The Rev. Billy Graham turns 93 on Nov. 7, but still manages to meet with major public figures on occasion and releases periodic reflections on his life and faith. Indeed, though Graham is infirm and in virtual seclusion in his mountaintop home in North Carolina, his stature and legacy seem to grow as he ages.
Even as public attention focuses on the legalization of gay marriage in New York and related battles across the country, religious communities are continuing to struggle with the role of homosexuals. Presbyterians voted in May to allow openly gay clergy, and in June a Methodist church court convicted a pastor for performing a same-sex union.
The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops met in June in Seattle to revise policies approved nearly a decade ago in response to the clergy sexual-abuse crisis. Many argue that recent developments show the bishops have even more work to do.
It’s a new academic year and a new crop of seminarians — indeed, this year’s incoming class may be larger than most, as the recession appears to have sent many people back to school. But will they be trained to deal with the hot-button topics of sexuality that roil American denominations in good times and [...]
Women who experience domestic violence have not always found compassion and help in their houses of worship. Some pastors, referring to a Bible verse, said women should submit to their husbands. Others likened women’s suffering to that of Jesus’ on the cross. Some counseled forgiveness or suggested that a marriage must be saved at any [...]
Leadership – the ability to inspire, motivate, discern and envision in a faithful quest to follow God’s will – is the most critical issue facing churches today. Challenges abound in the number, quality, age and diversity of people pursuing – and staying in — pastoral ministry. The effects on communities across America are profound. They [...]
UPDATED NOV. 22, 2005: A controversial Vatican document restricting the admission of gay men to the priesthood, set for official release on Nov. 29, was obtained by an Italian news agency, Adista, and published on Nov. 22. Other news agencies confirmed the authenticity of the document, which says that the church “cannot admit to the [...]
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