his native land. Problem was, he couldn’t get anyone at the White House to return his telephone calls.”It’s very difficult,”Christopher said in a telephone interview […]
NEWS FEATURE: Plum pulpit puts spotlight on woman preacher, possible bishop candidate
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service NEWARK _ On the wall of the Rev. Frances Murray-Williams’ cluttered basement office, a poster of the 91 bishops who have led the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church since 1796 gives silent witness to the obstacle she must overcome. They are all men. In fact, no predominantly black denomination in […]
NEWS STORY: Presbyterian decisions back gays
By Alan Chambers — January 1, 1999
c. 1999 Religion News Service NEWARK, N.J. _ A Presbyterian Church (USA) tribunal ruled Monday (Nov. 22) that a group of South Jersey churches did not violate church laws by accepting a gay man as a candidate for ordination. The ruling, which conservatives vowed to appeal, keeps alive the vicious infighting over homosexuality that has […]
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