When the big news story is the death of Osama Bin Laden and the first chance to preach on this is Mother's Day, what's a preacher to do? A rabbi, an imam and a minister talk about how to integrate the news of the day into the propers for the week.
No doubt you have heard that a radio preacher named Harold Camping has predicted that the rapture will occur at 6 pm PDT on May 21, 2011. There are billboards, web-sites, and people handing out flyers. Many news outlets have picked this up.
A New Jersey priest gets hate mail for having an interfaith worship service with Muslims in his church.
On a July Fourth weekend, a slice of Christian Americana: the cowboy church is a new-old institution that seems to be roping its fair share of believers.
I went to New York to watch the taping of a talk show. You know, those clapping, cheering people in the studio audience. I was in one of those. But this was not just any talk show. This show is hosted by an Episcopal priest named Father Albert Cutié. Father Albert is airing on Fox-owned stations this summer.
Pastor Joe Nelms delivers prayer at Nascar Nationwide - Nashville, TN.
People tend to become less religious as they become more educated, right? Not necessarily, according to a new study.
After Sojourners rejected an offer to purchase ad space on its web site during Mother's Day by the Believe Out Loud campaign, many blogs (including the Café) pointed out the inconsistency of the notion that an organization labeling itself as both progressive and Christian would not participate in a simple campaign to raise awareness of the need for gracious hospitality for all in our churches, especially in this case members of the LGBT community.
A tip of the hat to Andrew Sullivan for directing us to this lovely passage from a recent essay by Tony Woodlief at Image Journal:
Think Progress reports that $42 million from seven foundations are fueling the rise of Islamophobia in the U.S. Some of the names will be familiar to The Episcopal Church as those who funded the Anglican right wing, the Richard Scaife Foundation ($7,875,000 and the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation ($5,370,000).
At Duke Divinity's Call and Response Blog, Presbyterian minister Carol Howard Merritt notes five changes in our culture that every congregation should pay attention to.
It's not a new list, but it is a good summary of what is going on.
Those of us at Episcopal Cafe were among the many to react to the news that Steve Jobs died last night. We included the heartfelt statement found on Apple.com's website.
There was a time when people turned to the Bible--Pharoah or Judas Iscariot-- or more locally specific figures--like King George III or Abraham Lincoln--in their search for a universally understood symbol of evil.
Brian Palmer at Slate wonders how people shorthanded their discussion of evil before there was a Hitler:
A photo of a poster in the window at Nordstrom. Thanks Nordstrom for hopefully starting a new trend. What do you think about "decking the halls" before Halloween?
W. Scott Poole reflects on how horror stories speak to us spiritually.
There is an explosion in religiously-oriented apps. The Book Bench blog at the New Yorker says that scripture and religious apps are downloaded more often than Angry Birds.
The New York Times' Mark Oppenheimer reviews the revival of the musical, Godspell:
UPDATED
Reuters has posted reflections on the Interfaith Occupy Wall Street service in Zuccotti Park, written by Katherine Clark:
David Zahl, College and Young Adult Minister and Licensed Lay Preacher at Christ Episcopal Church in Charlottesville VA, believes the Muppets™ and Pixar™ movies can be vehicles for preaching the Gospel.
Does Santa Claus innoculate children from religion? Can the cultural myth and the Gospel message co-exist in a way that makes sense?
The Christian Century publishes an RNS story that describes how various Christian traditions wrestle with Santa.
ONE and (RED) have launched a digital quilt to fight AIDS according to Mashable.com:
¡Hoy se celebre la Fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe! Recibe las beniciones de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.
Today is the celebration of Our Lady of Guadalupe:
The Rev. Daniel Simons, Priest for Liturgy, Hospitality & Pilgrimage of Trinity Wall Street, writes on his blog on the occasion of the three-month mark of the Occupy Wall Street movement from a perspective of "close proximity":
The Nativity Factor is a short film competition, asking entrants to tell the story of the Nativity in their own unique way. The entires were shown on You Tube, ranging from 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
The contests winners were announced yesterday.
This was one of my favorites:
The Rev. Winnie Varghese is priest-in-charge at St. Mark’s-Church-in-the-Bowery in New York City and she asks the question "why are so many faithful Christians homophobes?"
In The Christian Science Monitor, author Courtney E. Martin notes a distinct paradox that, for her at least, doesn't really demand resolution.
Hell didn't win, but it had a "good year", according to Barbara Bradley Hagerty on NPR's All Things Considered.
This weekend, the Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, appears on the American Public Media radio program On Being with the Dali Lama, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Muslim scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr, and host Krista Tippet. The discussion originally took place on the Interfaith Summit on Happiness at Emory University in Atlanta on October 17, 2010.
The discussion is being broadcast this weekend for the new year. --see below
Steve McSwain, a former Baptist minister, part time Episcopalian and who now speaks on behalf of the spiritual but not religious, says that if the church doesn't snap out of it's collective insanity it cannot communicate the hope it has to offer the world.
Here are five things he says drive spiritual people away from religion.
The Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Jr. Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, is a remarkable presence in his conversation with a Cleveland "shock jock" about the saying "God loves you. No exceptions."
Being single throughout adulthood is more and more common and less stigmatized but many people--as well as workplaces and the church--don't get that it is possible to be single and never want to get married or have children.
A video making the rounds talks about how Jesus came to abolish religion. He says that is possible to love Jesus but hate religion.
Liel Leibovitz writes in the Tablet why George Lucas' new film Red Tails is forcing him to look at the original Star Wars trilogy in a new light, reflecting on the difference between faith and myth.
The New York Times reports on Anna Deavere Smith, the first artist in residence at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco.
According to The Telegraph, Giles Fraser "played a blinder" on Richard Dawkins in their debate this week:
Willie Geist on NBC's Rock Center explores the tension between the need for quiet in theaters, concerts and in church and the ever-present cell phone. He interviews the Rev. Mark Bozzuti-Jones of Trinity Church, Wall Street who shares a humorous story about the phone that just won't stop ringing.
Andrew Sullivan, writing in the Daily Beast, says that Christianity is in crisis. What he says is nothing new and neither is his prescription. But that does not mean it is not radical. His solution: stop propping up the church and go back to Jesus.
The Crisis of Our Time
The New York Times reports on the phenomenon of "embodied cognition."
Andrew Sullivan's essay "Christianity in Crisis", has sparked a number of thoughtful responses, and a reply to one of the responses from Sullivan himself.
Diana Butler Bass, a friend of this blog, raised some issues at The Huffington Post that she believes Sullivan missed.
Nicholas Kristoff, writing in the Sunday New York Times Week in Review, notices a new brand of atheist, ones who are skeptical but respect the role and achievement of religion in human culture
Go ahead, say it. "May the Fourth be with you."
Matthew Cresswell at the Guardian looks at some of the religious expressions that have sprung up using the images and language of the Jedi from the Star Wars saga.
The Rev. Chuck Currie calls for a new progressive ecumenical church relationship.
David Gibson at Religion News Service notices that in America, the Golden Rule--treating others as you wish to be treated--is still at the heart of popular (and political) American religious thought.
LifeWay Christian Resources - a product of the Southern Baptist Convention - recently polled 2,144 Americans using an online instrument. They were asked, "Do you believe homosexuality is a sin?"
