Hot on the religion news beat in 2012

Religion

January 4, 2013

Hot on the religion news beat in 2012

On Religion

By Terry Mattingly/Syndicated columnist The Picayune Item Picayune Item Fri Jan 04, 2013, 08:00 AM CST

PICAYUNE — ‘Twas the Sunday night before the election and the Rev. Robert Jeffress took to the pulpit to offer a message that, from his point of view, was both shocking and rather nuanced.

The bottom line: If Barack Obama won a second White House term, this would be yet another sign that the reign of the Antichrist is near.

Inquiring minds wanted to know if the leader of the highly symbolic First Baptist Church of Dallas was suggesting that the president was truly You Know Anti-who.

“I want you to hear me tonight: I am not saying that President Obama is the Antichrist. I am not saying that at all,” said Jeffress, who previously made headlines during a national rally of conservative politicos by calling Mormonism a “theological cult.”

“President Obama is not the Antichrist. But what I am saying is this: The course he is choosing to lead our nation is paving the way for the future reign of the Antichrist.”

That’s pretty strong rhetoric, until one considers how hot things got on the religion-and-politics beat in 2012. After all, one Gallup poll found that an amazing 44 percent of Americans surveyed responded “don’t know” when asked to identify the president’s faith. The good news was that a mere 11 percent in that poll said Obama is a Muslim — down from 18 percent in a Pew Research Center poll in 2010. The president has, of course, repeatedly professed that he is a liberal, mainline Christian.

Could church-state affairs get any hotter?

Amazingly the answer was “yes,” with a White House order requiring most religious institutions to offer health-care plans covering sterilizations and all FDA-approved forms of contraception, including so-called “morning-after pills.” The key: The Health and Human Services mandate only recognizes the conscience rights of a nonprofit group if it has the “inculcation of religious values as its purpose,” primarily employs “persons who share its religious tenets” and primarily “serves persons who share its religious tenets.”

America’s Catholic bishops and other traditional religious leaders cried foul, claiming that under the leadership of Obama, the U.S. Justice Department and other branches of the national government were trying to separate “freedom of worship” in religious sanctuaries from the First Amendment’s more sweeping protection of “free exercise of religion” in public life.

In a year packed with church-state fireworks, the members of the Religion Newswriters Association selected this religious-liberty clash as the year’s top religion news story. Meanwhile, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, the point man for Catholic opposition to the mandate, was voted the year’s top religion newsmaker — from a ballot that did not contain the president’s name.

The story I ranked No. 2 overall didn’t make it into the association’s Top 10 list. I was convinced that the 9-0 U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming a Missouri Synod Lutheran congregation’s right to hire and fire employees based on doctrine could be crucial in the years — or even months — ahead.

Here’s the rest of the RNA Top 10 list:

— Research by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life finds that religiously unaffiliated people — the so-called “nones” — make up the fastest-growing religious group in modern America, approaching 20 percent of the population.

— The online trailer of an anti-Islam film, “Innocence of Muslims,” is alleged to have inspired violence in several countries, including a fatal attack on a U.S. consulate in Libya.

— White House candidate Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith turns out to be a non-issue for white evangelical voters, who support him more strongly than they did 2008 GOP nominee John McCain.

— Monsignor William Lynn of Philadelphia becomes the first senior U.S. Catholic official found guilty of hiding priestly child abuse, followed by Bishop Robert Finn of Kansas City, Mo.

— Vatican officials harshly criticize liberal leaders among U.S. nuns, citing the Leadership Conference of Women Religious for its history of criticism of church teachings on sexuality, abortion and the all-male priesthood.

— Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington affirm same-sex marriage. Minnesota defeats a ban on same-sex marriage, while North Carolina approves one.

— Episcopal Church leaders adopt a trial ritual for blessing same-sex couples.

— A gunman police describe as a neo-Nazi kills six Sikhs and wounds three others in a suburban Milwaukee temple.

— The Southern Baptist Convention unanimously elects its first African-American president, the Rev. Fred Luter of New Orleans.

