The Columbian

Churches & Religion

Religion calendar

March 14, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

A weekly list of religion-related classes and events Read story

Pope Francis, center, delivers his message during a private audience with participants to the course promoted by the Penitentiary Apostolic Tribunal, in the Paul VI hall at the Vatican, on Thursday.

Pope finds popularity and dissent at 2-year mark

March 12, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis marks his second anniversary Friday riding a wave of popularity that has reinvigorated the Catholic Church in ways not seen since the days of St. John Paul II. He's also entering a challenging third year, facing dissent from within on everything from financial reform to… Read story

Christopher Schindler plays the new Johannus organ at the First Congregational United Church of Christ.

Bits ‘n’ Pieces: Church’s new organ to get Bach to business

March 7, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

It was the middle of choir practice when the organ at the First Congregational United Church of Christ's organ decided to go out not with a whimper, but a bang. Read story

Grace Episcopal Church in Silver Spring, Md., shown here in February, is undergoing a two-year certification process through the New Jersey-based Greenfaith program.

Churches focusing on environment

March 7, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

WASHINGTON -- It started a little more than a year ago, with an innocuous question during coffee hour after a Sunday service at Grace Episcopal Church in Silver Spring, Md. The Rev. Andrew Walter remembers someone asking why the congregants were using paper plates and cups at their weekly gathering.… Read story

Philip Kuhle, left, and Sam Niehaus, seventh-graders at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Vancouver, take part in the walking of the Stations of the Cross on Friday, reciting and singing in both English and Spanish.

Stations of the Cross with bilingual approach

February 28, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

Seventh-graders at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in Vancouver performed the ritual walking of the Stations of the Cross on Friday with a bilingual twist, reciting and singing in both English and Spanish. Read story

Lent is not just about chocolate

February 28, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

Sometimes Lent sounds like a diet: Friends and co-workers talk about giving up sweets, salt and soda. In the 120,000 or so tweets about Lent so far, everyone seems to be giving up chocolate and social media. Read story

Towson High School student Amara Majeed founded The Hijab Project to foster social awareness of prejudice in the U.S.

Teen speaks out on behalf of Muslim community

February 28, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

BALTIMORE -- Amara Majeed founded a website called The Hijab Project, aimed at combating discrimination against Muslim girls and women who wear headscarves in public. She self-published a book of short biographies of 17 peace-loving, law-abiding Muslims from around the world. She provides online commentary for CNN and, starting earlier… Read story

Religion calendar

February 28, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

A weekly list of religion-related classes and events Read story

Cardinal George Pell arrives for a morning session of a synod on family issues, at the Vatican.

Vatican denounces leaks of documents on finance reforms

February 27, 2015, 12:00am Churches & Religion

VATICAN CITY -- The Vatican spokesman on Friday condemned as "unworthy and petty" the leaks of documents detailing power struggles inside the Holy See and the expenditures of Pope Francis' new finance czar. Read story