Christianity

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.

Billy Graham's Son to Give Invocation at Bush's Swearing-In

January 16, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On January 16, 2001, The Washington Post reported that Franklin Graham, 48, had "been chosen to give the invocation at President-elect Bush's swearing-in ceremony Saturday" in place of his father, 82-year-old evangelist Billy Graham, who was too ill to attend. Rev. Kirbyjon Caldwell, "one of several black religious leaders who have voiced support of Bush's faith-based initiatives program," gave the benediction. "Franklin Graham said one thing he appreciates about the president-elect is...

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Some Concerned that Ashcroft Cannot Balance Religious Views and Political Duties

January 14, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On January 14, 2001, The New York Times reported on the importance of faith to John Ashcroft, President-elect George W. Bush's choice for United States attorney general. He denies that he will use this position to impose his religious beliefs on others. "However, Mr. Ashcroft has said it is the role of government to 'legislate morality.' To judge morality, he has said he relies on God, Scriptures and his faith. He has opposed homosexuality, abortion, pornography, needle exchanges for drug addicts, the National Endowment for...

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Armenian Church Celebrates Anniversary, Faces Loss of Faith

January 13, 2001

Source: Los Angeles Times

On January 13, 2001, the Los Angeles Times reported that "this week, Armenians worldwide kicked off a yearlong celebration of the 1,700-year anniversary of their homeland's conversion" to Christianity. Legend has it that in the year 301 St. Gregory the Illuminator "healed then-King Tiridat of madness, converted him to Christianity and made Armenia the first nation in the world to officially embrace the light of Christ...In the Southland, the central event [of the celebration] involved the distribution of a flame, symbolizing...

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Armenian Church Celebrates Anniversary, Faces Loss of Faith

January 13, 2001

Source: St. Petersburg Times

http://www.sptimes.com/News/011301/SouthPinellas/Sacred_flame_honors_A.shtml

On January 13, 2001, the St. Petersburg Times reported on the celebration of the 1700-year anniversary of the conversion of Armenia's King Tiridates III to Christianity by St. Gregory the Illuminator. "A sacred flame commemorating the event is making its way to Armenian Orthodox churches around the world." The flame comes from Khor Virab...

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Church Celebrates Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 13, 2001

Source: St. Petersburg Times

http://www.sptimes.com/News/011301/Citrus/Church_embraces_legac.shtml

On January 13, 2001, the St. Petersburg Times reported on the celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday by members of the African-American congregation of the Greater Mount Carmel Baptist Church. The church's pastor, Leroy E. "Ed" Jones, says King's greatest lesson is the importance of peace and love. "King's message was not just for black people,...

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Some Concerned that Ashcroft Cannot Balance Religious Views and Political Duties

January 13, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On January 13, 2001, The Washington Post reported that " John D. Ashcroft, President-elect Bush's pick to be attorney general, told graduates at Bob Jones University in 1999 that America was founded on religious principles and that "we have no king but Jesus," according to a transcript of his remarks released yesterday." The transcript concerns some Ashcroft opponents, who worry about the signals sent when Ashcroft, then a Missouri senator, "proudly accepted" an honorary degree from the university. Ashcroft's supporters...

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Dispute Over Mormons' Plan to Build Steeple in Belmont

January 13, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On January 13, 2001, The Boston Globe reported on a dispute before the state Supreme Judicial Court between a group of Mormons and some neighbors of the Mormon Temple in Belmont. A lawyer for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints said, "that the design of the temple was inspired by divine revelation to the church's president, Gordon B. Hinckley, who Mormons revere as a prophet...But four neighbors asked the justices to uphold a Superior Court judge's ruling that the steeple is not a matter of religious doctrine and...

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Catholics Try to Draw Potential Priests, Nuns, and Monks through Ad Campaigns

January 13, 2001

Source: The New York Times

On January 13, 2001, The New York Times reported that an emerging trend in Catholicism is to reach "out through advertising to men and women who might feel led toward a life of religious service. This is a response to...the continuing decline in the ranks of priests, nuns and brothers. According to the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University, the number of diocesan priests in the United States declined from 1965 to 2000 by 15 percent, to 30,607, and the number of nuns and brothers by more than...

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Some Concerned that Ashcroft Cannot Balance Religious Views and Political Duties

January 13, 2001

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On January 13, 2001, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that President-elect George W. Bush's transition office released a speech given by John Ashcroft when he received an honorary degree from Bob Jones University in 1999. Democrats requested the release of the speech, "looking for incendiary quotes that could damage Ashcroft's nomination to be attorney general." Ashcroft's remarks "could fuel concern expressed by some senators that Ashcroft's religious convictions might supersede his enforcement of laws on subjects...

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Filipino Congregation Granted Variance to Establish Church

January 11, 2001

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On January 11, 2001, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that "The Rev. Jose Soriano keeps everything he needs to preach the word of God in the back of his van. There's a bag of candles. A box of Bibles and hymnals. A cross, the communion. Even a small pad that he unrolls when his parishioners need to kneel. Every Sunday for the past nine years, he has unloaded the contents of his van into one elementary school gymnasium after another. He and the 90 members of the First Filipino Evangelical Methodist Church have...

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Mormons Volunteer Time to Spread Understanding of their Faith

January 11, 2001

Source: The Washington Post

On January 11, 2001, The Washington Post reported that "while many denominations make an effort to win lost souls, the Mormon church is run completely by lay clergy who maintain careers and volunteer enormous amounts of time and resources for the 11-million-member organization. The church has more than 60,000 volunteer missionaries in 162 countries, and the effort seems to be working. Since the Mormon church built its $ 16 million temple on Stoneybrook Drive in Kensington in 1974, Mormon leaders say, membership in area...

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Full Gospel Church N.Y. Loses First Level Zoning Decision

January 10, 2001

Source: New York Daily News

http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-01-10/News_and_Views/City_Beat/a-95252.asp

On January 10, 2001, the New York Daily News reported that "Community Board 7 shot down [The Full Gospel N.Y. Church's] request for approval of a plan to expand, but the city will have the final say." The Church wants to expand to hold up to 1,500 worshippers and construct a large gym, but "citing traffic and other concerns, Board 7...

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Religious Groups Support Mormon Temple Plans

January 8, 2001

Source: The Boston Globe

On January 8, 2001, The Boston Globe reported that "Catholics, Protestants, and Jews yesterday welcomed a Supreme Court decision upholding the right of Mormons to build a giant temple in Belmont, saying the decision guarantees continued freedom for religious groups in Massachusetts." Many religious groups were watching the case, in which neighbors asked to have the temple bulldozed, arguing that allowing the temple "violated a constitutional prohibition against the government establishment of religion."

"At stake in the...

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