All posts tagged: Churchs

What Are Frederic Church’s Stunning Landscapes Trying to Tell Us?

What Are Frederic Church’s Stunning Landscapes Trying to Tell Us?

Published by Daniella Wilson

“We know of nothing,” Henry James observed in 1875, “that is a better proof of the essential impotence of criticism, in the last resort, than Mr. Church’s pictures.” James wasn’t (in this instance) being spiteful. He was trying to sort out a real problem: What did the work of America’s preeminent painter actually mean? Serious art is supposed to mean something—that’s a given—but really, what is there to say about Frederic Church’s Valley of Santa Ysabel, New Granada? You see distant mountains, an effulgent sky reflected in placid water, lots of greenery, and tiny people not doing much besides establishing the scale of an adjacent palm. You can feel the stillness and weight of the air. “Why not accept this lovely tropic scene as a very pretty picture,” James asked, “and have done with it?” A century and a half later, we’re still stumped. Explore the July 2026 Issue Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read. View More Church, whose 200th birthday rolled around in May, was America’s first …

Tent Collapses During Virginia Church’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, Killing 1 and Injuring 22

Tent Collapses During Virginia Church’s 20th Anniversary Celebration, Killing 1 and Injuring 22

Published by Sam Flores

A large tent collapsed during a Virginia church’s 20th anniversary celebration on Friday evening, killing one person and injuring nearly two dozen others, officials said. Heavy rain, lightning and strong winds tore through Moneta, a small community about 124 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of Richmond, as the EastLake Community Church was holding an outdoor service, Shelley Basinger, a spokesperson for Bedford County, said in a statement. The group was in the process of leaving the event tent when it collapsed, according to Abbey Johnston, acting chief of Bedford County Fire and Rescue Eleven people were taken to the hospital and 11 others had minor injuries and were treated at the scene, Basinger said. “Initially, I’m told it was a very chaotic scene, trying to account for the individuals,” Johnston told reporters. Officials rushed to rescue everyone inside the tent behind the church and move them to safety as the strong thunderstorm raged on, she said. Troy Keaton, the non-denominational church’s senior pastor, said he had just walked up to the stage to tell the group …

A Pentagon List Overhaul Puts Mormon Church’s Christian Identity Back in the Spotlight

A Pentagon List Overhaul Puts Mormon Church’s Christian Identity Back in the Spotlight

Published by Sam Flores

The Pentagon’s revision to its list of Christian religions this week has reignited a nearly 200-year-old debate: Is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints a Christian denomination? Most Latter-day Saints do see themselves as Christians. But there are many prominent Christian clergy and scholars who disagree, citing core differences in how they view God and the Trinity and revere a scripture that is not part of the two-testament Christian Bible. Utah U.S. Senators Mike Lee and John Curtis, both Republicans and Latter-day Saints, challenged the Pentagon’s exclusion of their faith from its list of Christian religions. It was part of the Department of Defense’s recent effort to significantly pare down a list of more than 200 religious affiliations that troops could choose from, deleting categories such as atheists, Unitarian Universalists, pagans and Wiccans. “Latter-day Saints are among the most patriotic, service-oriented individuals in our country,” Curtis posted on X in defense of his faith. “They are also unequivocally Christian — just look at who is in the name of the Church.” He also …

Is the continent really the church’s future?

Is the continent really the church’s future?

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — During his recent visit to Africa, Pope Leo XIV was encouraging to a continent where religion, family and community are still vital in the lives of people. But he was also challenging, especially to the ruling elites whose corruption and infighting are keeping the continent from reaching its true potential. Much media attention has focused on the African church’s opposition to LGBTQ rights in their countries and the blessing of gay couples in the church. Pope Leo said he believes there are more pressing moral issues to be addressed, like “justice, equality and freedom.” It was not long ago that the West treated LGBTQ people very badly. It took us time to change. Still, it is shocking to see African bishops support the criminalization of gays and, in some cases, even executions. Similar positions have been taken by other Christian churches and imams in Africa. African bishops also need to recognize that Europe’s desire to be pastoral and welcoming to gays is not that different from their desire to be pastoral and welcoming …

