A Portland District Court judge was correct in giving a father the power to decide whether his daughter could attend an evangelical church following a clash with the girl’s mother over her religious upbringing, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court ruled on Sept. 1. (Scott, AP News)
Read MoreVicars are becoming an “endangered species”, the Church of England has been warned, amid a recruitment and retention crisis that is “leaving the nation’s poorest communities without regular priestly care”. A report compiled by a campaign group called Save the Parish has highlighted a “crisis in clergy numbers”. (Burgess, The Times)
Read MoreSlightly more than half of U.S. Protestant pastors (54%) report the average worship service attendance at their church has increased by at least 4% since 2023, according to a Lifeway Research study sponsored by the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. (Earls, Lifeway)
Read MoreAcross Silicon Valley and beyond, software developers, entrepreneurs and other tech enthusiasts are now running A.I. agents that can build spreadsheets, negotiate contracts, chat with each other on social networks and send emails to practically anyone. (Metz, The New York Times)
Read MoreApproximately 85 U.S. citizens [are] missing after a flood of mud swept through villages in the border area last week, killing over 1,000 people and leaving around 4,000 missing. Many of the U.S. citizens who were there at the time were Indian-Americans making their way to Mount Kailash, according to family members and companies that organize tours. (Kowsmann, The Wall Street Journal)
Read MoreTwenty-seven percent of Americans turn to AI chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini with personal, emotional or social queries, according to a new poll from researchers at Elon University in collaboration with The Washington Post. That category included seeking entertainment, relationship advice, romantic chats, or connection when alone. (De Vynck & Merrill, The Washington Post)
Read More