Hester Prynne would be so proud.
The red letter “A” that Nathaniel Hawthorne’s heroine was forced to wear as a badge of shame in the classic novel The Scarlet Letter is now proudly chosen by atheists to wear on jewelry made from ceramic, silver, gold and wood.
Christians have their crosses and crucifixes, Jews their Stars of David, Hindus their oms and Buddhists their lotuses. Atheists ask, why shouldn’t they and other nonbelievers have their own symbols as well?
Japan’s classic Noh theater is meeting the Protestant Reformation as a Japanese Lutheran scholar is developing a play featuring the 16th-century German reformer Martin Luther.
“Can we touch this?” wondered the children in McComb, Ohio (population 1,676). Sitting around a table, they were looking at real china dishes, glassware, and candles. “The children were in awe,” says Janeane Hopkins, who was at the church where it happened. “I was amazed at how many children had never seen anything like this. Not a real tablecloth, not even glass glasses.”
Poverty. Evangelism. Violence. After a weekend of conversation, worship and prayer, the 200 people gathered here Oct. 5-7 for the Dallas II consultation determined that the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s mission work should be centered on those three issues.
Rosa María Ortiz is the newly appointed Special Rapporteur for the Inter American Commission on Human Rights to monitor the situation in Haiti as well as the rights of children and youth in Latin America. Of major concern on her recent visit to Haiti was the Restavek system ― a phenomenon which is a traditional part of Haitian culture in which young girls and boys work as unpaid household servants without access to education, contact with loved ones, or protection by the law.
President Obama’s support among Catholic voters has surged since June, according to a new poll, despite a summer that included the Catholic bishops’ religious freedom campaign and the naming of Rep. Paul Ryan, a Catholic, as the GOP’s vice-presidential candidate.
Last month, a Moravian pastor was installed as rector of a U.S. Episcopal Church for the first time since the two denominations inaugurated a full-communion relationship in 2011. The Rev. Carl Southerland was formally received on Sept. 16 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Franklin, N.C.
Being Reformed: Faith Seeking Understanding—a series of biblically based mini-courses published by CMP of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)—has announced the release of an introductory study for congregations discussing the Heidelberg Catechism. Being Reformed: Faith Seeking Understanding—a series of biblically based mini-courses published by CMP of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)—has announced the release of an introductory study for congregations discussing the Heidelberg Catechism.
Fifteen religious leaders representing many major faith groups in the country, have written a letter to Congress seeking to make U.S. military aid to Israel contingent upon its government’s “compliance with applicable U.S. laws and policies.”
As Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregations prepare to receive the annual Peacemaking offering this Sunday (Oct. 7), the denomination’s Peace Discernment process is beginning to involve congregations in serious conversations on peace and war.