In the mid-1800s, when Marie Aliquot first arrived in New Orleans, she slipped and fell from her boat into the muddy Mississippi. When she recovered, she became a major catalyst in the building of an important section of the city and its community of faith.
From CathNewsUSA:
French hat-maker Claude Tremé had divided his plantation and sold vast plots to free blacks. In 1834, Jeanne Marie Aliquot, a French woman, bought part of the property from the city. As Mary Bernard Deggs tells the story in the 2002 book, “No Cross, No Crown: Black Nuns in Nineteenth-Century New Orleans,” Aliquot had slipped and fallen off the boat into the Mississippi River upon first arriving in New Orleans.
Read the full story: http://www.cathnewsusa.com/2017/02/new-smithsonian-african-american-history-culture-museum-catholic-stories-emerge/
MORE NEWS AND FEATURES FROM OUR COLLEAGUES:
From Adventist Today:
When the Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital Foundation was formed in 1994, several women, notably Nancy Varner, Dixie Watkins, and Eloise Habekost, wanted to enlist the community to raise awareness and support for the hospital.
Read Full story: http://atoday.org/feature-ten-year-old-pianist-plays-for-hospital-that-saved-his-life/
From The Banner:
On the last Sunday of Pentecost, the Feast of Christ the King, we come face to face with a paradox: we are liberated by a King—and our freedom is found in submission. This dynamic is captured in an Anglican prayer for that feast day:
Read Full story: http://thebanner.org/features/2017/02/the-gift-of-the-law-how-not-to-be-free
From The Christian Chronicle:
As Martin Luther King Jr. sat in a Birmingham jail cell in 1963, Billy C. Curl was 800 miles west, desegregating the campus of Abilene Christian College in Texas.
Read Full story: http://www.christianchronicle.org/article/know-jesus-know-each-other
From The Living Church:
This evening the Diocese of London says farewell to the Rt. Rev. and Rt. Hon. Richard Chartres, its bishop since 1995. St Paul’s Cathedral will host the event. Chartres officially retires on Shrove Tuesday, February 28.
Read Full story: http://www.livingchurch.org/chartres-has-led-london-well
From The Presbyterian Outlook:
One might think it a bit strange that all the Apostles’ Creed has to say about the Christian life is that we are called to believe in the “forgiveness of sins.”
Read Full story: https://pres-outlook.org/2017/02/believe-forgiveness-sins/
From UCObserver:
Using techniques that were unimaginable a generation ago, geneticists have bridged the chasm between biology and anthropology, and in doing so have effectively proved that the genetic endowment of humanity is a single continuum. We are all brothers and sisters.
Read Full story: http://www.ucobserver.org/world/2017/02/faces_humanity/
From Anglican Communion News Service:
[ACNS, by Gavin Drake] The Government of Uganda and the country’s Anglican Church will join forces next month for a major commemoration to mark the 40th Anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Janani Luwum. Archbishop Luwum was murdered by Uganda’s then-president, Idi Amin, on 16 February 1977.
Read Full story: http://www.anglicannews.org/features/2017/01/plans-unveiled-for-archbishop-janani-luwum-40th-anniversary-commemorations.aspx
From Christian News:
(World Watch Monitor) — The man charged with killing 39 people on New Year’s Eve at Istanbul’s exclusive Reina nightclub attack, Abdulkadir Masharipov, has testified before a Turkish court, saying, “My purpose was to kill Christians.”
Read Full story: http://christiannews.net/2017/02/20/man-charged-in-turkey-nightclub-massacre-says-his-intent-was-to-target-christians/
From The Christian Post:
“You couldn’t turn away.” So said Fox News analyst Howard Kurtz about President Trump’s one hour, 16-minute news conference at the White House on Thursday.
Read Full story: http://www.christianpost.com/news/trump-media-attacking-news-conference-worked-175401/
From Christian Index:
VALDOSTA — Nearly 130 runners pounded the streets around Valdosta State University on Jan. 21 to raise money and awareness for summer missions.
Read Full story: http://christianindex.org/valdosta-bcm-raises-nearly-5000-send-now-missions/
From The Christian Times:
The House of Representatives voted on Thursday to overturn President Barack Obama’s HHS rule that prohibits states from withholding funds from Planned Parenthood and other organizations that perform abortions.
Read Full story: http://christiantimes.com/article/house-votes-to-repeal-obama-rule-that-prohibits-states-from-defunding-planned-parenthood/71323.htm
From Christian Courier:
It took me a year before I was able to put into words what it was like to live with ABI (Acquired Brain Injury). Yes, I could describe the daily pains and limitations. But simple questions like “How’s it going?” were too open-ended.
