It’s a Mexican-American Christmas tradition called “Las Posadas”. In a procession, parishioners reenact Joseph and Mary’s search for lodging in Bethlehem. In Antioch, California, an epicenter of foreclosures, church leaders say it’s a poignant story this year. Watch. (Originally aired: 12/26/2008).
Pastor Rick Warren has been chosen to give Obama’s inauguration invocation. It’s a controversial choice based on some statements Warren has made about gays, others. Read more about Warren from Religion and Ethics’ coverage of Warren’s activities.
The Christian relief organization World Vision commissioned a survey recently which found that, because of the recession, 71 percent of Americans say they will spend less money on holiday presents this year, and nearly half (49 percent) say they are more likely to make a charitable gift. Watch. (Originally aired: 12/13/2008).
Rabbi Shea Harlig is on a mission to get Jews to embrace a more traditional practice of their faith. As an emissary of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, he works nearly nonstop. He leads prayer services and Torah studies. Watch. (Originally aired: 12/5/2008).
Mourning continued around the world in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. The Muslim Council of Britain said this was a case where a few terrorists “bring the entire faith into disrepute.” Watch. (Originally aired: 12/5/2008).
Many Catholics have never seen anything like this in their local parish — an Aztec dance honoring the mother of Jesus. It is part of the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, highly important to Hispanic Catholics. It may be a glimpse into the future of the U.S. church. Watch. (Originally aired: 11/26/2008).
Evangelical churches, both black and white, have long been accused of not doing enough on HIV/AIDS testing and awareness in their congregations. But Kathi Winter is one evangelical trying to change that, it’s a very personal crusade…. Watch. (Originally aired: 11/26/2008).
In some churches, services are no longer limited to the reach of the pastor’s voice. Pastor Daniel Harrell, one of the ministers at the Park Street Church on the Boston Common, wanted his congregation to actually live according to the laws in Old Testament Book of Leviticus for one month and then to log their experiences on the Internet. Watch. (Originally aired: 11/21/2008).
There are gatherings all over the country this month and next remembering the late Trappist monk Thomas Merton on the 40th anniversary of his untimely death. He said that any person off the street could have a deeply spiritual life, if they care to. Watch. (Originally aired: 11/21/2008).
There was a time when a labor strike against the Catholic Church in Scranton, Pennsylvania, would have been difficult to imagine. The Church, after all, has always been the champion of workers rights. But now there is an uproar in Scranton’s Catholic community, where a teacher’s union was suddenly shut out of the Scranton Diocese. Watch. (Originally aired: 11/14/2008).
