I recognize we recently observed the festivals of Christmas and Kwanzaa. And we will celebrate the New Year on Friday.  

I have to admit to you that growing up as a child, I was nowhere near being a student of the Bible, even though I was surrounded by what I now know were the best kind of Christians. They were the love-filled, family-kind of Christians. 

I wish this was original but it isn’t. Back when we could assemble in church, I was blessed to hear the pastor try to address the fears many of us might have going through these tough times with the economy and the uncertainty that permeates the world today.

They tell me that ignorance of the law is not supposed to be an excuse for breaking the law. So, if you ever find yourself in court, telling the judge you didn’t know there even was a law, that by itself, won’t get you off the hook.

I believe I had a revelation about the “Word.” It was just the result of my mind wondering about John 1:1-2. 

As coronavirus cases and deaths rise in the region, many faith groups will continue to offer virtual services.

A beautiful thing about being a Christian is understanding that wherever you go, your past goes with you. You are what you’ve done, as much as what you’ve done is seared into your being. 

I have often thought, heard and to some degree concluded that Jesus was killed because He dared to stand up and speak truth to power. He and many of His followers, convicted by their beliefs, professed and preached that the ruling religious law of the day, although large and in charge, was c…

Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten and a committee of Ecumenical Leadership Council members, recently met with Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski for a private luncheon at the St. Louis Archdiocese in Shrewsbury.

Installation Services for Reverend Keith Bernard Pendilton, the 10th Pastor of True Light Missionary Baptist Church will be held Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, 10:30 a.m., with guest preacher, the Rev. Dr. Jesse T. Williams, Jr., senior pastor of Convent Avenue Baptist Church of Harlem in New York C…

How many people have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? How about a personal relationship with the Almighty or perhaps a personal experience with the Holy Spirit?

It must be hard for many of us to realize we’re in the middle of a battlefield. Satan wants me as a victory trophy, while God invites me to be a living testament to His eternal love. I don’t remember ever being so popular or valuable as to be the prize in such a high-stakes game of life and …

SSM Health has named E. Gaye Woods, MBA, to SSM Health Ministries and its Board of Directors. SSM Health Ministries is the sponsoring body responsible for preserving SSM Health’s Roman Catholic identity and serving as liaison to the Vatican.

The danger of taking this life for granted is not knowing or understanding how precious I am to the Lord and how relentless Satan is at using this world to destroy my relationship with the Almighty. I understand Satan wants to embarrass, humiliate and, like a scorned lover, hurt the Lord. Wh…

A very large part of the Bible is devoted to Paul’s building of the early church at a time 

By Sylvester Brown Jr. Of The St. Louis American

There is one sure way to get the devil’s attention I’m told and have experienced. Just begin to turn one’s life and attention to Christ.

Rodrick Burton, pastor of New Northside Baptist Church, and church member Leah Clyburn walked through the church’s North Point neighborhood handing out free masks for its residents on August 29. The St. Louis County Health Department gave 100,000 masks to African-American congregations in th…

A colleague asked me if I thought God heard some prayers while he gave a deaf ear to others. My answer was succinctly, “Absolutely.” I believe God answers prayers (when and how He wants to, of course) when they are sincerely offered up to Him out of a belief that He truly can answer them.

Pope Francis recently accepted the resignation of Bishop Edward K. Braxton after 15 years of service as the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Belleville, Illinois. Braxton, who had headed the Belleville Diocese since 2005, turned 75 last June, the age at which bishops are required to turn in…

God's covenant is an agreement, a promise between us and Him. If you have lived any at all, you've had people make promises to you that they had no intentions of keeping, failed miserably while trying to keep or didn't care whether they kept or not. You may even be a promise breaker rather t…

In a time of radical change sweeping the country, Saint John’s Church (the Beloved Community) welcomed a new era by naming Rev. Michelle Higgins as the first Black woman to permanently lead the North St. Louis church. 

The Most Reverend Bishop Alphonso Scott, the presiding prelate of the Lively Stone Church of God Fellowship Churches Incorporated, transitioned from this life on July 19 at his home in Ferguson.  

One of the harder things for me to accept is the fact that worry has no place in God’s kingdom of believers. I’ve been told everything from worry being unchristian, to it actually being a sin. It’s difficult for me not get overly concerned at times about a lot of things in life that I have n…

The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson was ordained as the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, representing more than 10,000 worshipers from 42 parishes throughout the eastern half of the state. He is the first black, openly gay bishop in the diocese’s 179-year history.

Having a relationship, a personal relationship with Christ has a lot to do with making conscious choices. 

The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson was ordained as the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, representing more than 10,000 worshipers from 42 parishes throughout the eastern half of the state. He is the first black, openly gay bishop in the diocese’s 179-year history.

The Holy Convocation celebrated every year by the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a massive act of fellowship and worship and praise. It is almost impossible to imagine Convocation with public health precautions under the COVID-19, such as social distancing, especially when raising your v…

I am angry. How can we not be right now? How many more times must we watch a person being murdered because of the color of their skin? How much longer must we endure being told, “It’s getting better”?   

The City of St. Louis Department of Health is looking for a few good pastors – a few more good pastors – to advise it.

The St. Louis Chinese Education & Cultural Center, Chinese Service Center in St. Louis, and the Olive Market recently donated 1,500 face masks to the Ecumenical Leadership Council of Mo-St. Louis Chapter. The masks, which were made in China, will provide protection for those seeking to a…