Birmingham
Conflict continues in Christian institutions and businesses over how to affirm the civil rights of LGBTQ people. Two very different schools are in the news this week, this month, and this year: the Baptist-affiliated Samford University in Birmingham and the Orthodox Jewish Yeshiva University in New York. Samford denied permission for students in their law school to organize a LGBTQ organization called OUTlaw. Yeshiva, after refusing to recognize a student group called Pride Alliance, announced it would launch its own group, known as Kol Yisrael Areivim, which will serve as an “approved traditional Orthodox alternative” to the student-led group.
Los Angeles
Eric Bradshaw, a Superior Court judge in Kern County, said in an October 21 opinion, that the state of California violated Cathy Miller’s freedom of religion and speech. The state had determined she unlawfully discriminated LGBTQ people by declining to design a cake for a same-sex wedding celebration. This is the latest in a series of court cases pitting Christian event artists (photographers, web and cake designers, and such) against LGBTQ people. The U. S. Supreme Court will weigh in on the issue during the current term.
Washington
Scholars with the Catholic University of America surveyed more than 10,000 Catholic priests across the country and issued their report last week. The study is titled “Well-being, Trust and Policy in a Time of Crisis” and reveals a majority of priests feel abandoned by the men they are supposed to trust—their bishops. The issue is accusations of sexual abuse and how bishops respond: whether they support their priests or not and whether priests have confidence in their bishops on these matters. Less than a quarter of the priests trust their bishops, the report noted, and stated that the “erosion of trust between a priest and his bishop” affects the level of well-being of a priest, and those with more trust fare better than others.
Chicago
More than 400 people, mostly pastors, gathered on the outskirts of Chicago to discuss questions like, What is Evangelicalism? And Can Evangelicalism be Saved? Sponsored by the Center for Pastoral Theologians and hosted by Calvary Memorial Church, the group was responding to the widespread movement to “deconstruct” this version of Christian faith. Evangelicalism and Catholicism are the largest Christian traditions in the United States, each with about 25% of the population. But Evangelicalism has been tarnished in recent years by its association with politics, especially Trumpian Republicanism.
Nashville
Cece Winans was named Artist of the Year at the 2022 Dove Awards sponsored by the Gospel Music Association. She is the first black artist to win that award. Winans also won the award for Song of the Year, “Believe for It.” Winans is co-pastor of Nashville Life Church in Tennessee. Since 1988, she has won more than two dozen Dove awards and fifteen Grammys. The ceremony was held in sold out Allen Arena and aired later on the Turner Broadcast Network. Other winners were Jeff Pardo, Phil Wickham, and Anne Wilson.
