3+ day, 10+ hour ago (473+ words) Bishop Reginald Jackson, who for years presided over roughly 500 Georgia congregations in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, has died. He was 71. Jackson took on a new post as bishop of the Second Episcopal District last year that includes AME churches in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. He kept an active schedule, delivering sermons at churches throughout the region while also supporting Democratic candidates and causes....

6+ day, 4+ hour ago (601+ words) The Atlanta Halal Fall Festival opened at noon Saturday and Sunday under a bright clear sky in Grant Park near downtown Atlanta in what organizers hope will become a city tradition. A brisk crowd sampled pastries, meat sandwiches, coffees and desserts from Muslim traditions across the globe, and shopped for jewelry and crafts. Families laid out picnic blankets on the sloping grass and listened to music from a soundstage, while kids climbed inside giant inflated plastic globes and rolled around. Attendees ranged from people in full long dresses and veils to others in jeans and T-shirts. Othman and Layan Awad, newlyweds who heard about the festival on Instagram, said they were looking forward to freely choosing from vendors because all were following the Muslim culinary protocols for food preparation. "Halal" for Muslims means something that's permitted, and is strongly associated…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (849+ words) Thanksgiving is a time of year when we traditionally focus on gratitude. In my family, that involves sharing thanks and grace while sitting at a table overflowing with Thanksgiving fare. Our comments are reflective, to an extent, but also a prelude to the feast. This year, as I radiate words and feelings of thankfulness to family and friends, I am also grappling with the more complex concept of forgiveness. When it comes to forgiveness, on both a global and personal scale, it is difficult to move beyond platitudes to action. I've noticed that I'm not alone. In January, the Children's Museum of Atlanta presents "XOXO: An Exhibit About Love & Forgiveness" as a space for families and children in grades K-12 to reflect and generate conversations about forgiveness. Last year, around this time, the Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta launched 28 days of…...

2+ week, 1+ day ago (642+ words) The closing chapters of Genesis (4950) pull back the curtain on the final days of Jacob " and the completion of one of Scripture's most moving stories: the life of Joseph. After Joseph rescued his family from the famine that ravaged Canaan, his father, Jacob, gathered his 12 children to tell them what would happen to them in the future....