At a time when Christianity is twisted into a pretzel over the issue of homosexuality, Rowan Williams—alone among the top Christian leaders—is trying to carry on a conversation about it. His approach has been quixotic, at times baffling. But the long-term goal seems clear: to enable the church he leads to become fully open to gays and lesbians without breaking apart.
A man who was angry over a Unitarian church’s liberal stances on women’s issues and gay marriage pleaded guilty Monday to a church shooting that killed two people and wounded six others last July. The man, who was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted murder, now faces life in prison without parole for the shooting deaths at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church
There are plenty of Christians who feel theologically and spiritually displaced. They feel lost in the middle between the noisy extremes of religion and politics and long to feel at home right where they are. They sense that it is possible to ignore the oversimplifications of left and right and, instead, move deeper into their faith. But they are not quite sure how to do that.
Barbara Wallraff who writes the blog In a Word for The Atlantic draws attention to the AP’s report, Its a catastrophe for the apostrophe. Birmingham,
On February 11, 1989, Barbara Harris was consecrated a bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Massachusetts, the first woman to be ordained to the episcopate in the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is twenty years on, and today the Church of England debates whether to follow the Americans. And the Canadians, the Australians, the New Zealanders….
The most enthusiastic guest was Richard Nixon, who was then the vice president. From the moment he touched down in Ghana, he rushed about shaking hands, hugging paramount Chiefs, playing with black babies and posing for photographs. He slapped one man on the shoulder and asked him how it felt to be free. “I wouldn’t know, sir,” replied the man, “I’m from Alabama!”
How can we bear to pray for all the horrors of the world? The Quakers have a tradition of having “a concern,” usually seen as an area of good works. They believe that God gives each of us one particular concern:
The Presbyterian Church (USA) has tapped a 13-member committee to investigate the place same-sex unions should have in Christianity and wider society and issue a report in 2010.
How one small parish in the city center of Allentown, Pennsylvania, renovated their sanctuary into ”a beautiful, practical and liturgically useful” space that has also expanded the capacity of the parish to minister in their neighborhood.
The Diocese of Virginia has a reputation for seeking a middle way. But if in the 60s “the diocese could be labeled centrist on issues