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☆ More women are aiming to become church leaders. Together, they could change American Christianity
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( Aj Willingham | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

How the presence of women church leaders has grownStudents pray at the opening of a women's ministry class at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 2021. However, numbers across different denominations reveal the same pattern: More women in training, more women being ordained. How women can change the church that isPeople at a pro-women ordination demonstration in New York City, circa 1970. FPG/Getty ImagesFuller Theological Seminary, where Abernethy works, is one of the largest seminaries in the US and one with a noted history of championing female faith leaders. So women and women of color have never really served just one function or one role.

Persons: —, They’ve, ”, Alexis Abernethy, “, LM Otero, Let’s, Eileen Campbell, Reed, FPG, Abernethy, that’s, “ I’ve, Linda Barnes Popham, Christiana Botic, Emily Badgett, Emily, ” Badgett, Badgett, it’s, Suzie Sang, “ It’s, Sang Organizations: CNN — Christian, Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist, Fuller Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, ELCA, United Church of Christ, CNN, “, Fern Creek Baptist Church, New York Times, Candler School, Theology, Emory University, Women, Fuller, Southern Baptist Convention, The Methodist Locations: Southern, Pasadena , California, Fort Worth , Texas, New York City, it’s, Fern Creek, Atlanta, Christianity

☆ Investors in biggest climate pressure group don't like to pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Tommy Wilkes | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

Climate Action 100+ (CA100+), set up in 2017, comprises more than 700 investment firms representing $68 trillion in assets. At stake is whether CA100+ members use all the tools at their disposal to pressure climate laggards. FLAGGING CLIMATE LAGGARDSCA100+ posts on its website upcoming shareholder resolutions and board re-election votes but it doesn't recommend voting against directors at climate laggards. Wespath's sustainability director, Jake Barnett, said that challenging board directors over their climate policies was not being used widely enough "as a method of accountability". In at least one area there is compulsion; CA100+ members not responding to a survey asking for their engagement interests within a year could be delisted.

Persons: laggards, Xander Urbach, CA100, Francois Humbert, bodes, Eli Kasargod, Staub, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Jake Barnett, MN's Urbach, Shell, Wael Sawan, Vincent Kaufmann, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes, Greg Roumeliotis, Susan Fenton Organizations: Reuters, MN, Generali Investments, Exxon Mobil Corp, Chevron, Valero Energy, Warren, Investments, The United Methodist Church, Shell, Ethos Foundation, Thomson Locations: Paris, Swiss

☆ Will a Dollar General Ruin a Rural Crossroads?
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Michael Corkery | Andrea Bruce | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Anne Hartley’s brick house in Ebony, Va., overlooks windswept fields, a Methodist church, a general store and the intersection of two country roads, a pastoral setting that evokes an Edward Hopper painting or a faded postcard from the South. Now this scene is being threatened, Ms. Hartley said, by a plan to build what every small American town seems to have: a Dollar General. A descendant of one of Ebony’s founding families, Ms. Hartley says the discount store — which would be built next to her home — will create traffic problems in the area, with people drawn to the brand’s signature yellow sign and its aisles filled with inexpensive food and household staples. Beyond the store itself, Ms. Hartley and many others with ties to Ebony think it will open the door to additional development that will spoil the character of their tiny, rural community of about 230 people. The name of their website and the rallying cry for their campaign against the Dollar General is “Keep Ebony Country.”

Persons: Anne, Edward Hopper, Hartley, Ebony, ” Organizations: Methodist, Dollar Locations: Ebony , Va, windswept

☆ A University Fired 2 Employees for Including Their Pronouns in Emails
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Liam Stack | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

When Raegan Zelaya and Shua Wilmot decided to include their pronouns at the end of their work emails, they thought they were doing a good thing: following what they viewed as an emerging professional standard, and also sending a message of inclusivity at the Christian university where they worked. But their bosses at Houghton University, in upstate New York, saw the matter very differently. When they refused to do so, both employees were fired, just weeks before the end of the semester. Houghton’s firing of the two staff members has dismayed some of its alumni, nearly 600 of whom signed a petition in protest. And it comes as gender and sexuality have become major fault lines in an increasingly divided nation, and after other faith-based organizations, including Yeshiva University in Manhattan, have argued that First Amendment protections of religious freedom allow them to treat gay and transgender people differently than others.

