Monthly Archives: June 2006
Episcopalians Prepare to Elect New Presiding Bishop
By Daniel Burke — June 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio _ With so much attention focused on how the Episcopal Church will deal with schism and sexuality at its General Convention here this week, it almost seems an afterthought that the denomination will also choose a new presiding bishop. One of seven candidates will be elected for a […]
Younger Southern Baptists Feel `New Day’ in Church’s Life
By Adelle M. Banks — June 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service GREENSBORO, N.C. _ On the eve of this year’s annual meeting of Southern Baptists, Micah Fries spoke of how he, as a 27-year-old pastor, often feels left out of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. But with the presidential election of Frank Page, a self-described “normal” pastor, Fries and other young […]
RELIGION BEST-SELLERS
By RNS Blog Editor — June 16, 2006
(Editor’s note: This June list is compiled by Publishers Weekly magazine from data received from general independent bookstores, chain stores and wholesalers within the month of May. Copyright 2006 Publishers Weekly. Distributed by Religion News Service.) HARDCOVER 1. Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman’s Soul, by John and Stasi Eldredge. (Thomas Nelson, $22.99) 2. […]
Presbyterians Kick Off General Assembly in Birmingham
By Greg Garrison — June 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ Thousands of Presbyterians converged on Birmingham Thursday (June 15) to kick off an eight-day General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA). It will be a series of business sessions and worship services for the nation’s largest Presbyterian body, which has 2.4 million adult members and 3.1 million […]
Southern Baptists Vow `Godly Influence’ on Public Schools
By Adelle M. Banks — June 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service GREENSBORO, N.C. _ Southern Baptists overwhelmingly passed a resolution Thursday (June 14) that calls on churches to exert “godly influence” upon the nation’s public schools, sidestepping a proposal that called for an “exit strategy” from the schools. “We realized that we simply cannot abandon the public schools,” Tommy French, chairman […]
COMMENTARY: The Nazi Cancer Didn’t Die With World War II
By James Rudin — June 16, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) The Nazi movement was a malignant cancer that killed tens of millions of people, engulfed the world in an horrific war, and fostered murderous hatred of Jews, Slavs, Gypsies, homosexuals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the physically disabled, the mentally infirm and a long list of other “inferior” peoples and groups. Although […]
Episcopalians meet; Presbyterians meet; Baptists meet; and gay Muslims who seek marriages of conveni
By RNS Blog Editor — June 16, 2006
In Thursday’s RNS report, National Correspondent Daniel Burke reports from Columbus, Ohio, where Episcopalians are meeting in an effort to hold the church together: The packed hearing room overflowed with Episcopalians of every stripe on Wednesday (June 14) as delegates to the denomination’s General Convention debated how to hold the fragile American church together. In […]
Boston priest attends gay pride festivities
By Tracy Gordon — June 15, 2006
Quote of the Day: Boston priest Walter Cuenin “I told a friend of mine … that I was going to be here today, speaking at a gay pride interfaith service, and she said to me, `What’s a Catholic priest doing at a gay pride service?’ My response was, `Why wouldn’t a Catholic priest be here?’ […]
Inside the Mind of bin Laden
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2006
Reading Group Studies Bin Laden for Understanding A group of Vanderbilt University professors meets regularly to ponder and debate the statements of Osama bin Laden, as reported in this week’s full-RNS article, linked above. Quote: The rhetoric is reasoned and well informed, not irrational. In addition to Scripture, he draws from current events and even […]
Southern Baptists Declare `Total Opposition’ to Alcohol
By Adelle M. Banks — June 15, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service GREENSBORO, N.C. _ Southern Baptists _ a group that is rarely associated with heavy drinking _ overwhelmingly passed a resolution Wednesday (June 14) declaring “total opposition” to alcohol use in the United States. Delegates added language that specifically urges that no one be appointed to Southern Baptist-related trustee boards who […]
Churches Rebuild New Orleans, One House at a Time
By Bruce Nolan — June 15, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS _ In the early morning light one day last week, Inman Houston, a Southern Baptist seminary student and staffer at First Baptist Church New Orleans, climbed onto a makeshift table and called for prayer among a crowd of ragtag volunteers gathered in a parking lot in the city’s […]
Ban on Internet at Home Turns Many Jews into Library Regulars
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service LAKEWOOD, N.J. _ Bruce Rosenberg used to pay his bills online from home. That changed in September, when the rabbis of this town’s large Orthodox community told parents of yeshiva students they no longer could have the Internet in their homes. Rosenberg, who has two children in religious school, disconnected. […]
Rice Pushes Religious Freedom in Speech to Baptists
By Adelle M. Banks — June 15, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service GREENSBORO, N.C. _ Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice addressed the Southern Baptists at their annual meeting Wednesday (June 14), issuing a call for increased religious freedom and describing her personal faith. “If America does not rally support for people everywhere who desire to worship in peace and freedom, then I […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Puerto Rican Branch of UCC Severs Ties Over Gay Issue (RNS) The Puerto Rican branch of the United Church of Christ has voted to break from the American church because of “discomfort” over the denomination’s liberal stance on sexuality issues, according to a UCC news release. The Iglesia Evangelica Unida […]
Churches Find a Way to Rebuild Homes, Communities, Lives
By RNS Blog Editor — June 15, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service NEW ORLEANS _ Just days after Hurricane Katrina struck the city last August, some New Orleans churches mounted relief operations that continue to this day. Some have gone beyond storm relief, becoming centers for planning, encouragement and help that have begun to nourish damaged neighborhoods. Here are two examples of […]
