Tuesday's News & Ideas - 8/27/2024

Alabama congregation founded in 1847 sues United Methodists, says it owns church building*
AL.com: A 177-year-old Demopolis church has sued the Alabama-West Florida Conference arguing that it should be allowed to leave the United Methodist Church and take its property with it.

AME Church announces retirement settlement agreement during General Conference
Religion News Service: “Church employees who served their community for years deserve the retirement funds they were promised,” responded a lawyer involved in the litigation.

Palestinian and Christian in a violent time*
The Christian Century: “What does it mean to be church amid these very harsh circumstances?” asks Bethlehem pastor Munther Isaac.

Texas court makes public 10,000 pages of sealed documents in sexual abuse case
Baptist News Global: More than 10,000 pages of highly confidential and legally protected information from a sexual abuse victim’s case against Paige Patterson and Southwestern Seminary were published publicly online for about three days this weekend.

Judge blocks Arizona lithium drilling that tribe says is threat to sacred lands
Associated Press: A federal judge has temporarily blocked exploratory drilling for a lithium project in Arizona that tribal leaders say will harm land they have used for religious and cultural ceremonies for centuries.

The Spark

How the women of the N.W.S.L. got freedom that their male counterparts don’t have
In its new collective-bargaining agreement,* the pro soccer league has eliminated the draft, The New Yorker says. Free agency “was always the players’ power to begin with,” one executive said.

*access is limited for nonsubscribers