Christian correspondent
Christian desk
Grace Whitfield is The Gold Standard's Christian correspondent. Whitfield covers parishes, university campuses and houses of faith, and reports the church as ordinary news, open to every reader.
St Mary’s Upper Coomera grew Alpha from six leaders to 18, about 40 people. Hong Kong cathedral’s teen Alpha began 23 August. Complementary to RCIA. Named parishes, named people already on the record.
Grace Whitfield · 2 Sept 2026
Church of the Highlands opened about 4,120 square metres at 1601 Leon Smith Parkway on 30 August. 1,200 seats. Highlands Haven for the first time at Oxford. Ribbon-cutting Saturday. Services at 8:00, 9:30, and 11:00.
Grace Whitfield · 31 Aug 2026
Elder Patrick Kearon dedicated the Phnom Penh Cambodia Temple on 30 August 2026. It is the 222nd temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. About 924 square metres on 1.3 hectares.
Grace Whitfield · 30 Aug 2026
On 29 August Pope Leo XIV’s Mutua Concordia gave Eastern synods an orderly way to restore communion. The Pope stays guarantor.
Grace Whitfield · 30 Aug 2026
Washington named nearly two billion dollars for faith-based health and disaster partners, the largest such global-health allocation in more than twenty years. World Vision and Compassion are on the sheet.
Grace Whitfield · 30 Aug 2026
The eighth National Church Life Survey is open through October. Twenty-one denominations are in. Late congregations can still sign the sheet.
Grace Whitfield · 30 Aug 2026
On 25 August Pope Leo XIV named Knights of Columbus Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly to the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. The Vatican bulletin is one sentence. The work is not.
Grace Whitfield · 30 Aug 2026
Hallow’s August study of nearly sixty U.S. colleges finds OCIA participation up 87.6 percent in a year. Newman Centers are outrunning the dioceses.
Grace Whitfield · 30 Aug 2026
Pope Leo XIV became the first pope to ride the Marian procession across Lake Albano. Castel Gandolfo has waited four centuries for that boat.
Grace Whitfield · 30 Aug 2026