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SAN FRANCISCO - A Presbyterian minister in Northern California is scheduled to be tried by a church judicial commission on Thursday for marrying two lesbian couples in violation of the faith's position that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman. If found guilty by the regional governing body of the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Rev. Jane Spahr, of San Rafael, could be removed from the ministry after more than 30 years. Spahr, 63, a lesbian activist who directs a group lobbying for greater inclusion of gay Presbyterians in the church, argues she was honoring her personal conscience...

Monograph Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society Press Release, November 17, 2005 The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs The Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs is proud to offer the following link is to Professor Justus Reid Weiner's new Monograph Human Rights of Christians in Palestinian Society. It is a 1.4 megabyte PDF file. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to open the file, but it is available online without charge. www.jcpa.org/christian-persecution.htm Following is a short thumbnail sketch of the Monograph: On the heels of the Gaza disengagement, which was intended to empower the Palestinian Authority to improve the lives...

Chicago Mayor Richard Daley mistakenly welcomed a Palestinian nationalist group whose leader denies Israel's right to exist in the Holy Land by sending greetings to a Sabeel conference at the Lutheran School of Theology. "Sabeel masquerades as a peace group, but its founder, Anglican Canon Naim Ateek, has portrayed Israel as a baby- and Christ killing nation that blocks the political salvation of the Middle East," says Dexter Van Zile, Christian outreach director of the David Project Center for Jewish Leadership and member of the United Church of Christ. "He has also denied the Jews' right to live in the...

The following statement was issued by the Session of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood on Sept. 30, 2005. "We, the Session of First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, met with Rev. Dr. Meenan and Rev. Dr. Manock. We made the very difficult decision that returning the pastors is not in the best interest of the church, or the pastors. Therefore we asked for their resignations." Our Session has called a Congregational Meeting on October 9th after services in the Sanctuary at 12:30 PM, for the purpose of at which time the A.C. will share it's research findings.

Ken Moe, the executive of the Presbytery of the Grand Canyon, delivered a scathing attack on the New Wineskins Initiative and the Presbyterian Lay Committee in his report to the presbytery during its meeting on Sept. 16. He said the two groups are promoting schism in the denomination by insisting on subscription to theological standards and moral imperatives. "Denomination watchers are predicting the greatest impact of the storm will occur next June in Birmingham, Alabama," Moe added. "That is the time and place of the 217th General Assembly." Moe told the presbytery. "And it is fitting that I make this...

dude... like these arab dudes are always blowing themselves up man.

Having read an account of what happened at “Hearts on Fire,” do you believe that United Methodist Lake Junaluska Conference Center was correct in renting itself to the pro-homosexuality conference? Go to the website and click to participate in the poll.

The Presbyterian Church (USA) lost 43,175 members in 2004, the third straight year that more than 40,000 people have left the denomination. The 2004 loss was both the second highest numerically and as a percentage of membership since the Southern and Northern streams of mainline Presbyterians merged in 1983 to form the PCUSA. The 43,175 departing members represented 1.79 percent of the 2003 membership. The loss in 2003 was the highest – 46,658, or 1.9 percent of the 2002 membership. The ongoing declines have reduced the membership of the PCUSA by 401,869 since the mainline Presbyterian merger – down from...

A Jewish scholar says that over the past half-century, Christian churches have been undergoing a remarkable theological revolution in their attitude towards Judaism and their relationship with the Jewish people. Moshe Auman, who served 35 years in Israel's foreign ministry, devoted the last four years of that time largely to extensive study of Jewish-Christian and Israeli-Christian relations. He feels many of the so-called "mainline" Protestant churches have had trouble coming to grips with the rebirth of the Israeli nation over 50 years ago. By looking closely at the Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Methodist denominations, Auman says, one finds that these...

The leadership of the Presbyterian Church recently decided to encourage its governing body to promote divestment from companies that do business with Israel. Shortly thereafter, the Anglican church, the Lutheran church and the World Council of Churches (WCC, with 347 member denominations world-wide) followed suit with the explanation that divestment "(is) a new way to work for peace, by looking at ways to not participate economically in illegal activities related to the Israeli occupation." (1) These churches are among those often referred to as "mainline" churches. The most problematic issue of this new “mainline” posture is that it is clearly...

Dear Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Leahy: We, the undersigned religious leaders and organizations, write to express strong concern regarding the nomination of Alberto Gonzales for Attorney General of the United States. As people with a deep commitment to racial justice, we appreciate that President Bush has nominated a number of people of color for cabinet positions. Greater racial diversity at the highest levels of government is an important step towards the Beloved Community. Like the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., we dream of a day when all people "will not be judged by the color of their skin but...

Two world church officials have urged political leaders to heed the danger that climate change could pose in triggering disasters like this week's killer tsunami. It was precipitated by a massive earthquake that has left a death toll of more than 115,000 lives. "This is a time for humanity to try to see how global efforts can try to overcome a tragedy that has happened on a scale like this," World Council of Churches' general secretary, the Rev. Sam Kobia, told Ecumenical News International on Thursday. "We need to learn a few lessons of humanity," he said. "For instance, we...

August 24, 2004SWING STATESIn Battle for Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Suburbs Probably Hold the KeyBy KATHARINE Q. SEELYE AYNE, Pa. - The ladies lunching on the veranda of the venerable Wayne Hotel here had nothing nice to say about Senator John Kerry, but that did not prevent them from saying it. "He's a fraud," said Alida Haslett, 53, who works in a framing shop and lives in nearby Bryn Mawr. "I don't believe he's a war hero."Her companions were equally sour on Mr. Kerry, the Democratic presidential nominee."He's a Kennedy wannabe," said Carol Ogelsby, 50, who sells real estate."There's nothing like a...

William Hinson, president of a major renewal organization, dropped a bombshell during May's United Methodist General Conference: "I believe the time has come when we must begin to explore an amicable and just separation that will free us both from our cycle of pain and conflict". We find in large sections of mainline churches a sub-Christian religion with alternate doctrines of biblical authority, the church, and even salvation. Most Methodists, left and right, responded with shock, rallied around the flag of unity, and declared their dismay. This is an understandable reaction and shows a good instinct for one's church. But...

Are the Mainlines Derailing?Rifts Widen in Major Protestant DenominationsFeature by Ed VitaglianoJune 18, 2004 (AgapePress) - Whether or not the average member in the pew knows it, many leaders within some of the nation's oldest Protestant denominations are steering their churches into schism. Especially on the contentious issue of homosexuality -- but also on the subject of abortion -- denominations like the United Methodist Church (UMC), Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA), and the Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA) have lurched leftward in a turn that is as breathtakingly swift as it is radical. This deviation threatens to further the rupture between...

Press Release: United Methodists Become First Mainline Church Against Same-Sex Marriage Contact: Steve Rempe May 3, 2004 On Saturday, May 1, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted to add language to the denomination's Social Principles endorsing "laws in civil society that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman." The vote was 625 to 184 among the delegates from around the world, who meet every 4 years to establish the 10 million-member denomination's policies. Mark Tooley, director of the UM Action Committee of the Institute on Religion and Democracy thanked the General Conference for...