The 900 students at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School in Cordova got some good news Wednesday morning, and some bad news. “School was supposed to end on the 25th, but now it will end on the 24th,” Monsignor Peter Buchignani told students gathered in the sanctuary for Wednesday mass. “That is my gift to [...]

Congratulations to the Church Health Reader , a publication of the Church Health Center, which was among the winners in the Associated Church Press’s annual “Best of Christian Press” awards. The Reader won four awards: A Gold Medal (First Place) for Theme Issue, Section, or Series: Magazine for Fall 2011 Dying Well Section. Honorable Mention (Third Place) [...]

Dr. Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, a well-known and somewhat controversial Catholic theologian who spoke in Memphis in March, died Sunday after a brief battle with cancer. She was 69. Isasi-Diaz’s appearance in Memphis made news after Christian Brothers University withdrew its invitation to host a conference featuring her as a keynote speaker, due to her “divergence [...]

The second annual Joint Dinner between Islamic Association of Greater Memphis & St. Luke United Methodist Church will be held at 5:45 p.m. Wednesday in St. Luke’s Cafeteria, 480 South Highland Street. RSVP requested.

Oak Grove Baptist Church’s basement became a makeshift boardroom Friday. Three dozen members of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare’s senior management team held a strategy session in the church, which sits in the heart of one of the city’s most distressed neighborhoods. “We’re a faith-based ministry of the United Methodist Church,” said Methodist President and CEO Gary [...]

The Memphis-based Church of God in Christ just issued this statement regarding President Obama’s statement in support of same-sex marriage: In direct response to President Barack Obama’s public statement of support for same sex marriage, the Church of God in Christ, Inc. (COGIC), reiterates its position on same sex marriage. The General Assembly of the [...]

President Obama said Wednesday that he now “personally supports” same-sex marriage after years of “evolution” on the issue. In an interview with ABC’s Robin Roberts, the president painted his endorsement of same-sex marriage as an outgrowth of his Christian beliefs.  Read more here. Here are responses from members of the Faith in Memphis panel: Chris Altrock/ Highland Church [...]

Getting your kids outdoors this summer can be good for their spiritual as well as physical well-being. That’s the theme for a special parenting class at 6 p.m. Tuesday at St. George’s Independent School, 1880 Wolf River Blvd. “Summer Experiences: Using Summer Months to Enhance Learning and Enrich Faith” will offer: New ideas to unite summer [...]

Nowhere was National Day of Prayer observed more fervently than in Frayser. A dozen men and women gathered on the blue pews inside the big sanctuary of Union Grove Baptist Church at noon Thursday. For the next hour, they prayed without ceasing — some without sitting. “We pray for our country, our community, but especially [...]

Dr. Mary McDonald, who rejuvenated the once-foundering Memphis Catholic school system by reopening eight inner city Jubilee Schools, is ending her 14-year tenure as superintendent. “I am always telling our students to have a vision of what they will do next and prepare for it,” McDonald said Thursday. “It is time for me, once again, [...]

Dr. Luther Ivory, religious studies professor at Rhodes College, is the recipient of the Clarence Day Award for Outstanding Teaching, the college’s highest faculty honor for outstanding teaching. Since joining Rhodes in 1997, Ivory has taught courses on theological tradition, contemporary theology, the texts and context of the Bible, religion and racism, African American religions, [...]

Nearly every weekday morning, millions of women and men rise before dawn to tackle every single social problem in America. We call them teachers. “There is no higher calling than to become a teacher. It is a ministry,” said Rabbi Micah Greenstein, a member of Clergy United for the Memphis Schools, which this weekend is [...]

William cried more than most infants. He crawled late and walked later. He wouldn’t talk. As a toddler, if he wanted something, he wouldn’t point or try to speak; he’d just try to get it himself. Instead of playing with toys, he examined them. He liked to spin plastic bowls and lids on the floor. He [...]

Wednesday was a memorable day for Pierre Sauvage, a Holocaust survivor, Elvis fan and award-winning filmmaker whose documentaries explore hope’s resistance to despair. In the morning, he toured the National Civil Rights Museum, where he learned more about a pacifist Protestant pastor who risked his life to defend the rights of others. In the afternoon, he [...]

Yasir Qadhi, resident scholar at the Memphis Islamic Center and religion instructor at Rhodes College, is one of three clerics featured in the PBS series “Finding Your Roots.” The series host, Dr. Henry Louis Gates, will interview Qadhi, along with megachurch pastor Rick Warren and Rabbi Angela Buchdahl. The program aired last Sunday on WKNO-TV [...]

The Memphis-based Church of God in Christ has a new Memphis-based bishop. William S. Wright, pastor of New Liberty COGIC, has been named Bishop-Designee of the newly created Tennessee Southwest Jurisdiction, which will consist of 23 congregations across the state. Wright was appointed by the church’s General Board and approved by its General Assembly. He will [...]

COGIC Bishop Bishop Samuel Moore, Jurisdiction Prelate to Brazil and pastor of Holy Tabernacle COGIC in El Centro, Calif., died last week at the age of 80. Moore, who was born in 1931 in Hayti, Mo., organized the first COGIC congregation in Sao Paulo in 1986. Now there are more than 70 congregations in Brazil. [...]

This speech by Joshua Johnson, a sophomore at Central High School, won MIFA’s 2012 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Teen Oratorical Contest. By Joshua Johnson Special to The Commercial Appeal Choosing an organization that exemplifies Dr. Martin Luther King’s principles (leadership, service, moral character and unity) was a daunting task. After much thought, I chose Central High School’s drum [...]

Monday, the Tennessee General Assembly approved 110-9 a bill that would prohibit public school students from dressing in an “indecent manner” at school. The legislation – primarily targeted at young men who wear saggy pants — seeks to prohibit students from exposing “underwear or body parts in an indecent manner that disrupts the learning environment.” [...]

Rev. Randall Mullins has lost a few pounds in the past week. He’s trying to eat more foods by mouth. An extra pound or two makes such a difference in his energy and emotions, says his wife, Sharon Pavelda. Randall continues his yoga stretching. He tries to play a few holes of golf every so [...]