More than three dozen religious leaders today (March 22) unveiled a “faithful budget” that they say will address the nation’s needs and priorities rather than partisan political considerations.
The Obama administration is offering to expand the number of faith-based groups that can be exempt from the controversial contraception mandate, and proposing that third-party companies administer coverage for self-insured faith-based groups at no cost.
Three independent United Nations human rights experts urged the government of Pakistan recently “to respond decisively” to end sectarian violence and improve security for religious minorities, following targeted killings of Shia Muslims in February.
“I want to be a witness to what the Haitian people are already doing through God’s spirit,” pastor Tom Rice said while sitting on a porch in the rural area of Hinche, Haiti. “I’ve seen God at work here, and it’s inspiring. I want to witness to other churches when I return and celebrate and support Haitians.”
The work of Living Waters for the World has provided Carolyn Winfrey Gillette the ideal opportunity to do the thing she is passionate about: set new lyrics to a familiar hymn tune. The result is a new hymn, given to Living Waters for the World, and just in time to celebrate World Water Day, March 22.
As Pope Benedict XVI prepares to visit Cuba, a small group of protesters occupied a church in central Havana last week, asking that a message with their requests be delivered directly to the pope.
The current draft text for the forthcoming U.N. Rio+20 summit on sustainable development is weak and needs to strengthened to include ethical principles that highlight stronger commitments on equity, accountability, and universal human rights norms, experts said.
The Rev. Gradye Parsons has been selected by the Stated Clerk Nomination Committee (SCNC) to stand as its nominee for a second term as Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
“Gradye’s references describe him as one who is ‘committed to Jesus Christ and the whole church’ and ‘disarmingly wise,’” said the Rev. Dennis Hughes, a teaching elder from Seattle, Wash., who chairs the SCNC. Hughes is also a member of the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly.
René Francisco Castellanos Morente, known worldwide as the “El Maestro Castellanos,” died early this morning (March 21) at the Provincial Hospital Dr. Faustino Perez Hernandez here at 97 years of age.
Answering God’s call to ministry sets in motion an exhilarating, often scary venture into the unknown. Just like a marriage.
Bart Smith, a senior at Austin (Texas) Presbyterian Theological Seminary, and Elizabeth Toland, a senior at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., happen to be facing both challenges—their first calls and their impending marriage—simultaneously and nearly a thousand miles apart. Smith and Toland met as second-semester juniors when both attended the “Crossing Borders, Encountering God” event in Phoenix in 2010.