Christianity

Two Congregations Share Support

January 31, 2001

Source: The Tampa Tribune

On January 31, 2001, The Tampa Tribune reported on the relationship between the two congregations that have been meeting in St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Tampa, Florida, on Sundays since 1992. In the morning Episcopalians "gather to worship with the Rev. Kevin Donlon, a second-generation Irish priest from New York...They are...a typical representation of mainly white, middle-class America." Around noon, "members of Florida's only Ethiopian Orthodox church" begin arriving from as far as Miami and Jacksonville. "Many are...

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Church Celebrates Its Hundredth Year

January 31, 2001

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On January 31, 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, is celebrating 100 years. Leonard Chemsak, the congregation's historian, "hopes the yearlong celebration achieves two things: 'We want to celebrate 100 years of tradition but also celebrate the long-standing traditions of our heritage and rite.'... Chemsak, who was baptized at St. Nicholas in 1929, has seen many changes throughout the years. Many of the old traditions seem lost, and families aren'...

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Use of Jesus' Name in Bush's Inauguration Discussed

January 29, 2001

Source: Star Tribune

On January 29, 2001, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published a commentary by Alan Dershowitz on Franklin Graham's dedication of Bush's inauguration to Jesus Christ. Graham's "particularistic and parochial language," claimed Dershowitz, "excluded tens of millions of American Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Shintoists, Unitarians, agnostics and atheists from his blessing...The plain message conveyed by the new administration is that Bush's America is a Christian nation, and that non-Christians are welcome into the tent so long as they agree to...

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Improvements Noted in Jewish-Catholic Relations

January 28, 2001

Source: The Denver Post

On January 28, 2001, The Denver Post published an article on the improvement in Jewish-Catholic relations in the past few decades. Rabbi James Rudin thinks that "more good was accomplished in Jewish-Catholic relations in the last 35 years than in the rest of the millennium." He said "most of the movement has come from changes in attitudes by the Roman Catholic Church." There has been "a long line of overtures and apologies made by the Catholic Church in the last three decades of the 20th century." Rudin said such apologies -- for...

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Project Explores Healing and African-descended Spirituality

January 28, 2001

Source: Africana.com

http://www.africana.com/DailyArticles/index_20010128.htm

On January 28, 2001, Africana.com reported on "a groundbreaking $750,000 research venture called the Boston Healing Landscape Project. Funded by the Ford Foundation...and implemented by the Department of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine, the project's main focus will be examining communities of African descent in the Boston area and exploring how people use alternative and...

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Armenian Church Celebrates Anniversary, Faces Loss of Faith

January 27, 2001

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

On January 27, 2001, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that "Archbishop Khajag Barsamian of the Armenian Church of America will baptize 24 recent immigrants from the former Soviet Union on Sunday at a service here that also will celebrate the 1,700th anniversary of Armenia's conversion to Christianity. It is a case where new spiritual life also is keeping an ancient ethnic tradition alive. 'It's very difficult to run an ethnic church without ethnics,' said Russell Kashian, chairman of the parish council at St. John...

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Use of Jesus' Name in Bush's Inauguration Discussed

January 27, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On January 27, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "Jesus was a popular figure at President Bush's inauguration." The invocation by the Rev. Franklin Graham was closed with a prayer "'in the name of the father, and of the son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit.'" The benediction by the Rev. Kirbyjon H. Caldwell ended with the words, "'We respectfully submit this humble prayer in the name that's above all other names, Jesus the Christ.' Newspapers around the country have been publishing letters from readers offended...

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Latin American Bible Institute's New President Encourages Academic Rigor

January 27, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On January 27, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that Isaac J. Canales's "combination of intellect and charisma built his Mission Eben-Ezer Family Church in Carson into a dynamic church of 1,500 members. That demanding but deeply spiritual style of teaching earned him a reputation as a popular professor at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena and one of the most respected Latino theologians in the country." Canales, 51, was appointed president of the Latin American Bible Institute in August 1999. "The institute is one of...

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Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Brings Together Denominations

January 26, 2001

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On January 26, 2001, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the Rev. Jason Samuel, rector of Transfiguration Episcopal Church in Lake Saint Louis, the Rev. Gerald Kleba, pastor of Immaculate Conception, and the Rev. James Erdman, assistant pastor of Living Lord Lutheran (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) in Lake Saint Louis led an ecumenical service on Wednesday. The service was held in celebration of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity from January 18-25. The event began in 1908 to recognize that although...

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Evangelical Group Begins to Engage Wider Culture, Other Churches

January 25, 2001

Source: The Baltimore Sun

On January 25, 2001, The Baltimore Sun reported that the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) "recently moved its headquarters to Southern California, a shift that reflects changes in its outlook and mission. 'Our location sends a huge signal as to what we see NAE becoming,' says Kevin W. Mannoia, its energetic president. What it is becoming, says Mannoia, a bishop in the Free Methodist Church of North America, is a group that actively engages a culture and society that is increasingly multiethnic, globalized and urbanized,...

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Historic St. Louis Parishes Survive Today

January 25, 2001

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On January 25, 2001, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch asked "what does it take to keep a church alive when the neighborhood is full of empty lots and board-ups, and the cost of needed tuckpointing, roof repairs and weatherproofing can reach more than $ 2 million? The experts say it takes a nucleus of strong, faithful people, neighborhood support and programs for the neighborhood. An endowment, profit from a cemetery, a benefactor - all of these things help." The report looks at the stories of five parishes in historic north St....

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Black Churches Face New Challenges as Membership and Funding Explode

January 25, 2001

Source: The Christian Science Monitor

On January 25, 2001, The Christian Science Monitor reported that "the Faithful Central Bible Church's recent purchase of the Great Western Forum - the 17,600-seat arena that once housed the Los Angeles Lakers -offers a window into the triumphs and challenges facing black churches today. The $ 22.5 million purchase comes as black churches...are attracting record numbers, becoming major players in urban renewal, and wrestling with their missionary mandates to revitalize both individuals and the communities in which they...

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Hispanic Bishop Appointed to Denver Archdiocese

January 24, 2001

Source: The Denver Post

On January 24, 2001, The Denver Post reported that "local Hispanics were excited and surprised Tuesday by the addition of a Hispanic bishop to the Denver Catholic Archdiocese. 'This is a tremendous opportunity for us,' said Richard Pabon, president of the parish council at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in northwest Denver. 'We have wanted an advocate for our interests.'" Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput had requested that someone be appointed to help him serve the archdiocese, and says that "'Father Gomez has been...

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Serbian Orthodox Church Celebrates 100-year Anniversary

January 24, 2001

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

On January 24, 2001, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church of McKeesport-Duquesne is planning a full year of celebration in commemoration of the 100-year anniversary of the church, which was established when Serbian immigrants to the United States established their church in the U.S. Current membership in the church is 280 families, including 65 children who attend the church school.

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