Christianity

Spanish Mass Attracts Hundreds to Louisiana Church

April 30, 2001

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On April 30, 2001, St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that "every Sunday, the noon Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Ferguson [Louisiana] is packed" with "upwards of 300 people...The Rev. Richard Vogt... celebrates the Mass in Spanish and preaches in Spanish. For this Mass, the crowd is mostly Hispanic, drawn from throughout the metropolitan area - immigrants from Venezuela, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Mexico hungry to worship in their own language."

Supreme Court Exempts Religious Groups from Protection Laws

April 30, 2001

Source: The San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/04/30

On April 30, 2001, The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "the U.S. Supreme Court let stand today lower court rulings exempting religious organizations from local landmark protection laws." Its ruling "allows church groups to raze and replace historic buildings...A suit challenging the law was filed by a coalition of groups that...

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Three Houses of Worship Apply for Neighboring Lots

April 29, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On April 29, 2001, The New York Times reported that the Korean Presbyterian Church, the Jain Society of America and the North Shore Hebrew Academy "have each applied to the [Village of Lake Success in New York] to erect houses of worship and educational centers on the north service road of the Long Island Expressway...The buildings would be next door to one another...Officials viewed the applications as an affirmation of the Island's diversity."

Minister Bars Rabbi from Giving Baccalaureate Services

April 28, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On April 28, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that the Rev. Mickler's exclusion of Rabbi Lebow from giving a baccalaureate speech in his church "struck a sensitive spot with many of Atlanta's 100,000 Jews. Many felt the return of a nearly latent sense of "otherness" -- a sense that Christians view Jews as strange and somehow different." One Jewish resident expressed the feeling "that we're not 100 percent accepted."

Lawsuit Filed over Removal of Ten Commandments from Courthouse

April 28, 2001

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On April 28, 2001, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that "attorneys working pro bono [for Allegheny County, Pennsylvania] have submitted their response in U.S. District Court here to a lawsuit that Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed last month. In its lawsuit, Americans United contends that a bronze plaque displaying the Ten Commandments on the courthouse's exterior violates the First Amendment...The 83-year-old plaque, [the lawyers] say, has historical significance."

Jewish Group Teaches Belief in Jesus as the Messiah

April 28, 2001

Source: The Kansas City Star

On April 28, 2001, The Kansas City Star reported on "Jews for Jesus, an international organization whose mission is to make the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to Jews around the world. They maintain that being a Jew is an ethnic identity rather than a religious one, and use street evangelism, secular advertising campaigns, personal visits and Bible studies to reach Jews with their message...Local Jewish leaders...say that belief in Jesus as the Messiah makes one a Christian." Jews for Jesus disagrees.

National Day of Prayer Celebrated with Christian Focus

April 28, 2001

Source: The Times-Picayune

On April 28, 2001, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported that "the 50th observance of the National Day of Prayer will be marked... with celebrations across the country and the recitation of a special prayer written by evangelist Billy Graham...Recently, boosted by the work of an evangelical Christian ministry called the National Day of Prayer Task Force, observances have continued to expand...The work of the task force has been criticized by church-state separationists who believe the day has become focused primarily on...

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Lutheran Church Debates Whether to Join Coalition of Protestant Churches

April 27, 2001

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On April 27, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America will decide this summer whether to become an observer member of Churches Uniting in Christ, a coalition of nine Protestant churches hoping to move toward eventual full communion...As a partner, the ELCA would send a delegation to CUIC's inaugural celebration next January, work to combat racism and join dialogues on ministry."

Summit Builds Support for Faith-Based Initiative, Excludes Opposition

April 26, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On April 26, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported that "a Republican-led summit...built momentum among religious leaders for partnerships with government, but opposition groups protested that they had been excluded...'Today's invitation-only Republican faith-based summit looks like the manipulation of religion for partisan politician gain,' said the Rev. C. Welton Gaddy, executive director of Interfaith Alliance...The summit was intended to open a dialogue on ways religious groups can tap into the...

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Minister Bars Rabbi from Giving Baccalaureate Services

April 24, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On April 24, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported Bishop Lindsey Davis of the United Methodist Church's North Georgia Conference called for the Rev. Randy Mickler and Rabbi Steven Lebow to meet "face to face" to settle the issue of Mickler's barring Lebow from giving a baccalaureate address from his church pulpit.

Minister Bars Rabbi from Giving Baccalaureate Services

April 24, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On April 24, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution published excerpts from the Rev. Randy Mickler's most recent Sunday sermon. Mickler said, "It is a great disloyalty to Jesus Christ according to my faith for me to honor pagan religion by allowing them to preach their faith from this pulpit in His house... At no time would I ever want our Jewish friends to feel slighted, hurt or embarrassed."

Minister Bars Rabbi from Giving Baccalaureate Services

April 24, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On April 24, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution published an editorial arguing that "the pastor at Mount Bethel United Methodist Church in Cobb County [Georgia] was acting fully within his prerogatives in deciding that a rabbi would not be welcome to deliver a sermon during a baccalaureate service for Walton High School...That said, we also believe that the Walton High PTSA committee was absolutely correct to move its baccalaureate service to the Cobb Civic Center rather than allow any hosting facility...

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Charlie Ward Apologizes for Making Stereotypical Statements about Jews

April 24, 2001

Source: New York Daily News

On April 24, 2001, the New York Daily News reported that "hours after NBA commissioner David Stern and two more Jewish organizations criticized Charlie Ward [of the New York Knicks] for his 'uninformed and ill-founded statements' concerning Jews and Jesus Christ, Ward issued a formal apology last night... Ward said the whole controversy came to light only because he was curious about Judaism."

Minister Bars Rabbi from Giving Baccalaureate Services

April 23, 2001

Source: The Atlanta Journal and Constitution

On April 23, 2001, The Atlanta Journal and Constitution reported on the response to the Rev. Mickler's decision to bar a rabbi from giving baccalaureate services in his church. "The Rev. Randy Mickler's words earned a standing ovation from his Mount Bethel United Methodist Church congregation Sunday as he defended his refusal to permit a rabbi to speak from his pulpit...The same decision has prompted some Jewish families to cut ties to the Cobb County church's popular youth sports program."

Jesuit School Guidelines Posted on the Web

April 22, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On April 22, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "the Radio Studiorum, the detailed guidelines for Jesuit education, have been translated and posted on the [Boston College] website." The document is 400 years old, and had previously been available only in rare books sections of large libraries; now it can be found at "Radio Studiorum".

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