Diana Davis of Baptist Press talks about ways to remember 9/11 at church. She suggested five ways to do it. Examples of practical ways to do it are honoring the first responders, sharing of testimony, and challenging the church. She ends her suggestion with a question:
As we remember 9/11, will your church and church members recommit to be God’s representatives during crisis?
You can read the details of Davis’ suggestion at Baptist Press.
Patrick Goodeneough of CNSNEWS.COM reports the inconsistency between Iran’s claim to religious tolerance and its actual campaign against Christianity. The Iranian government is alarmed about the growth of Christianity especially among its youth. The most obvious manifestation of hostility to Christianity is demonstrated by the government through its seizure of the Bibles. Repeated occurrences of confiscating were reported. Examples of report are as follows:
Last week, Mohabat reported that authorities had seized 6,500 pocket-sized Bibles in northwestern Iran.
Mohabat recalled previous incidents of Bibles being seized, including one last February, when Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and security officials in a routine inspection of a bus near the Iran-Turkey border found 600 New Testaments, which they destroyed along with confiscated alcohol in a public burning.
A similar incident in the same area last October also saw officials seize and burn Bibles…
The Iranian Bible Society’s offices have been shut for decades, and authorities do not allow publishing or reprinting of Bibles in Iran.
You can read the entire story about this Iranian campaign in confiscating the Bible at CNSNEWS.COM.
Coalition of Conscience, “a North Carolina-based network of church, business, and education leaders” plans to show the American public that Christians must start doing something overcoming evil with good, says Charlie Butts of OneNewsNow. The group intends to attend a “gay pride” event Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina inviting the participants to prayer and concert. Dr. Michael Brown the leader and spokesperson of the Coalition said:
The Coalition of Conscience will simply seek to overcome evil with good, and will not use an in-your-face approach. Another objective of the event is to send a message to America that people don’t have to sit back and do nothing while activists take a major role in their city.
You can read more about this report at:
Russ Jones of oneness.com reports about Matt Hybarger, a Christian artist whose aim is to bring message of hope through music to broken people. Jones shares Hybarger’s realization about our time:
…there was not much in the culture to help people deal with brokenness — a state of life he believes affects many in this modern-day culture.
Hybarger wrote two songs, “When Life Gets Broken” and “Never Alone” to accomplish his goal.
You can read more about this story at:
Associated Press reports that Elmhurst College in suburban Chicago is offering scholarships to LGBT students (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered). The College is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Gary Rold, the college’s dean of admission believes:
Increasing diversity is part of our mission statement.
You can trace the source of this report at:
Charlie Butts of onenews.com reports about the story of Ed Thomas, a high school football coach in Parkersburg, Iowa. Thomas is a man of faith, hope, and inspiration to many. People are shocked to hear news about his murder by his former player, Mark Becker. For Thomas family, the tragedy is difficult to handle apart from faith. Aaron, the coach son said:
Without faith, I don’t know how anybody handles those types of situations and gets through them because we know in the end for eternity, he’s where he wants to be.
The story of the coach is now being told in a book, The Sacred Acre: The Ed Thomas Story.
Tom Breen of Associated Press reports about a study performed by Mark Chaves, a Duke University expert. The study is about the existing religious trend in America. Chaves states:
Despite the prominence of religious believers in politics and culture, America has shrinking congregations, growing dissatisfaction with religious leaders and more people who do not think about faith…
Other experts disagree with the results of Chaves’ study.
Samuel G. Freedman of The New York Times reports about the ministry of Rev. Bonnie McDougall Olson. Rev. Olson is one among the six chaplains serving Creedmor Psychiatric Center in Queens, a state hospital with more than 10, 000 patients. Majority of those patients have received diagnoses of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Ms. Olson uses narrative approach for the patients to express what is in their hearts. She voiced out her surprise about her patients:
The thing that strikes me about psychiatric patients…is that so many people tell their story for them. When do they get to tell it for themselves? The act of writing is that your story is not only worth being told, but being heard. And this is all based on their story being sacred. Their experience, heartbreaking as it is, is held by God.
Nolan Hicks of Perry Presidential reports about Gov. Rick Perry’s change course of action to support gay marriage ban nationwide. In late July, the Associated Press caught Perry saying that he wouldn’t support any effort to constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. Hicks identifies the pressure coming from the conservatives as the reason for this change:
Gov. Rick Perry has signed a pledge to support a constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage nationwide, reversing course after he came under fire from conservatives…
Michael O’Malley of Cleveland.com reports that hundreds of United Methodists want to influence their members to be more gay-friendly. The goal of this gay-movement could be summed up as follows:
They hope to soon change their church’s official position that homosexuality is a sin – an issue that has caused a raging debate among the laity and clergy for decades.
Opinions of church ministers vary. There are those who expect that the movement will prevail. Others warn that if the denomination changes its official position, expect a mass departure of members from the church.
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