News
With more Americans describing themselves as "spiritual but not religious," one researcher set out to find what that statement really means. The Rev. Linda Mercadante, a professor of theology at Methodist Theological School in Delaware, Ohio, conducted research on this growing segment of the American population and found possible reasons why the "spiritual" tend to stay away from the church or religious practices. Read more of this story. FURTHER READING – George Barna study on American Spirituality
WYOMING, Mich. — David Karel does not know what comes next for him and his 1,500 fellow workers at the GM metal stamping plant, following last week’s announcement it will close by December 2009.But of one thing the Baptist minister is certain: God will be there for them.Read more of this story.
Together, Minneapolis and St. Paul are big enough to sustain diverse expressions of Christian theology, but small enough to bring those expressions into contact. In many ways, the Twin Cities are a microcosm of the current tensions in American evangelicalism.Read more of this story.
Church ProfileGrace Evangelical Church is ten years old and has been in its new building on highway AB, on Madison’s southeast side for three years. When Pastor Paul Bawden arrived from Des Moines six years ago, the congregation was meeting at Monona Grove High School.
LAKE FOREST – As members of Saddleback Church settled into their seats Sunday to hear the weekly sermon from Pastor Rick Warren, one thing was missing: Rick Warren.Fellow pastors had convinced the founder and leader of the mega-church in Lake Forest to take the day off. They filled in for him by preaching about an ongoing campaign, "40 Days of Love."For Warren, one of the most influential ministers in the nation, the forced break was nothing to celebrate. It came at the end of a harrowing week in which he and his family were whipsawed by a health crisis.Read more of…
Members of Christ Church Anglican in Jacksonville, Fla., gathered Sunday for an unusual religious ceremony that involved torching X-rated old movies in a fire pit.Read more of this story.
The drumming signals the start of Sunday Mass at the Congregation of the Great Spirit. Father Edward Cook sits in the circle at the front of the church where he and the drummers play a song of welcome.Inside the small, white stone church at 1050 W. Lapham Blvd., where Lithuanians once worshipped, more than 100 people come to pray at one of the few urban churches in the country to blend the Roman Catholic Mass with American Indian traditions.Read more of this story.
Washington correspondent David Brody knew it was a symbolic moment when Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean appeared on the Christian Broadcasting Network. Then there was the landmark Nevada trip to interview Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and his wife, Landra, at their home. Landing a face-to-face interview with Sen. Hillary Clinton for The 700 Club ? Say no more. Finally, after a year of negotiations, Sen. Barack Obama’s staff took a leap of faith and scheduled an interview with the news team at the Rev. Pat Robertson’s flagship network. Read more of this story.
News Release Even while preparing to open a new, larger pantry early next year, St. Vincent de Paul’s temporary Madison pantry is helping feed an average of 90 families per day.With numbers of client families at or near record highs recently, volunteers and staff members at Dane County’s busiest food pantry say they are glad their temporary facility will be replaced by a new, larger and better-equipped pantry within a few months. The food pantry, which serves all Dane County ZIP Codes five days each week, is operated by the local Society of St. Vincent de Paul.
The level of activity in U.S. churches when it comes to monetary giving and displaying care for others in need is "lukewarm," authors of a new report state. And being lukewarm can lead to churches being "spit out" of Jesus’ mouth, they warn. "The State of Church Giving through 2006: Global Triage, MDG 4, and Unreached People Groups," released Wednesday, evaluated members’ contributions to churches from 1968 through 2006 and the allocation of church funds to overseas mission work and urgent global needs. Read more of this story. Church Giving Outlook from Christianity Today