Archaeologists dig up Philistine artifacts where Goliath may have walked
TEL ZAFIT, Israel (RNS) The Gath archaeological site in southern Israel is littered with 2,800-year-old pottery shards poking out of the ground..
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After the shootings, Dallas clergy will pray, then advocate for change
(RNS) Dallas clergy, reeling from the shootings of police in their city and the recent shootings of black men by police elsewhere,..
Presbyterian Church in America repents of ‘racial sins’
(RNS) The nation’s second largest Presbyterian denomination has passed legislation repenting for “past failures to love brothers and sisters from minority cultures”..
A multifaith crowd packs soap and toothpaste for Syrian refugees
(RNS) The call went out for 600 volunteers to make care packages for Syrian refugees. Nearly 1,000 Muslims, Sikhs, Jews, Buddhists, Christians and..
Methodists nominate 3 openly gay candidates for bishop
(RNS) At its quadrennial meeting last month, the United Methodist Church decided not to take up contentious LGBT issues. But that’s not stopping..
Tiny Kosovo offers a model for Muslim-Jewish friendship
PRISTINA, Kosovo (RNS) Three years ago, Joshua Stanton was walking around Peja, a Balkan city where the skyline is punctured with the..
Last Catholic priest to survive Dachau camp dies
(RNS) The last surviving Catholic priest imprisoned in the Dachau concentration camp has died at the age of 102, more than 70..
Southern Baptists: ‘Discontinue the display of the Confederate battle flag’
(RNS) The Southern Baptist Convention, born in 1845 in a split over its support for slavery, passed a resolution calling for Christians..
Anglican priest joins lawsuit demanding greater rights for Kenya’s gays
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) An Anglican priest has joined two gay men and two lesbians in a suit against the state over discriminatory..
Christians respond to Orlando massacre
(RNS) Christians responded quickly to the shooting rampage at an LGBT nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association immediately sent..
Religious roots of hatred resurface in Orlando
(RNS) One year after the Supreme Court ruled that gays can legally marry across the country, and at a time when most polls..
National Cathedral to remove Confederate flag images
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Washington National Cathedral will replace depictions of the Confederate flag in its stained-glass windows with plain glass but maintain adjoining panes..
A year after the Charleston church shooting, what has changed?
CHARLESTON, S.C. (RNS) A few weeks after a young white gunman killed nine people at a Bible study in a black church..
Methodist lesbian voted down as deacon
(RNS) A married lesbian who had hoped to become a deacon in the United Methodist Church was voted down by clergy of..
Among M.Div. graduates, a new crop of transgender students
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) - Like other graduates of Wake Forest University’s School of Divinity, Adam Plant walked onstage earlier this month to..
Pope Francis holds talks with Sunni Islam leader in breakthrough Vatican meeting
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis has welcomed the highest authority in Sunni Islam to the Vatican in a significant step forward in..
United Methodist conference concludes
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) The debate — over how to debate the rules — became so convoluted that at one point Missouri delegate Margie Briggs..
Kenya Anglicans elect new archbishop
NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) Bishop Jackson Nasoore Ole Sapit, a traditionalist who nonetheless steered clear of gay issues, has been elected the new..
Pope Francis rips ‘bloodsucking’ bosses and prosperity theology
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Francis has blasted employers who do not provide health care as bloodsucking leeches and he also took aim..
Church of Scotland to consider online baptisms, Communion
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) The Church of Scotland will launch a two-year investigation into the possibility of introducing online baptisms, Communion and other..
United Methodists create LGBT commission
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) Amid protest, song and fears of a denominational breakup, United Methodists at their quadrennial General Conference decided yet again..
United Methodist leadership recommends deferral of LGBT decisions
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) In an effort to stave off a schism in one of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations, United Methodist Church..
Catholic archdiocese to offer 12 weeks of paid parental leave
(RNS) The Archdiocese of Chicago has announced that it will begin offering 12 weeks of paid parental leave to its employees, a..
Top nun pushes for greater role for Catholic women
VATICAN CITY (RNS) Catholic sisters globally would be better-equipped to carry out their work if they could become deacons, the head of..
Methodists vote to cut ties with group some consider anti-Israel
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) United Methodists, voting at their General Conference, have called on their church’s mission agency to withdraw from a group founded to..