News

Pentecostals Celebrate 100-Year Anniversary of Their Movement

December 31, 2000

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On December 31, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Pentecostal movement, which "has, by some estimates, as many as 500 million members worldwide" turns 100 this New Year's Day. "Several thousand Pentecostals are expected to attend a special celebration of the anniversary at the Kansas Expocentre in Topeka" on New Year's Eve. Tim Miller, chairman of the Religious Studies Department at the University of Kansas, says "some scholars describe the rise of the Pentecostal movement as important as the...

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Muslims Celebrate End of Ramadan

December 31, 2000

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 31, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that while many were celebrating Christmas or Hanukkah, hundreds of Muslims gathered in the San Fernando Valley this year for Eid-al-Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which "commemorates what Muslims believe was God's revelation of their holy book, the Koran, to the prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago. It is a month of prayer, reflection, goodwill toward those less fortunate and fasting from dawn to dusk. Eid al-Fitr...is celebrated with family and feasts, and...

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Schoolbus Driver Treats Children To Christmas Gifts

December 31, 2000

Source: The Times-Picayune

On December 31, 2000, The Times-Picayune reported that Debbie Beck, a schoolbus driver in New Orleans, LA, delivered gifts to children in need for the holidays. Rev. Eugene Wellington, director of Community Christian Concern, said that Beck is truly dedicated to the children. She sought to find a family to adopt after she donated more than 40 gifts to CCC for children. At the CCC's Christmas party, children were treated to tours of the city in a limousine. Wellington said that the community's response to the program for children has...

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Why Schools Should Teach About All Cultures and Religions

December 31, 2000

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 31, 2000, in the Los Angeles Times , a professor of human development at Cal State offered a solution to the conflict that arose at Mariners Elementary School in Newport Beach when "a local rabbi and some of his congregation demanded the dismantling of holiday lights" put up at the school. The rabbi "called the act 'provocative,' saying it 'disfranchised' non-Christian students." At the same time, however, a Jewish mother "has been free to address classrooms of students about Hanukkah." The author suggests...

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Students Sometimes Adopt New Religious Beliefs

December 30, 2000

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On December 30, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that religious experts cite a recent growth of religious life on college campuses, and the accompanying trend of students coming home from school with religious beliefs different than their families. "Some students," they say, "are turning toward a more lasting commitment to religion, while others are looking for a type of spirituality different from the beliefs they got from their parents." The result may be a feeling of alienation from parents, who may not...

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Mormons Will Reenact Journey to 150-Year-Old Trek To Southern California

December 30, 2000

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 30, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that "more than 200 Mormons dressed in pioneer garb and traveling in covered wagons" will cover the 800-mile trail between Salt Lake City and San Bernardino this spring and summer to "replicate the Mormon journey to Southern California 150 years ago." "The wagon train is scheduled to leave Salt Lake City on April 25 and arrive in San Bernardino at the end of June for a three-day festival at Glen Helen Regional Park." Most of the pioneers will be southern Californians. "...

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Bishop Oversees Purchase of Entertainment Arena for His Church

December 30, 2000

Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 30, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported the formal announcement by Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer that the Faithful Central Baptist Church in Inglewood "had signed a $22.5-million deal to buy" the 17,500-seat Great Western Forum. The sale "marks the first time a U.S. church has bought such a large sports and entertainment venue." Since the popular Ulmer "arrived at Faithful Central on Florence Avenue in 1982, the congregation has grown to more than 8,000. That has made it one of the largest in Southern California, but...

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Celebrating the Anniversary of the Establishment of Christianity in Armenia

December 30, 2000

Source: The New York Times

On December 30, 2000, The New York Times reported that "the arrival of Jan. 1 will...have a specific meaning within the history of Christianity, for 2001 will mark 1,700 years since the faith's establishment in Armenia," when St. Gregory the Illuminator converted the Armenian king to Christianity. According to Archbishop Khajag Barsamian, head of the Diocese of the Armenian Church in America, "for 1,700 years, enlightened by the faith St. Gregory brought to Armenia, we are able not only to survive but also to have...

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Columnist Gives Top 10 Religion Stories of 2000

December 30, 2000

Source: The Boston Globe

On December 30, 2000, The Boston Globe ran Michael Paulson's "Top 10 religion stories of 2000:"

1. "Senator Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.) is nominated as the first Jewish candidate for vice president of the United States." Among other things, this caused Jews to question the "assumption that orthodoxy, at least for Jews, is incompatible with success in America."

2. "Pope John Paul II, Cardinal Bernard F. Law, and other Catholic prelates offer sweeping apologies for sins as part of celebration of Jubilee year...

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Top Religion News Stories of 2000

December 30, 2000

Source: The Washington Post

On December 30, 2000, The Washington Post reported on some of the biggest religion news stories of 2000.

The biggest one was "when Vice President Gore named Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, as his vice presidential running mate." Lieberman, thereby "the first Jewish candidate on a major party presidential ticket," called "for a greater role for religion in civic life." In this way, "the Democratic team...opened the door for Jewish Americans to play a more prominent...role in the nation's public life...

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