Read Full story: http://www.christiancourier.ca/features/entry/quality-of-life
From Relevant Magazine:
Let me guess: You’re feeling a little upset about the state of the world. Political Facebook posts got you all twisted up inside. You’re feeling the burden of injustice around the world. Me too.
Read Full story: http://www.relevantmagazine.com/reject-apathy/justice-prayer-and-outrage-fatigue
From Catholic news:
Here we go again! Another discussion on the dreaded GBV – gender-based violence – or violence against women, which is so much a part of the fabric of our societies.
Read Full story: http://catholicnewstt.com/like-canaries-in-the-mine/
From The Catholic Messenger:
I have enjoyed using Facebook to share photos and keep in touch with family and friends. It has been a happy diversion, for the most part.
Read Full story: https://www.catholicmessenger.net/2017/02/breaking-free-from-facebook/
From The Tablet:
Pope Francis has made it clear what he wants to achieve in and for the Church. In his apostolic letter, Misericordia et Misera, issued at the end of the Year of Mercy last November, he speaks of “a perennial activity of pastoral conversion and witness to mercy”.
Read Full story: http://www.thetablet.co.uk/features/2/9498/understanding-francis
From The Catholic Register:
We’re all born equal, but we’re born into different circumstances. When the circumstances are worse than just unequal, the rest of us are supposed to do something about it. That’s why we have children’s aid societies.
Read Full story: http://www.catholicregister.org/features/featureseries/item/24370-saving-our-kids-no-easy-fixes-for-damaged-system
From The Baptist Messenger:
STILLWATER—When Brent Prentice, pastor of Stillwater, Eagle Heights stood in the pulpit on Sanctity of Human Life two years ago, he wanted to proclaim what God’s Word says about the sanctity of every human life.
Read Full story: https://www.baptistmessenger.com/woman-finds-healing-years-after-abortion/
From Anglican Church of Canada:
To fully appreciate the impact of the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) on Anglican thought and worship, one must first understand the sixteenth century world from which it emerged.
Read Full story: http://www.anglican.ca/news/historic-heritage-book-common-prayer/30017961/
From World Religion News:
Should we close our doors on others simply because we do not share their beliefs or they look different? Most of us would respond with a “No.”
Read Full story: http://www.worldreligionnews.com/religion-news/american-muslim-executive-order-banning-muslims
From Christian Week:
You know things are changing, but the real questions is how quickly and how deeply. Well, the change is pretty fast and pretty deep.
Read Full story: http://www.christianweek.org/10-things-demonstrate-world-grew-no-longer-exists/
From The Catholic Sun:
Fr. Daniel Rupp, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Church in Sioux City, took time Feb. 14 to talk to the students about the importance of Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season. This year it is March 1.
Read Full story: http://www.catholicsun.org/2017/02/20/help-a-neighbor-visit-grandparents-as-part-of-lent-pastor-suggests/
From Florida Catholic:
STUART | Former U.S. Navy Radioman Second Class Leo Hopkins clearly remembers a day 72 years ago that changed his life forever and took the lives of so many, for whom he continues to pray every day.
Read Full story: https://thefloridacatholic.org/2017/02/13/tragic-memory-still-ignites-a-blessed-prayerful-life/
From The Irish Catholic:
Anyone paying attention to parish circles online in recent weeks can’t but have noticed that something exciting is happening in the Wexford parish on Barntown.
Read Full story: http://www.irishcatholic.ie/article/ask-not-what-your-parish-can-do-you%E2%80%A6
From Guideposts:
You may be familiar with the concept of prayer walking. You may even have participated in marches or vigils that featured prayer. But have you ever tried prayer driving?
Read Full story: https://www.guideposts.org/faith-and-prayer/prayer-stories/pray-effectively/go-on-a-prayer-drive
From Just Between Us:
The walls of winter closed in on me, squeezing the breath from my soul and the light from my heart. Any love that might have filtered down at Christmas had long since disappeared into the tundra.
Read Full story: http://justbetweenus.org/faith/relationship-with-god/escaping-to-the-arms-of-God/
From Christian Today:
The site point to various ‘signs’ that indicate the imminent second coming of Jesus. They include natural disasters, earthquakes, violence, sexual immorality and the persecution of Christians.
Read Full story: http://bit.ly/2m4yqF8