1+ week, 12+ hour ago (408+ words) Williams Memorial C.M.E. church handed out Thanksgiving meal kits complete with a turkey and classic sides to feed 10,000 people this holiday. Williams Memorial C.M.E. Church in High Point distributed Thanksgiving meal kits to 10,000 people Saturday, an effort that has grown increasingly important due to current economic challenges. "It takes faith for us to believe that we can feed 10,000. We had to put it to work," said Pastor Robert Williams. Volunteers at the church loaded boxes containing everything needed for a Thanksgiving meal into cars, easing the financial burden the traditional meal can pose for families. "There may not be funds for food because you got to make sure you got rent, you got to make sure you got lights and water and car payments, because you got to be able to get to work to make the money," church member Cheryl Yarrington…...

2+ week, 3+ day ago (569+ words) A Christian missionary father and his daughter were killed when a small plane bound for a hurricane relief mission in Jamaica crashed in a South Florida neighborhood. Christian ministry organization Ignite the Fire identified the two victims of the Monday morning crash as the group's founder, Alexander Wurm, 53, and his daughter Serena Wurm, 22. The pair were bringing humanitarian aid to Jamaica, according to the organization, when the Beechcraft King Air plane they were flying in crashed into a pond in a residential area of the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Coral Springs, narrowly missing homes. As of Tuesday morning, investigators had not reported any other victims. Ignite the Fire is "dedicated to empowering youth through missions and evangelism across the Caribbean," according to the organization's website. A statement on the group's social media described the Wurm family as passionate about humanitarian…...

2+ day, 8+ hour ago (339+ words) Piney Grove Baptist Church in Winston-Salem hosted a community Thanksgiving meal to provide comfort and companionship to those facing hardships during the holidays. Piney Grove Baptist Church in Winston-Salem opened its doors to the community this Thanksgiving, offering a warm meal and a sense of belonging to those facing hardships this holiday season. While many families gathered at home, Piney Grove Baptist Church sought to be a church beyond its walls, providing a warm meal to anyone who walked in. Senior Pastor Brandon Helton explained the mission behind the event. "Comfort, hope, encouragement, the shutdown really initiated the idea and certainly we're grateful that the government is open, but the lasting effects of it are still permeating throughout our community," Helton said. The church prepared enough food for up to 500 people, with plans to deliver any overflow to local shelters....

3+ week, 5+ day ago (566+ words) Community and religious leaders in a Pennsylvania town are responding after a replica of the Auschwitz concentration camp gate appeared on a Catholic school's Halloween parade float. Hanover is in a rural area in York County, Pennsylvania, which is about 50 miles northwest of Baltimore. Police said the incident prompted a threatening and obscene voicemail to be left early Saturday for the Saint Joseph principal, claiming the school's children were in danger, according to the AP. The parish canceled youth events over the weekend as a result and a suburban Philadelphia man was charged with making terroristic threats and other criminal counts. The Most Reverend Timothy C. Senior, Bishop of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, issued the following statement: "I was shocked and appalled to learn that the Halloween parade float from Saint Joseph Catholic school in Hanover included a replica of the Auschwitz Concentration…...

1+ day, 11+ hour ago (283+ words) For 40 years, Mark Loren has owned his Fort Myers jewelry shop. "We work on a lot of engagement rings, redesigning a lot of pieces for clients who are coming in, necklaces, pendants," Loren said. Of all the jewelry he's worked on in his four decades, this October, he took on one project that was unlike any other. "It was the first time I've ever worked on reliquaries like that before," Loren said. "They were a mess; they really looked like garbage," Sister Mary said. Sister Mary lived at Church of the Ascension on Fort Myers Beach with a group of cloistered nuns. That is, until Hurricane Ian destroyed the church and their belongings. "We saw the water rise until it was over the wall, over our enclosure wall, which is 8 feet high," Sister Mary said. "All of the relics that…...

2+ week, 5+ day ago (322+ words) The Vatican said Monday it was investigating a possible antisemitic incident, in which a Swiss Guard allegedly made a spitting gesture toward two Jewish women. The alleged incident occurred during a papal audience Oct. 29, at the entrance to St. Peter's Square. The audience that day was dedicated to marking the anniversary of a 1965 declaration on the church's relations with Jews and other non-Christians. The alleged victims were part of an international Jewish delegation attending the papal audience, during which Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed Catholic-Jewish relations and vowed to fight antisemitism. One of the Swiss Guards hissed the phrase "Les Juifs," or "the Jews" in French, as they passed, Govrin said in a written statement. "We were totally shocked," she added. "Such an incident of Jewish hatred inside the Vatican?! In contrast to the Pope's important words strongly condemning anti-Semitism and…...

1+ week, 1+ day ago (159+ words) Having an audience with the pope is an honor that not many people get to experience. One Maryland student got the chance to ask Pope Leo XIV a question. Search location by ZIP code Maryland student gets opportunity to ask pope a question Having an audience with the pope is an honor that not many people get to experience. One Maryland student got the chance to ask Pope Leo XIV a question. Mia Smothers was one of just five students selected to have a dialogue with the pontiff at the National Catholic Youth Conference. Search location by ZIP code Maryland student gets opportunity to ask pope a question Having an audience with the pope is an honor that not many people get to experience. One Maryland student got the chance to ask Pope Leo XIV a question. Mia Smothers was…...

1+ week, 12+ hour ago (415+ words) Pope Leo XIV on Saturday accepted the resignation of an ailing Spanish bishop who is under church investigation for allegedly sexually abusing a young seminarian in the 1990s, the first known time the new pontiff removed a bishop accused of abuse. A one-line statement from the Vatican said Leo had accepted the resignation of C'diz Bishop Rafael Zornoza, 76. It didn't say why, but Zornoza submitted his resignation to the pope last year when he turned 75, the normal retirement age for bishops. The report, quoting a letter the former seminarian wrote the Vatican over the summer, said Zornoza fondled him and regularly slept with him from when he was 14-21 years old. The former seminarian's letter said Zornoza heard his confession and persuaded him to see a psychiatrist to "cure" his homosexuality. The diocese of C'diz denied the accusations against Zornoza but confirmed…...

6+ day, 6+ hour ago (280+ words) Days after a fire was set at their church, a Winston-Salem congregation is staying strong on the lead-up to the holidays. Sunday morning, the congregation of Iglesia Lluvias De Gracia in Winston-Salem met in a building without power, without some of their instruments, and with the side of their church still charred from a fire. However, in that moment, none of that mattered. "I feel very happy because I see that this congregation," said Pastor Jesus Vasquez. "We love God, and we love to worship him. I'm full of faith because, as I said, we're united, and we come together as a whole group." On Friday, Winston-Salem officials responded to a fire that started in a small shed on the side of the church, located on East 15th Street. They say it started on purpose. Vasquez said it hit hard to…...

2+ week, 13+ hour ago (406+ words) Hollywood stars met Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, where the pontiff called cinema a "workshop of hope" and lamented declining audiences. File video above: Pope Leo XIV elected as first U.S. pope The line-up of film stars and directors meeting the first American pope on Saturday included Oscar winners Cate Blanchett, known for "Aviator" and "Elizabeth," and Spike Lee, who directed "Malcolm X" and "BlacKkKlansman". All those present in the audience in the Vatican's apostolic palace met Leo personally at the end, with Lee presenting the first American pope with a New York Knicks jersey. Monica Bellucci, who played Mary Magdalene in Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," also met the pope on Saturday, as did actor Adam Scott, of the series "Parks and Recreation" and "Severance," and Sergio Castellitto, who played the "vaping cardinal" Tedesco in the movie…...