Monthly Archives: June 2006
Secret Service Says Gospel Tracts Look Like Funny Money
By Adelle M. Banks — June 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When does an evangelistic tract become contraband? A Denton, Texas-based evangelistic ministry and the U.S. Secret Service are locked in a legal dispute over that question after agents seized dozens of packs of tracts resembling $1 million bills. In the past three years, the Great News Network has distributed […]
Secret Service Says Gospel Tracts Look Like Funny Money
By Adelle M. Banks — June 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) When does an evangelistic tract become contraband? A Denton, Texas-based evangelistic ministry and the U.S. Secret Service are locked in a legal dispute over that question after agents seized dozens of packs of tracts resembling $1 million bills. In the past three years, the Great News Network has distributed […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Presbyterian Benefactor Beset by Money Woes, Newspaper Says (RNS) The Denver man who pledged $150 million to help the Presbyterian Church (USA) start new churches has a house in foreclosure and mountains of debt and legal bills, according to a Denver Post investigation. Stanley W. Anderson made the pledge _ […]
COMMENTARY: Bishops Plan for 2025 by Returning to 1925
By Frances Kennedy — June 22, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) In the same week that Democrats gathered to find a plan that would take them successfully into the future, America’s Catholic bishops revealed their plan to enter the future by returning to the past. The bishops, meeting in Los Angeles, approved new translations of the Mass prayers that make […]
God or Chicken?
By Tracy Gordon — June 21, 2006
Quote of the Day: United Methodist Pastor Dr. Scott Morris “The church ought to lead the way, not bring up the rear. If the church has to serve fried chicken in order to draw a crowd, then there is something wrong with the message.” -Dr. Scott Morris, physician and associate pastor at St. John’s United […]
In Seismic Shift, Presbyterians Make Room for Gay Clergy
By Carl Anderson — June 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ The nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination, in a seismic shift on the role of gays and lesbians in the church, voted on Tuesday (June 20) to allow local and regional bodies to ordain gays to the church’s ministries. After nearly three hours of debate, delegates voted 298 to […]
RNS Weekly Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 21, 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 […]
In Seismic Shift, Presbyterians Make Room for Gay Clergy
By Carl Anderson — June 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ The nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination, in a seismic shift on the role of gays and lesbians in the church, voted on Tuesday (June 20) to allow local and regional bodies to ordain gays to the church’s ministries. After nearly three hours of debate, delegates voted 298 to […]
Episcopalians Reject Ban on Gay Bishops
By Daniel Burke — June 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio _ In a move that threatens to throw the Episcopal Church into further discord with fellow Anglicans, Episcopalians on Tuesday (June 20) refused to accept a proposed ban on the ordination of openly gay bishops. Both liberals and conservatives united to defeat the ban in a deeply divided […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service McCarrick, in Parting Shots, Urges Greater Civility in Politics WASHINGTON (RNS) Retiring Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who has spent five years as the Catholic Church’s unofficial liaison to both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, is urging Catholic politicians to end the “politics of bitter division and polarization.” “For your sake and for […]
Presbyterians Unveil New Language for Trinity
By Greg Garrison — June 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ For some Presbyterian churches, the phrase “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” may soon give way to alternatives such as “Compassionate mother, beloved child and lifegiving womb.” The Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly on Monday (June 19) accepted a report that encourages _ but does not mandate _ […]
Support Grows for Wicca Marker on Soldier’s Grave
By RNS Blog Editor — June 21, 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: The Dying Gasp of the Sexuality Wars … Hopefully
By Tom Ehrich — June 21, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service (UNDATED) Halfway through the Episcopal Church’s 10-day General Convention in Columbus, Ohio, a friend and I found a quiet corner at the Convention Center and discussed matters important to the church. We discussed communications, leadership, reaching youth and young adults, the lively work that many congregations are quietly doing, and […]
Election of Woman Bishop Puts Domestic, Global Strains on Episcopalians
By Daniel Burke — June 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service COLUMBUS, Ohio _ The Episcopal Church’s election of the world’s first female primate on Sunday (June 18) threatens to tear the church apart and move it further from the worldwide Anglican Communion, conservative leaders here said Monday. Elected by a majority of Episcopal bishops and enthusiastically confirmed by lay and […]
RNS Daily Digest
By RNS Blog Editor — June 20, 2006
c. 2006 Religion News Service Group Proposes Splitting Civil, Religious Rites for Marriage LONDON (RNS) A religious think-tank has suggested that legal marriage in Britain be scrapped and replaced with a range of civil partnerships, to make clear the distinction between a religious marriage and one defined under law. The progressive Christian group Ekklesia said […]