Inspired by Catholic nuns, Kenyan Lutheran pastor becomes church’s first female presiding bishop

Inspired by Catholic nuns, Kenyan Lutheran pastor becomes church’s first female presiding bishop

Published by Sam Flores

NAIROBI, Kenya (RNS) — A Lutheran pastor inspired in her youth by a Catholic priest and nuns is set to become the first female presiding bishop of the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Rev. Catherine Ngina Musau, a 55-year-old mother of two adult children, was elected on Nov. 28 at the church’s general assembly in Malindi and will be installed in June. “This was by the grace of God because it came at the time God needed me to serve his church in this capacity,” Musau told Religion News Service. RELATED: Women ministers resist misogyny with mentors, training, resilience, study finds The bishop-elect will lead the 50,000-member Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church, a Bible-based Protestant denomination with missions in eastern and southern Kenya, where it has a strong following among the Masai ethnic community, near the Tanzania border. It’s known for its relief work, especially flood, hunger and poverty response, care of orphans, HIV and AIDS interventions and the fight for gender justice. The first female pastor in the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church when she was …

Can we genetically improve humans using George Church’s famous list?

Can we genetically improve humans using George Church’s famous list?

Published by skeptic

Biologist George Church maintains a list of potentially beneficial gene variants DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images “Why should only the tall have access to tall genes? And why should only the smart have access to smart genes?… our goal is to give as many people as possible the opportunity to choose their genes for themselves (and their descendants) rather than simply accept inherited genetic inequality. Because genetics shouldn’t be a lottery.” That’s the pitch of Bootstrap Bio, a start-up openly aiming to one day offer would-be parents the chance to genetically enhance their children. I’d say the children of anyone who could afford such a service will have already won life’s lottery, but the more immediate question is: could we really genetically enhance our children if we wanted to? To get a sense of what might be possible, I started with the list of “protective and enhancing” gene variants maintained by biologist George Church at Harvard University. When I asked Church what the list is for, he told me he started it as an answer …

Pope Leo gathers cardinals in first consistory to chart church’s path together

Pope Leo gathers cardinals in first consistory to chart church’s path together

Published by Sam Flores

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — In his first major act of governance, Pope Leo XIV welcomed about 170 cardinals this week at the Vatican for an extraordinary consistory, a gathering aimed at addressing the most pressing issues facing the church. While the meeting on Wednesday and Thursday (Jan. 7-8) takes place behind closed doors, the message Leo is sending is clear: He intends to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics not as a solitary decision-maker but in close consultation with the church’s senior leadership. “I am here to listen,” the pope said in his opening remarks before cardinals in the Synod Hall at the Vatican on Wednesday. “This day and a half together will point the way for our path ahead.” It is the first consistory of Leo’s papacy and the first time the cardinals have convened since his election in May. Shortly after his inauguration, Leo expressed his desire to lead the church alongside his fellow cardinals. His predecessor, Pope Francis, only held one extraordinary consistory during his 12-year papacy, choosing to rely on a …

Church’s vast wealth “not considered” when awarded public funds

Church’s vast wealth “not considered” when awarded public funds

Published by Sam Flores

Public funding should not automatically go to places of worship when religious institutions can fund them themselves, the National Secular Society has told a minister. The NSS has written to local government minister Jim McMahon urging the Government to ensure “any financial assistance for maintaining places of worship is contingent upon clear financial necessity, rather than being granted automatically”. The letter follows increased lobbying from religious interest groups to make the Government’s Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme permanent and increase its budget. In January, the Government announced the scheme had been extended for one year and capped at £23 million, and that individual places of worship were legible for a maximum of £25,000. In a Westminster Hall debate this month, McMahon said that the limits placed on the scheme were “due to the difficult fiscal circumstances that this Government inherited”. Since 2010, the Government has granted nearly £350 million to listed places of worship through the grant scheme. CofE funds evangelism over church repairs In its letter, the NSS said that while it recognises …