DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — Duke Divinity School’s first woman dean, Elaine Heath, has stepped down after a brief and rocky two-year tenure marked by student protests and struggles to build diversity on campus. The school announced Thursday (Aug. 2) that Heath would be replaced by L. Gregory Jones, who served as dean of the school from 1997 to 2010. Elaine Heath was hired in 2016 and oversaw the United Methodist-affiliated seminary with some 600 students and six degree programs during a turbulent time in which both African-American and LGBTQ students protested a lack of inclusion and diversity among faculty. No official reason was given for the change, but Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations, told the Duke Chronicle, the university newspaper: “The leadership of the University and the Divinity School agreed it was important to make transition now so they could begin the academic year by working in close collaboration with faculty, staff … [Read more...]

(RNS) — At a recent gathering of United Methodists, organizers sold purple T-shirts quoting the Methodist founder John Wesley’s instruction: “Do Not Rashly Tear Asunder.” In Methodist circles these days, citing the founder’s admonition can be understood only as a plea for an amicable solution to the denomination’s coming showdown over homosexuality. A special session of the General Conference, to be held in February in St. Louis, will decide whether, how and which churches within United Methodism will allow openly gay clergy and same-sex marriage rites, and whether homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” No matter which of three ways forward is adopted at the meeting, it’s expected that some congregations will choose to sunder their ties to the worldwide body of United Methodism. But if schism is at hand, nobody can accuse United Methodists of rashness. Since the denomination’s 2016 General Conference, church leaders have hashed out the question in … [Read more...]

(RNS) — Pope Francis has ordered a change to the catechism of the Catholic Church, altering existing language to read “the death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person.” It vows that the church will work “with determination for its abolition worldwide.” Although Catholics have been generally opposed to the death penalty for some time — Pope John Paul II updated the catechism in 1997 with stronger language criticizing capital punishment — Francis’ change clarifies that the church fully opposes the act. “The new text, following in the footsteps of the teaching of John Paul II in ‘Evangelium Vitae,’ affirms that ending the life of a criminal as punishment for a crime is inadmissible because it attacks the dignity of the person, a dignity that is not lost even after having committed the most serious crimes,” said Cardinal Luis Ladaria when announcing the change, according to the Catholic News Service. Ladaria, who is the prefect … [Read more...]

(RNS) — Nearly half of the estimated 14 million American youth going to camp this summer will be attending Christian camps to escape from home, play games with new friends, unplug from technology and seek God in nature. Fun and faith formation remain the foundation of Christian camping. But kids now enjoy a greater range of activities, including motocross, robotics and theater. At least one camp hosts a weeklong session for kids undergoing gender transitions. “Christian camping gives kids the opportunity to get away, clear their heads, unplug from tech and hear a message of God’s love for them,” said Gregg Hunter, president and CEO of the Christian Camp and Conference Association, based in Colorado Springs, Colo. Hunter said that CCCA’s 860 member camps will host approximately 5.5 million kids this summer, a slight increase from 2017. Creative programming, promotional efforts and an improving economy help attract campers to CCCA camps, which range “from camps run by one or … [Read more...]

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The immigrant parents arrived at Catholic Charities in white vans with their children, their paperwork and almost nothing else. They needed food, clothing, a place to stay and a way to travel to family in the United States. Many were still shell-shocked from weeks in government detention. One father carried an infant who didn’t recognize him after two months apart. A mother held the hand of her 5-year-old daughter, who refused for a time to talk on the phone because she blamed her for their separation. Scenes such as this are unfolding throughout Texas and Arizona as the Trump administration works to meet a Thursday deadline to reunite immigrant parents and children. The government is releasing hundreds of families to faith-based groups and leaving the groups to care for them. The Associated Press observed newly reunited families spending their first day together Monday at Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, which took them in after they … [Read more...]

  EDMOND, Okla. (RNS) — A high-tech Bible in your pocket? In 2018, it’s a reality for hundreds of millions of smartphone users around the world. But a decade ago, when leaders of Oklahoma-based Life Church developed the popular YouVersion app, the concept was new. “We just thought, ‘What if the Bible could be among the very first group of apps?’” said Bobby Gruenewald, pastor and innovation leader for the multisite evangelical church, which each week draws roughly 75,000 worshippers to 29 locations in nine states. “It was profound how simple it was yet how well it connected us to God’s Word in places and environments where we didn’t have physical Bibles,” added Gruenewald, a onetime technology entrepreneur who entered full-time ministry in 2001. Life Church enlisted a 19-year-old staff member named Sam Soffes — now a San Francisco-based software engineer for Lyft — to create the Bible app in 2008. When Apple launched its app store 10 years ago this month, … [Read more...]