African Churches Under Attack

Raids on churches leave worshipers dead, abducted Churches throughout Africa were the victims of deadly attacks this weekend. In Kisii, Kenya, reports The East African Standard, a “gang of about 100, armed with all sorts of crude weapons including arrows, simis and machetes,” invaded a Roman Catholic Church, “attacking followers indiscriminately.” Two worshipers were killed and several others injured in the attack, which reportedly lasted 90 minutes.

Cornellius Okindo, recovering in the city hospital from deep cuts, told the Standard that the mob “started attacking the faithful indiscriminately without saying a word.” Some reportedly poured gasoline in the church and lit it, though early reports that the church had burned down turned out to be untrue.

The attackers were thought to be “hired goons,” and the attack seems to be politically motivated as parliamentary elections approach.

Meanwhile, church attacks in Nigeria over the weekend appear to have been financially motivated. Robbers attacked a church in the Lagos suburb of Ojokoro, killing worshiper Yinka Egbe and stealing N25,000 ($200) and other items.

In Aba, Abia State, robbers severely beat, then shot a Roman Catholic priest in the groin after robbing his church. Monsignor Theophilus Okere says that when the priest was rushed to the hospital, “he was denied treatment by those on duty, who insisted it was a police case.” He died from his wounds. It was the second attack on the church this year.

South Africa also experienced such terror. About ten armed men stormed a church service at Randfontein College and abducted one of the worshipers. Three vehicles were stolen in the raid.

See You at the Pole:

Sharing their faith | See You at the Pole isn’t the only time Christians are open about their religion in schools (Greeley [Colo.] Tribune)
Prayer gathering raises concern at school in Boca | Teachers were asked to distribute fliers inviting students to the Christian-sponsored event (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
No prayer at the flag | Group says teachers are not allowed to participate (The Lancaster [Ohio] Eagle-Gazette)
Local students share faith in God | Students in the area and around the country prayed at their school flagpoles this morning (Daily Messenger, Canandaigua, N.Y.)
In God they trust … | Students gather for God (Hershey [Penn.] Chronicle)
See You at the Pole brings Minnesota students together to pray | Junior high, senior high and college students participated in the 13th annual event (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)
Students meet at pole to pray | Despite the wet weather, more than 200 students turned out at Lakeside High (The Augusta [Ga.] Chronicle)
Flagpole a worldwide centerpiece for prayer | Students at Land O’Lakes High and elsewhere gather around the flagpole at school, a tradition started in Texas in 1990 (St. Petersburg [Fla.] Times)
Students pray around school flag | Claxton High School students pray at national ‘See You at the Pole’ rally (Savannah Morning News)

Carey says Anglican unity at risk:

Archbishop of Canterbury warns against Anglican contrariness | The unity of the Anglican communion is increasingly being subverted by bishops taking unilateral action, mainly on sexual issues, the archbishop of Canterbury said Monday (Associated Press)
Also: Carey warns of ‘crisis’ over gays | In a farewell address as president of the Anglican Consultative Council, a senior church body, he warned of the danger of breakaway groups emerging (BBC)
Also: Gay issue puts Anglican unity at risk, says Carey (The Guardian, London)
Also: Anglican head lashes out at liberals (The Province, Vancouver, B.C., Canada)
Also: Anglican primate fears rift over blessing gay unions | Outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury denounces B.C. diocese’s decision (The Ottawa Citizen)
Will sex rip apart the Church (as the Archbishop said to his flock)? | Disputes over faith and sexuality between conservative African bishops and liberals in North America threaten Anglican unity, warns Carey (Cahal Milmo, The London Independent)
Sydney Anglicans going too far, says Archbishop Carey | Diocese’s ambitions to go ahead with lay presidency (lay people conducting Holy Communion) equated with dioceses determined to introduce same-sex blessings (The Sydney Morning Herald)
Anglican chief and B.C. bishop in open feud over gay marriage | Canadian questions ethics of Archbishop of Canterbury (The National Post, Canada)
B.C. bishop blamed for same-sex split | Archbishop of Canterbury’s harsh words rejected as ‘a great disservice to truth’ (The Vancouver Sun)

Homosexuality:

Bill to mandate gay sensitivity for foster parents | Governor has yet to decide whether he will sign a bill by Assemblywoman Judy Chu that would force foster parents to undergo sensitivity training in order to better serve gay, lesbian or transgender youths (San Gabriel Valley Tribune, California)
Gay couple moves by Falwell church | “We just want Lynchburg to see us,” says Mel White (Associated Press)
Also: Falwell welcomes gay couple to church | White got some smiles and casual hellos, but no one else made a specific effort to greet him (The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.)
Gay activists split despite successes | With inheritance and other benefits signed into law, California is seen as second only to Vermont as a gay-friendly state. Some say it’s not enough (Los Angeles Times)
Christian group opposes anti-gay protests | Fred Phelps plans pickets anyway (KMGH, Denver)
Gay couples fight for equal rights | The people of Zurich will vote on Sunday on whether to grant greater equality to homosexual couples (Swissinfo)
Ottawa finds flaw in gay marriages | The Justice Department is advancing the argument that gays and lesbians do not meet the “core opposite-sex requirements” of marriage that are based on procreation and raising children (Southam News)
The gay non-question | It is a mark of the effectiveness of the gay lobby that the question of how to treat homosexuals is now threatening to split both the Anglican Church and the Tory party. (Editorial, The Daily Telegraph, London)
Also: Preaching and prying bigots | The wrath Anglicans and Tories visit on gays shows their squalor. (Hywel Williams, The Guardian, London)
Gay songs to be heard in church | On Sunday, as part of its service, St. Paul’s Cathedral will host a performance of Watershed Stories, a series of eight songs based on interviews with people in the gay community and performed by the Prairie Pride Chorus (Leader-Post, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada)

