Saints of Past Ages: How Frances Willard shaped feminism by leading the temperance movement
CHRISTOPHER H EVANS, professor of the history of Christianity at Boston University, looks – in an article published on The Conversation – at the life and legacy of a key US temperance movement leader…
Postcards: Why students at a Kentucky Christian school are praying and singing round the clock
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports that students have packed the chapel and overflow spaces at Asbury University for nearly a week, holding round-the-clock prayer and worship…
Methodist art project gets UK city of Newcastle buzzing
Norwich, UK A Methodist arts project in Newcastle upon Tyne is highlighting the important role bees play in pollinating the world’s food supply as well as the threats they face – everything from agrochemicals, and loss of habitat to climate change and parasites. Organised by Shieldfield Arts Works (formerly known as Holy Biscuit), Bee Lines Through […]
Essay: A century after partition, Ireland’s churches are cooperating more closely than ever
In an article first published on The Conversaton, Irish-born academic GER FITZGERALD looks at the “deepening” cooperation between Ireland’s Catholic and Protestant churches…
Essay: Britain’s changing religious vote – why Catholics are leaving Labour and Conservatives are hoovering up Christian support
STUART FOX and EKATERINA KOLPINSKAYA, authors of ‘Religion and Euroscepticism in Brexit Britain‘, write, in an article first published on The Conversation, writes about how the “religious vote” in the UK is being transformed…
Hurricane Dorian inflicts “extreme damage” on Bahamas, church leader describes impact as “unimaginable living nightmare” for many
Marsh Harbour, BahamasReuters Hurricane Dorian has left parts of tourism-dependent Bahamas in ruins and relief officials on Tuesday were preparing for an unfolding humanitarian crisis with the scale of the catastrophe only beginning to emerge. Aerial video recorded over the Bahamas’ Great Abaco Island showed mile upon mile of flooded neighborhoods, pulverised buildings, upturned boats […]
In the US, United Methodist committee rejects One Church Plan, which would allow LGBT clergy
St Louis, USRNS In a surprise, the plan recommended by the United Methodist Church’s Council of Bishops was rejected Monday by the denomination’s decision-making body. The so-called One Church Plan did not pass out of General Conference’s Legislative Committee to be considered by delegates Tuesday during the plenary session. As Rev Joe Harris presides, the […]
Meeting in the US, United Methodists vote pensions, ‘Traditional Plan’ as top priorities
St Louis, USRNS Delegates to a special session of the United Methodist Church decided on Sunday to start deliberations over the denomination’s future by talking about money. Then they will talk about sex. Rev Austin Adkinson, right, and members of the Queer Clergy Caucus sing and greet attendees on the first day of deliberations at […]
Protestant churches in Cuba push for freedom of religion to be guaranteed under country’s updated constitution
A cross-denominational group of Protestant Christian leaders in Cuba have launched a campaign pushing for provisions guaranteeing freedom of religion to be included in the country’s updated constitution, according to religious freedom advocacy CSW. The UK-based organisation said in a statement that the group, which is being led by representatives of the Methodist and Assemblies […]
US Attorney General cleared in church complaint, perplexing some top Methodists
RNS United Methodist Church officials in Alabama have dismissed a complaint signed by more than 600 church members in July that chided Attorney General Jeff Sessions for implementing the family separation policy along the border and attempting to justify it with Scripture. But the logic of the decision, which cited a distinction between personal behavior […]