MC News
Christians are quietly helping survivors cope with mounds of wreckage as the Gaza Strip is left with billions in damages, thousands who are dead and wounded, and lives that are irreparably damaged. Arab Christians working with Partners International and Jerusalem Evangelical Outreach are doing what they can to provide basic food such as rice and canned goods, as well as blankets, clothing and medicine to war victims. Read more of this story.
COMMENTARYOur Father, Lord of all creation, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ: We pray today with a sense of special urgency and responsibility. We come before you to pray for our new President, Barack Obama, and for all those in this new administration who now assume roles of such high responsibility. Read more of this prayer.
Conservative pastor Rick Warren spoke to a packed house for the annual King Day service at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Monday, as the upcoming inauguration of the nation’s first African-American president lent special significance to the event.Warren, who will also speak at President-elect Barack Obama’s swearing-in on Tuesday, took the podium more than 2 1/2 hours into the service, saying, “This means more to me” than giving the inauguration prayer.Read more of this story.
COMMENTARYNearly halfway through his victory speech on Election Night in Chicago’s Grant Park, Barack Obama reached out to those Americans who had voted for his opponent, John McCain. "I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your president, too."One demographic that Obama did not win over that night was evangelical Christians. According to exit polls, McCain won them, 74%-24%. Just four days until the inauguration, it has become a reality that for millions of evangelicals, the incoming president who — despite his controversial decision to have mega-church pastor Rick Warren deliver the inaugural invocation — was not…
WASHINGTON — To hear Jean Patterson Cushman tell it, President Bush’s faith-based initiative has been critical for her Baltimore organization that helps ex-prisoners find new jobs.Infused with $2.3 million in grant money from a Department of Labor initiative, Cushman’s group, Episcopal Community Services of Maryland, has moved from helping 50 men and women a year to 200.Read more of this story.
When President-elect Barack Obama takes office, he might want to give the Rev. Joseph Breen of St. Edward Catholic Church in Nashville a call.Breen recently devised an economic stimulus package for his parish, giving out more than $100,000 to help 270 struggling families make ends meet. The church gave $250 per child to families who have children enrolled at St. Edward Elementary School. The funds came with no strings attached and no questions asked.Read more of this story.
COMMENTARYBefore Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it’s Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work. It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I’ve been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I’ve been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my…
Not so long ago a father and mother dressed in their Sunday best would walk down the quiet streets to Sunday worship services. Following close behind were their children, so prim and proper. Their shoes had been polished the night before and did not have a speck of dust on them. The girls had colorful ribbons wrapped around so neatly in their hair.When they arrived at church and opened the door, the sound of the huge pipe organ drowned out their words. The hymn books were set neatly on the benches. Rows and rows of people joyfully sang their favorite songs, Amazing…
Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, known for his strong Christian faith and his commitment to family, announced his retirement Monday afternoon, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family and in volunteer work.“We just felt this was the right time,” Dungy said. “Don’t shed any tears for me. I got to live a dream most people don’t get to live.”Dungy, 53, told his staff and some players on Monday morning after taking a week to discuss his options with his wife, Lauren. He will be succeeded by associate head coach Jim Caldwell.Dungy coached the Colts for seven…
Mark Driscoll’s sermons are mostly too racy to post on GodTube, the evangelical Christian “family friendly” video-posting Web site. With titles like “Biblical Oral Sex” and “Pleasuring Your Spouse,” his clips do not stand a chance against the site’s content filters. No matter: YouTube is where Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, would rather be.Read more of this story.