For more than a decade, the Rev. John Fanestil, a United Methodist minister, has held a Sunday service at Friendship Park, a historic meeting place on the U.S.-Mexico border overlooking the Pacific Ocean between San Diego and Tijuana. While Communion is celebrated each week, Fanestil began the nonsectarian Christian ministry to help preserve the park as a public space where family members separated by their immigration status can interact, even if their interaction takes place through border fencing. But in recent months, Border Church, or La Iglesia Fronteriza, has blossomed into a... Read more about 'Border Church' and 'Border Mosque' team up for prayer service

A female power lifter is heading to Chicago tomorrow for a major national competition, but it almost didn’t happen. Javon O’kray lifts 468 pounds on a regular day, and did everything she could to prepare for the competition. But what she was not ready for was a notice saying she could not compete if she wore the attire she normally wears. Source: Powerlifter nearly disqualified from Chicago competition over skirt worn for religious reasons | WGN-TV... Read more about Powerlifter nearly disqualified from Chicago competition over skirt worn for religious reasons

“I didn’t used to live like this.” The words resonated with Elizabeth Shuman. The speaker — a woman dressed in beautifully designed fabrics, a scarf covering her hair — had invited Shuman and other volunteers into her home in Lebanon and taken great care to show them hospitality. But the home was a tent made from tarps, insulated against the crisp air as best as possible. The woman and her family were refugees from Syria and the tent housed all the belongings they had remaining. Source: ... Read more about As fewer refugees enter the US, one Chicago group decides to go to them

More than 90 Christian leaders are calling for a National Day of Prayer this Sunday (Oct. 13) “for the truth to be revealed through the impeachment inquiry” into whether President Donald Trump solicited help from a foreign government for his 2020 reelection campaign. That call comes from leaders affiliated with Red Letter Christians, a justice-focused Christian movement that held a revival over the weekend in Goldsboro, North Carolina. It also includes praying for members of Congress and... Read more about Christian leaders call for Day of Prayer in support of impeachment inquiry - Religion News Service

Manny Escamilla nearly missed it. As he canvassed his neighborhood to talk to residents about his campaign for City Council this summer, the Santa Ana historian and archivist stumbled upon a Virgin of Guadalupe shrine tucked inside a hollow portion of a tree. Flowers and rocks surrounded the small statue. “I almost didn’t see it,” said Escamilla, 33. “To me, it’s one of the most beautiful shrines because it uses its natural alcove.” Source: As he walks... Read more about As he walks neighborhoods, candidate documents his city's Virgin Mary shrines