February 15, 2006
news and one mp3
Good morning. Do you take cream with your coffee? Here are some news links for you. I did not pilfer from the major media this morning as I did yesterday. Enjoy!
Evolution Sunday went well according to The Clergy Letter Project. Here is a link to some news articles about it. They have also been collecting sermons that were preached. In my opinion, this would be worth your time poking around. The sermons are perhaps more telling than the news articles themselves. Deep Weeds also observed the day.
Get Religion per their usual does a good job of covering the continued arson activity in Alabama. They quote one article:
Investigators have said they don’t know a motive, but there is no racial pattern. Five of the churches had white congregations and five black. All were Baptist, the dominant faith in the region, and mostly in isolated country settings.I've not said anything on my blog about all of this. We have been speaking about it at North Shore. It is the most bizarre thing to consider...burning a church. "Thrill seeking" is something that I don't equate with burning down churches. People are mightily concerned. The Baptist Press also has an article.
This is interesting:
Focus on the Family, the group founded by conservative Christian psychiatrist and radio personality James Dobson, has said it supports legislation that would allow pairs of people who cannot marry but who are financial interdependent -- including gay couples -- to register with county officials for benefits commonly associated with marriage.You can go here for the full article. I think it is significant news to be honest with you. Focus is one of the more vocal conservative groups out there. You can't drive through Ohio without catching something Dobson has to say on the radio. Their influence is huge.
If you are interested in the World Council of Churches meeting being held in Brasil, this should be of interest to you.
I'll post more about this article later, but keep the Bishop Robinson in your prayers. He is wrestling with alcoholism. This is no small thing and, I hope, no opportunity to make a punching bag out of the man. He will most certainly be the focus of a lot of cruel attention with this news. As strange as this will sound to some, alcoholism is not the sign of the moral failure of a human being. It is a disease. For more information, go here or catch an open meeting of your local AA group. It will change your life. More later.
Finally, I would like to remind you all about the gig Saturday night. To tease you a bit, here is an mp3 for you to enjoy. The Fields of Athenry is a great tune. Sad. Lamenting. Ah, Ireland.