Monthly Archives: July 2004
COMMENTARY: Developing a Spirituality of Abundance
By Tom Ehrich — July 28, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Tom Ehrich is a writer and computer consultant, managing large-scale database implementations. An Episcopal priest, he lives in Durham, N.C. Visit his Web site at http://www.onajourney.org.) EMERALD ISLE, N.C. _ Our new gear for this beach trip is a portable canvas gazebo, i.e. sunburn prevention device. Otherwise, it’s just family, […]
Sports Arena Churches — Trend or Exception?
By Bob Smietana — July 28, 2004
There's a long tradition of building churches that look like sports arenas.
NEWS STORY: Democrats Tread Carefully on Both Sides of the `God Gap’
By Holly Lebowitz Rossi — July 28, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service BOSTON _ Democrats gathered here for their presidential nominating convention have a lot of issues on their minds, but for many, whether religion is the exclusive political property of the right is not among them. “God teaches us in the Scriptures that he was the biggest social reformer on the […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 27, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Pope Appeals for End to Conflicts in Uganda, Darfur Region of Sudan (UNDATED) Pope John Paul II has appealed for an end to the long and “tragic conflict” in northern Uganda and urged the world to not “remain indifferent” to intensifying warfare in the Darfur region of Sudan, which has […]
NEWS FEATURE: Abortion, Segregation Different Issues for Catholic Bishops
By RNS Blog Editor — July 27, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS _ For more than a year, some conservative Catholics have invoked the memory of former New Orleans Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel in urging discipline of Catholic politicians who support abortion rights _ much as Rummel excommunicated a group of vocal segregationists in 1962. But, as some scholars point […]
NEWS FEATURE: Catholic Church Has History of Disciplining Dissidents
By RNS Blog Editor — July 27, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS _ The blow fell just before Easter 1962, in a city attuned to the solemn rhythms of traditional Catholicism. On Monday of Holy Week, Archbishop Joseph Francis Rummel announced the excommunication of three Catholic public figures for loudly condemning his decision to integrate the archdiocese’s Catholic schools. Until […]
NEWS FEATURE: Reclaiming Downtown Birmingham: Worshipping in Unlikely Buildings
By RNS Blog Editor — July 27, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ The driveway on the east side of Crossroads Community Church’s downtown building once led to an automotive shop. Now, travelers pull in to get their souls serviced instead of their tires. Through the years, downtown Birmingham buildings that were once warehouses, a bank and even a bus […]
NEWS STORY: Democrats Tap First Director of Religious Outreach
By Kein Eckstrom — July 24, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ The Democratic National Committee, believing President Bush’s support among moderate religious voters may be growing soft, has hired its first director to specifically reach out to faith groups. The Rev. Brenda Bartella Peterson was named senior adviser for religious outreach on Friday (July 23). She will serve at […]
NEWS FEATURE: Scoop of Spirituality: Ice Cream Parlor Linked to Ministry
By RNS Blog Editor — July 24, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service FLINT, Mich. _ How about this for a curious combination: an ice cream parlor on one side of the room and a religious ministry on the other? It’s easy to explain, says owner Andrew McGarry. “I have yet to see anyone who comes in to get ice cream who is […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — July 24, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service Prisons taking steps to prevent religious extremism (RNS) In an effort to prevent religious extremism, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has made more than a dozen changes in its selection and supervision of providers of Muslim religious services, according to a government analysis. A May report by the Justice Department’s […]
NEWS STORY: Survey: One out of Three Protestant Teens Read Bible Weekly
By RNS Blog Editor — July 24, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Nearly one-third of U.S. Protestant teens say they read the Bible by themselves once a week or more, according to the National Study of Youth and Religion. The survey by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill found 32 percent of Protestant teens reported reading the […]
NEWS STORY: New Thought Conference Urges Followers to Spiritual Innovation
By Adelle M. Banks — July 24, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service VIENNA, Va. _ Leaders of the New Thought movement used their annual conference as an opportunity to encourage a nontraditional spiritual quest. At a morning session of the 89th Annual Congress of the International New Thought Alliance, held July 18-23, speakers suggested new ways to approach the metaphysical path on […]
COMMENTARY: Presbyterians Approved Words _ and Actions _ for Justice and Peace
By RNS Blog Editor — July 23, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service (Bruce Gillette, co-pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Pitman, N.J., was a delegate to the 216th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) in Richmond, Va. He served as moderator of the Committee on Peacemaking, which handled most international issues.) (UNDATED) Jewish cantor Sunny Schnitzer was a leader for the […]
NEWS FEATURE: A `Summer Camp’ for Jailed Moms and Their Kids
By Adelle M. Banks — July 23, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ In a training room of the city jail, Joyce Morris and her 10-year-old daughter Kathryn instinctively held hands. It was something they hadn’t done for six months. On this mid-July day, they had just begun a unique experience _ a “summer camp” for incarcerated mothers and children designed […]
NEWS FEATURE: New Bishop Willimon May Shake Up Methodists With Puckish Style
By Yonat Shimron — July 23, 2004
c. 2004 Religion News Service RALEIGH, N.C. _ The outspoken dean of the Duke Chapel was once elbowed by the university president to explain what she considered an inappropriate remark. “Why do you say some of the things you say?” former Duke University President Nan Keohane asked the Rev. William H. Willimon. Willimon paused, he […]
