Sept. 11 A former first responder at Ground Zero in New York City shared how a Bible he was gifted that day has been bringing comfort to victims of tragedies across the U.S. ever since. Dennis McKenna revealed that a visiting police chaplain offered him the tiny Bible while he was crying in the rubble on 9/11. He later began sending it to families of victims in Aurora, CO; Sandy Hook, CT; Las Vegas, NV; and elsewhere. (New York Post)

Sept. 9 Christians across the UK are preparing for a National Week of Prayer, to be held October 12-20, 2024. The ecumenical effort is backed by Anglican, Orthodox, Evangelical, and Catholic leaders and organizations — on the right and the left — who are calling all professed UK-based Christians to gather and pray for their nation, whether independently or as part of a regional prayer event. (Christian Today)

Sept. 9 Apollo Quiboloy, the leader of a wealthy Filipino megachurch, has been arrested on multiple charges of sexual abuse and human trafficking from both Filipino and American authorities. Quiboloy went into hiding last month after his 75-acre compound (connected by networks of underground tunnels) was raided by police, but surrendered peacefully after receiving an ultimatum from the Philippine National Police. (Religion News Service)

Sept. 6 The National Baptist Convention, U.S.A (NBCUSA) — the largest historically African American church in America and the second largest Baptist denomination — voted to elect their new president, Rev. Boise Kimber of Connecticut. In an unusual election, Kimber ran unopposed, with detractors allowed a “no” vote, but won with 69% approving and hoping the younger pastor can inject new life into the convention. (Religion News Service)

Sept. 6 A group of physicists and theologians met at the Vatican to find common ground in approaching life’s biggest questions. The conference, which included the father of string theory and the inventor of the microprocessor, presented their dialogue — not a debate — in an academic book that also discusses artificial intelligence and the development of new cultural understandings of time and eternity. (Religion News Service)

Sept. 5 What’s the smallest Christian denomination? There are exactly two Shakers left at Sabbathday Lake in Maine, U.S.A. The denomination — known for its utopian egalitarianism; asceticism (including strict celibacy); and especially its unique, high-quality woodworking — began in 1774 and once counted tens of thousands in their numbers. Today Brother Arnold and Sister June run a small farm and museum. (The New York Times, paywalled)

Sept. 4 Five years after the devastating Notre Dame Cathedral fire, another historic French church burned from suspected arson this week. As firefighters fought the blaze at Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint-Omer, the parish priest, Father Sébastien Roussel, dashed through the sanctuary to recover the eucharist and “some 20 other religious artifacts.” No casualties were reported. (Catholic News Agency)

Sept. 4 College football kicked off this week in the United States, and at The Ohio State University students are lining up to watch their favorite players… preach? That’s right: three Buckeye players started the semester with an outdoor service that attracted nearly 1,000 students and led to more than 60 baptisms. (RELEVANT)

Sept. 4 An Italian Catholic priest who has been combating mafia influence in Rome for decades recently suffered a violent attack. Don Antonio Coluccia was pelted with planks, bottles, and sticks during an anti-crime march — the latest attack in a longstanding feud between antimafia clergy and the mob. Undeterred, Coluccia promises he will return and is “committed to serving the city,” come what may. (The Guardian)

Sept. 2 According to a new report by the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), nearly 17,000 Christians have been killed in Nigeria over the past four years — more than half at the hands of extremist Muslim groups. These groups aren’t only targeting Christians, though: over 6,000 Muslims have been killed as well. ORFA calls on the international community to “fully understand the scale of the challenge.” (Christian Today)

Sept. 2 Pope Francis is embarking on his longest international trip yet: 12 days covering nearly 20,000 miles around Southeast Asia. The 88-year-old pontiff will navigate enormous religious, economic, and environmental variety — from wealthy, urban countries like Singapore to poor, undeveloped ones like Papua New Guinea — and engage in interfaith dialogue with Muslims, Protestants, Buddhists, animists and more. (Aleteia)

September 1 How faith sustained an octogenarian prisoner of Al Qaeda for seven years; how the Salvation Army transformed the Beatles’ Strawberry Field into a faith-based tourist attraction; how two British churches finally reopened after the other pandemic (the Black Death); how Lutherans and Orthodox reconciled nearly a millennium after the Great Schism: catch up on all of last month’s biggest, strangest, and most inspiring Bible and church news stories.