Feature Stories From Ireland/Northern Ireland
- Ireland Long Ago Closed Mother-and-Baby Homes, but Their Painful Legacy Remains
LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland — In May 2024, Billy Scampton from Londonderry and Shannon Ritchie-Leet from Ontario, Canada, walked to the… Read more: Ireland Long Ago Closed Mother-and-Baby Homes, but Their Painful Legacy Remains - A Modern-Day Passion Play on the Walls of Londonderry Reimagines Jesus’ Final Days
LONDONDERRY, Northern Ireland — Jesus, understandably, is the star of most Passion Plays. The story of Christ’s Passion, derived from… Read more: A Modern-Day Passion Play on the Walls of Londonderry Reimagines Jesus’ Final Days - Halal Grocers in Belfast Brace for Rising Costs Amid Global Trade Shifts
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — When Brexit first went into effect in 2020, Makkah Market’s Ramadan order came late. The owner,… Read more: Halal Grocers in Belfast Brace for Rising Costs Amid Global Trade Shifts - Tension Mounts Over Wind Turbine Built Near Sacred Site in County Down
RATHFRILAND, Northern Ireland — It all started in 2017 with a trench. In that year, a power company was preparing… Read more: Tension Mounts Over Wind Turbine Built Near Sacred Site in County Down - An Interfaith Movement Grows in a Christian Land
BELFAST – The Northern Ireland Interfaith Forum typically meets over lunch, but at a recent gathering, the secretary, Edwin Graham,… Read more: An Interfaith Movement Grows in a Christian Land - In Belfast, a Small Jewish Community Reaches Out to its Christian neighbors
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — On Saturdays, the Jewish day of rest and prayer, there is barely a quorum of 10… Read more: In Belfast, a Small Jewish Community Reaches Out to its Christian neighbors - West Belfast Musicians Are Standing Up for Palestine
BELFAST, Northern Ireland — On the eve of Saint Patrick’s Day this year, locals gathered to ring in the holiday… Read more: West Belfast Musicians Are Standing Up for Palestine - Finding My Greers: A Journey to Unearth and Understand My Family’s Roots in Northern Ireland
TEMPLEPATRICK, Northern Ireland — Growing up, I had always heard tales that our family’s ancestry was Scots-Irish, via the Greer surname… Read more: Finding My Greers: A Journey to Unearth and Understand My Family’s Roots in Northern Ireland
Daily Dispatches From Ireland/Northern Ireland
- Day Six: Returning, Reflections — and Finally, Rain
LONDONDERRY — We began our sixth and final day together by checking out of the Maldron Hotel, loading our suitcases… Read more: Day Six: Returning, Reflections — and Finally, Rain - Day Five: Bridges to Peace in Londonderry
LONDONDERRY — Our fifth and final full day started with a panel on the healing process in Northern Ireland and… Read more: Day Five: Bridges to Peace in Londonderry - Day Four: The Road to Londonderry: Physical, Political, Spiritual
LONDONDERRY — When Nobel Prize–winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney traveled from Belfast north to Londonderry on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 1972,… Read more: Day Four: The Road to Londonderry: Physical, Political, Spiritual - Day Three: Perspectives from Across the Divide: Shared Grief Lingers Decades After the Good Friday Agreement
BELFAST — During our last day in Belfast we met 10 people, all of whom are an integral part of… Read more: Day Three: Perspectives from Across the Divide: Shared Grief Lingers Decades After the Good Friday Agreement - Day Two: Pilgrimage and Peaks on Saint Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland
BELFAST — Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! This morning started bright and early as we prepared for our adventure to Slemish Mountain, once… Read more: Day Two: Pilgrimage and Peaks on Saint Patrick’s Day in Northern Ireland - Day One: In Post-Conflict Belfast, the Past Is the Present
BELFAST — At 8:41 a.m., after a six-hour direct flight, our airplane landed in Dublin. Twelve excited students, Dean Melanie… Read more: Day One: In Post-Conflict Belfast, the Past Is the Present
Covering Religion in New York
- The Sound of Scripture: Evangelical Preacher Immerses Worshippers on the Upper West Side
NEW YORK — The preacher gathers a pool of saliva to the back of her throat and sends a wet suction… Read more: The Sound of Scripture: Evangelical Preacher Immerses Worshippers on the Upper West Side - All We Need Is … a Miracle?
NEW YORK — Cecil B. DeMille knew the cinematic power of the biblical story of Moses parting the Red Sea. The… Read more: All We Need Is … a Miracle? - A Multicultural Conversation on Immortality at the Vedanta Society of New York
NEW YORK — In a brownstone on West 71st Street, just off of Central Park, inside the Vedanta Society of… Read more: A Multicultural Conversation on Immortality at the Vedanta Society of New York - New Converts and Longtime Members Learn Byzantine Chant
NEW YORK — On a recent Tuesday night at Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church on the Upper West Side, six students… Read more: New Converts and Longtime Members Learn Byzantine Chant - Suspend the Urge to Understand: Lessons from a Heart Sutra Book Club at the Korean Buddhism Jo-Gei Temple of America
On a frigid February afternoon, six students sat cross-legged on jade-colored cushions atop creaky wooden floorboards inside a Manhattan brownstone.… Read more: Suspend the Urge to Understand: Lessons from a Heart Sutra Book Club at the Korean Buddhism Jo-Gei Temple of America - A Discussion on Parenting in the Anglican Church
NEW YORK — For Pastor Jim Salladin, connecting with congregants goes beyond leading worship services in the West Village every… Read more: A Discussion on Parenting in the Anglican Church - Fashioning Wheat Stalks into Brigid’s Cross, An Imbolc Tradition
NEW YORK — On a chilly Saturday afternoon in February, a dozen people from all over New York City gathered in… Read more: Fashioning Wheat Stalks into Brigid’s Cross, An Imbolc Tradition - A School Hall Becomes a Sanctuary: Evangelical Worshippers Find Rhythm and Reverence on the Upper West Side
NEW YORK — A young man in a green beanie has both arms outstretched to the sky, palms open to… Read more: A School Hall Becomes a Sanctuary: Evangelical Worshippers Find Rhythm and Reverence on the Upper West Side - An Imbolc Ritual: Quiet Reflection and Flowers of Ireland
NEW YORK — A hush settles over the room at The Meadow, the expressive arts space in the northernmost Brooklyn… Read more: An Imbolc Ritual: Quiet Reflection and Flowers of Ireland - ‘None of us is getting it quite right all the time’: Methodists Confess in Fidi
NEW YORK — Midway through the Sunday morning service at John Street United Methodist Church in Lower Manhattan, Pastor Stephanie… Read more: ‘None of us is getting it quite right all the time’: Methodists Confess in Fidi - Finding Stillness in the City: A Glimpse into Zen Practice in New York
NEW YORK — Nestled in a nondescript charcoal building at 400 E. 14th St., the Chogye International Zen Center of… Read more: Finding Stillness in the City: A Glimpse into Zen Practice in New York - Hearing the Shema Prayer in a New Way
NEW YORK — “Hear” as a command conveys one meaning. “Pay attention” signifies yet another idea, one that goes beyond the… Read more: Hearing the Shema Prayer in a New Way - God Works Through Generations in the Anglican Church
NEW YORK — The wooden pews at Emmanuel Anglican Church in Manhattan’s West Village are filled with people of all… Read more: God Works Through Generations in the Anglican Church
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