The Columbian

Churches & Religion

Congregation members worship Jan. 30 at The Refuge Church in Kannapolis, N.C. More than five years after a Black congregation merged with a mostly white North Carolina church, members of the church continue to want to be an example of unity and racial reconciliation in the American South.

Merged Southern congregation sets an example

February 26, 2022, 6:03am Churches & Religion

Troy Savage says Martin Luther King Jr.’s decades-old criticism of the racial divide in the U.S. church still rings true today. Read story

Paul Demyanik, pastor at Ukrainian Baptist Church, pauses for a portrait in his church's sanctuary in northeast Vancouver. He fears for those in his homeland if Russia takes over the country.

Ukrainian immigrants in Clark County fear for homeland

February 23, 2022, 6:04am Churches & Religion Subscriber Exclusive

As the Russian government moves into Ukraine, local Ukrainian immigrants fear for the freedoms of their friends and family. Read story

Living Hope Church reached its goal of raising $5 million to buy the former Kmart on Andresen Road in 2011.

Clark County emergency shelters open due to cold

February 22, 2022, 7:28pm Churches & Religion Free

Due to the cold weather forecast for this week, Council for the Homeless has issued a severe weather alert for the emergency shelter system in Clark County through Friday. Read story

Father Matthew Hood celebrates Mass at Our Lady of the Rosary church Friday in Detroit. Hood was one of many whose baptism was invalid because of incorrect wording.

Botched baptisms roil church in Michigan

February 21, 2022, 4:56pm Churches & Religion

One word caught the ear of a young priest a few years ago when his father shared a video of his 1990 baptism at a suburban Detroit church. Read story

Restoration Church moves into new Yakima home

February 19, 2022, 6:04am Churches & Religion

Songs of praise drifted from musicians and washed over the 100 or so members of the congregation as Restoration Church celebrated its first Sunday service at a new home. Read story

The Catholic Church said baptisms performed by a priest, Rev. Andres Arango, who served in Arizona for 16 years are now presumed to be invalid because he used incorrect wording on a subtle but key component of the sacrament. (Ross D.

Baptisms by Arizona priest invalid due to wording

February 19, 2022, 6:04am Churches & Religion

The priest was beloved by his parishioners — yet for years he made a one-word ritual mistake, repeatedly, that has caused confusion and anxiety for thousands of Catholics in the Phoenix area now worrying that they were improperly baptized. Read story

A sign outside St. Andrew Ukrainian Orthodox Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, N.J., reads, "Pray for Ukraine," Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. Religious leaders and members of the Ukrainian diaspora in the United States are growing increasingly alarmed over the threat of a Russian invasion to Ukraine and have stepped efforts to help their family members back home.

U.S. Ukrainian clergy, flocks show support amid Russia crisis

February 15, 2022, 10:53am Churches & Religion

Yuriy Opoka prays his wife and young daughter will be safe in Ukraine as he closely follows the massive buildup of Russian troops on the country's borders and dire warnings that they could invade at any time. Read story

FILE - Pope Francis delivers the Angelus noon prayer from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Sunday, Feb. 6, 2022.

Many faith leaders wary of religious exemptions for vaccine

February 12, 2022, 2:25pm Churches & Religion

By the thousands, Americans have been seeking religious exemptions in order to circumvent COVID-19 vaccine mandates, but generally they are doing so without the encouragement of major denominations and prominent religious leaders. Read story

Huntington High School senior Max Nibert holds signs he plans to use during a student walkout at the school in Huntington, W.Va. on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. The protest follows an evangelistic Christian revival assembly last week that some students at Huntington High were mandated by teachers to attend - a violation of students' civil rights, Nibert says. (AP Photo/Leah M.

Christian revival at school prompts student walkout in W.Va.

February 9, 2022, 8:29am Churches & Religion

Between calculus and European history classes at a West Virginia public high school, 16-year-old Cameron Mays and his classmates were told by their teacher to go to an evangelical Christian revival assembly. Read story

FILE - This Dec. 8, 2015 file photo shows Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI sitting in St. Peter's Basilica as he attends the ceremony marking the start of the Holy Year. Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked forgiveness Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022, for any "grievous faults" in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases, but admitted to no personal or specific wrongdoing after an independent report criticized his actions in four cases while he was archbishop of Munich, Germany.

Retired pope asks pardon for abuse, but admits no wrongdoing

February 8, 2022, 8:23am Churches & Religion

Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked forgiveness Tuesday for any “grievous faults” in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases, but denied any personal or specific wrongdoing after an independent report criticized his actions in four cases while he was archbishop of Munich, Germany. Read story