Mid-City Christian

Tuesday, October 29, 2024

How culture wars divided one small progressive church in Philadelphia

After exiting the Christian music industry, these artists engage religion on their terms
Religion News Service: After interrogating their beliefs, some onetime CCM artists are revisiting faith in some fashion, trying on elements they’d previously discarded and writing music for listeners who might be more spiritual than religious.

Americans use the Book of Revelation to talk about immigration – and always have
The Conversation: Depicting immigrants as a threat has been a pillar of Trump’s message since 2015. And the types of terms he uses aren’t just disparaging. It might not seem like it, but Trump is continuing a long tradition in American politics: using language shaped by the Bible.

How a legendary church in Sleepy Hollow stays faithful in a Halloween mecca
Religion Unplugged: This compounding enthusiasm for a haunted churchyard has resulted in tourism, which has taken its toll on the both the church and the village of Sleepy Hollow during the Halloween season and beyond.

How culture wars divided one small progressive church in Philadelphia
NPR: Despite their shared egalitarian vision, the congregation disagreed over some of the same issues that have divided the country — including the COVID-19 pandemic and the racial reckoning after George Floyd was murdered by a police officer.

In Philadelphia, a Muslim hub, presidential election feels to many like no choice at all
Religion News Service: The city’s growing Muslim Democratic establishment is trying to rally its constituency to the polls in an atmosphere of deep mistrust of either candidate.

They're Eating the Dogs They're Eating the Cats

Monday, October 28, 2024

Prominent Texas church quietly quits the SBC

Harris and Trump lean into their faith in appeals to Christian voters in Georgia
The Guardian: Religious voters on both the right and the left are a powerful force in Georgia. In a race this close, they may be decisive

Prominent Texas church quietly quits the SBC
Baptist News Global: One of the most prominent Baptist churches in Texas quietly quit the Southern Baptist Convention Oct. 27 — part of an unnoticed trend that’s hard to document on a national level.

For a stalwart voice of liberal Catholicism, a complicated centennial*
The New York Times: Commonweal magazine, founded in 1924, wrestles with its mission at a moment of a continuing loss of faith in both the church and liberalism.

Vatican meeting ends and hope fades for more change under Francis*
The Washington Post: The pope’s “Synod on Synodality” ended Saturday without progress on female deacons, married priests or LGBTQ+ outreach.

As church leaders emphasize BYU’s religious mission, coaches seek to make it a recruiting edge
Deseret News: BYU sports must operate differently than teams at other schools or there is no reason to continue their existence at a university sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church leader said last week.

Pope Francis calls for ‘a Church that hears the cry of the world’

Why is St. Jude the patron saint of lost causes?

On Oct. 28, the Catholic Church celebrates the feast of St. Jude, also known as Thaddeus, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus.

10 questions (and answers) about the Synod on Synodality’s final document

From its magisterial status to proposals on Church governance, here are answers to the most pressing questions about the Synod on Synodality’s final document.

In synod closing Mass, Pope Francis calls for ‘a Church that hears the cry of the world’

At the Synod on Synodality closing Mass on Sunday, Pope Francis said that a synodal Church must be “on the move” following Christ in serving those in need.

Pope Francis in Angelus address mourns Catholic priest murdered in Mexico

The pope called the slain priest “a zealous servant of the Gospel and God’s faithful people” and said he joined the local diocese in Mexico in mourning his loss.

New homeschool policy at diocese

Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, bishop of the Diocese of San Diego, issued the following statement on Sept. 25 to the Catholic community in San Diego and Imperial counties:

Within the past year, a number of homeschool cooperative or satellite programs have approached parishes within the Diocese of San Diego, seeking to establish programs on parish sites. Some of these programs have also sought to establish religious formation or sacramental preparation programs within the parish setting that are dedicated specifically for homeschool students. This has become a source of tension within the diocese.

Two weeks ago, the diocese established a new policy on the use of parish buildings for educational programs. This policy was passed by the Presbyteral Council by a vote of 13 to one and was approved by Cardinal McElroy.

The Theology of Bishop Barron

How has the Catholic “giant” of our time, Bishop Robert Barron, evangelized and catechized this generation? Today, Dr. Michael Dauphinais and Dr. Matthew Levering, Catholic scholar and noted editor and author, sit down to discuss Dr. Levering’s new work on the theology of Bishop Robert Barron. They think about how Bishop Barron successfully reaches fallen away Catholics and students of theology alike and helps them to recover a profound confidence in the truths of their Catholic faith.