Experiencing The Word

Schools are looking for chaplains, but the understanding of who – and what – chaplains are varies widely
By Bryn Mawr College President Wendy Cadge and the school’s Director of Research Amy Lawton There is an ongoing push

Brooklyn’s Black church choirs persist amid attendance decline, gentrification
Choirs that once packed Brooklyn sanctuaries now sing to smaller crowds as pandemic-era streaming lingers and gentrification reshapes Black neighborhoods.

Gullah Geechee elders work to preserve sacred songs passed down by enslaved ancestors
By Luis Andres Henao ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. (AP) — Minnie “Gracie” Gadson claps her hands and stomps her feet against

‘God understands us’: Inside a Nigerian church where deaf people find faith and community
By Ope Adetayo LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — It is like any other church in Nigeria‘s megacity of Lagos. A lectern faces rows

ELCA elects first Black presiding bishop, calls Israel’s action in Gaza a genocide
The Rev. Yehiel Curry, bishop of the ELCA’s Metropolitan Chicago Synod since 2019, will serve a six-year term as presiding

‘I just couldn’t stop crying’: How prison affects Black men’s mental health long after they’ve been released
Black men who have been incarcerated have elevated rates of PTSD, depression and psychological distress, research shows. By Helena Addison,

Democratic presidential prospects flock to New York to court activists at Al Sharpton’s conference
In all, more than a half-dozen potential candidates are speaking during the four-day gathering led by Rev. Al Sharpton, aiming to make

As Passover arrives, most US Jews oppose the war in Iran
The poll suggests a growing rift between American Jews and Israeli Jews who have thus far supported the Iran war.

His arrest went viral. Now Rev. Michael Woolf is preaching what he calls ‘Sanctuary values.’
The photo of his arrest during a protest against ICE has given the Chicago-area pastor a platform to share a

With Spielberg’s help, a 101-year-old Auschwitz survivor has become a mighty warrior against hate
By John Leicester SAINT-MAUR-DES-FOSSÉS, France (AP) — After surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau, Ginette Kolinka developed a stock answer to shut down questioners who’d

Pope Leo XIV’s African visit a journey to the margins — and the heart of Christianity
The pontiff’s visit to Africa highlights the growing importance of the African church within global Catholicism and honors the roots

From Bush to Obama to Trump, White House faith office persists at 25 years
‘It’s unusual for a president to continue a signature White House office of his predecessor of a different political party,’
Bible Verse
AUGUST 2026
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.
1 John 3: 1-3, 16-18
Pray
AUGUST 2026
- That God's Word will remain true and undefiled by man and his devilish schemes.
- For strength, protection and encouragement for senior citizens as they navigate through health challenges, generational differences and financial woes.
- For our children, that God's presence, wisdom, and blessings will infiltrate their lives, helping them grow spiritually, emotionally and physically.
- For the world's hungry, homeless, displaced and widowed.