Monthly Archives: January 2006
Gospel Fans Mourn Loss of Historic Chicago Church
By Adelle M. Banks — January 12, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) From her 16th-floor Chicago apartment more than a dozen blocks away, gospel singer Albertina Walker watched the historic church burn. Walker knew that as Pilgrim Baptist Church went up in flames Friday (Jan. 6), so did a landmark where the late Thomas A. Dorsey created the music now known […]
Saucy TV Show Creates Public Relations Dilemma for Episcopal Church: With optional trims to 700 or 9
By Kein Eckstrom — January 12, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The Episcopal Church, in a bid to double its Sunday attendance by 2020, has revamped its Web site, updated its logo and tried to bill itself as open to all at any point in their spiritual journeys. So you’d think that a prime-time television drama about an Episcopal priest […]
COMMENTARY: Time to Stop Quoting Pat Robertson
By Frances Coleman — January 12, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) If Pat Robertson were a doctor, we could strip him of his medical license. If he were a lawyer, we could disbar him. But what do you do with a “televangelist” who is given to declaring God’s will for political leaders, resort communities and, indeed, entire nations? Is there […]
“Book of Daniel” as PR challenge; Gospel musicians remember Pilgrim Baptist Church
By RNS Blog Editor — January 12, 2006
In Wednesday’s RNS report Kevin Eckstrom looks at another angle of NBC’s “Book of Daniel”-that the program presents Episcopalians with an interesting public relations challenge: The Episcopal Church, in a bid to double its Sunday attendance by 2020, has revamped its Web site, updated its logo and tried to bill itself as open to anyone […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 12, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Baby Jesus, Always in Their Hearts, Is Now Back in Their Arms SAYREVILLE, N.J. (RNS) For the past two decades, Albert and Anne Filosa have set up a Nativity scene in the front yard of their home in Old Bridge. Albert Filosa was crushed when he arrived home Dec. 28 […]
Mormon Elder’s reaction to recent deaths
By Tracy Gordon — January 12, 2006
Quote of the Day: Mormon Elder M. Russell Ballard “The safest place in the world for 19-21-year-old young men and 21-year-old young women is in the service of the Lord in the mission field, scattered out over the four corners of the Earth.” -Elder M. Russell Ballard, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve […]
Bishop Puts a New Face on Abuse Scandal
By Kevin Eckstrom — January 11, 2006
Alan Cooperman over at The Washington Post has a story today about Bishop Tom Gumbleton of Detroit revealing that he was a victim of clergy sexual abuse some 60 years ago. Gumbleton, a liberal pacifist and one of the youngest (and now one of the longest-serving) men ever made a bishop in the U.S. Gumbleton […]
Christian Throwback Jerseys Promote Bible Verses
By RNS Blog Editor — January 11, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Army Reserve Sgt. 1st Class Cornell Jackson switches out of his military uniform and pulls on what looks like a Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls basketball jersey bearing the number 23. But where the word “Bulls” would be, it says “Psalm.” So the sports jersey becomes a biblical reference to […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 11, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Authorities to Decide on Church Leader Who Allegedly Sought Sex TULSA, Okla. (RNS) Authorities say they will decide this week whether to press formal charges against a prominent Southern Baptist leader arrested after allegedly inviting an undercover male police officer to come to his hotel room for sex. The Rev. […]
Islam to Govern Iraqi Law, Women’s Rights
By James Palmer — January 11, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service BAGHDAD _ The changes have come slowly. For nearly three years, Iraqi women have inched toward greater freedom. In some cases, it has meant breaking from traditional dress. In others, there have been leaps that once would have been unthinkable: driving, taking a job outside the home, or even entering […]
COMMENTARY: The Curse of Second Terms and What We the People Can Do About Them
By Tom Ehrich — January 11, 2006
c. 2005 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In their second terms, presidents get found out. In recent history, Dwight Eisenhower had Sherman Adams, Richard Nixon had Watergate, Ronald Reagan had Iran-Contra, Bill Clinton had Monica, and now George W. Bush has spying, torture, abuses of executive power and, swirling around his presidency, corruption scandals already implicating […]
Finding an Islamic way to “party”
By Tracy Gordon — January 10, 2006
Quote of the Day: Islamic sorority founder Althia Collins “Partying is allowed in Islam, but it’s how you party. You can have fun with girls and it doesn’t have to include men.” -Althia Collins, an Alexandria, Va., businesswoman who has helped create Gamma Gamma Chi, the nation’s first Islamic sorority. She was quoted by The […]
New NBC Religion Drama Leaving Some Hot Under the Collar
By RNS Blog Editor — January 10, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ NBC’s new Friday series “The Book of Daniel” is the first network show in years to center on a man of God: an Episcopal priest played by Aidan Quinn. But those who are expecting a rehash of the WB’s “7th Heaven,” a warmhearted drama about a minister’s […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — January 10, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Pope Says Terrorism Could Lead to `Clash of Civilizations’ VATICAN CITY (RNS) Pope Benedict XVI on Monday (Jan. 9) warned that the rise of Islamic terrorism, countered by the use of unchecked military force, was leading the world toward a “clash of civilizations.” In a foreign policy address to the […]
Man Who Shot Pope John Paul II to Be Released From Turkish Prison
By RNS Blog Editor — January 10, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service VATICAN CITY _ Mehmet Ali Agca, the gunman who shot John Paul II in St. Peter’s square, could be released from a Turkish prison as early as this week, capping decades of jail time that resulted from the 1981 assassination attempt and a previous murder conviction. According to the state-affiliated […]
