RELIGION HEADLINES

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(SRN NEWS) – A growing number of NFL players are using their fame as an opportunity to talk about their Christian faith.  The Detroit Lions are one of the best teams in the league this season and kicker Jake Bates discussed his faith in a recent prime time NBC interview.  Quarterbacks C.J. Stroud of Houston, Kirk Cousins of Atlanta and Lamar Jackson of Baltimore along with Ravens coach John Harbaugh are among the many in the league who speak publicly about their Christian beliefs.  Cousins has professed his faith publicly, dating back to his college years at Michigan State.

A network of faith-based organizations is ministering to seafarers in hundreds of the world’s ports.  Merchant sailors keep global trade moving, often in harsh and isolated working conditions.  Faith leaders and volunteers with Stella Maris, the largest of the organizations, help them with everything from religious services to legal assistance with labor abuses.  Most of all, they offer a safe place to relax and share their burdens.  One pastor in Spain says, “Seafarers are used to being seen by people on land as just a piece of the ship.”

Disability activists say many Americans with physical and mental challenges would like to attend church but find it difficult.  Those activists are urging congregations to consider how they can be more welcoming to disabled people in their communities.  David Mandell of the Penn Center for Mental Health says church leaders can consider things such as setting up a quiet, sensory-friendly room that families can go to when needed and still follow the service remotely.  There is also special training available for church greeters and volunteers.

President Trump says he’s nominating the leader of the advocacy group Catholic Vote to be the U.S. ambassador to the Vatican.  Brian Burch and his wife, Sara, have nine children and live in the Chicago suburbs.  Burch said on social media that as ambassador he would “promote the dignity of all people and the common good.”  AP VoteCast reveals that 22 percent of Americans identify as Catholic and President Trump won 55 percent of them on Election Day.  That’s an improvement over 2020 when he won nearly 50 percent of Catholics.