Hope and jubilation were palpable at the United Methodist General Conference in Spring 2024. Conservative forces that had hammered away at the denomination for more than half a century had decamped, unfortunately taking with them more than 7,600 local congregations, not all of which joined in a new denomination.
Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush spent much of his time at the Democratic National Convention canvassing activists, clergy and politicians on the intersection of religion, culture and politics leading up to the 2024 election and beyond.
On the 55th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, Simmons College of Kentucky announced a new $2 million initiative on racial justice. College President Kevin Cosby announced the gift from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation during a service at St. Stephen Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky. The centerpiece of the initiative will be creation of The Reverend Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. Center for Racial Justice.
In Zimbabwe, Baptist churches, Catholic cathedrals, Anglican or Lutheran seminaries are places where free, high-speed Wi-Fi is lavishly available around the clock because local churches are comparatively awash with money from tithes and foreign philanthropy charities in the U.S. and Europe. Yet these church premises in Zimbabwe are islands of wealth in the sea of impoverished urban townships that dot the country.