The Reformed Church in America moves toward restructuring, prepares for departures
RNS The Reformed Church in America’s 214th General Synod, taking place in Tucson, Arizona, voted on Saturday to appoint a team to develop a restructuring plan for the nearly 400-year-old denomination as it divides over LGBTQ ordination and same-sex marriage. The convention also adopted regulations for churches that have chosen to leave the RCA to […]
Switzerland votes to make same-sex marriage legal by near two-thirds majority
Zurich, SwitzerlandReuters Switzerland agreed to legalise civil marriage and the right to adopt children for same-sex couples by a nearly two-thirds majority in a referendum on Sunday, making it one of the last countries in Western Europe to legalise gay marriage. According to results provided by the Swiss federal chancellery, 64.1 per cent of voters […]
UK Methodist Church votes to allow same-sex marriages
London, UKAP Britain’s Methodist Church announced Wednesday that same-sex couples will be allowed to get married on its premises. After debates on the topic at the Methodist Conference, the proposals to allow same-sex marriages were passed with 254 votes in favour and 46 against. The Methodist Church said ministers who oppose the changes will not […]
UK judge: Council discriminated in removing bus ads promoting Franklin Graham festival
RNS A British judge has ruled a borough council and its transportation provider discriminated against Christians by removing bus ads promoting an event with evangelist Franklin Graham in the English seaside town of Blackpool. The ads, which were briefly placed on public buses prior to Graham’s 2018 Lancashire Festival of Hope, were taken down after […]
Progressive United Methodists announce new denomination: Liberation Methodist Connexion
RNS A group of progressive United Methodists announced on Sunday they are forming a new Methodist denomination, the Liberation Methodist Connexion, or LMX. For half a century, the United Methodist Church has debated the full inclusion of its LGBTQ members. It pushed any discussion of sexuality from its quadrennial General Conference meeting in 2016 to a […]
Episcopal bishop to resign over same-sex marriage stance
Albany, New York, USAP The Episcopal bishop of Albany, New York, agreed to resign after a disciplinary panel found that he violated church rules by ordering clergy in the diocese not to perform same-sex marriages. The Right Reverend William H “Bill” Love will leave his position on 1st February after starting a sabbatical a month […]
Australian Open to honour Court after same-sex marriage dispute
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Tennis Australia have brokered a truce with Margaret Court and will recognise the 50th anniversary of her calendar Grand Slam at next year’s Australian Open but reiterated the organisation disagrees with her personal views on same-sex marriage. Court, who holds the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, has not attended the […]
Australia’s devastating bushfires reflect God’s wrath, rugby star preaches
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australia’s Pentecostal prime minister on Monday rebuked a former national rugby star who claimed recent deadly bushfires and a devastating drought were God’s punishment for the country allowing same-sex marriage and abortion. Israel Folau, who was sacked from a multi-million dollar rugby contract in May after posting on Instagram that hell awaited “drunks, […]
In the US, a United Methodist group proposes a denominational breakup
RNS A dozen United Methodists meeting secretly in Indianapolis earlier this summer have unveiled a blueprint for spinning off one or two new denominations, hoping to put an end to decades of battles over LGBTQ inclusion. The plan would allow the United Methodist Church to create a new, fully independent body for more conservative or […]
ESSAY: WHY LISTENING MATTERS. EVEN IF YOU THINK THE OTHER SIDE IS WRONG
Authors of a new book on cultural engagement, KAREN SWALLOW PRIOR and JOSHUA CHATRAW, in an essay published on Religion News Service, look at the importance among Christians of listening…