Quake-damaged National Cathedral Faces Millions in Repairs

WASHINGTON (RNS) The iconic Washington National Cathedral, already struggling with financial problems, faces millions of dollars in repair costs from the damage inflicted by Tuesday’s (Sept. 23) East Coast earthquake. And nothing is covered by insurance, according to...

Christchurch Cathedral Search Reveals No Quake Victims

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (RNS/ENInews) A complete search of an Anglican cathedral in Christchurch, New Zealand turned up no bodies buried in the rubble, despite widespread reports that 20 to 22 people had been trapped inside. ChristChurch Cathedral’s spire collapsed...

Shattered Churches Yield Their Dead in New Zealand

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand (RNS/ENInews) Churches shattered by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake were yielding up their dead on Friday (Feb. 25) as clergy and parishioners grieved and searched for places to worship on Sunday. The overall death toll from the Feb. 22 quake...

Assigning Blame When Disasters Strike

I am doing a sermon series on the “Hard Sayings of Jesus” on Sunday mornings. Many of those hard sayings occur in Matthew 24-25. Jesus says things like: “There will be wars and rumors of wars. Nations will rise against nations. There will be famines...