Nashville
Reaction to decisions by the Southern Baptist Convention and the Presbyterian Church of America to restrict the role of women in congregational life came from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and American Baptist Churches which both featured women prominently in the pulpit of their annual gathering. In addition, the multicampus, megachurch Elevation Church of Charlotte (whose website identifies a female pastor) announced its withdraw from the Southern Baptist Convention. At least six national Protestant denominational organizations have elected women to lead them in the year ahead.
Washington
The Supreme Court gave two legal victories to conservative Christian plaintiffs. Gerald Groff of Pennsylvania won his case against the U. S. Postal Service which, the Court said, failed to accommodate Groff’s religious beliefs that called for him not to work on Sunday. Lori Smith of Colorado won her case exempting her from adhering to a state law with forbids businesses to refuse service to customers; she had complained about creating a website for a mythical gay couple.
New York
Alliance University, formerly known as Nyack College, announced it would close operations at the end of August. The school, now 140 years old, had been in bad financial health for years which prompted the regional accrediting agency to cancel its accreditation effective this summer. Eighteen other Christian colleges have closed in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic; and nearby King’s College of New York City also lost its accreditation and may be forced to close.
Washington DC
Superior Court Associate Judge Neal A. Kravitz awarded more than $1 million to a Black church in downtown Washington, D.C. that sued the far-right Proud Boys for tearing down and burning a Black Lives Matter banner during a 2020 protest. He also barred the extremist group and its leaders from coming near the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church or making threats or defamatory remarks against the church or its pastor for five years. Two Black Lives Matter banners were pulled down from Metropolitan AME and another historically Black church and burned during clashes between pro-Donald Trump supporters and counterdemonstrators in December 2020.
Greenville SC
MeetingHouse founder and host Dwight A. Moody announced a series of events this fall under the title The Tangle Tour ’23. The events are open to the public and will include a meal, music, art, and conversation on religion and life. Dr. Moody will host the tour and his conversations with guests will be recorded for broadcast on the various social media platforms. Sites will include cities in North and South Carolina, Kentucky, and Tennessee. See elsewhere on this website for up-to-date information (themeetinghouse.net/tangle).
