Posts Tagged ‘Baptist’

The black church at a crossroads: Staying alive in the city

Black churches represent the fourth largest religious group of congregations in America, behind only Catholic and predominantly white mainline and evangelical Protestant churches. Yet they are often as invisible to the majority of Americans as the disproportionately poor communities many serve in the nation’s cities. Until, perhaps, they are no longer there. Anyone who cares about struggling city neighborhoods needs to pay attention to a major trend unfolding across urban America. Some large black churches are moving out, and many more may follow.

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Taking sides in 30-year war over gay, lesbian issues

They may be getting older, with average ages climbing well into the 50s and beyond in many congregations, but mainline Protestant denominations have lost none of their sex drive. In what is already a 30-year conflict, there are few signs that national church bodies are any less hot and bothered over gay and lesbian issues. But two studies indicate that some denominations and many congregations are settling in on one side of the debate.

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