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She’s asked President Obama to come for a visit, and she has bloggers on her side now. Still, Nellie Gray — who founded the March for Life 36 years ago — pines for some meaningful attention from the press. Her marchers were to hit the streets near the Capitol on Thursday, virtually retracing the steps of an estimated 1.8 million inaugural revelers whose every move was chronicled by a crush of media just two days earlier. Perhaps journalists are just tired. The chances are good, however, that news organizations will not be in close attendance for the pro-life crowds. The…
A seminar that teaches couples skills to strengthen their marriages will be held next weekend at Lake City Church. The seminar features Dr. John Van Epp, the author of the book How to Avoid Marrying a Jerk. The seminar is sponsored by the Madison Marriage Ministry Task Force.The Task Force was formed a half dozen years ago after a large number of Madison area pastors signed a covenant to better prepare couples for their marriage relationship. They committed themselves to provide better pre-marital counseling so that couples had the communication skills to help them survive the inevitable rough stages of…
The Bible? Funny? According to author David Peters — yes, the Bible’s a hoot.Read more of this story.
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…