Photo Slideshow: Rev. Cecil Murray’s 88th Birthday
Rev. Cecil Murray turned 88 years young this year, and the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture celebrated his lifetime of faith and service with some of his family, friends and …
Author: dheller
Pico Union Project: An Interfaith Space in Los Angeles
The Pico-Union Project reveals several layers of Los Angeles’ immigrant religious history, even as it embodies the communities and practices that are shaping the city’s future. Built in 1909 for a Jewish …
The New York Times: The Creation of a Modern Megachurch
In a few years, Zerephath Christian Church in New Jersey has transformed from the dwindling base of a little-known denomination to a large megachurch. The New York Times reported on this transition, turning to CRCC’s …
Ayahuasca-naut: A Zen Student’s Experiment with Shamanic Medicine
This piece originally appeared in Boom California. A hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca is having a heyday in the United States. Rolling Stone, Fusion, VICE and other trend-spotting news outlets have posted stories about spiritual adventurers tripping …
September 16, 2001: Rev. Murray’s post-9/11 Sermon
In a sermon titled “Above the Madness,” Rev. Cecil Murray of First AME Church (FAME) in Los Angeles admonishes his congregation not to partake of the toxic stew of hatred and rage …
CRCC’s Project on Religious Competition Finds Cooperation in Innovation
This article was published by the John Templeton Foundation about CRCC’s Religious Competition & Creative Innovation project, which the Foundation funded. In a Huntington Beach, California laundromat, volunteers wash clothes for homeless and …
Prosperity Gospel Is not the only Problem with Joel Osteen’s Harvey Response
This article originally appeared on Religion Dispatches. Twitter was outraged Monday. Megachurch Pastor Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church, housed in a former basketball arena, looked to be dry and quiet, even as thousands of Houstonians …
OC Register: Orange County Church Finds Higher Purpose with Affordable Housing
The Wesley Village affordable housing project in Garden Grove was recently opened on Garden Grove United Methodist Church’s land. The concept of using church land to host affordable housing has been used …
Faith Community Responds to Racism and Violence in Charlottesville
After white supremacists’ protests in Charlottesville left one dead, many injured and the country grappling with its still prevalent racism, faith leaders have been working to respond with words and action. Rev. Mark …
Trust Talks: A Dialogue on Police and Race in Los Angeles
Trust Talks is a faith community-led initiative that brings together all sides of the Downtown Los Angeles community—including representatives of Skid Row, condo owners and renters, police, business owners, and activists—in …