(Terry Mattingly is the director of the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and leads the GetReligion.org project to study religion and the news.)

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Religion

The strange victory by liberal religion
By Terry Mattingl/Syndicated columnist

The most recent Jewish Community Study of New York held few surprises for those who have followed the sobering Jewish trends of recent decades

April 5, 2013
Movies on Canal begins March 9
The Church at Picayune is hosting a free community event called “Movies on Canal”, on the second Saturday of each month, beginning Saturday March 9, 2012.
A family friendly movie will be projected onto the side of the building at 120 West Canal St in Picayune. Bring a lawn chair and the entire family and enjoy fun-jumps, pop-corn, food, and lots of entertainment at Movies On Canal.

March 8, 2013
Pope resigns on his terms
By Terry Mattingly/Syndicated columnist

In the spring of 2009, Pope Benedict XVI stopped in Aquila, Italy, to pray at the shrine of St. Celestine V.
The pope left his pallium — a wool garment that resembles a yoke, symbolizing bonds between a shepherd and his flock — on this medieval pope’s tomb. Then, 15 months later, he visited a cathedral outside Rome to pray before the relics, once again, of St. Celestine V.

February 22, 2013
Pope Benedict VXI resigning
VATICAN CITY (AP) — With a few words in Latin, Pope Benedict VXI did Monday what no pope has done in more than half a millennium, announcing his resignation and sending the already troubled Catholic Church scrambling to replace the leader of its 1 billion followers by Easter.
Not even his closest associates had advance word of the news, a bombshell that he dropped during a routine morning meeting of Vatican cardinals. With no clear favorites to succeed him, another surprise likely awaits when the cardinals elect Benedict’s successor next month.
“Without doubt this is a historic moment,” said Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, a protege and former theology student of Benedict’s who is considered a papal contender. “Right now, 1.2 billion Catholics the world over are holding their breath.”

February 12, 2013
It’s great to be involved with ‘Upwards’ basketball
By Gwen Williams/AKA MS Chocolate/Guest Columnist

I’m not a sports person, but every year I look forward to sharing with the children involved in the Upward Basketball program. First through sixth graders come together to experience their first sports encounter playing basketball. Boys and girls play together with the hope of building character and values for life. Excitement floods the gym as parents, grandparents, and aunts gather with various electronic gadgets waiting to film their children. The program is also a means of reaching parents with children who are unchurched.

February 8, 2013
The heart attack
By Steve Ellison, Interim Pastor/First Baptist Horatio, Ark.

January was a big month for me. It actually started in December and seeped over into February. I spent a few weeks helping to care for my father who was very ill, in fact near death from the combined effects of lung cancer, radiation of the brain, and chemotherapy. I officiated the funerals of a close family friend, my father, and my father’s sister.

February 8, 2013
An offering
By Kelcie Kinchen/Guest Columnist

Through life, no matter where we are, we face times that leave us with just a handful of understanding and a trunk full of confusion. Circumstances leave us standing in the road, not sure which way to turn.
It seems like everyone around you has something to offer in abundance and yet all you believe you have is not worthy of offering. In our minds, all we see is the lack but God sees the abundance around the corner of surrender.

February 1, 2013
Last call, ya’ll!
This is The final call for articles and photos for
this year’s Pearl River County Today “Progress” edition. all churches and religious organizations can email their articles and photos to…
picayuneitem@bellsouth.net.

January 25, 2013
Getting to know the enemy is vital
By Steve Ellison, Interim Pastor/First Baptist Horatio, Ark.

The past few weeks have been difficult for me. I saw enough tears to last me a lifetime (and shed a few of my own). My father has been very ill recently. I was not his primary care giver but I was heavily involved. I experienced things I never wanted to experience.

January 25, 2013
Why be included in Pearl River County Today edition?
What would you say to others about your church or regligious organization?

Do you want to increase participation in your activities, or services?
If you had a free venue you could use to present your information not only to local citizens but to visitors, would you use it?

January 18, 2013
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