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Catholic Nuns in PA Set Up Chapel at Proposed Pipeline Site - World Religion News

July 13, 2017
The Atlantic Sunrise pipeline project has been greeted with great public opposition especially in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Many residents have pledged to try and frustrate the activities of the project as they feel they haven’t been involved in the process. One such act of protest is the building of an open air chapel by the nuns from Adorers of the Blood of Christ Catholic Church. Source: Catholic Nuns in PA Set Up Chapel at Proposed Pipeline Site - World Religion... Read more about Catholic Nuns in PA Set Up Chapel at Proposed Pipeline Site - World Religion News

Abandoned village in Connecticut breathes new life after purchase by the Iglesia Ni Cristo | Religion News Service

July 12, 2017

EAST HADDAM, Conn. – The once-thriving mill town, known as Johnsonville Village in Middlesex County in Conn., is finally off the market after a $1.85 million purchase on July 7 by the international religious organization Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC or Church Of Christ).

Source: Abandoned village in Connecticut breathes new life after purchase by the Iglesia Ni... Read more about Abandoned village in Connecticut breathes new life after purchase by the Iglesia Ni Cristo | Religion News Service

Wampum belts and peacemakers: Unitarian Universalist Church to host Native American presentation | Faith + Values | lancasteronline.com

July 12, 2017
There are many similarities between the Iroquois Constitution and the U.S. Constitution, in part, because Benjamin Franklin and other Founding Fathers gained insight into democracy through their meetings with members of the Six Nations. Those ideals show up in the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The Great Law of Peace is the oral constitution of the Six Nations that comprise the Iroquois Confederacy.  It was crafted by Dekanawidah, also known as The Great Peacemaker, and was written on wampum belts.
... Read more about Wampum belts and peacemakers: Unitarian Universalist Church to host Native American presentation | Faith + Values | lancasteronline.com

The United Methodist Church has appointed a transgender deacon | WWRN - World-wide Religious News

July 7, 2017
The bishop spoke the traditional words as she placed her hands on the new deacon named M with just a slight difference from the way those words have always been spoken before. “Pour out your Holy Spirit upon M,” the bishop said. “Send them now to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ, to announce the reign of God and to equip the church for ministry.” Not “send him now” or “send her now.” “Send them now.” That’s what M Barclay has been working for 12 years to finally hear. Barclay, a transgender person who identifies as neither male nor female and thus uses the pronoun “they,” was... Read more about The United Methodist Church has appointed a transgender deacon | WWRN - World-wide Religious News

Faith Direct moves parish donations into a new generation of giving

July 6, 2017
It’s Sunday morning and families are running out the door to Mass. They grab the contribution envelope, but forget the check book. The parish doesn’t get the family’s donation for that week. This is the typical scenario that came to mind when Brian Walsh founded Faith Direct, an e-giving service for parishes, allowing for parishioners to contribute to their church through offertory gifts online. Faith Direct made its first transaction in 2004, when Walsh recognized a potential problem with checks, predicting a major decline in the number of checks written by parishioners and how that would... Read more about Faith Direct moves parish donations into a new generation of giving

When gospel sermons came on the phonograph | Religion News Service

July 6, 2017
The first truly African-American musical form, the “Spirituals,” took shape in the 17th and 18th centuries within the generations of slaves born into the tough American experience. Music was a daily part of their survival and sustenance. Spirituals were sung “a cappella,” that is, without instrumental accompaniment. Voices were blended over rhythms provided by clapping hands, stamping feet and makeshift percussion. The words and melodies were improvised, not written down and never sung the same way twice. The singers remained untrained in the formalities of music. Anthropologist ... Read more about When gospel sermons came on the phonograph | Religion News Service

Car-care ministries a growing niche in midsize cities | Religion News Service

July 5, 2017
(RNS) When he founded the car-care ministry at McEachern Memorial United Methodist Church 15 years ago, David McCoy knew he was filling a need in his community. What he didn’t know was just how big a need that was. Car-care ministries like McCoy’s, where church members repair cars for those in need, transcend state borders and religious groups. But, McCoy said, there still aren’t enough of them. After news outlets including USA Today and ... Read more about Car-care ministries a growing niche in midsize cities | Religion News Service

Exhibit showcases the earliest stirrings of American religious diversity | Religion News Service

July 5, 2017
WASHINGTON (RNS) Enter the “Religion in Early America” exhibit and there are objects you expect to find: Bibles, a hymnal and christening items. But on closer inspection, a broader picture of faith in the Colonial era emerges: a Bible translated into the language of the Wampanoag people, the Torah scroll of the first synagogue in North America and a text written by a slave who wanted to pass on the essentials of his Muslim heritage.  Source: ... Read more about Exhibit showcases the earliest stirrings of American religious diversity | Religion News Service

Ministers lend an ear to those dealing with hardships

June 30, 2017
Anne Donahue is a woman who has always wanted to help. She was a good listener, she said; she was told she had a compassionate ear. So, a few years ago, when her Roman Catholic parish, Sacred Heart in Southbury, began a program that sent lay people to minister to those enduring trying emotional times, she signed up. “I have a large family,” said Donahue. “I keep thinking of the fact that some people have nobody and, to me, it is just an overwhelming concept how sad that is. People such as that have to depend on a neighbor or neighbors. It has bothered me.” Donahue is one of an estimated 40... Read more about Ministers lend an ear to those dealing with hardships

Vatican women's council hopes to be 'electric shock' for global Church

June 29, 2017
If women were protons and men were electrons, the Vatican would be a pretty negatively charged electric field, meaning that men generally own the stage. The female advisory board for the Pontifical Council for Culture wishes to change that, sending an “electric shock” that will open discussion on women’s roles in the Church. “The Church is a male-dominated world, but the [wider] world in which it exists is both male and female,” Consuelo Corradi, vice rector for research and international relations at the LUMSA University of Rome, told Crux. “The global church needs to enter a... Read more about Vatican women's council hopes to be 'electric shock' for global Church

To Understand How Religion Shapes America, Look To Its Early Days : NPR

June 29, 2017
Religion has played an outsized role in U.S. history and politics, but it's one that has often gone unrecognized in U.S. museums. "As a focused subject area, it's been neglected," says Peter Manseau, a scholar and writer installed last year as the first full-time religion curator at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History. America's exceptional commitment to religious freedom stems from the diversity of its faith traditions. The rebellious attitudes prevalent in frontier settlements fostered the growth of evangelical... Read more about To Understand How Religion Shapes America, Look To Its Early Days : NPR

What do Christian protests about Harry Potter books teach us? | Religion News Service

June 28, 2017
(The Conversation) On Monday (June 26), Harry James Potter — the world’s most famous wizard — will celebrate his 20th birthday. His many fans will likely mark the occasion by rereading a favorite Harry Potter novel or rewatching one of the blockbuster films. Some may even raise a butterbeer toast in Harry’s honor at one of three Harry Potter-themed amusement parks. But not everyone will be celebrating Harry’s big day. In fact, a vocal group of Christians – ... Read more about What do Christian protests about Harry Potter books teach us? | Religion News Service

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