On April 8, Celeste Kennel-Shank, the Century’s former news editor and a current contributing editor to the magazine, was named president of the Associated Church Press.
The ACP, founded in 1916 as the Editorial Council of the Religious Press, is a professional organization committed to excellence in religion journalism as a means of supporting “the life of faith and the Christian community.”
When the unfamiliar pop-up touting a new feature appeared on Robert P. Jones’s Facebook feed, the CEO and founder of the Public Religion Research Institute posted a screen grab to Twitter.
“Wondering what fb algorithm thinks it knows about me?” Jones mused.
The new Facebook feature? Prayer posts. The function will allow members of Facebook groups to ask for and respond to prayer requests.
Shortly after US Rep. Mary Miller of Oakland, Illinois, said in a January speech that “Hitler was right” about youth indoctrination, Jewish leaders from the state arranged a Zoom call. They hoped to help her understand the pain caused by the comments she delivered on the steps of the United States Capitol, the day before insurrectionists breached the building.
A report aiming to tackle racism in the Church of England has recommended dozens of proposals to end decades of inaction, including the requirement that at least one ethnic minority candidate be included in short lists for senior clergy roles.
The church’s antiracism task force was set up last year after Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby told the General Synod there was “no doubt” the Church of England was still “deeply institutionally racist.”
Mennonite Church USA, the largest Mennonite denomination in the United States, has published a free, nine-week study program aimed at helping people think creatively about what it means to defund the police.
Defund the Police? An Abolition Curriculum, which was developed by a team of abolition experts and Anabaptist thought leaders, is meant to help Christians not only frame the idea of police abolition within a biblical context but also think about practical alternatives to policing—things like raising the minimum wage and decriminalizing drug use.
In the wake of the FedEx shooting in Indianapolis that left eight people dead, including four members of the Sikh community, the Sikh Coalition wants President Joe Biden’s administration to enact policies to address “long-standing challenges” impacting Sikh Americans.
To begin doing so, the advocacy group said the Biden administration should appoint a Sikh American liaison in the White House Office of Public Engagement to ensure a “wide range of the community’s voices are heard and acted upon.”
Faith leaders in Minnesota and across the United States expressed hope that their advocacy work for racial justice will gain momentum from the guilty verdict rendered against Derek Chauvin, the former police officer convicted of killing George Floyd.