Christianity

Church of God to Allow Women Ministers

July 30, 2000

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On July 30, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that, "Women can become ordained ministers of the Church of God under a provision the governing body of the Pentecostal denomination adopted Saturday at the Trans World Dome...The change in church laws was approved by a show of hands of the majority of the 20,000 members" who recently attended the 68th General Assembly in St. Louis. "The general council of 3,000 ordained ministers had forwarded the measure, said Mary Ruth Stone, church spokeswoman. General Assembly...

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Mormons Build New Temple

July 29, 2000

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On July 29, 2000, The Houston Chronicle reported that, "When a Mormon enters the temple, his faith's most sacred space, he is taught that he leaves the world behind and comes as close to God as is possible in this life. So the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Mormon church's formal name, builds its temples according to the strictest standards. As the church prepares for the opening next month of the world's 96th Mormon temple - the Houston Texas Temple in Spring - the final touches are being made to an edifice...

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Orthodox Christianity Gaining Converts

July 29, 2000

Source: Star Tribune

On July 29, 2000, the Star Tribune published an article entitled "Christianity's Ancient Face; By Honoring and Preserving the Oldest and Most Mystical Elements of the Faith, Orthodox Christianity is Finding Converts Among People who Rebel Against Modern Trends that Seem Too Fluid." Allison Blomberg, grew up Lutheran and later attended an Evangelical Covenant church. Later, Blomberg was introduced to Orthodox Christianity, and found it was just what she had been looking for. "I wanted to find a church that stood the test of time,...

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Statue Goes to Los Angeles

July 28, 2000

Source: Los Angeles Times

On July 28, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that a replica of El Salvador's "sacred image of Jesus Christ, Divine Savior of the World," the country's patron saint, arrived in Los Angeles. The original statue "resides in the Catholic cathedral of San Salvador and serves as a source of nationalism and religious devotion for Salvadorans." The 10-day journey of the statue ended when it arrived at its new home, the Dolores Mission Roman Catholic Church in Boyle Heights. "In El Salvador, this is one of our most important...

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Presbyterian Churches Debate Same-Sex Unions

July 24, 2000

Source: St. Petersburg Times

On July 24, 2000, the St. Petersburg Times published an article about two Presbyterian churches in the area and their debate over whether same-sex unions should be blessed by the church. "Last year Northeast Presbyterian filed a formal complaint in the Tampa Bay Presbytery against Good Samaritan for performing same-sex union ceremonies. The motion eventually made its way to the 212th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, which took place last month in Long Beach, Calif." By a narrow vote, the General Assembly voted to...

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George W. Bush--A "Changed Man"

July 24, 2000

Source: The Washington Post

On July 24, 2000, The Washington Post published an article about the religious beliefs of presidential candidate George W. Bush and the remarkable change his 1985 conversion has made on his life. "To millions of evangelical Christians, the way Bush talks, especially about how finding Christ helped him stop drinking, is familiar, even endearing...Like many born-again baby boomers, he turned to religion as an antidote to his own waywardness during the 1960s. Yet ironically, what distinguishes this group's form of worship is some...

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CD Project Joins Together Catholic and Buddhist Monks

July 24, 2000

Source: The Courier-Journal

On July 24, 2000, The Courier Journal of Louisville, KY published an article about a collaboration between Buddhist and Catholic monks. The project is a result of the work of Louisville musician Michael Fitzpatrick, who was "so deeply moved by a 1996 gathering of Catholic and Buddhist monks at the Abbey of Gethsemani that he wanted to capture some of that feeling in music. The result is the CD "Compassion," released last month, which blends Tibetan and Western monastic chants, classic pieces of Western religious music and...

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Bible Camps Get Facelift

July 23, 2000

Source: The Times-Picayune

On July 23, 2000, The Times-Picayune published an article about the changing ways in which children are experiencing Bible camps throughout Louisiana. Instead of "sitting uncomfortably on wooden pews reading Bible verses," churches are "retooling their Bible school curricula to capture kids' attention by making faith fun. To do this, many churches are taking cues from child psychologists and professional educators to appeal to young minds." Many of the camps throughout Louisiana have built their programs around "prepackaged...

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General Mills Apologizes

July 22, 2000

Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune

On July 22, 2000, The San Diego Union-Tribune published an article entitled "Cereal Maker Apologizes, Says Bible Offer a Mistake." More than 12 million boxes of cereal are soon to hit the store shelves with CD-ROMs of the New International Protestant version of the Bible enclosed.

Episcopal Diocese Still Rejects Women Priests

July 22, 2000

Source: The Houston Chronicle

On July 22, 2000, The Houston Chronicle published the article entitled "Fort Worth Episcopal Diocese Remains Firm: No Women Priests." Despite the fact that the national Episcopal church accepted women into the priesthood 26 years ago, the Fort Worth diocese refuses to accept the national mandate. "We will stay and fight for the right to believe what we believe," said the Rev. Canon Charles Hough, a close associate of Fort Worth Episcopal Bishop Jack Iker. "They are asking us to do something we can't do. It's a matter of...

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Food Giveaway in Tennessee

July 22, 2000

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch

On July 22, 2000, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an article entitled, "Food Giveaway for the Poor is Set for Sunday Near Trans World Dome." The food giveaway is the "first event of the 68th General Assembly of the Church of God, a Pentecostal denomination based in Cleveland, Tenn...The denomination, founded near the Tennessee-South Carolina border in 1896, has 1 million members nationally, most in the Southeast. About 4 million members live in 159 other countries. Its first general assembly was in 1906 in Cherokee...

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Palos Heights, Chicago: Controversy over Sale of Church to Muslims

July 20, 2000

Source: The Associated Press

On July 20, 2000, the Associated Press released an article about how the plan to convert a church into a mosque has divided the mostly Christian Chicago suburb of Palos Heights. Yet even with all the "political sniping and accusations of bigotry, residents seemed a little stunned when a federal mediator stood up at a recent city council meeting with an offer to step in." The council did not immediately accept the offer, but the mayor seemed open to the idea. Some in the small town wish the spotlight had never hit their quiet...

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Palos Heights, Chicago: Controversy over Sale of Church to Muslims

July 19, 2000

Source: National Public Radio

On July 19, 2000, National Public Radio aired a story entitled "Chicago Suburb Wrestles with Racist Overtones of City Council." The mayor of Palos Heights vetoed the $200,000 offer by the city council, calling it "an insult to Muslims and fiscally irresponsible for the city." Yet the Al Salam Mosque Foundation unexpectedly accepted the city's buyout. Speaking at a press conference, the foundation's attorney, Rouhy Shalabi, said "deciding to accept the money and walk away was a tough decision, but his clients did not want to be in a...

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