Church life:

“Make churches more like cinemas” | Editor of the Christianity and Renewal magazine calls for churches to be made more welcoming and less intimidating (London Evening Standard)
Also: ‘Make churches more like cinemas’ (Ananova)
Stressed-out ministers at breaking point | Severe stress is affecting at least two-thirds of ministers in the Church of Scotland as they struggle to cope with the round-the-clock demands of their congregations (Scotland on Sunday)
Evangelicals help pace U.S. growth in church attendance | Tally of Muslims rejected as low by Islamic groups (The Washington Post)
Kampala mayor orders Christians not to make noise during worship | “It’s good to praise God, play some instruments but all that should be done within the limits,” says Mayor John Ssebaana Kizito (New Vision, Kampala, Uganda)
Anglican Church installs first Inuk bishop | Andrew Atagotaaluk: Life has spanned ‘the stone age to the cyber age’ (The National Post, Canada)
Anglican Arctic diocese installs first Inuk leader | Andrew Atagotaaluk is not only the first Inuk to lead the Arctic diocese, but also the first Canadian (CBC)
Locked out | A pastor who has made unwelcome changes and whose messages some characterize as too close to home causes feud in Niagara Falls church (The Buffalo [N.Y.] News)
New UNC study: Teens with regular religious practices get into less trouble | More likely to behave safely, try to stay healthy and be involved in volunteering, sports and other community activities (Press release)
On the seventh day … | The Lewis Sabbath is not what it used to be. (Murdo MacLeod, The Scotsman)
Keeping the Latin Mass | Does participation include the right to interpret Papal decrees and question the decisions of the local bishop? (Voice of America)

Sex abuse scandals:

Church meets dissenting voices with silence | The region’s premier Catholic college kicks off a multiyear examination of power, sex, and faith in the world’s largest religious denomination. (The Boston Globe)
Isle church defense struck down | Other arguments claim negligence in getting help for alleged abuse (Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
McCarrick sees crisis of faith | Catholic archbishop of Washington says church’s mission is more difficult after a year of sexual scandal, but he believes the worst has passed and that the crisis may be more over belief than morals (The Washington Times)
Cleveland diocese investigated | Prosecutors have investigated 360 people, including 100 priests, accused of sex abuse in the city’s Roman Catholic Diocese over the last 50 years (Associated Press)
BC opens campus to debate on faith | Leahy touts queries on Catholicism (The Boston Globe)
Bishops accused of ignoring new rules | Bishops in some Roman Catholic dioceses around the country are not following rules set by a child protection charter approved in June, a national victims’ advocacy group said Sunday. (CBS)
$10 million accord backed by plaintiffs in Boston case | A lawyer for 86 people suing Boston’s Roman Catholic Archdiocese in the case of a pedophile priest said all the plaintiffs agreed to accept a $10 million settlement (The New York Times)
Plan on abuse is said to face Vatican pitfalls | Lawyers say they are convinced the Vatican will demand fundamental changes, especially to the “zero tolerance” provisions that require all priests facing credible accusations of abuse to be removed immediately from ministry (The New York Times)
Web site categorizes clergy involved in sexual abuse cases | Survivorsfirst.org plans to build a national database on alleged perpetrators (Boston Herald)
Church meets resistance to reforms | Parishioners are rallying behind accused priests. Clergy are suing alleged victims and complaining to the Vatican. Experts in church law are questioning whether the plan violates priests’ rights. Leaders of religious orders have accused the bishops of ignoring Catholic teaching on redemption and are allowing some abusers to continue their church work away from children. (Associated Press)
Church reverses return of priest | Talk with accuser extends inquiry (The Boston Globe)
Restoring faith after a difficult year | Most pupils are back at a city Catholic school shaken by sexual abuse (The Baltimore Sun)
Bishops conspired, says abuse plaintiff | Alleged victim charges U.S. Catholic leaders with protecting pedophile priests (Los Angeles Times)
Pondering his fall within the church | Priest offers defense, plans to appeal (The Washington Post)

Money and business:

Corporate scandals tainting donations | The recent investigations of some of America’s richest corporate executives have created a moral dilemma for universities, museums, charities and politicians wondering whether they have been the inadvertent beneficiaries of ill-gotten dollars (The Washington Post)
Tim McGuire to write work/spirituality column | Former editor of the Minneapolis Star Tribune was recent president of American Society of Newspaper Editors (Editor & Publisher)
Churches’ labor finds role in marketplace | More than ever, houses of worship are including business ventures in their focuses on ministry and outreach (The Baltimore Sun)
A whale of a job | Local VeggieTales marketers going overboard to promote feature-length ‘Jonah’ (Nashville Business Journal)
NavPress plans to expand | Changes due to success of The Message (Publishers Weekly)
Bigger not always better | When it comes to stressing strengths at Franklin-based Resource Agency, Mike Keil won’t be ‘Left Behind’ (Nashville Business Journal)