“Iron sharpens iron”: As Pennsylvania’s ‘Bible belt’ evolves, clergy look to one another for mutual support
ELIZABETH E EVANS, of Religion News Service, reports that after the difficulties of the pandemic and amid a widening gap between people of different political persuasions, the clergy of one small town in this historically religious region have found mutual support in a ‘ministerium’ dedicated to community unity…
Essay: Buddy Stouffer’s execution was the last in the US for 2021. Will it be the last to be proved an error?
Activist, author and co-director of Red Letter Christians, SHANE CLAIBORNE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, says that “one of the obvious problems with the death penalty is that you can’t bring someone back from the dead when you get it wrong”…
Vaccination responses: In the US, many ‘Bible Belt’ preachers silent on shots as COVID-19 surges
JAY REEVES, of Associated Press, reports on why many pastors are avoiding speaking about coronavirus vaccination campaigns…
At the centre of the US ‘Bible Belt’, Mississippi churches face difficult decisions at Christmas
Ridgeland, Mississippi, US AP/Report for America It always feels special for Pastor Jay Richardson when his congregation at Highland Colony Baptist Church gathers during the holidays – but this year, that’s even more true because of time they’ve spent apart. The church temporarily shut down at the start of the pandemic, and again three months […]
Sight-Seeing: Why I made the “Bible Belt” my mission field
In an article first published on Religion News Service, US pastor DEAN INSERRA – in an adapted excerpt from his book The Unsaved Christian: Reaching Cultural Christianity with the Gospel – explains why he felt called to minister in the US “Bible Belt”…