Bishop Dr. Mark Hilton Sandilands, presiding bishop/CEO at The Mission Consortium of Churches International, Inc., is organizing simultaneous voter registration drives to rally congregations to register to vote.
Covenant House Missouri opened its newly renovated Wellness Center on September 8, three months after a local family foundation awarded it $75,000 to expand and remodel its existing clinic.
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.
The Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson is leaving his position as president and CEO of Deaconess Foundation to become president and chief executive officer of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) in Washington, D.C., accepting the mantle of leadership from “the incomparable Marian Wright Edelman,” he said…
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 year was 1959, and I was led by the Lord to move from Toledo, Ohio to San Diego, California. This was a fairly big move, as I was a young father and recent graduate of Oberlin University in Ohio. With the support of my first wife, Jean, the move was successful, and the rest is history.
On July 5, LIVE FREE East St. Louis hosted a Community Prayer in memory of 14-year-old Kyeiontae Stidimire who was killed by gunfire near his home at the John DeShields Homes. The prayer action was led by Pastor Larita Rice-Barnes.
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 Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is ready for the region to take its neighborhood blocks back. It has an innovative strategy to do this utilizing and revitalizing two community institutions with the most basic incentive: food.
The City of St. Louis Department of Health is looking for a few good pastors – a few more good pastors – to advise it.
Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III knows that some local pastors are preparing to open the doors of their churches now that public health orders to control the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted in St. Louis city and county. (He also knows that some local pastors defied the law and medical advic…
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…
Central Baptist Church feeds the hungry even in this period of social distancing. Every Tuesday between 12 noon and 1 p.m., free lunches are given to whomever shows up. “We look forward to serving the community, and this is a small way of doing just that,” the church stated. Central Baptist …
The St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition does not agree with Governor Mike Parson’s decision to lift his statewide public health order on May 4 with the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing.
The financial strain that American businesses are experiencing as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic is also being felt by churches across the country, including in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
When the Rev. Carl S. Smith preached his last sermon from the pulpit of New Beginning Missionary Baptist Church on March 22, he told members of the congregation that because of the Stay at Home orders they might not see each other for a while.
EXPO organizer Charlie Gentry remembers sanitation not being on the list of “things to do right” when he was incarcerated. He is rightly horrified now hearing about COVID-19 being found in prisons around the country and now in St. Joseph, Missouri.
I remember working with a young man who had been incarcerated for a short while and he, by his testimony, got a lot closer to God during this trial in his life. He says prison is indeed, the devil’s playground, if there ever was one. Due to his attempt to walk with God, he claimed to be unde…
Rev. Carl S. Smith, pastor of New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church and 1st vice president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, transitioned on Thursday, April 9, Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III reported with permission of family.
(St. Louis Public Radio) - Black churches in the St. Louis region are grappling with whether to hold church services this Sunday as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow. Some have already shifted to online streaming options.
The Archdiocese of St. Louis is encouraging clergy members and congregants to consider changing certain religious practices to avoid spreading the novel coronavirus.
The HUD Envision Center designation announced for Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church on Thursday, February 27 comes with no financial commitment from the federal government. Like the Promise Zone program, the Envision Center designation just promises help facilitating awareness of and…
The road to spiritual salvation is sometimes so obvious, so apparent that we just miss it. Like most of Jesus’ message, it doesn’t seem possible that by simply changing ones’ outlook, the kingdom is yours.
Although Hope E. Whitehead took her official oath as St. Louis County Circuit Court’s first African-American judicial administrator at the courthouse in Clayton, she wanted the opportunity to show children at her church, Restoration House Community Church in Hazelwood, that with hard work an…
Have you ever wondered how a lawyer feels who knows his or her client is guilty of a crime, but is able to get that person off based on a legal technicality? According to our legal system, the person is innocent. But actually, morally, that person is as guilty as, shall we say, sin.
Throughout February, New Life in Christ Church in O’Fallon, Illinois, will celebrate Black History Month with a special sermon and lecture series that examines the current state of race relations within the United States through the lens of the Bible.
Have you ever wondered how a lawyer feels who knows his or her client is guilty of a crime, but is able to get that person off based on a legal technicality? According to our legal system, the person is innocent. But actually, morally, that person is as guilty as, shall we say, sin.
Although Hope E. Whitehead took her official oath as St. Louis County Circuit Court’s first African-American judicial administrator at the courthouse in Clayton, she wanted the opportunity to show children at her church, Restoration House Community Church in Hazelwood, that with hard work an…
Throughout February, New Life in Christ Church in O’Fallon, Illinois, will celebrate Black History Month with a special sermon and lecture series that examines the current state of race relations within the United States through the lens of the Bible.
Sean “Scooda” Thomas has launched a contemporary urban gospel radio station. The station is called Praise 365 and can be heard online through various platforms, including Live365, Online, Alexa Enabled Devices and Simple Radio/Streema.
Sometimes I have the audacity to think that I know just what it takes to guarantee salvation, only to discover with minimal soul searching how wrong I really have been. Time and time again I’m reminded that I had nothing to do with my own salvation. No matter how hard I try, I cannot earn my…
Throughout February, New Life in Christ Church in O’Fallon, Illinois, will celebrate Black History Month with a special sermon and lecture series that examines the current state of race relations within the United States through the lens of the Bible.
The following statement was signed by more than 60 clergy leaders.
I’ve discovered more about people I thought I knew after being saved than I ever thought possible before I was saved. My analogy is that I saw the world and my friends as old black-and-white movies. Now they come across in Technicolor and Surround Sound. It seems that being kindred spirits i…
Last summer, the Presbyterian Church USA, a denomination of 1.4 million members, ordained the Rev. Deanna Hollas as its first minister of gun violence prevention, a move considered a first for a Christian denomination in the country.
Haven’t we all been taught at one time or another that it is far better to give than to receive? Christian or not, kindness and goodwill are thought to be wonderful attributes of all of God’s people. Forgiveness and mercy are considered staples of the Christian diet. The result, we believe, …
A diverse group of representatives from United Methodist advocacy groups with contrasting views and bishops from around the world has collaborated on a proposed agreement for the separation of The United Methodist Church (UMC) that has the unanimous support of all the parties involved. The a…
The Alzheimer’s Association and The African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) recently formed a new three-year partnership aimed at educating and engaging more than 2 million U.S.-based AME Church members in the fight against Alzheimer’s.
In the unrest of the increasing number of killings that have taken place in the St. Louis community over the last couple of years, we have a fine example of a young man who burst from his situation of having a mom that committed suicide at his tender age of 10 and being raised by a grandpare…
Growing up I was never a student of the Bible even though I grew up surrounded by the best kind of Christians there were: the love-filled family kind. I am now being constantly moved by the Holy Spirit, I hope, to see the simplicity in the scripture I now study. As such, I am finding myself …
Just days before Rev. Deborah Krause was announced as the next president of Eden Theological Seminary – the first woman to lead the seminary in its 159-year history – she served on a panel at a Deaconess Foundation Just 4 Kids Community Conversation. Rev. Starsky Wilson, president and CEO of…
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