The Columbian

Churches & Religion

Vancouver donates wood to Friends of the Carpenter

July 21, 2021, 5:13pm Churches & Religion

Vancouver Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle chats with Brian Trembley of Sticks Custom Portable Bandsaw Milling while visiting the nonprofit Friends of the Carpenter on Wednesday morning. Read story

FILE - In this July 14, 2021 file photo, Pope Francis stops to greet police that escorted him as he arrives at the Vatican after leaving the hospital 10 days after undergoing planned surgery to remove half his colon. The Vatican on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, released a grueling travel itinerary for Pope Francis' first post-surgery foreign trip, scheduling around-the-clock encounters and hop-scotching, in-country flights for his Sept. 12-15 visit to Hungary and Slovakia.

Grueling itinerary set for pope’s first post-surgery trip

July 21, 2021, 8:43am Churches & Religion

The Vatican on Wednesday announced a grueling itinerary for Pope Francis’ first post-surgery foreign trip, scheduling around-the-clock encounters and hopscotching flights for his Sept. 12-15 visit to Hungary and Slovakia. Read story

In this Wednesday, June 30, 2021, photo taken from video, Jason Hoelzel, religious literacy and media specialist of the DeeperDive Institute, top left, moderates a panel on youth advocacy and ministry, hosted by GLAAD and Beloved Arise, a Christian nonprofit dedicated to celebrating and empowering LGBTQ youth of faith, during the second annual virtual Queer Youth of Faith Day. The daylong online event included panels of LGBTQ teens across religious backgrounds, seminars on queer history and churches, podcasts and concerts.

Faith unites LGBTQ youth

July 17, 2021, 6:00am Churches & Religion

Jessika Sessoms grew up in a conservative Black evangelical family, attended Christian schools and often heard that being gay was an abomination, until she understood that she was queer while studying to become a missionary. Read story

Pope Francis stops to greet police that escorted him as he arrives at the Vatican after leaving the hospital on his Ford, 10 days after undergoing planned surgery to remove half his colon Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Francis had half of his colon removed for a severe narrowing of his large intestine on July 4, his first major surgery since he became pope in 2013.

Pope Francis returns to Vatican 10 days after surgery

July 14, 2021, 8:37am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis was discharged from a Rome hospital and returned home to the Vatican on Wednesday, 10 days after undergoing surgery to remove half his colon. Read story

Alex Churchman takes part in a trans march and rally in Arkansas. The 13-year-old says he found support from Seattle-based Beloved Arise, an organization for queer youth of faith around the country and world, when he felt rejected by his church.

Seattle nonprofit targets queer youth of faith

July 11, 2021, 6:05am Churches & Religion

It was Alex Churchman’s mother who found Beloved Arise first. She was searching for a way to help her 13-year-old, who had been questioning his gender identity and hospitalized after an attempt to harm himself. Read story

A member of Waldoboro United Methodist Church sings a hymn during a service, Sunday, June 20, 2021, in Waldoboro, Maine. The drop in attendance at the church, in part due to COVID-19, forced its closure. The last sermon was on June 27. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) (Robert F.

Pandemic speeds demise of churches

July 10, 2021, 6:00am Churches & Religion

With millions of people having stayed home from places of worship during the coronavirus pandemic, struggling congregations have one key question: How many of them will return? Read story

FILE - In this March 16, 2019 file photo, South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit meets Pope Francis during their private audience at the Vatican. Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury marked the 10th anniversary of the independence of South Sudan on Friday, July 9, 2021, by urging its rival political leaders to make the necessary personal sacrifices to consolidate peace.

Pope tells South Sudan leaders to make sacrifices for peace

July 9, 2021, 8:17am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis and the Archbishop of Canterbury marked the 10th anniversary of the independence of South Sudan on Friday by urging its rival political leaders to make the necessary personal sacrifices to consolidate peace. Read story

FILE - In this Jan. 26, 2018 file photo, Haiti President Jovenel Moise meets with Pope Francis during a private audience at the Vatican. Pope Francis is sending condolences from the hospital to Haiti following what he said was the "heinous assassination" of its president.

Pope, from hospital, sends condolences to Haiti after attack

July 8, 2021, 8:21am Churches & Religion

Pope Francis on Thursday sent his condolences to Haiti following what he said was the “heinous assassination” of President Jovenal Moïse. Read story

FILE - In this Sunday, July 4, 2021 file photo, Pope Francis waves to the crowd as he arrives to recite the Angelus noon prayer from the window of his studio overlooking St.Peter's Square, at the Vatican. In a brief announcement Sunday afternoon the Vatican said Pope Francis has gone to a Rome hospital for scheduled surgery for a stenosis, or restriction, of the large intestine.

Vatican: Pope alert and well a day after intestinal surgery

July 5, 2021, 8:48am Churches & Religion

The Vatican said Monday that Pope Francis is “in good condition, alert” and breathing on his own, a day after he underwent a three-hour operation that involved removing half his colon. Read story