Latest Church Headlines

All the headlines from our Church Topic Page, ordered by recency.

State Farm to Stop Insuring Churches in Florida

Oct 4 2011 // Florida churches are having to seek insurance elsewhere after one of the state’s provider of coverage to houses of worship has decided to leave the market.State Farm Florida recently announced it will exit the church...

Court Agrees with Dismissal of Abuse Suit Versus Pittsburgh Diocese

Oct 3 2011 // The Superior Court has sided with a judge who dismissed a lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh filed by the family of a man who committed suicide last year after the diocese stopped paying for his...

Insurer Says Exclusion Bars Payment in Nebraska Pastor’s Death

Oct 3 2011 // An insurance company specializing in policies for churches is asking a federal court to absolve it from paying a claim by the widow of a central Nebraska pastor who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a house owned by the...

Insurer Says Exclusion Bars Payment in Nebraska Pastor’s Death

Sep 21 2011 // An insurance company specializing in policies for churches is asking a federal court to absolve it from paying a claim by the widow of a central Nebraska pastor who died of carbon monoxide poisoning in a house owned by the...

Churchill Downs Ending Payments for Jockeys’ Off-Track Injuries

Sep 19 2011 // Churchill Downs Inc. plans to stop paying the trade association representing jockeys to fund riders’ off-track needs, such as benefits or health insurance coverage that’s not racing related.Churchill...

Judge Orders Insurers to Pay in Delaware Diocese Bankruptcy

Sep 12 2011 // A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Friday ordered insurance companies to pay their share of a settlement with priest sex abuse victims that is the foundation of the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington’s reorganization plan,...

Insurers in Delaware Diocese Bankruptcy Balk at $15 Million Payout

Sep 8 2011 // A dispute over insurance payments is threatening to blow up the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington’s bankruptcy reorganization plan. Under the plan, the diocese, its parishes and affiliated entities, would be released...

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Multiple Arsons, Attempted Murder

Sep 7 2011 // Steven Scott Cantrell, of Crane, Texas, pled guilty to hate crime charges stemming from a series of racially-motivated arsons in December 2010, including the arson of a historic African-American church as part of an effort...

Texas Mutual Creates Work Comp Safety Group for Houses of Worship

Sep 2 2011 // Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced a new workers’ compensation safety group: Texas Church Group. The group is open to qualifying nonprofit, faith-based organizations operating houses of worship, such as churches...

New Jersey Diocese Settles Priest Sex Abuse Case for $1M

Aug 17 2011 // The Diocese of Trenton and lawyers for five men who were abused by a New Jersey priest in the 1970s and 1980s said they have reached a seven-figure settlement.The diocese said allegations against the Rev. Ronald Becker,...

Exclusive: Unreported Insurance Mergers

Aug 15 2011 // 5 Insurers Become 1Five well-known Midwest property/casualty insurers have agreed to merge into one that the public is sure to forget. Lackawanna Casualty, Wawanesa Mutual, West Wawanosh Mutual, Lanark Mutual and Mutual of...

Man Gets $6.3 Million in Illinois Priest Abuse Case

Aug 12 2011 // A nine-year legal fight by a man sexually abused by a priest in the 1970s is over, now that a southern Illinois diocese and its insurer have handed over $6.3 million to resolve a jury award in the man’s...

South Carolina Law to Curb Copper Theft Takes Effect Next Week

Aug 12 2011 // South Carolina law enforcement officers said they hope a new state law will cut down on thieves destroying air-conditioning units, farm equipment and other property to sell the copper inner parts for scrap.Most of the...

Tennessee Still Cleaning Up After April’s Tornadoes

Aug 12 2011 // The Rev. Bill Akers stood in a yard in Lookout Valley, pointing across a small valley at two stumps, gnarled remnants rising out of barren dirt in a place once flush with trees.Just a few hundred yards away, brush lined...

Fourth Abuse Suit Filed Against Washington Diocese

Jul 15 2011 // An Oregon man has filed suit in federal court against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yakima, Wash., alleging he was abused as a teen by a former Catholic deacon who later became an Episcopal priest in Mexico.The lawsuit...

Man Sues Catholic Diocese in Texas on Abuse Claims

Jun 30 2011 // A man who alleges he was sexually molested by a Catholic priest in the 1970s has filed a civil lawsuit against a West Texas diocese and the Jesuits, claiming the defendants knew or should have known of the abuses and...

Kentucky’s Churchill Downs Assessing Tornado Damage

Jun 24 2011 // A possible tornado damaged several horse barns at Churchill Downs, prompting track officials to temporarily halt races Thursday at the famed Kentucky Derby horse track.Some horses have been moved to private farms,...

Churchill Downs Cleaning Up After Tornado

Jun 23 2011 // Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Ky., said it will resume live horse racing the night of Friday, June 24, after a day off to survey tornado damage to barns and other structures.The racing facility was forced to...

South Carolina Lawmakers Agree on Copper Theft Bill

Jun 17 2011 // A South Carolina bill designed to curb thieves from ripping copper from air-conditioning units and farm irrigation systems is heading to Gov. Nikki Haley.The Senate voted 39-1 this week to agree to changes made in the...

The Power of the Pen: Tips for an Effective Press Release

May 16 2011 // Over the last several years, it seems marketing departments are taking on added responsibilities – in many cases, this includes a company’s public relations efforts.For those who are not experienced writers, this...