Are faith communities adequately supporting families with disabled children?

I’m working on a story right now about a Columbia woman’s journey to find a church home that loves and accepts her as a single mother of two children, one of whom has autism. Her journey has been long and full of heartache, but she has found a congregation that is willing to learn how [...]

Read Full Post »

When the Saints Go Marchin’ In

This weekend saw the proclamation of five new Catholic saints, the latest additions to a long, rich tradition of Catholics who have exemplified faith and loving service or have been martyred for their faith. Pope Benedict XVI celebrated a special Mass commemorating their canonizations today in Rome, calling the new saints “shining examples” of Christian love [...]

Read Full Post »

SNAP advocates for church sex-abuse victims

Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, held two sidewalk news conferences Wednesday, one outside of the Catholic Diocese of Jefferson City and the other in front of Columbia’s downtown police station. After several alleged church sex-abuse cases have come to light in Missouri recently, SNAP hand-delivered a letter to [...]

Read Full Post »

Faith and health care: a starting point

If you drove down Green Meadows Road on Saturday night, you might have seen a small circle of people standing on the lawn of the serenely lit Rock Bridge Christian Church, holding candles whose flames danced in the breeze of the unseasonably cool evening. If you stood on that lawn with them, you might have [...]

Read Full Post »

thoughts on a Christian Science piece?

I’ve been thinking of writing about Columbia’s First Church of Christ, Scientist for a while now; I’ve visited the church twice this summer and have spoken with members of the congregation about upcoming events. But I’d rather do something less newsy, and more thematic. What would people reading this blog and/or the Missourian like to [...]

Read Full Post »

A new side to Pastor Yonker

When you think of a pastor, a gentle grandfatherly figure might pop into your mind. On the surface, this is Pastor John Yonker. But on the bike, he is anything but gentle. This morning, I accompanied Yonker, pastor at First Christian Church in Columbia, for the first few miles of his ride. When I say [...]

Read Full Post »

Where faith and medicine intersect

It seems that it’s easy to find news stories about people who feel persecuted for practicing the religion of their choice. The latest might be a Minnesota woman who has put her religious practices in the spotlight by refusing medical treatment for her teenage son, who has cancer. The story has been in the headlines [...]

Read Full Post »