Author: Gordon Govier

EDITORIALThe 19th-century abolitionists have much to teach us about politics today. American evangelicals continue to fret over their political engagement—with good reason. Our core commitments focus on church, family, and evangelization, while the political process often produces polarization and nastiness that can drown out the fundamental message of salvation in Jesus.Read more of this editorial.More on WilberforceGary Haugen: A modern WilberforceMore comments from Gary Haugen27million people in the world today are in slaveryJoin us for a special, reduced-admission screening of the movie, Amazing Grace.Amazing Grace movie website

LEXINGTON, Mass. — Sundays at the evangelical Grace Chapel megachurch look like the American ideal of race relations: African-American, Haitian, white, Chinese and Korean families sing along with a white, guitar-playing pastor.U.S. churches rarely have this kind of ethnic mix. But that’s changing. Researchers who study race and religion say Grace Chapel is among a vanguard of megachurches that are breaking down racial barriers in American Christianity, altering the long-segregated landscape of Sunday worship.Read more of this story.Megachurch attracts the trendy, the tech-savvy and controversy. Read more of this story.

CommentaryChristian radio employees usually don’t get the Rock Star treatment but 20 years ago this month I got a taste of it. It was pretty nice, a limo ride to work in the morning, strangers buying me dinner in restaurants, my picture on billboards across town and being the toast of the morning newspaper. I was the Mad City Radio Hero, by official proclamation of the Wisconsin State Journal, along with my co-host Donna Norland.

LONDON (Reuters) – For Anglicans who still haven’t found what they’re looking for, the Church of England is staging its first "U2-charist" communion service — replacing hymns with hit songs by the Irish supergroup.Read more of this story.

ORLANDO, FLORIDA (ANS) — This weekend more than 2,500 churches throughout the USA will sing Amazing Grace — marking the release of a new film on the life of William Wilberforce.Sharing the title of John Newton’s famous hymn, the film tells the story of Wilberforce’s 20-year fight to bring an end to the slave trade in the British Empire. Christians will sing the hymn on Sunday, February 18 in the United States and on Sunday, March 25 in Great Britain. Read more on this story.

In a time of deep religious division and tension, many American churches are joining in a fresh bid for greater Christian unity. After five years of discussion and prayer, church leaders are to meet Wednesday in Pasadena, Calif., in the official launch of an ecumenical body – Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT). Its mission: "to grow closer together in Christ in order to strengthen our Christian witness in the world." In its inclusiveness, CCT offers a striking contrast to religious dissension in the political arena. The group involves churches from all five Christian "families" – Catholics, Evangelicals and…

"The most important place is the least excavated place," said Israeli archaeologist Gabriel Barkay in a lecture on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount last night at Edgewood College, sponsored by the Madison Biblical Archaeology Society. The Temple Mount is the holiest location of Judaism since it was the location of first temple built by King Solomon and the second temple built by King Herod. It’s also the third holiest spot of Islam, the location of four mosques, and is known to Muslims as The Noble Sanctuary.

Representatives from eight of Madison’s largest churches met at Blackhawk church yesterday with Perry Polnaszek, a Chippewa Falls resident who initiated the Touched Twice clinic concept. Four clinics, zero-budget events which mobilize volunteers and churches to offer free health care to the needy, were held in Madison in 2004 and 2005 but not since.

A panel of three federal judges, including former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, heard this morning from both sides of an Iowa prison-ministry dispute in a case that will affect how religious organizations minister to inmates, and the overall viability of President George W. Bush’s faith-based initiative. Read more on this story.

NEWS RELEASEThe missionary church which will be organized as The Anglican Chapel of the Epiphany is under the authority of the Anglican Province of America (APA). Initial efforts include securing a place to conduct services and welcoming concerned Episcopalians seeking a traditional church. Additionally, to offer students a viable faith and a parish home for families wanting their children to develop strong traditional values and beliefs. The Rev. Earl R. C. Sias Th.D will serve as priest in charge.