☆ After Indiana Univ. stabbing, Asian American students say they haven’t received enough support from school
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Kimmy Yam | Kimmy Yam Is A Reporter For Nbc Asian America. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Since the incident, a sense of shock has rippled through the school’s Asian community. The students say that conversations around the incident have been active among the Asian Americans on campus. Karen Cheng, a senior at the university and the president of the school’s Asian American Association, noted a similar sense of fear. As an Asian American woman, she said, public safety concerns predate the tragedy. But the community is also flanked by some areas with white supremacist activity, something many Asian American students are aware of, Cheng said.

☆ LGBTQ students wrestle with tensions at Christian colleges
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +12 min

“It’s kind of a tightrope,” said John Scarano, campus ministry director at John Carroll University, a Jesuit school near Cleveland with “safe zone trainings” as part of its ministry to LGBTQ students. Last year, 33 LGBTQ students or former students at federally funded Christian schools filed a class-action lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education, claiming the department’s religious exemption allows schools that receive federal dollars to unconstitutionally discriminate against LGBTQ students. In May, the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights launched a separate investigation for alleged violations of the rights of LGBTQ students at six Christian universities — including Liberty University. A high-stakes clash between students, faculty and the school’s board of trustees over hiring LGBTQ faculty is unfolding at Seattle Pacific University, a 131-year-old school affiliated with the Free Methodist Church. “I find that tragic.”To students like Fisher in Minnesota, concrete actions will show if LGBTQ people can truly be welcomed on Christian campuses.

☆ Suspected vandals leave thousands in the dark in North Carolina
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Rich Mckay | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Outages began around 7 p.m. Saturday, and utility workers found evidence at multiple electric substations that "indicated intentional vandalism had occurred," Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields said in a statement. But Brooks told NBC News that he could not further describe the nature of the possible crime. In Pinehurst, the county's largest community of about 20,000 residents, church was canceled at the Pinehurst United Methodist Church, which holds three services every Sunday. "Read your Bible, pray...and stay safe," church leaders posted on its Facebook, leaving open whether its Christmas concert would go on in the late afternoon. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

[1/3] Duke Energy workers gather as they plan how to repair a crippled electrical substation that they said was hit by gunfire after the Moore County Sheriff said that vandalism caused a mass power outage, in Carthage, North Carolina, U.S. December 4, 2022. REUTERS/Jonathan DrakeDec 4 (Reuters) - Residents of a central North Carolina county faced a second night of freezing weather without power on Sunday after vandals opened fire on two electric substations in what authorities called a "targeted attack." A motive for the Saturday night damage spree wasn't clear, said Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields. The lights went dark at about 7 p.m. Saturday for 40,000 homes and businesses in Moore County. Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta and reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Black leaders on Buffalo’s East Side are building markets to address food insecurity
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Claretta-Bellamy-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Claretta Bellamy | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

The only supermarket on the East Side is Tops, where a white gunman killed 10 Black residents in May. AHRIE / African Heritage Food Co-op“It’s about gainful employment,” Wright, 43, said in October of his future grocery store. African Heritage Food Co-Op“That’s why I don’t call this a food desert,” Wright said. One organization, the Buffalo Black Billion, is led by a local pastor, Michael Chapman of St. John and Gethsemane Missionary Baptist churches. African Heritage Food Co-OpBy providing healthy food, Chapman said he also wants to increase the lifespan of Black residents in the community, for whom health disparities are all too familiar.

☆ Midterm elections live updates: Pennsylvania races, New Hampshire Senate race too early to call
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Brandy Zadrozny | Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Sahil-Kapur-Headshot.Jpg | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +109 min

Share this -Link copiedWisconsin Senate and governor's races too early to call It is too early to call the Senate and gubernatorial races in Wisconsin, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedNew Hampshire Senate race too early to call The Senate race in New Hampshire is too early to call, according to NBC News. Share this -Link copiedPennsylvania Senate and governor races are too early to call After polls closed at 8 p.m. While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

While Maricopa County election officials initially categorized the problem as a “hiccup,” it took hours before a solution was identified early Tuesday afternoon. According to the poll, 46% of voters said their family’s financial situation is worse than it was two years ago. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said.

