Emmett Till memorialised in monument that includes Chicago church
United StatesRNS For Rev Wheeler Parker, Jr, it was the moment he had long awaited and once could not have envisioned. The older cousin of Emmett Till, Parker is the sole remaining witness to the 1955 kidnapping of the Black teenager, who was dragged from his bed to face a lynching that galvanised the civil […]
US state of Mississippi, under judge’s order, starts allowing religious exemptions for childhood vaccinations
Jackson, Mississippi, US AP The US state of Mississippi is starting the court-ordered process of letting people cite religious beliefs to seek exemptions from state-mandated vaccinations that children must receive before attending day care or school. Mississippi is one of the poorest states and has high rates of health problems such as obesity and heart disease. But […]
In the US, judge rules Mississippi must give religious exemption on vaccines
Jackson, Mississippi, US AP Mississippi must join most other states in allowing religious exemptions from vaccinations that children are required to receive so they can attend school, a federal judge has ruled. US District Judge Sul Ozerden handed down the decision Monday in a lawsuit filed last year by several parents who say their religious […]
Postcards: Faith-based volunteers show up to help after Mississippi tornadoes
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports how Christian groups have responded after the devastating tornadoes in Mississippi…
Churches provide solace in tornado-ravaged Mississippi Delta
Rolling Fork, Mississippi, USAP As a deadly tornado tore through the lower Mississippi Delta, Rev Mary Stewart clung to a door in the hallway of her Rolling Fork home, shielding herself from the branches and chunks of debris that came flying through her shattered windows. Friday’s storm flattened entire town blocks, but the Rolling Fork Methodist […]
More than two dozen dead after tornado tears across Mississippi
Updated: 8am (AEDT)United StatesReuters Rescuers combed through rubble on Saturday after a powerful storm tore across Mississippi overnight, killing at least 25 people there and another in Alabama, leveling dozens of buildings and spawning at least one devastating tornado. The tornado stayed on the ground for about an hour and cut a path of destruction […]
In the US, Republican-led states see Texas law as model to restrict abortions
Sioux Falls, South Dakota, US AP Republican states that have passed increasingly tough abortion restrictions only to see them blocked by the federal courts have a new template in an unusually written Texas law that represents the most far-reaching curb on abortions in nearly half a century. On Thursday, Republican lawmakers in at least half […]
Faith-based disaster relief groups balance COVID safety with speedy response to Hurricane Ida
RNS In the wake of Hurricane Ida, faith-based disaster relief groups are assessing damage, setting up mobile kitchens and preparing to send skilled volunteers to Louisiana, Mississippi and other states hit hard by the storm. Those groups began putting equipment and supplies into place before Ida made landfall on Sunday and have kept in constant […]
US Supreme Court takes up major challenge to abortion rights
Washington DC, US Reuters The US Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider gutting the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalised abortion nationwide, taking up Mississippi’s bid to revive a Republican-backed state law that bans the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. By hearing the case in their next term, which starts in October […]
Connecticut is sixth US state to end religious vaccine exemption
AP Connecticut will no longer allow a religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care facilities, becoming the sixth state to end that policy. The legislation was signed into law Wednesday by Governor Ned Lamont, hours after the Democratic-controlled Senate passed the bill late Tuesday night. More than 2,000 opponents had rallied outside […]