An Episcopal cathedral in California that recently garnered headlines for holding a Beyoncé-centered service held a worship service featuring individuals portraying giant tree people.

Grace Cathedral of San Francisco held an interfaith worship service last week that was part of the multiday Global Climate Action Summit.

In addition to different religious groups participating in the service, a group of people portraying tall Ent-like creatures were part of the ceremony, including the closing processional.

The seat of the bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of California, Grace Cathedral lists the issue of “climate change” as one of its social justice outreach efforts.

“Climate change is one of the most pressing issues of our time. It already adversely affects many lives, especially among the world’s poorest people and nations,” the church says online. “It is a spiritual and religious issue as much as a political and social one; the earth is loved by God, created by God, in-dwelt by God and we are called to care for it.”

The service garnered criticism from across the…

The Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health published a new study that found that kids and teens who are raised religiously or spiritually, tend to have better physical and mental health as they age. 

The study was published last week in the American Journal of Epidemiology and finds that people who pray or meditate on their own time were at lower risk of substance abuse and depression later on in life.

The researchers looked at data from sample sizes ranging from 5,681 people to 7,458 people. Their participants were from the Nurses’ Health Study II and its next-generation Growing Up Today Study (GUTS) and were observed over the course of some 14 years. 

According to the study’s abstract the group was interested in “the associations of religious involvement in adolescence (including religious service attendance and prayer or meditation) with a wide array of psychological well-being, mental health, health behavior, physical health, and character strength outcomes in young adulthood.”

The researchers were able to draw the conclusion from their data that children who attended religious services at least once a week were about 18% more likely to report being happier in their 20s than those who did not attend services. The same children were also around 30% more likely to do volunteer work and 33% less likely to use drugs during young adulthood as well.

The…

Ousted evangelical leader Paige Patterson returned to the pulpit last week, where he blasted women who falsely accuse men in the #MeToo movement.

Writing for The Washington Post, journalist Jonathan Merritt reported on Patterson’s return to preaching last week at a revival in Pisgah, Alabama, months after he was ousted from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas over allegations of mishandling sex abuse.

Patterson resigned from his position as president of SWBTS in May following numerous controversies, including comments made in 2000 about how the Bible sees women and why spousal abuse isn’t grounds for divorce.

Last week, he preached on the biblical story of Joseph, who was falsely accused by an Egyptian woman of sexually abusing her.

The 75-year-old preacher then talked about the current movement in society where various male leaders in church, in politics, in Hollywood, and other institutions are being accused of abusing women.

“I’m all in favor of the #MeToo movement when there is a guilty party,” Patterson said, insisting that men who abuse women are cowardly.

“By the same token, I have nothing good to say about a woman who falsely accuses a…

KAMPALA, Uganda (RNS) – Thousands of faithful in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are staying home from church services to avoid contracting or spreading Ebola.

“We are staying in our homes. We can’t go to church and worship together as Christians,” said Daniel Sango, who spoke to Religion News Service by phone from Mangina, 24 miles southwest of the town of Beni in North Kivu. “People are afraid of contracting the virus. Many are listening to the gospel of God on radio stations.”

Thousands of churches remain closed in the country’s eastern regions as the Ebola virus continues to spread. Since August, when the latest outbreak was declared in eastern Congo, 137 confirmed or probable cases have been registered, including 92 deaths, according to the country’s health officials.

In a bid to contain the virus, religious leaders and officials have urged residents not to meet in big numbers.

Earlier this year, three Ebola patients left a treatment center in the northwestern city of Mbandaka and attended a church service, where they came into contact with other congregants. The three patients were later found dead in their homes.

“People should not meet in big number either in church or elsewhere,” said pastor Sarah Kalenga of the Church of Jesus Christ in a telephone interview from Mangina. “We are finding ways to end the spread of the virus. People should pray from their houses and God will answer those prayers. We are trusting in God, but we should not tempt him.”

Ebola, which is spread through close contact with the…

Willow Creek Community Church has added a FAQs page on its website that addresses the investigation of sexual abuse women allegedly suffered at the hands of its founder and former pastor Bill Hybels.

The Illinois megachurch released the FAQs on its website Sunday, which talks about the Elder selection process, financial and legal concerns, the investigation, and leadership changes.

To the question of whether the evangelical church is paying the legal fees for Hybels, who resigned prematurely in April following sex abuse allegations that he denies, the church answered:

“No, Bill is responsible for his own legal fees for any causes against him personally. If in the event a claim is brought against Bill in his capacity as an employee of the church, the church’s insurance carrier would likely cover his legal fees.”

Willow Creek has had a turbulent time over the allegations of sex abuse regarding Hybels. Its entire elder board resigned back in August after admitting that it had made a mistake when it initially chose to side with Hybels rather than believe the women.

The allegations go back decades, and accuse the former senior pastor of various types of sexual misconduct, including unwanted sex acts on a…