By Cindy Wooden The Vatican said it experienced “surprise and sorrow” when a European court ruled that the crucifixes hanging in Italian public schools violate religious freedom. The European Court of Human Rights ruled Nov. 3 that the crucifixes hanging in every public classroom in Italy were “a violation of the freedom of parents to... Continue Reading

The General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission — the highest court in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) — has declined in two new rulings involving controversial cases to take on some of the central questions involving departures of conscience from the denomination’s ordination standards. The new rulings, both issued Nov. 2, come in cases involving Lisa Larges,... Continue Reading

An English Gothic landmark Tampa (FL) church built in the 1920s has been resurrected as the first permanent home of Holy Trinity Presbyterian (PCA), ending a decade-long quest. The exterior of the impressive red-brick building is relatively unchanged, but improvements within give a fresh look to the 1927 structure. “It’s come a long way,” Pastor... Continue Reading

Brazil’s main commercial center, Sao Paulo, came to a standstill on Thursday, when it became the site of the biggest annual Christian movement in the nation. The May 26th ‘March for Jesus’ brought together over two million people, who marched along a pre-planned, one-mile route beginning at 10 a.m. They started near the University of... Continue Reading

A top Vatican official has joined other global Christian leaders in the eastern German town where Martin Luther broke with the papacy, at a tree-planting ceremony that looks to closer ties on the 500th anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. The ceremony took place in Wittenberg, the German town known as “Lutherstadt”, 492 years after... Continue Reading

Pope Benedict XVI will meet with the leader of the Church of England, next month in his first encounter since the Catholic Church moved to make it easier for disenchanted Anglicans to convert to Catholicism, a Vatican spokesman said Friday. Archbishop Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was already due to visit Rome in November... Continue Reading

Nearly 27,000 people attend LifeChurch.tv’s 13 locations, known as campuses, scattered from Arizona to New York. Headquartered in Edmond, Okla., LifeChurch.tv is the second-largest Protestant church in the United States, according to Outreach magazine. It’s also one of 2,000 multisite congregations that use satellite technology to unite worshippers meeting in different locations. Welcome to LifeChurch.tv... Continue Reading

In a day and age when short to medium length pastorates are mostly the norm, the New Covenant Presbyterian Church has issued a call to just their third pastor since organizing as one of the Presbyterian Church in America’s earliest church plants. TE Jeff Elliott, Associate Pastor at the Pear Orchard Presbyterian Church in Ridgeland... Continue Reading

By Ron Orozco Three (Fresno) Valley Presbyterian churches have finalized their divorce from the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination, citing differences over the Bible’s supreme authority and the possible ordination of gays. But unlike the split within the Valley’s Episcopal diocese, which turned into a bitter court fight, the three congregations are leaving on friendly terms.... Continue Reading

Future of SBC is hopeful if Great Commission remains central and key questions are addressed, SBC leaders say Southern Baptists today have much to be thankful for and build upon from their forebears, but must consider structural changes to the Southern Baptist Convention and embrace methodological diversity within the denomination, speakers said at Union University’s... Continue Reading