Father John Sewell wants people in Memphis to stop screaming. From St. John’s Episcopal Church, where he is rector, he is spreading a message that Central Avenue motorists can see. The “ScreamFree Zone” signs in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church on Central help promote a calmer way of living in Memphis. Screaming is not... Continue Reading

By Edward Terry, The Layman At its Sept. 24 meeting, Baltimore Presbytery had the first reading of an overture that would strike any references to marriage being a civil contract between a man and woman from the Directory of Worship in the Book of Order. Instead, the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s constitution would say that marriage... Continue Reading

President Obama delivered an unprecedented message to the Human Rights Campaign Saturday night. Sounding more like a homosexual activist than a sitting president, Obama went well beyond his expected message of “I’m here with you” on the homosexual agenda. “My expectation is that when you look back on these years, you will see a time... Continue Reading

WASHINGTON (RNS) Are U.S. churchgoers stingy? That’s one possible conclusion from a newly updated report that shows if parishioners tithed the biblically recommended 10 percent of their income—instead of their current 2.56 percent—an extra $161 billion would be flowing to charity. The report, published by Illinois-based research firm Empty Tomb, inc., also found that congregations... Continue Reading

WASHINGTON – Though the National Association of Evangelicals recently voiced its strong support for immigration reform, it does not call for undocumented aliens to be covered in health care reform legislation, says the group’s president. NAE president Leith Anderson told The Christian Post at a press conference on immigration reform last week that his group... Continue Reading

Lindenhurst Union Free School District on Long Island has settled a lawsuit filed by a student who alleged that officials had violated his civil rights by refusing to let him form a Bible club. The district, which denied the allegation, agreed to pay the high school student, identified in court papers only as “A.Q.,” nominal... Continue Reading

More than two centuries after racial divisions sparked the birth of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the black and white congregations at the center of the split will worship together for the first time in late October in Philadelphia. In the late 1700s, lay preacher Richard Allen and other members walked out of Historic St.... Continue Reading

Following the U.S. House’s passage of hate crimes legislation attached to a military spending bill, critics have argued its provisions create “special rights” based on sexual behavior and could threaten religious freedom. They further charged that the provisions’ backers used the military as a “political tool” to achieve their goals. The bill…contained a provision that... Continue Reading

African bishops attending a Vatican meeting are speaking about the election of Barack Obama in divine terms—putting them very much at odds with many of their U.S. counterparts. Archbishop Gabriel Charles Palmer-Buckle of Accra, Ghana said Wednesday that there was “a divine plan behind” Obama’s election. “It’s like the biblical story repeating itself,” he told... Continue Reading

A London church has reacted with anger after being issued with a noise abatement order. Following the judgement by magistrates the Immanuel House of Worship church in Walthamstow, north London, will now be restricted to using music for just 20 minutes on a Sunday morning. This week’s ruling followed an inspection by the local council... Continue Reading