Christianity

Florida Ministerial Group Debates Whether to Exclude Non-Christians

February 23, 2004

Source: The Herald-Tribune

http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040214/NEWS/402140402/1060

On February 23, 2004 The Herald-Tribune reported, "In a move that threatens to divide the local religious community, the Venice Area Ministerial Association is considering whether to exclude Jewish, Muslim and other religious groups that do not 'declare allegiance to Jesus Christ of Nazareth.' Several conservative church...

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Traditionalist Catholics in Richmond, New Hampshire

February 22, 2004

Source: The Boston Globe

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2004/02/22/cherishing_an_older_catholicism/

On February 22, 2004 The Boston Globe reported, "The worshipers at the St. Benedict Center are not big consumers of popular culture. Many don't own televisions. The nearest multiplex is miles away. And R-rated movies are frowned upon.

But Mel Gibson has done what MTV could not. By producing a graphic motion picture...

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Presbyterian Lay Ministers Bring Immigrants Closer to the Church

February 22, 2004

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0218/p03s01-ussc.html

On February 22, 2004 The Christian Science Monitor reported on the results of the radical step taken by Presbyterians in 1997 of letting laypeople baptize and serve the Lord's Supper. "Now, the Presbyterian Church, like other denominations, is watching new urban ministries blossom as a result of the policy, as fledgling ethnic communities link up with America's established churches...

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Vatican and Russian Orthodox Church Set Up Working Group to Improve Relations

February 21, 2004

Source: BBC News

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3509777.stm

On February 21, 2004 the BBC News reported, "The Vatican and the Russian Orthodox Church have agreed to set up a joint working group to try to improve relations. The announcement was made simultaneously in Rome and Moscow. The most senior Vatican representative to visit Russia for four years is currently on a mission to try to mend bridges between the two churches...The Russian Orthodox believe that Pope John Paul...

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"Cowboy Infidel" Confronts Religious Pluralism

February 21, 2004

Source: The Toledo Blade

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040221/NEWS10/102210138/-1/NEWS

On February 21, 2004 The Toledo Blade reported, "Bernie Keating grew up in the badlands of South Dakota, riding horses and running away from organized religion. He was, he says, 'a cowboy infidel' raised by 'a lukewarm Catholic father and a fallen-away Methodist mother.' His work as an engineering executive for Owens-...

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New York Judge Backs Ban on Nativity in Schools

February 20, 2004

Source: New York Newsday

http://www.nynewsday.com/news/local/queens/nyc-nyxmas193677544feb19,0,6404263.story?coll=nyc-topheadlines-queens

On February 20, 2004 New York Newsday reported, "A federal judge yesterday backed the city's Department of Education, ruling that the displaying of the Nativity scene, unlike Christmas trees and menorahs, is not secular and has no place in classrooms. Judge Charles Sifton in...

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American Episocpal Priest Reflects on Interfaith Cooperation to Rebuild Afghan Mosque

February 20, 2004

Source: Slate

http://slate.msn.com/id/2095536/

On February 20, 2004 the Slate ran a column by the Rev. Chloe Breyer, an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of New York, on her experience as a part of the partnership between the Diocese of New York and Masjid Hazrat-i-Abu Bakr in Flushing, N.Y. to rebuild a mosque destroyed in Afghanistan during the war of 2001. She writes, "For conservative Christians who doubt that the church should reconstruct mosques abroad while its own houses of worship...

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Some San Francisco Clergy Honor Gay Marriages

February 20, 2004

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/02/19/MNGTF53E1P25.DTL

On February 20, 2004 The San Francisco Chronicle reported, "City Hall workers are not the only officiants keeping busy these days with same-sex marriages. The Rev. Karen Oliveto, pastor of Bethany United Methodist Church in San Francisco, has provided God's blessing to eight couples who were issued civil marriage licenses since the...

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NY Interfaith Concert Celebrates a Diversity of Voices

February 19, 2004

Source: The Poughkeepsie Journal

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/thursday/lifeentertainment/stories/li021904s2.shtml

On February 19, 2004 The Poughkeepsie Journal reported, "Last year, at the first Salaam-Shalom: Family Culture Fest, members of Vassar Temple and Masjiid al-Noor celebrated and shared their cultural and religious heritage through music, dance, food, storytelling, henna art and face painting. This year, on Saturday...

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Catholics, Evangelicals Back Gibson's "The Passion"

February 19, 2004

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.beliefnet.com/story/140/story_14052_1.html

On February 19, 2004 Religion News Service published an article on the unorthodox alliance of supporters Mel Gibson has acquired for his upcoming film, "The Passion." "Gibson has virtually ignored the Catholic hierarchy and instead marketed his film almost exclusively to evangelicals, a well-organized audience of true believers that promises to turn the film into box office gold when...

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Gibson's Film Creates Communities on Dialogue

February 19, 2004

Source: US Newswire

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=150-02192004

On February 19, 2004 US Newswire reported, "Representatives of the Jewish community and several Christian denominations in the Greater Washington Area have created a dialogue guide to Mel Gibson's new film 'The Passion of the Christ.' The guide, offering a constructive approach for Christians and Jews in discussing the film, will be sent to hundreds of clergy in area...

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Conservative Website Challenges Catholic-Muslim Studies Program

February 18, 2004

Source: U.S. Newswire

http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=108-02182004

On February 18, 2004 U.S. Newswire reported, "PipeLineNews.org, the Internet's fastest growing conservative political news source, is calling for 'an immediate, thorough and unbiased review of the Bernardin School's Catholic-Muslim Studies Program, and that further 'interfaith outreach' to the Muslim community be immediately terminated pending that review.'" Editor...

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In "Unchurched" Oregon, Ecumenism Thrives

February 18, 2004

Source: The Oregonian

http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/living/1077109020127790.xml

On February 18, 2004 The Oregonian reported, "Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, a statewide partnership of 17 Christian denominations -- Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic -- is today celebrating 30 years of talking and working together... In the 21st century, in a Western state that shares a reputation for being largely '...

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Court Bans Ten Commandments from Nebraska Park

February 18, 2004

Source: American Civil Liberties Union

http://www.aclu.org/ReligiousLiberty/ReligiousLiberty.cfm?ID=14995&c=38

On February 18, 2004 American Civil Liberties Union reported, "Saying that the city of Plattsmouth 'abandoned its duty to religious neutrality and acted with the intent of promoting a particular point of view in religious matters,' a federal appeals court today ruled that the town’s Ten Commandments monument violates the religious...

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