By James F. Sweeney The October 2019 term of the Supreme Court of the United States produced an unprecedented number of potentially landmark religious-liberty decisions that were necessitated by the rapid rise of rigid secularism as a major force in American culture and politics. Less than two generations ago, the accommodation of religious belief and practice was simply … [Read more...] about Ethics: Religious Liberty Dominates High Court’s Term
civil rights
‘This Is My Life’
A play that depicts Lynda Blackmon Lowery’s heroism as a teenager seeks to inspire a new generation. By Retta Blaney Six young people walk on the stage of the Riverside Theatre in New York singing “Woke Up this Morning (with My Mind Set on Freedom).” At the end, one girl steps forward to address the audience. “By the time I was 15, I had been in jail nine times,” she says. … [Read more...] about ‘This Is My Life’
Absalom Jones Offering for Two Schools
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry asks that congregations devote dedicated offerings on Feb. 13, the Feast of Absalom Jones, to support the Episcopal Church’s two remaining Historically Black Colleges and Universities: St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh, N.C., and Voorhees College in Denmark, S.C. St. Augustine’s and Voorhees provide liberal arts education to thousands of … [Read more...] about Absalom Jones Offering for Two Schools
Ring Those Bells for MLK
April 4 will mark 50 years since the assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis invites congregations around the world to toll their bells 39 times on April 4 to honor King’s age at his death and to pay homage. Mirroring the way this news rippled across the country, bells will ring first at the National Civil Rights Museum … [Read more...] about Ring Those Bells for MLK
Dean Hall: Disturb the Peace
By Gary G. YerkeyEpiscopalians are obliged to violate earthly laws in order to advance the higher law established by God, the dean of Washington National Cathedral said on February 24. During a panel on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” the Very Rev. Gary R. Hall cited the actions of Episcopalians in the 1960s to desegregate the racially divided … [Read more...] about Dean Hall: Disturb the Peace