It takes courage for mother to not only bear children, but also to nurture us and continually sustain them.
The recent election of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina's first female bishop aims to send a bold and resounding message: The Episcopal Church welcomes all.
It has been said that man is the only creature who is able to anticipate his own death. If that’s true, we should be inspired to seek a passion for living beyond the mundane.
Two women who grew up Christian have been shaped by one of the most world-renowned spiritual leaders from the Eastern world. They both have brought their experiences back to the Bible Belt of South Carolina.
Sometimes the only way we can save others is to be sure we ourselves are safe.
An early model of self-sufficiency within the African American community, the historic town of Lincolnville is the launch site for what organizers hope becomes a national initiative to address food insecurity.
Charleston's city, law enforcement and clergy leaders stood together in a call for peace and unity in the city in anticipation of the verdict involving a former Minnesota officer who is facing murder charges over the death of a Black man.
Music isn’t born of the feet, hips or arms. It’s born of the soul. It’s born of the heart. It’s truly spiritual.
The church is looking to expand those efforts with the creation of a new nonprofit and plans to build a new homeless shelter on Remount Road, a busy North Charleston corridor.
The complications of COVID-19 are expounded in low-income countries like Honduras, where 2 out of 3 people live off less than $2.50 a day.
Resurrection power is all around us. Open your heart. It’s no joke, no scam, no fake news. The resurrection remains the ultimate prank played against evil in all of time.
Churches that couldn't physically worship together last Easter are looking forward to in-person worship services that somewhat mirror the excitement and fellowship Christians are accustomed to on Resurrection Sunday.
Purple-colored cloth draped over wooden crosses, gold-and-white vestments worn by clergy, black drapery across pulpit lecterns, white Easter lilies: These are some of colors and symbols that help bring life to the most significant celebration in the Christian tradition.
A Greenville ministry, Soteria Community Development Corp., provides formerly incarcerated men with housing, income, job and financial literacy training, health care, transportation, Christian fellowship and more. The nonprofit itself is an unlikely success story.
People ask Chaplain Burkes where he gets his column ideas. His answer? "From news events, family stories, chaplain experience or the Bible. Sometimes I don’t have any idea and that’s why I write columns like this one."
In one sweeping moment, before the eyes of my firstborn, the Southern Baptist Convention boldly declared that God does not want women pastors. And then she said, “So dad, how much longer are WE going to be Southern Baptist?”
Grippon Boags has sought to honor the memory of Herbert Alonzo Brown over the years. The Post and Courier reported on a fountain dedication to Brown in 1999. And Boags erected a roadside cross off S.C. Highway 174 next to the site of the former store where Brown died.
Self-awareness and recognition of systemic racism as a byproduct of culture should instill the personal search for a more mature awareness of what words and images, and songs in this case, hurt people and create separation among them.
Now under new leadership, Tricounty Family Ministries wants to expand its services and begin addressing another crisis in the Lowcountry: homelessness.
“Leaving it up to God” in the context of palliative care can often be an expression of procrastination rather than faith.
The building at 101 Jean Wells Drive in Goose Creek is the first permanent location for the region's Sikh community. Organizers say the new gurdwara, as Sikh worship spaces are called, is the third in the state.
Space exploration deserves our blessing because it inspires us to ask the God questions.
Sharing faith is the act of exposing people to hope, not to fear or hate. Fear doesn’t work. Spreading fear, even in jest, isn't the best way to share your faith.
Rabbi Evan Ravski couldn't have anticipated during rabbinical school that his first time leading a synagogue would be during a global crisis. But the religious leader sees it as an opportunity to start new worship traditions at Synagogue Emanu-El.
At the risk of going full Sunday-school teacher on you, Norris Burkes takes a different tack and examines the words people mistakenly credit to the Bible.
Bill Christian left that position in January, moving into a new role at St. Philip's Church as the point person for pastoral care. He leaves behind a legacy of having helped impact the lives of men who came to the mission seeking help during crises.
As a kid, if I ever dared to bring church gossip to our family dinner table, my mom was quick to challenge my sources: “How do you know that? Did a little bird tell you?” Her question has its roots in Ecclesiastes 10:20.
