Monthly Archives: February 2010
Mennonite farmer gets OK to market Hobbit Tea line
By Tracy Gordon — February 18, 2010
(RNS) Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings,” might want to fire up the kettle and get out their map of Middle-earth, that beloved world of wizards, dragons and hobbits created by the fantasy author. Time to pencil in Dalton, Ohio, first home of Hobbit Tea. This tiny village is where seven young Mennonite […]
`Hook ups’ are more likely for women at Catholic colleges
By Tracy Gordon — February 18, 2010
Only 5 of top 25 U.S. churches report membership growth
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
(RNS) U.S. membership has increased in the Catholic Church — the nation’s largest Christian body — but the No. 2 Southern Baptist Convention, along with most mainline protestant denominations, reported continuing decline, according to new figures released by the National Council of Churches. Both the Southern Baptists and Catholics reported membership losses in last year’s […]
Wiccan chaplain battles for state recognition
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
(RNS) A volunteer Wiccan chaplain is headed to a federal appeals court in an attempt to get California to hire prison clergy outside five religious categories. Supported by interfaith scholars and church-state separationists, the Rev. Patrick McCollum argues that the state policy has the “pernicious effect” of depriving inmates of other religious backgrounds from getting […]
Catholic bishops face tough questions, hard answers on infertility
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
ST. LOUIS (RNS) “Be fruitful,” God instructed Adam and Eve, “and multiply.” They were the first words God spoke to his creation, and his creation has heeded them ever since. But over the years, God’s creation has become sophisticated enough to rewrite the original rules of being fruitful, and most of the new rules don’t […]
10 minutes with … Brian McLaren
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
(RNS) Traditional Christian values and modern culture need not clash, according to Rev. Brian McLaren, 53, a nondenominational Maryland pastor who is one of the leading lights of the Emerging Church Movement and a polarizing figure in conservative circles. In his latest and 12th book, “A New Kind of Christianity,” McLaren outlines 10 questions he […]
COMMENTARY: Let’s call `emergency contraception’ what it really is
By Phyllis Zagano — February 17, 2010
(RNS) I do not want my taxes to pay for abortions. It is as simple as that. Nor, for that matter, do I want the military to pay for them on my behalf. While Congressional abortion-rights forces played a shell game with the House and Senate health care bills — trumping anti-abortion restrictions in one […]
GUEST COMMENTARY: Uganda’s modern-day Via Dolorosa
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
(RNS) The Via Dolorosa — the Way of Suffering — is a street in Jerusalem believed to be where Jesus carried his cross on the way to his crucifixion. For the 40 days of Lent, Christians will walk with Jesus on the road to Calvary. At the beginning of Lent, on Ash Wednesday, we take […]
Wednesday’s roundup
By Kevin Eckstrom — February 17, 2010
The independent federal panel charged with monitoring religious freedom abroad is rife with charges of religious discrimination at home, according to WaPo. The paper is also reporting that the Archdiocese of Washington, making good on fears of cutting back social services, has ended its foster care program rather than yield to the city’s pending gay-marriage […]
Winning, sinning on Uganda
By Mark Silk — February 17, 2010
The latest winner among media voices speaking out on Uganda is WaPo conservative columnist Kathleen Parker, who rises to considerable eloquence today in a denunciation of the bill in the Uganda legislature that would, among other things, apply the death penalty to those found to have repeatedly engaged in homosexual acts. “State genocide of a […]
The Hope of the Irish
By Mark Silk — February 17, 2010
In the dark night of the soul of the Catholic Church in Ireland, one light shines in the firmament: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin. See David Gibson’s fine profile over at Politics Daily.
Update: Sentencing in faith-healing death postponed
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS) The sentencing for two parents convicted in the faith-healing death of their teenage son has been rescheduled for March 8. Jeffrey and Marci Beagley’s sentencing had been set for Feb. 18. One of the attorneys in the case is involved in an unrelated trial and the hearing was reset to because of […]
Clinton prosecutor Kenneth Starr named Baylor president
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
(RNS) Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel whose long-running probe led to the impeachment of former President Bill Clinton, has been named the new president of Baylor University, the world’s largest Baptist university. Starr, who has been the dean of the law school at Pepperdine University since 2004, was chosen unanimously by Baylor’s board of regents […]
British Methodists say they’re ready to join Anglicans
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
LONDON (RNS) The leader of the Methodist Church of Great Britain says his denomination is now ready to rejoin the Church of England after a separation of more than two centuries. The Rev. David Gamble, president of the Methodist Conference, told the Church of England’s General Synod last week (Feb. 11) that “we are prepared […]
Ore. poised to end ban on teachers’ religious garb
By Tracy Gordon — February 17, 2010
(RNS) Oregon is poised to become the 48th state to permit teachers to wear headscarves and other religious dress in school, ending an 87-year ban that was originally intended to keep Catholic nuns out of public schools. The 51-8 vote by the state’s House of Representatives is the first decision toward repealing Oregon’s ban on […]
