Monthly Archives: June 2004
NEWS STORY: Churches Spend 40 Days in Search of `Purpose’
By Nancy Haught — June 22, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Forty is what you might call a biblical number. Noah was adrift for 40 days of rain. Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on Mount Sinai, receiving the Torah, or Ten Commandments. Jesus endured 40 days of temptation in the wilderness. And about 8,000 Christian churches have spent […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 19, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Atheist Group Sues Officials of White House Faith-Based Offices (RNS) The Freedom from Religion Foundation has filed suit against officials of President Bush’s faith-based initiative, saying their actions unconstitutionally favor religious organizations. The eight-page complaint, filed Thursday (June 17) in U.S. District Court in Madison, Wis., questions federal funding of […]
NEWS STORY: Tucson Diocese May Declare Bankruptcy
By Daniel Burke — June 19, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Tucson sent a letter to parishioners on Wednesday (June 16) warning them that the diocese may have to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The letter, from Bishop Gerald Kicanas, explains why the diocese asked a state court on Monday for […]
NEWS STORY: Vermont Episcopalians Unveil Rites for Gay Civil Unions
By Kein Eckstrom — June 19, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Episcopalians in Vermont, in a “pastoral response” to the nation’s first and only civil unions law, have unveiled liturgical rites that gay couples can use in the state’s 48 Episcopal churches. The worship guidelines, which look and sound like liturgies used for heterosexual weddings, are believed to be the […]
New CDs Offer Cross Section of Christian Musical Sounds
By RNS Blog Editor — June 19, 2004
(UNDATED) Three recent releases from Christian contemporary groups offer fans a cross section of sounds from this increasingly diverse musical genre. Hard driving rock, soft ballads, worship-style music and classic gospel comprise three new releases from Third Day, Caedmon’s Call and the Jacksonville, Fla., Youth for Christ Choir. Like the Bible, these CDs shimmer with […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 18, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Church Group Lobbies for Legal Medical Marijuana WASHINGTON (RNS) The fight for compassionate medical marijuana policy is getting a boost from religious organizations ranging from the Episcopal Church to the Union for Reform Judaism. Even though some of these groups have been supporters of legislative change for years, one Washington-area […]
NEWS STORY: What’s In a Name? Baptists Debate Dropping `Southern’ From Name
By Adelle M. Banks — June 18, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service INDIANAPOLIS _ Does the name “Southern Baptist Convention” represent a region, a theology or something else? Members of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination engaged in a spirited debate that centered on that question Tuesday (June 15) after former Southern Baptist Executive Committee chairman Claude Thomas officially suggested a committee be […]
NEWS FEATURE: Van Angels: Couple Helps Churches Retrofit 15-Passenger Vans
By RNS Blog Editor — June 18, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Mark Smith often contemplates what his daughter, Malori, would be doing now if she hadn’t been killed on a church mission trip to Mexico two years ago, six weeks after her high school graduation. “You can’t help wondering,” Smith said by phone from his Denver home. “All of her […]
NEWS STORY: Southern Baptists, Ending Meeting, Hear Plea to Evangelize Schools
By Adelle M. Banks — June 18, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service INDIANAPOLIS _ Evangelist Franklin Graham closed out the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting Wednesday (June 16) by announcing a new initiative to encourage public school children to be on-campus evangelists for Christ. “I want to see a child, at least one child, in every class in every public school in […]
COMMENTARY: Reagan’s Senses of Timing and Humor Would Help American Bishops
By Frances Kennedy — June 18, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Eugene Cullen Kennedy, a longtime observer of the Roman Catholic Church, is professor emeritus of psychology at Loyola University in Chicago and author of “Cardinal Bernardin’s Stations of the Cross,” published by St. Martin’s Press.) (UNDATED) The late Ronald Reagan had two things that our beleaguered Catholic bishops could use […]
COMMENTARY: A Biblical All-Star Team
By James Rudin — June 18, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Rabbi Rudin, the American Jewish Committee’s senior interreligious adviser, is Distinguished Visiting Professor at Saint Leo University.) (UNDATED) The other day I joined millions of fellow baseball fans in choosing the starting lineup for next month’s All-Star game in Houston. While the game itself has no real meaning, it is […]
NEWS STORY: Presbyterians to Consider Proper Relations With Jews
By Kein Eckstrom — June 17, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When the Presbyterian Church (USA) gathers for its General Assembly meeting in Richmond, Va., perennial fights over homosexuality are likely to be overshadowed by the future of a controversial messianic Jewish congregation outside Philadelphia. Avodat Yisrael, a fledgling Presbyterian congregation that looks and feels like a Jewish synagogue, has […]
NEWS STORY: Baptists Reject Effort Calling for Withdrawal From Public Schools
By Adelle M. Banks — June 17, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service INDIANAPOLIS _ Southern Baptists turned back efforts Wednesday (June 16) to reject their involvement in public schools, ending a volatile and controversial debate that began with a proposal circulated prior to their annual meeting. A resolutions committee declined to recommend the controversial resolution to convention attendees, but its key proponent […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 17, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Catholic Bishops Submit Testimony to Democratic, GOP Platform Committees WASHINGTON (RNS) As the Republicans and Democrats begin to draw up their party platforms for this summer’s national conventions, the nation’s Catholic bishops urged them to “focus on moral principles” instead of “the latest polls.” “The central question should not be […]
NEWS STORY: Catholic Bishops Approve More Sexual Abuse Audits
By Kein Eckstrom — June 17, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The nation’s Roman Catholic bishops voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday (June 15) to proceed with a second round of audits to measure their own compliance with sexual abuse reforms. The bishops, meeting at a closed-door retreat in Englewood, Colo., voted 207-14 for the audits, which are scheduled to be completed […]