Anti-vaxers, like most conspiracy theorists, share the same quasi-religious sensibility as did the Gnostics. In this secular age, they use their secrets and their exclusive discoveries as a substitute for faith.
Take the Victory Vax, people.
Without a way to gather together in person during the pandemic, both vital manifestations of community within Charleston area houses of worship have been suffering.
"We might know the right time to die. The perfect time to die. And it’s not connected to a number.
I call it the age of gratitude.
It’s the age when you finally see that you’ve had fullness in your life. You know you’ve lived some dreams and you are thoroughly grateful."
The Charleston Democrat's 23rd Martin Luther King Jr. 2021 Portrait Awards will be virtual this year, scheduled for Tuesday at 2:15 p.m.
The historical society's event will touch on various aspects of Judaism and America's bloodiest war, including Jews who lived in the North and South during that time, fought on both sides of the war and owned enslaved people.
JACK. By Marilynne Robinson. Farrar Strauss and Giroux. 309 pages. $27.
Matthew 26:52 says, "And suddenly, one of those who were with Jesus stretched out his hand and drew his sword, struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. But Jesus said to him, 'Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.'"
That’s one of those hard sayings of Jesus, especially for military chaplains like myself. But in context, Jesus was rebuking those who wanted to force God’s Kingdom into promoting an earthly government.
Days before the national holiday to honor King, Jackson said she isn't surprised that the Lowcountry's annual celebration has lasted.
The Echo Project has been making progress raising funds and gaining support from scholars. Its organizers hope the renovation project will be completed by the end of 2022.
Few English works rival the King James Bible, a text that serves as one of the most familiar versions Christian holy writ.
If you’re wondering why the stores are out of toilet paper again, it may be because a certain chaplain you know stole at least one package recently.
Following a year that saw increased attention among faith communities to addressing racism, Charleston-area faith leaders are hoping to strike a harmonious tone around themes of love and justice to begin 2021.
The Charleston Interreligious Council, which includes representatives from seven different faith groups, launched its second annual Interfaith Harmony Month on Monday as the city proclaimed January as a time to focus on religious tolerance and liberty.
This is not the optimism that should start a New Year’s column. But to adapt a car slogan, “This ain’t your father’s New Year’s cheer.”
Several South Carolina Baptist pastors said a recent joint statement by six Southern Baptist seminary presidents around race has threatened that progress, calling the letter unwise.
As required by the Vatican, Guglielmone will submit a letter of resignation Wednesday, which is Guglielmone's 75th birthday, the diocese announced Monday.
This isn’t a humbug column. I simply want to take a look at our traditional stories that aren’t as biblical as we think.
The school sought to give the impression that religion was not a formidable part of its fabric. A recent student research project tied to the school's 250th anniversary has challenged that assumption.
The federal initiative would link together various organizations, including the Gullah Society in Charleston, in an effort to better record and preserve Black cemeteries. Meanwhile, local advocates of a municipal archaeological ordinance continue to hold out hope.
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs has officially recognized just one Native tribe in South Carolina. The state has acknowledged nine, including the Waccamaw. But state recognition affords few concrete benefits, so the Waccamaw are seeking what's called "federal acknowledgment," which affords them special status and certain rights and privileges.
More than any other time of the year, music anchors us to the holidays.
Oh, how I wish there was a professional disentangler to help make sense of the messy maze of Christmas 2020.
Photographers at The Post and Courier documented dozens of doorways in Charleston and Mount Pleasant, capturing a variety of approaches that welcome holiday visitors into homes, businesses and churches.
Columbia-based St. Martin's in-the-Fields Episcopal Church created a Holy Land pilgrimage app for anyone to virtually tour the Middle Eastern sites of Christian significance, allowing parishioners to dive into the birth narrative during a holiday season where many are physically distanced.
My brother, an ardent no-masker, is a COVID patient on a ventilator in a Las Vegas ICU. He wouldn’t believe me when I told him COVID-19 was real.
Due to the pandemic, many families are getting creative and will be getting store-bought foods, and restaurant and Uber Eats gift cards. Volunteers will wear masks and be socially distant when they deliver goodies on Christmas Day, but the goal remains intact.