(RNS) — At “91 and a half,” Joanne Rogers remains a devoted advocate for the legacy of her late husband, the iconic star of the long-running children’s show “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” Fred Rogers’ widow shared churchgoing traditions and a love for music with her husband, whose story is depicted in the new movie, “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood.” The film, set to release Nov. 22, stars Tom Hanks and depicts the friendship that developed between Fred Rogers and Tom Junod, a journalist who profiled the TV luminary in Esquire magazine. Joanne Rogers continues to attend Pittsburgh’s Sixth Presbyterian Church, the congregation where she worshipped with her husband, who was ordained by the Presbyterian Church (USA) in 1963 and died in 2003. The former longtime professional pianist recalls that beyond making TV his mission, her husband — who majored in music before attending seminary — was “a very fine pianist” who shared his talent with her at home. “I had a lot of … [Read more...]

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — To get an idea of what Pope Francis’ pontificate is all about, one need only drop by Saint Peter’s square this week. Within the embrace of the world-famous colonnade lies a 12-foot-tall bronze statue of immigrants of all genders, races and cultural backgrounds and a medical facility for the needy that Pope Francis inaugurated during the week leading up to the third annual World Day of the Poor (Nov. 17). “The marginalization painfully experienced by millions of persons cannot go on for long. Their cry is growing louder and embraces the entire earth,” Francis wrote in his message for World Day of the Poor, which was created by the pope in 2016 at the end of the Jubilee of Mercy. “The option for those who are least, those whom society discards is a priority that Christ’s followers are called to pursue, so as not to impugn the Church’s credibility and to give real hope to many of our vulnerable brothers and sisters,” he said. St. Peter’s Square these days … [Read more...]

(RNS) — Faith congregations across California are responding to the state’s housing crisis by sharing their parking lots with people living in their cars, providing mobile showers for the homeless and joining their neighbors in calling for rent control in their communities. But another form of housing advocacy has been taking place among spaces of faith. A number of churches are exploring ways to build affordable housing on their own land. It’s what pastors and other leaders are referring to as YIGBY, or “Yes in God’s Backyard.” The acronym is a play off of the term NIMBY — short for “Not in My Backyard” — a term often used to describe community pushback against affordable housing or other similar projects. “Jesus very clearly tells us to keep our eyes open to those who are in need,” said Clairemont Lutheran Church pastor Jonathan Doolittle. California is home to the 10 least-affordable major markets in the nation and is near the top in cost-burdened households — second … [Read more...]

LOS ANGELES (RNS) — Emmanuel Perez was about 15 years old when he decided the Catholic faith was not for him. Perez’s cousin had just died in a car crash and his mother drove from her Santa Ana home in Orange County to Tulare near Fresno to help prepare the body for the viewing. She wanted to “be there for her in her last moments,” said Perez, 23. His mother, however, was forbidden from getting close to the body. Because his mom had divorced his father and lived with her new partner without getting married, Perez’s aunt didn’t consider her “holy enough” to be near her niece’s body. Perez said it was heartbreaking, especially because his mother devoted herself to the Catholic faith to create a bond with her family while his dad was not around. That’s when he realized: “This is not for me. This is not what I believe in.” Perez is part of of a religion shift where Latinos in the United States are no longer majority-Catholic, according to a new Pew Research Center … [Read more...]

(RNS) — The bishops of the Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church have declared their churches a “safe harbor” for LGBTQ clergy. The Safe Harbor Declaration was announced Wednesday (Nov. 6) as United Methodists’ Council of Bishops wrapped up its autumn meeting in Lake Junaluska, North Carolina. And it comes months before new restrictions strengthening the denomination’s ban on the ordination and marriage of its LGBTQ members, which are set to take effect on Jan. 1. “We are haunted by the actions of the 2019 Special General Conference, which impose new and harmful definitions and restrictions on full participation of LGBTQ+ persons in the Church and abandon robust engagement of scripture to narrow biblical literalism,” the declaration stated. “We do not believe The United Methodist Church has the authority or the power to impose limits on the movement of God’s Holy Spirit in the lives of God’s beloved LGBTQ+ children.” The restrictions come as part of the Traditional … [Read more...]

CHICAGO (RNS) — Earlier this year the United Methodist Church’s top court upheld much of the Traditional Plan strengthening the denomination’s language barring its LGBTQ members from marriage and ordination. But questions about that plan still dominated the Judicial Council meeting this past week in suburban Evanston, Illinois. “The matters before us are neither academic nor abstract. They are where we and the church live,” Bishop Kenneth H. Carter, president of the denomination’s Council of Bishops, said during an Oct. 30 public hearing, according to United Methodist News Service reports. “This impacts persons who are called to ministry and persons who are served by them.” The Council of Bishops had asked the Judicial Council to decide the “constitutionality, meaning, application and effect” of several petitions adopted as part of the Traditional Plan by a special session of the General Conference, the denomination’s decision-making body, held in February in St. … [Read more...]