A group of churches in San Diego will gather on Saturday to “pray for healing and restoration in our city.”

The almost 100 churches and over 3,000 people will pray for the city to continue to heal as they wrestle with racial division due to continuing injustice and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of the city’s political and spiritual leaders will take part in the event, which is scheduled for 9:00 AM. 101 local pastors have committed to the event, as well as two County Supervisors and the mayors of San Diego, La Mesa, Coronado, Carlsbad, San Marcos, Escondido, Lemon Grove, Poway, and El Cajon.

When asked about the event, County Supervisor Diane Jacobs said, “We are all so fortunate to live in a county like San Diego. Let’s rise up and pray so that it can continue to be one of the greatest counties in America.”

Steve Vaus, Mayor of Poway, expressed his excitement about the event, saying, “We must use the power of prayer to achieve the true promises of our country. On June 20th, let’s come together and pray for God to heal this land, for unity among all people, for justice in our community and wisdom for our elected representatives.”

Leaders are encouraging people who gather for the event to follow CDC and local guidelines that are still in place. Attenders will need to practice social distancing and wear face coverings. They have also said they welcome those who would like to…

The Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee joined an online video conference with five Black Southern Baptist Convention pastors to talk about race in America.

According to the Christian Post, Executive Committee President Ronnie Floyd said the meeting was so they could all have a “biblical conversation about race in America and the implications it’s having on the churches of our Southern Baptist Convention and our Great Commission work that we are doing together.”

Floyd noted that about 23 percent of SBC churches are “non-Anglo,” and about 4,000 of the denomination’s total 47,500 churches are African American churches.

“As we are growing in racial diversity as a convention of churches, it is important that we listen to one another and to learn from each other,” Floyd said. “We are walking through some very difficult times in American life as racial tension and strife continue to rise to levels of great concern for each of us. I believe that the church of Jesus Christ must answer this moment in American history and this is why we are having this conversation together today.”

During the one-hour conversation, the group also discussed how the church may have needed to act against racism years ago.

“If the Church would have stood up for righteousness and justice rather than oppression and slavery back in the day, we may not be here,”…

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Faith groups are applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision temporarily halting the Trump administration’s efforts to rescind an Obama-era program granting legal protection to hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who were brought to this country as children.

The 5-4 decision, written by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and handed down on Thursday (June 18), blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to “wind down” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which was created by President Barack Obama in 2012 to shield qualified young immigrants from deportation.

The decision hinged on a technicality: It did not prohibit the federal government from rescinding the program, but ruled that it did so improperly.

“We do not decide whether DACA or its rescission are sound policies,” Roberts wrote.

Even so, faith groups from across the religious spectrum hailed the ruling as a win for undocumented immigrants.

“This decision is an important victory in the fight for all immigrants and part of a larger movement that demands justice, equity, divestment from racist systems and institutions, and investments in Black communities and communities of color,” the Rev. John L. McCullough, president and CEO of Church World Service, said in a statement.

“Faith communities across the United States have made their voices heard in support of DACA recipients…

JUBA, South Sudan, June 18, 2020 (Morning Star News) – Hopes that the transitional government in Sudan would bring back Christianity as a school subject alongside Islam wilted when officials omitted it from an academic schedule released last week, sources said.

Doubly disappointed when an expected TV broadcast of school lessons on Christianity was omitted from the government-owned Television Station Khartoum International Channel this week, Christian parents suspected Islamist elements within the transitional government were influencing Khartoum State Ministry of Education planning.

The only Christian woman appointed to the council that oversees transition to civilian government in Sudan, Raja Nicola Eissa Abdel-Masih, told a group of Sudanese church leaders in an online meeting on Tuesday (June 16) that council members were working to resolve the issue.

“I have been in communication with the undersecretary in the Ministry of Education in regards to the removal of Christian Religion from the time-table of the subjects for the Basic School Certificate for the year 2020,” Abdel-Masih told the church leaders.

A Coptic Christian who long served as a judge in Sudan’s Ministry of Justice, Abdel-Masih was one of six civilians appointed to the 11-member Sovereignty Council last August. Christians who have suffered under the regime of Omar al-Bashir, deposed in April 2019, have hoped that she and…

(RNS) — This Juneteenth, Pastor Eddie Anderson will be among many social justice activists, educators and faith leaders around the country reflecting on the role of the black church in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Anderson will participate in a breakout discussion that is part of “JusticeCon: A Path Towards Freedom,” a virtual conference hosted by The Greater Allen AME Cathedral of New York. The Rev. Al Sharpton, Sens. Kamala Harris and Cory Booker and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer are among those participating.

Anderson then plans to join Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles organizers along Obama and Martin Luther King Jr. boulevards for the “Juneteenth Black Freedom March” in South Central LA.

And on Sunday, he has a sermon prepared that will highlight what freedom looks like while commemorating Juneteenth.

“This year is different because of the moment,” said Anderson, pastor at LA’s McCarty Memorial Christian Church. “This is more of like a third reconstruction moment in our country that we are really leaning into.”

Juneteenth — a contraction of “June” and “nineteenth” — honors the day in 1865 when enslaved black people in Galveston Bay, Texas, were notified by Union troops they were free by executive decree. This was two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective in 1863.

Public celebrations honoring the day have been…

Following nearly a decade without new music, Rebecca St. James is back in the spotlight with a new podcast, a new song, and – soon – a new album.

St. James released a new single June 12, one month after she launched a new podcast, Rebecca St. James Friends & Family, about faith and family life. Next month, she will release a new worship album, Dawn.

It’s been nine years since she released new music and about seven since she toured. But St. James – who has nine No. 1 Christian radio singles, multiple Dove Awards, and a Grammy – says she’s enjoyed the time out of the limelight. She was married during her hiatus. She also gave birth to two children, both girls. She’s now pregnant with her third child, a boy.

“I have enjoyed it very much,” she told Christian Headlines, referencing her time away from music. “I felt very called to kind of take a hiatus from music. … I was pretty exhausted at that point after doing nearly two decades of music. I just needed to live out this dream of establishing family life.”

During that time St. James helped her brothers – Luke and Joel Smallbone of King & Country – pen three songs on their album Burn the Ships. (They sang backup for her prior to forming their own group.) She also experienced multiple instances of joy and tragedy – experiences she discusses on her podcast.

“God just did a lot in our family’s life…

Twice as many black Christians as white Christians believe the United States has a race problem, according to a Barna survey that also shows a big difference in opinion about whether the U.S. has historically been oppressive to minorities.

Barna posted the data on its website Wednesday, although the survey was taken in 2019 and “can’t account for any shift due to the present, heated national discussion surrounding racism and white supremacy,” Barna said.

Still, “these recent responses point to a disconnection that has led us to this moment: disagreement about whether there is an issue in the first place,” Barna said. The survey was conducted with the Racial Justice and Unity Center.

According to the poll, 78 percent of black practicing Christians but 38 percent of white practicing Christians agree that the U.S. has a race problem. Overall, 46 percent of all practicing Christians in the United States agree with the statement.

Practicing Christians, according to Barna, are self-identified Christians who have attended a worship service within the past month and agree strongly that “their faith is very important in their life.”

Meanwhile, 75 percent of black practicing Christians either agree or strongly agree that, “historically, the U.S. has been oppressive to minorities.” By comparison, 42 percent of white practicing Christians…