St. John’s Episcopal Church in Johnstown, New York, has been serving its community through food programs for over 30 years. In 2014, the church purchased an adjacent building, the former city YMCA at One Church …
Die Hard ranks among my all-time favorite Christmas movies. But before you spit out your eggnog in protest while directing a choice “Yippee ki yay” my way, the film’s director John McTiernan supports my position …
The stage version of “The Prince of Egypt” is a rousing triumph of both
faith and stagecraft. It is one of the most satisfying viewing experiences
of the year and a stunning reminder of what can be accomplished when faith
and art are put together well.
The lives of a couple from Des Moines, Iowa, Nia and Katie Chiaramonte, took a turn when Nia came out as a transgender woman. The Chiaramontes, who initially faced challenges within their conservative evangelical church …
In junior high school, I was subjected to the ramblings of a history instructor who seemed almost inspired by the misguided romanticism of the Antebellum South in America. One of his lectures went on about …
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is experiencing significant division over its stance on homosexuality, resulting in over 7,000 congregations leaving the denomination since 2019. More than 5,200 churches have disaffiliated in 2023 alone. Notable departures …
Various faith and humanitarian groups are urging the Biden administration to challenge immigration measures in Texas targeting vulnerable migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border. The groups are seeking federal intervention before Texas Governor Greg Abbott signs …
Harrowing journey with children and grandparents reunites family with husband. In lieu of peace, Palestinian Christians sheltering at Orthodox and Catholic churches grow increasingly desperate.
Janet Maher is out of Gaza.
The Palestinian wife of the Egyptian former pastor of Gaza Baptist Church had been sheltering in the Saint Porphyrius Greek Orthodox Church with her three children and 350 others—but not her husband. Two weeks before the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, Hanna Maher had traveled temporarily back to Egypt, where he had to remain after the war broke out.
Despite the horrors of suffering 43 days of bombardment by herself, as CT previously reported, the family separation is the reason why Janet and her children are now safely in Egypt, reunited with Hanna. But first they had to undergo a harrowing journey that began with tearful goodbyes to a hallowed community.
“I spent weeks with these people and am broken by the experience,” Janet said. “But everyone pleaded: If you get out, tell the world about our situation.”
The death toll in Gaza exceeds 11,000, including more than 5,000 children, according to statistics released by the ministry of health in the Hamas-run enclave and last updated November 10. But save for the shrapnel and scattered remains of human carcasses flying over the walls of the church compound, little of this was known to the Christians inside.
With no television or internet and only intermittent connection to the cell phone network, Janet and her fellow sheltering Gazans knew only the daily reality of war. Most of the day was spent trying to figure out how to procure food, with the young men tasked with trips outside to the local market.
Most often, the day would begin with bombing—sending the people scurrying away from windows and doors to the center of the room. Three times a week, the priest would lead morning prayers. Frequently, they would …Continue reading…
But on Christian campuses, first-time voters are still trying to find their own ways to engage the issues.
Gen Z Christians are creating their own playbook when it comes to the intersection of faith and politics.
Whether they’re growing more cynical of partisan politics or finding hope in the power of political change, this generation sees itself branching out beyond the issues that have long driven the Christian Right.
Younger believers are quicker to name creation care, prison reform, and immigration as the political causes most influenced by their faith, rather than abortion or sexuality. But even those who seek to get involved in politics don’t align as closely with the two major parties in the US and aren’t excited at the prospects for 2024.
At Calvin University, Micah J. Watson has noticed a shift amongst college students.
“I do think there has been a weariness among Gen Z in some of the ways their parents and grandparents did politics in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s,” said Watson, associate professor and director of the politics, philosophy, and economics program. “Some of the culture war practices have been seen as problematic.”
For young Christians who have the chance to vote in their first presidential election next year, the milestone comes with trepidation, knowing the political polarization that surrounded the races in 2016 and 2020.
“Having gone through COVID and Trump and Biden elections, students have seen parents’ relationships going down the tube,” Watson said, “and there’s a fear of expressing one’s views and being canceled.”
Growing up, Rachel Smith remembers her mother adorning the family car with political bumper stickers to reflect both their party affiliation and their Christian values. But Smith, …Continue reading…
In 2023, there is a renewed interest in the “secularization theory,” which posits that as societies progress economically and education improves, they become more secular due to modern science explaining phenomena previously attributed to religion. …