The Banner

Faith leaders and mental health experts say religious traditions and faith communities can play a key role in helping people get through the winter holidays.

From hosting parade viewing to setting up a parking lot Neighborhood Christmas, Christian Reformed congregations are embracing their communities this season.

A model train enthusiast and member of Lee Street Christian Reformed Church in Wyoming, Mich., included a handmade replica of the church building as part of his annual Christmas display.

I realized we could only see this beauty, we could only comprehend this space, we could only receive the light, if we waited, and if we paid attention.

"What can I give him?” French author Sylvie Vanhoozer takes her hometown tradition of Provençal crèches (nativity scenes peopled by “little saints”) and tries to expand it yearlong.

The Herdmans are six siblings who have a reputation for being the worst kids in the world. Yet when they take over the local church pageant during the holidays, they just might teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas.

New Holland (S.D.) Christian Reformed Church had “a perfect night, chilly, with no wind, and the night sky” filled with vivid stars for its annual Living Nativity on Dec. 8.

A hopeful, practical model for what it means to be a Christian and a culture-maker in a world of hurt and wondrous possibility, from multi-Grammy winner Charlie Peacock and his wife and author, Andi Ashworth.

Ellie wants to be an elephant in the Christmas play but her know-it-all sister says she’ll ruin everything. When Baby Jesus goes missing, Ellie must find him, or the play will be ruined!

See how readers responded to recent Banner issues, articles, and columns.

If I’m busy preparing for the worst, I forfeit the present and the possibilities within it.

Early on in ministry I came out to my church as gay and committed to celibacy.

Twenty life lessons from the holiday classic A Christmas Story.

A retired professor gets a new lease on life when a private investigator hires him to go undercover inside a San Francisco retirement home.

Alaska Korean Christian Reformed Church in Anchorage, Ala., has been ministering to the Korean community there since 1994.

Adventurous and service-oriented, Art Schoonveld was a pastor who looked out for others and stood up for what he believed. He died Nov. 16 at age 88.

Hans Uittenbosch was a master storyteller with a generous laugh. Pioneer of ministry to seafarers, he was a lifelong evangelist. He died Nov. 23 at age 92.

Resonate Global Mission, the missionary agency of the CRCNA, is among eight Christian organizations funding an independent investigation into allegations of abuse at Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria.

It’s Friday night at Casa Adobe, a ministry house in Costa Rica, and the loudest chess club ever is meeting.

From an award-winning trio, this celebration of community, friendship, and the natural world features poetic, lyrical text paired with a vibrant visual tale of two characters.

Various artists, such as Jason Gray and Phil Joel, highlight the Christian need to practice creation care.

After encountering these stories, you might have closed your Bible and shaken your head, wondering why in the world God would put these stories in inspired Scripture.

I think this drive to understand could be one of the attributes of being created in the image of God.