faith

Francis said: "Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!" His voice sounded stronger than it has since his hospitalization. "Viva il Papa!" (Long live the pope), the crowd responded.

In Kansas and nationally, debates over transgender rights and inclusion are playing out in faith communities. For Pastor Charles McKinzie, in Winfield, the duty to welcome gender-diverse congregants has a theological and personal basis.

The Kansas City chapter of the Dialogue Institute gifts more than 400 boxes of home-made baklava, touching around 1,000 people across the metro. Members say the gifts are a gesture of gratitude for the many ways they’ve been welcomed by other communities in Kansas City.

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, is tackling political issues even as polarization burdens congregations across the country. Plus: Residents near the Lake of the Ozarks hope that approving a new casino could help bring in more tax revenue and fund some long-needed infrastructure projects.

Southern Baptists voted to oppose In Vitro Fertilization for the first time during their convention in Indianapolis. It’s a move that, some worry, could indicate a growing push among conservative groups to advance arguments for fetal personhood and further restrict reproductive choice.

Compelled by their faith, military chaplains served unarmed in the trenches of battle during World War I. As Memorial Day approaches, a new exhibit at the National World War I Museum and Memorial provides an intimate look at the role of chaplains during the Great War.

NPR's Sarah McCammon is out with a new book that dissects how she left the religion of her youth titled "The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living and Leaving the White Evangelical Church."

It's Ramadan, one of the holiest months in the Islamic calendar. The Dialogue Institute, a local nonprofit, has partnered with 33 different organizations to hold community fast-breaking dinners, called iftars.

Central United Methodist Church will become a satellite for the Leawood-based Church of the Resurrection. Its history says much about Kansas City's, and it's own, past ties to slavery.

Before he opened Kansas City's Rime Buddhist Center, Lama Chuck Stanford owned a party planning business and performed as a magician named "Mr. Fabulous." He advocated peaceful harmony for all humanity.

In order to expand vaccine outreach, clergy across the state are urging their congregants to get vaccinated.

Kansas City pastors say new videos of the police shooting of Malcolm Johnson refute the official narrative.