Monthly Archives: June 2006
Presbyterians Poised to Act on Gay Issues, Middle East
By Carl Anderson — June 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ The nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination entered the home stretch of its eight-day General Assembly on Monday (June 19), poised to take up the contentious issue of gay clergy and the thorny question of the use of church investments in the Middle East. On the gay issue, delegates, […]
Christian Reformed Church Approves Women Clergy _ Sort Of
By Charles Honey — June 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. _ It was supposed to be a spirit-filled compromise but, to the Rev. Thea Leunk, it just felt like a loss. The pastor of Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church here felt sad after the denomination’s Synod approved removing the word “male” as a qualification for ministers on […]
Support Grows for Wicca Marker on Soldier’s Grave
By RNS Blog Editor — June 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The space where the memorial marker of Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart, a decorated American soldier who was killed last year in Afghanistan, should stand is empty because his Wiccan faith is not one of 30 approved for such designation by the federal government. Stewart, a 34-year-old native of Fernley, […]
COMMENTARY: Saying No to Torture
By David P. Gushee — June 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Last week the National Religious Campaign Against Torture released a brief statement unequivocally condemning any resort to torture (http://www.nrcat.org). It was signed by 27 religious leaders _ Jewish, Muslim, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant. I feel honored to have been one of these 27 signatories. Among the notable names attached […]
Clinton on “Interreligious Understanding”
By Tracy Gordon — June 20, 2006
Quote of the Day: Former President Bill Clinton “For people in America who are a part of my political tradition, our great sin has often been ignoring religion or denying its power or refusing to engage it because it seemed hostile to us. For … the so-called Christian right and its allies, their great sin […]
Episcopalians Elect Female Nevada Bishop as Top Leader
By Daniel Burke — June 19, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Episcopalians elected the bishop of Las Vegas, Katharine Jefferts Schori, as the church’s top leader on Sunday (June 18), making her the first woman to lead a national church in the worldwide Anglican Communion. Schori, 52, was elected in a closed conclave of bishops at the historic […]
McCarrick Warns That Politics Are Seeping Into Church Life
By Jeff Diamant — June 19, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service LOS ANGELES _ Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of Washington, a man both championed and disparaged as a political moderate within his Catholic Church, strode quietly to the podium last week (June 15) to address 200 bishops gathered here for their annual conference. McCarrick, known for diplomacy in matters political and personal, […]
Episcopalians Affirm Communion Ties, Yet Issues Remain
By Daniel Burke — June 17, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Episcopalians this week have taken steps to affirm their place within the worldwide Anglican Communion, but many of the most divisive issues that will determine that relationship remain unresolved. Resolutions at the church’s General Convention, including one that calls for the American church to “seek to live […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 17, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Israeli Rabbis Agree to Recognize American Conversions JERUSALEM (RNS) Israel’s Chief Rabbinate has agreed to automatically recognize all past, current and future conversions approved by the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) after representatives of the two bodies met in Jerusalem in early June. The agreement does not extend to Orthodox […]
Assisted Suicide May Become Newest GOP Campaign Issue
By RNS Blog Editor — June 17, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Congress was trying to pass a war funding bill and members were heading for a weekend recess when Sen. Sam Brownback held a rushed subcommittee hearing. The Kansas Republican, one of the Senate’s most socially conservative members, scheduled the session to explore “the consequences of legalized assisted suicide […]
Catholic Bishops Approve Changes in the Mass
By Jeff Diamant — June 17, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service LOS ANGELES _ At the start of every Roman Catholic Mass, the priest welcomes the congregation with the words, “The Lord be with you.” But the collective response, “And also with you,” a fixture for nearly 40 years, will soon become “And with your spirit.” That was one of dozens […]
Lock up, peace is coming
By Tracy Gordon — June 16, 2006
Quote of the Day: Farmer Bryce Wiehl of Smith Center, Kan. “Some people call them a cult, and some little old ladies are locking their doors. You’re in the Bible Belt, and this is a Hindu-based religion. People don’t like that idea.” -Bryce Wiehl, 50, a farmer in Smith Center, Kan., talking about reaction in […]
Gay Bishop Says He Will `Stay at the Table’ as Episcopalians Seek Unity
By Daniel Burke — June 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Episcopalians, deeply torn over the issue of homosexuality and at odds with many other members of the Anglican Communion, are meeting here this week to debate how _ or if _ they can maintain the church’s fragile unity. At a packing hearing room on Wednesday (June 14) […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Danforth Says Episcopalians at Risk of Being `Irrelevant’ COLUMBUS, Ohio (RNS) In a world rife with violence inspired by religion, the Episcopal Church has a “calling to be a ministry of reconciliation,” former U.S. Sen. John Danforth said Thursday (June 15). An ordained Episcopal priest who served 18 years in […]
Gay, Lesbian Muslims Seek Out `Marriages of Convenience’
By RNS Blog Editor — June 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service NEW YORK _ On a Web site for gay South Asians, 27-year-old Syed Mansoor uploaded the following message last summer: “Hi, I am looking for a lesbian girl for marriage. I am gay but I would like to get married because of pressure from parents and society. I would like […]
