The Louisville-based Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is being asked to approve a statement that “strongly denounces” the Caterpillar corporation for profiting from Israel’s use of its heavy equipment for “clearly non-peaceful purposes.” The church committee recommending the statement is not calling on the denomination to pull its investments from Caterpillar — an approach that drew heavy... Continue Reading

Will the Southern Baptist Convention step up to the plate and hit the ball out of the park this Christmas? The second largest denomination–and the largest Protestant denomination–in the U.S. is approaching a critical choice point in December 2009. The denomination has announced since 2007 that an additional 2,800 missionaries could help it complete the... Continue Reading

from the Edmond Sun Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Edmond, Okla., is a new church-plant of the Presbyterian Church in America. With the recent growth Edmond and Oklahoma City have experienced along with the desire of a core group of people to bring a PCA church to Edmond, the network went forward in developing plans to... Continue Reading

The Reformed Church in America ship is sinking, argues one Reformed believer. “Listen. Do you hear them? Those are the gentle, mournful sounds of a denomination imploding,” Donald A. Luidens, professor of sociology at Hope College in Holland, Mich., wrote in an article featured in November’s Perspectives. “The denominational craft has carried us far, but... Continue Reading

You’ve heard about people taking advantage of Colorado’s medical marijuana laws by faking an illness, getting a doctor’s prescription and getting licensed to smoke pot. But now there’s a ministry where you can get higher than the heavens, smoke your sacrament, without any license required. And you’ll find it right in the heart of Boulder,... Continue Reading

After a lengthy battle, a San Francisco lesbian is a step closer to being ordained as a clergywoman in the Presbyterian Church (USA). The Presbytery of San Francisco voted Tuesday (Nov. 10) to permit the ordination of Lisa Larges, 46, after she stated under a “scruple” policy that she objects to the PCUSA’s rules preventing... Continue Reading

The reserved greeting at Killeen’s First United Methodist Church contrasted sharply with the effusive cries of parishioners several blocks away at the Christian House of Prayer. But across this Army town in search of recovery, the message was the same. Pastors, chaplains and priests echoed themes of remembrance, forgiveness and healing in the first Sunday... Continue Reading

Rep. Lynn Woolsey, a California Democrat dismayed by the House vote over the weekend to prohibit taxpayer subsidies for insurance policies that cover abortion in the healthcare overhaul, is saying maybe the IRS should investigate the tax-exempt status of the Catholic Church following its lobbying effort for the restriction. “I expect political hardball on any... Continue Reading

By Deborah Potter, Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly LEIPZIG, Germany — St. Nikolai Evangelical Lutheran Church hasn’t changed much since the 16th century. Bach once played the organ here and the music remains alluring, but it is the church’s more recent history in the last days of the Cold War and its role in the fall... Continue Reading

Kimberly Ladouceur The Iranian Government passed a ruling on October 31 that the Central Assemblies of God Church in Tehran was to shut its doors for Friday services as they are no longer allowed to take place. This termination of services is being seen as a way of ‘intimidating’ Christians, according to one source, and... Continue Reading