Congregations in best financial health since pandemic, US clergy say in new report
United States RNS The true impact of the pandemic on local houses of worship continues to come into focus – from diminished attendance to changing tax laws to an overall decline in support for non-profits. Yet, according to a new study, 61 per cent of religious leaders report their congregation to be in excellent or […]
Essay: Full-time ministry drains too many clergy and church budgets. Part-time pastors can help
G JEFFREY MACDONALD says – in an article first published on Religion News Service – that the happier, healthier future of ministry is in part-time clergy…
Saving the farm: US heartland clergy train to prevent agriculture workers’ suicides
GIOVANNA DELL’ORTO, of Associated Press, reports on an initiative in which states such as Minnesota and South Dakota are offering suicide prevention training to clergy – a crucial, trusted presence in rural America…
In the US, a letter ties rise in anti-Asian hate to politicians’ Christian nationalist rhetoric
RNS Sometimes a vampire is not just a vampire. Take Dracula. To Lucas Kwong, an assistant professor of English at New York City College of Technology, the popular turn-of-the-century novel and its titular bloodsucker are a parable of white European fear and anti-Asian racism. “’Dracula’ is, in some ways, about reverse colonisation – the fear […]
CORONAVIRUS AND THE CHURCH: AS PARISHIONERS REMAIN HOUSEBOUND, AMERICAN CHRISTIAN CLERGY DEBATE ONLINE COMMUNION
JACK JENKINS, writing for Religion News Service, reports…