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President calls on religious groups to speak out on poverty
The African-American boy who grew up with an absent father, who started his work life as a community organizer on the payroll of a Catholic agency and who later became U.S. president had plenty to say about poverty in our “winner-take-all” economy. President Obama spoke Tuesday of “ladders of opportunity” once denied to black people and now being dismantled for poor white people as their difficult lives get that much more difficult: “It’s hard being poor. It’s time-consuming. It’s stressful.”
‘You wear out’: How chronic illness grounds and inspires William Barber’s activism
Standing outside a church in rural North Carolina this spring, the Rev. William Barber II leaned on his dented and scuffed wooden cane. With one powerful hand he pushed himself up and into the seat of a long black Chevrolet Suburban, then swung his legs in, using the cane, wedged against the door, as a fulcrum. The effort left him out of breath, his expansive chest heaving as he lay back in the seat, reclined to afford him space. No sooner had an aide closed the door before a man from the church rapped gently on the window. “Rev. Barber,” he said, “you’ve been a role model, an inspiration.”
Dementia and religion: Inside a church’s Alzheimer’s support group
They sat in a circle in a room usually used by high schoolers and talked about the people they loved who no longer recognized them or who had died forgetting the names of family caregivers in their last days.
Denzel Washington: ‘I wanted to please God’ in latest directing effort
Longtime actor Denzel Washington said his faith was a part of every decision he made in directing the new movie, “A Journal For Jordan,” based on the writings of an Army sergeant who was killed in action.
Human Rights Campaign kicks off election focus on LGBTQ, religious relations
The Human Rights Campaign, which works to promote LGBTQ equality, has started an election season tour in which its president will visit houses of worship of different faiths to build relations between the religious and the gay communities.
Biden calls out ‘poison’ of white supremacy in address at Mother Emanuel in S.C.
President Biden, taking his 2024 re-election campaign to South Carolina, denounced the white supremacy that he said led to deadly violence at Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church almost nine years ago.
How Jesus became white – and why it’s time to cancel that
The first time the Rev. Lettie Moses Carr saw Jesus depicted as Black, she was in her 20s. It felt “weird,” Rev. Carr said. Until that moment, she’d always thought Jesus was white.
At National Cathedral, leaders of different parties, perspectives call for civility
Sitting under the imposing columns of the Washington National Cathedral, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox turned to longtime political strategist Donna Brazile and shared his change of heart about her.
After Roe’s fall, Black churches support some or all reproductive health options
For Evangelist Lesley W. Monet, the weeks since the fall of Roe v. Wade has been a time of praise and preparation.
Baltimore cemetery offers Easter sunrise dramatization of the resurrection
Just before he started practicing his exit from a replica of Jesus’ tomb, Andre Roberson admitted that, at first, playing the key role in a cemetery’s dramatization of the resurrection was just “something to do.”
Trump evangelical advisers exposed to COVID-19 flout CDC guidelines, preach in public
At least two faith leaders, including one of President Trump’s unofficial evangelical advisers, have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a White House Rose Garden ceremony and a separate evangelical gathering in Wash- ington.
Red Lip Theology: Candice Benbow’s love letter to Black women in the Black church
Candice Marie Benbow came to be a theologian by way of the death of Whitney Houston, who she considers “the ultimate church girl.”
Justice Clarence Thomas talks about his faith in new documentary
U.S. Supreme Court Jus- tice Clarence Thomas, who is known for his reticence, speaks for much of a new two-hour documentary about his life.
From Senate subcommittee to Easter sermon: Raphael Warnock on life as a pastor-politician
Raphael Warnock, U.S. senator and Baptist pastor, was wrapping up his time on Capitol Hill before heading back to his native Georgia in time for what is perhaps the busiest week of the year for Christian clergy.
‘Silence is violence’
Pastor and author Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil talks about racial justice and faith
Dr. Brenda Salter McNeil has been on stages, in classrooms and pulpits, preaching for decades about bridging racial divides. In her new book, “Becoming Brave — Finding the Courage to Pursue Racial Justice Now,” the associate professor of reconciliation at Seattle Pacific University said there is no more time to wait.
50 years after 'Black Manifesto,' religious groups again take up reparations
On a Sunday morning in May 1969, as clergy processed into the sanctuary of New York’s august Riverside Church, civil rights activist James Forman vaulted into the pulpit to demand $500 million in reparations for the mistreatment of African-Americans from white churches and synagogues.
Multiracial churches growing, but challenging for clergy of color
For four hours at a megachurch outside of Dallas, pastors of color shared their personal stories of leading a multiethnic church.
Black American solidarity with Palestinians is rising and testing long-standing ties to Jewish allies
Cydney Wallace, a Black Jewish community activist, never felt compelled to travel to Israel, though “next year in Jerusalem” was a constant refrain at her Chicago synagogue.
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