(RNS) — A federal judge in Maryland heard arguments Wednesday (Jan. 8) in a lawsuit by three faith-based organizations against the U.S. government over a recent executive order allowing state and local officials to block refugee resettlement. In the complaint filed in November, HIAS (founded as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society), Church World Service and Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service argue President Donald Trump’s executive order violates federal law and inhibits their ability to practice their faith by resettling refugees. The organizations also have asked for an injunction to temporarily stop the order requiring state and local officials to give written consent in advance for refugees to be resettled in their jurisdictions — even as most states already have agreed to admit refugees. A ruling on that request is expected by Jan. 17, according to LIRS. “In the last few weeks it's been really heartening to see that a positive, unintended consequence of the illegal … [Read more...]

LOS ANGELES (RNS) — Lead pastor Kurt Lange at East Coast International Church north of Boston texted Kristen Kansiewicz, “How do you know if a person is emotionally healthy?” While that is a big question — one Kansiewicz ended up writing an entire book about, instead of just responding in a text — it’s not uncommon for Kansiewicz, a licensed counselor and staff member at East Coast International Church, to get texts like that as Lange or one of the other pastors is writing their sermon. Kansiewicz is also the founder of Church Therapy, which provides low cost mental health services in churches and offers training for Master’s-level counselors specializing in Christian integration. Her model is about getting counselors in church settings — not only to ensure congregants get the professional resources they need but also, she said, in the hopes of prompting pastors to talk more openly about mental health. “My presence keeps mental health at the front,” she said. “Decreasing … [Read more...]

(RNS) — Bishops and leaders of a number of United Methodist groups have announced a proposed agreement to split the United Methodist Church. The proposal, called the Protocol of Reconciliation & Grace Through Separation, would create a new conservative “traditionalist” Methodist denomination that would receive $25 million over the next four years. “The undersigned, in recognition of the regional contexts and divergent points of view within the global United Methodist Church, propose separation as a faithful step with the possibility of continued cooperation around matters of shared interest, enabling each of us to authentically live out our faith,” the proposal reads. Pressure to split one of the largest denominations in the United States has grown since last year's special session of the United Methodist General Conference approved the so-called Traditional Plan strengthening the church's bans on the ordination and marriage of LGBTQ United Methodists. Approval of the … [Read more...]

WHITE SETTLEMENT, Texas (RNS) — The West Freeway Church of Christ, a close-knit congregation of about 280, didn’t get to finish its Sunday morning worship assembly. So Monday night — roughly 30 hours after a gunman killed two beloved Christians during the Lord’s Supper before an armed member fatally shot him — the suburban Fort Worth church came together. A standing-room only crowd squeezed in the church fellowship hall, next door to the closed auditorium where the shooting occurred, to grieve, pray and sing “Amazing Grace,” “Precious Memories” and “It Is Well With My Soul.” “What happened yesterday is not something that we will ever be able to explain,” minister Britt Farmer told church members, who shared hugs and tears before the special gathering as canine officers made sure the building was secure. “There is evil in this world, and evil took two of my dear friends yesterday,” Farmer added. “Not a bullet from a gun — evil. Not ideology — evil.” But the preacher, … [Read more...]

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. described 11 o’clock on Sunday morning as the “most segregated hour in America." This story is one in a series by Religion News Service about the future of segregation and integration in American religion, produced in partnership with Sacred Writes, a project that helps scholars share their research with a broader audience. (RNS) — On a Sunday morning in May of 1969, as clergy processed into the sanctuary of New York’s august Riverside Church, civil rights activist James Forman vaulted into the pulpit to demand $500 million in reparations for the mistreatment of African Americans from white churches and synagogues. At the time, Forman’s interruption represented the high point for the reparations movement. A week before, Forman had debuted a radical proposal for racial justice known as “the Black Manifesto” for 500 black activists gathered in Detroit for the National Black Economic Development Conference. “(W)e know that the churches and … [Read more...]

NEW YORK (AP) — The Lord's Prayer ended with the bang of dozens of fists that landed on open palms after a circular motion and a thumbs up in a joint "Amen!" Not a voice could be heard inside the cavernous sanctuary of Holyrood Episcopal Church-Iglesia Santa Cruz in Manhattan. There was no need for words: From the altar, the deaf congregants led the hearing ones, who from the wooden pews repeated the silent movement of their hands. Music, sermons, prayers, even confessions make up much of the experience of a typical religious service. So, for the deaf, how does faith flourish in an environment that so revolves around sound? The deaf worshippers at Holyrood in the northern edge of Manhattan, say that what might be considered a limitation has strengthened their sense of community, and expanded their understanding of God, and the sacred gift of silence in a noisy world. During a recent Sunday service, deaf and hearing worshippers sung and signed hymns, offered the sign … [Read more...]