By the end of Election Day, approximately 21,000 total interviews will be conducted. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said. Share this -Link copiedSunny weather in most battleground states on Election Day It’s a bright and sunny Election Day in many battleground states!

How the midterm election outcome could impact Biden's agenda Nov. 8, 2022 02:02 Read the full story here. Civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP, filed a similar complaint Friday against state election officials. The app and portal had been down for part of the morning and the state's election hotline also briefly experienced issues. In Columbus County, election officials allegedly were harassed by an “observer following one-stop workers” and photographing or filming the workers, it said. Share this -Link copiedSunny weather in most battleground states on Election Day It’s a bright and sunny Election Day in many battleground states!

Both have highlighted policies that limit health care access in Georgia, such as its new six-week abortion ban and a decision by Republican Gov. Georgians have witnessed health services dwindle before and during the pandemic, straining the state’s medical system even as regional health care costs rise. Nearly half of Georgia’s 159 counties have no OB-GYN, according to the Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce. Some see the shutdowns as exacerbating racial disparities in health care access in Atlanta, where a 2018 Trulia analysis found 25.3 health care providers per 10,000 residents in the city’s majority-white census tracts, compared with 9.8 in majority-Black tracts. “I’m looking at somebody that is going to be for the community,” she says, “that’s going to help us with the health care — bring it closer to us.”

☆ Maryland Democratic gubernatorial nominee Wes Moore says MAGA can't 'define what it means to be a patriot'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-29 | by ( John L. Dorman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Maryland gubernatorial nominee Wes Moore is seeking to reshape how patriotism and service are discussed in the public arena. Moore, a Democrat, told Insider he won't cede the definition of patriotism to any one group or movement. Leave no one behind, ever," Moore told the crowd. "Wes Moore's campaign in so many ways is so different from the last Democratic nominee, who really focused on the progressive wing of the party. "From a political standpoint, it has also insulated Wes Moore against Dan Cox trying to say he's some sort of far-left socialist.

☆ Lawmaker complaint forces Tennessee pride festival indoors
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Jo Yurcaba | Jo Yurcaba Is A Reporter For Nbc Out. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

The drag show at a Tennessee pride festival will go on Saturday — but not in the way organizers had planned it. Darin Hollingsworth, a Jackson Pride Committee member, said organizers were “horribly disappointed,” because they know local LGBTQ youths would have felt supported at the drag performance. “But we will be in contempt if we even allow parents to bring in their child, so we won’t.”Hollingsworth said the pride event had been in the works for a year, and Jackson Pride had advertised it repeatedly. The event began to face backlash after a Sept. 17 Facebook post from Republican state Rep. Chris Todd. As a result, the Jackson Pride Committee decided to move the festival, including the drag show, into the Civic Center and to increase security measures by, among other things, having a metal detector.

☆ South Africa mine dam collapse highlights patchy regulation
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-23 | by ( Nelson Banya | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A general view of the aftermath of a mine dam wall collapse in Jagersfontein, South Africa, September 12, 2022. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe disaster has raised questions about who should be responsible for tailings dams oversight in South Africa and across the world. The Jagersfontein dam burst follows the brumadinho tailings dam collapse in Brazil nearly four years ago, which killed hundreds when a Vale SA (VALE3.SA)-owned dam collapsed. South Africa's government, mining industry and experts are still in the process of updating the country's tailings code to align with the global standard, the Minerals Council of South Africa said. The experts say, for example, that the global standards require a clearer responsibility and accountability structure than the current mine residue code in South Africa.

☆ Opinion: The tyranny of Idi Amin -- and limits of a British welcome
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-18 | by ( Opinion Lucy Fulford | Lucy Fulford | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

She is the author of a forthcoming book, "The Exiled: Empire, Immigration and How Ugandan Asians Changed Britain." In early August 1972, Uganda's brutal military dictator Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of the country's entire Asian population -- including my grandparents. And a British welcomeBut when Amin gave his expulsion order, the British government didn't leap into action. Prince Philip meets Ugandan Asians at a British reception center in Kent, November 1972. Lucy FulfordFormer Prime Minister David Cameron has referred to Ugandan Asians as "one of the most successful groups of immigrants anywhere in the history of the world," a legacy many British Ugandan Asians are rightly proud of.

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