(SRN NEWS)- ( ) Former Major League baseball star Darryl Strawberry thanked President Trump during a sermon Sunday at a Tulsa church for his recent presidential pardon. The New York Mets standout and eight-time All-Star was pardoned for past tax evasion and drug charges. Strawberry told hundreds of worshippers at Sheridan Church that he credits […]
Religious News
RELIGION HEADLINES WED 11-26
Audio By Carbonatix
(SRN NEWS)-
( ) Former Major League baseball star Darryl Strawberry thanked President Trump during a sermon Sunday at a Tulsa church for his recent presidential pardon. The New York Mets standout and eight-time All-Star was pardoned for past tax evasion and drug charges. Strawberry told hundreds of worshippers at Sheridan Church that he credits his Christian faith for his transformation and sobriety. He now travels extensively, sharing his story of faith and redemption. Strawberry got to know Trump on “Celebrity Apprentice” in 2010. He was surprised when the president called him earlier this month to inform him of the pardon.
( ) As travel picks up for the holiday season, flyers can find a moment of quiet and relaxation at interfaith chapels in many U.S. airports. Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faith leaders established chapels at airports in the 1970s and 1980s, offering quiet space for individual prayer rather than organized services. Tucked behind baggage claims or above food courts, chapels are idiosyncratic, influenced by the local history and demographics, as well as sometimes tensely negotiated arrangements between local faith leaders and municipal and airport authorities. It’s unclear exactly how many people use the spaces.
( ) More than 18 million Bibles have been sold in the U.S. this year as part of a five-year boom in Bible sales, highlighted by an uptick of 2.4 million sold in September alone. While publishers can track how many copies of the scriptures are sold, they don’t have demographic details of the buyers. Tim Wildsmith, a former college campus minister turned author, wonders if the tumult of the last five years is playing a role. Between the pandemic, wars and political battles here in the U.S., he says a lot of people may be looking for something they can rely on. Among the bestsellers is an economy version of the English Standard Bible.
( ) Despite on-going persecution of Christians in Turkey, there has been a surge of renewed optimism over the possible reopening of a Greek Orthodox religious seminary that has been closed since 1971. The Halki (HAL-kee) Theological School has become a symbol of Orthodox heritage and a focal point in the push for religious freedoms in Turkey. Momentum for the seminary began to grow after Turkish President Recep Erdogan discussed the issue with President Trump at the White House in September. The institution once trained generations of Greek Orthodox patriarchs and clergy. They include the current leader of some 300 million Orthodox Christians worldwide.