Orlando Faith Leaders: Improving Race Relations Means Building Relationships

Is racism a sin? And if so, who must repent? A panel of faith leaders met Thursday evening at Northland, A Church Distributed in Longwood to tackle these and other weighty issues, during a discussion about the role religion can play in improving race relations in Central Florida and beyond.

All Children Deserve a Healthy Climate

All children deserve a healthy climate

Pope Francis' increasingly powerful statements on global warming highlight that climate action is becoming a growing moral imperative for all people of faith. Why? Because climate action is about saving people. The pope's highly anticipated encyclical will come after a long history of the Christian community pushing for climate action.

As Baltimore Burns, Christian Leaders Get Ready to Put Out the Fire at Reconciled Church Summit in Orlando

As pockets of East and West Baltimore erupted in flames and riot on Monday night over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray who died on April 19 after suffering serious injury while in police custody, a diverse coalition of Christian leaders from across the country gathered at First Baptist Orlando church in Florida Tuesday to discuss ways in which the church can intervene and prevent these eruptions before they even start.

Sanford, Ocoee Show Complexities in Search for Racial Harmony

Sanford and Ocoee have tried what other cities only talk about: bridging the divide between black and white. In 1999, Ocoee created its West Orange Racial Reconciliation Task Force. In 2012, black and white pastors formed Sanford Pastors Connecting following the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.

Central Florida Pastors Search for Common Ground Between Blacks, Whites

In an Altamonte Springs movie theater, several hundred members of black and white churches gathered together to watch the movie "Selma." Afterward, pastors led a discussion of the movie. "Most of the blacks wanted to express their feelings about how they felt about it.

Activists Demand Obama Appoint Envoy for Persecuted Middle Eastern Christians

WASHINGTON (RNS) Beheadings, enslavement, kidnappings and rape plague minority religious communities across the Middle East, and it's time for President Obama to fill a job created to address their plight, a group of prominent evangelicals, scholars and other religious leaders told the White House.

Interfaith Leaders Urge Lawmakers to Expand Medicaid for the Poor

Central Florida faith leaders have signed letters to Florida lawmakers urging the state legislature and Gov. Rick Scott to expand health care coverage to hundreds of thousands of Floridians who can not afford insurance.

Christian Leaders Intensify Campaign against Mideast Persecution

80 leaders sign letter. Pope Francis critical of weak response to 'unacceptable crimes.'

What the Climate Movement Must Learn From Religion

Last September 40,000 people attended London's largest ever climate march. This was a big achievement for an issue that struggles to catch people's attention. After all, as psychologists point out, it is notoriously hard to mobilise people around issues that are invisible, uncertain, set in the future and require them to make sacrifices.

How Pastor Joel Hunter helps his congregation engage with Creation Care

Starting with Scripture, Inspiring with Solutions