“Lincoln,” Steven Spielberg’s film on the last four months of Abraham Lincoln’s administration, largely ignores the religious faith of our 16th president, as do most films and all too many books about him.
A special commission created by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability has called for clearer IRS guidance and greater involvement among donors to address “outliers” among congregations and other nonprofits that are not being financially accountable.
In the wake of the Dec. 14 school shootings in Newtown, Conn., requests for screenings of “Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence” have increased dramatically, according to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and the National Council of Churches (NCC). The documentary film was produced by PDA’s David Barnhart for the NCC, which distributes television programming through the Interfaith Broadcasting Commission, a media coalition that includes the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). It was released to NBC Television stations in mid-November for airing by network affiliate stations.
I had the privilege of participating in the Council meeting in October in Grenada, which includes 13 churches of the Reformed tradition from Scotland/Trinidad, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana, Dominica, Cuba, Canada, the U.S.A., Grenada, Curacao, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, and the Council for World Mission (formerly the London Missionary Society).
Midiam Lobaina describes herself as a “Christian militant” who takes a feminist reading of the Bible to workshops and religious services around Cuba to discuss gender equality and a culture of peace.
Bishops must exercise closer supervision over Catholic charities and ensure that their activities do not contradict church doctrine, according to new rules issued by Pope Benedict XVI on Dec. 1.
The General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has called for the end of local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agencies in order to promote community safety. The General Assembly has stated that enforcement of immigration laws by local police undermines the stability of communities and their trust of law enforcement. In addition, this situation can lead to a decrease in cooperation with law enforcement by immigrant groups and an increase in racial profiling.
Read the letter. (PDF)
IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Presbytery of East Iowa will be pumping up its commissioned lay pastor program in the coming months for one very good reason: a growing number of churches need them.
“The needs of churches are changing, and the commissioned lay pastor program gives the presbytery more flexibility to meet the needs of churches,” said the Rev. John Hougen, presbytery moderator and the dean of the presbytery’s commissioned lay pastors program. “I have churches asking for CLPs, and right now there is no one to serve them.”
Hougen said he’s in “recruitment mode” to help potential CLPs …
Most Americans say that employers ― even religious ones ― should provide birth control coverage to their employees, according to a survey released on Dec. 3.
Living Waters for the World ― a ministry of the Synod of Living Waters ― has released its Living Waters Christmas E-card. During this important season of giving, this e-card provides an easy way to honor family members and friends all while helping to provide clean water to those in need.