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Church concern over refs’ chief
The Catholic Church want the Scottish Football Association to sack head of refereeing Hugh Dallas if he is found to have sent an “offensive” email about the Pope.
Read more on BBC News

Volunteers at Church Dinner Warm Hearts
One local church has been planning its Thanksgiving dinner for seven months. State College Assembly of God held their Thanksgiving dinner Wednesday for area residents.
Read more on WTAJ-TV Altoona

CHURCH DEMANDS ACTION OVER E-MAIL
The Catholic Church has called on the Scottish Football Association to sack the head of referee development if it is proved if it is proved he sent an offensive e-mail about the Pope.
Read more on Sporting Life

Posted on November 25, 2010 by , Reply

Church of Scientology Decision Protecting Religious Freedom in European Court of Human Rights



Church of Scientology International


Los Angeles, Ca (PRWEB) October 1, 2009

Today, the European Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously in favor of two Scientology religious groups in Russia (European Court of Human Rights: Case # 7683601 and 32782/03), finding that they have the right to be registered as religious organizations under Russian law. This decision determines that members of the Church of Scientology of Surgut and the Church of Scientology of Nizhnekamsk have the right to religious freedom and freedom of association pursuant to Articles 9 and 11 of the European Human Rights Convention.

The Church’s human rights counsel, Bill Walsh, stated: “The judgment of the European Court of Human Rights today is a great victory for religious freedom in Russia and in all 47 member countries of the Council of Europe. The case is given the highest rating of importance by the Court itself as it effectively kills the repressive 15 Year Rule, denying religious organizations rights until they have existed in the country for 15 years. Moreover, the ruling will have great impact on countries throughout the European Community that have passed similar restrictions to repress religious freedom. So it is not only a victory for religious freedom in Russia, but for religious freedom everywhere in the Council of Europe.”

In 1997, the Russian government passed laws preventing religious organizations from forming legally unless they could prove they had been in existence in their respective state(s) for 15 years. Such a law obviously discriminates against religions not established in a state for 15 years and has now been ruled as unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights.

In reaching this decision, the Court “established that the applicants were unable to obtain recognition and effective enjoyment of their rights to freedom of religion and association in any organizational form. The first applicant could not obtain registration of the Scientology group as a non-religious legal entity because it was considered to be a religious community by the Russian authorities. The applications for registration as a religious organization submitted by the first and second applicants as founders of their respective groups… were denied by reference to the insufficient period of the groups’ existence. Finally, the restricted status of a religious group for which they qualified… conveyed no practical or effective benefits to them as such a group was deprived of legal personality, property rights and the legal capacity to protect the interests of its members and was also severely hampered in the fundamental aspects of its religious functions. Accordingly, the Court finds that there has been an interference with the applicants’ rights under Article 9 interpreted in the light of Article 11.”

Along with the recent decision of the Court in favor of the right of the Moscow Church of Scientology to be registered as a religious organization under the Religion law, these cases represent precedent-setting rulings that guarantee the freedom of religion and right of association for Scientologists and people of all faiths throughout the 47 nations that comprise the Council of Europe.

The Court concluded that “In the light of the foregoing considerations, the Court finds that the interference with the applicants’ rights to freedom of religion and association cannot be said to have been ‘necessary in a democratic society.’ There has therefore been a violation of Article 9 of the Convention, interpreted in the light of Article 11.”

The Scientology religion was founded by L. Ron Hubbard. The first church was established in the United States in 1954. It has grown to more than 8,000 churches, missions and groups and millions of members in 165 nations. The Russian Federation has more than 70 Scientology Churches and missions from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok.

For more information about Scientology, see www.scientology-moscow.ru, www.scientology.org.

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Posted on November 24, 2010 by , Reply

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Posted on November 23, 2010 by , Reply

New Church of Scientology Opens in Quebec City



Church of Scientology Quebec


Quebec City (PRWEB) February 1, 2010

Fifteen hundred Scientologists and their guests from across Canada and the United States packed the street in front of 665 rue Saint- Joseph in the heart of the Nouvo Saint-Roch district of Lower Quebec City to attend the opening of the Church of Scientology of Quebec/Eglise de Scientologie de Quebec on Saturday. The opening of the 47,000-square-foot Church, which will serve parishioners from throughout the province, represents significant growth for the congregation, which was formed in Quebec 35 years ago.

Mr. David Miscavige, Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center and ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, presided at the dedication ceremony, welcoming the assembled Scientologists and guests to the new Church. His introduction was met with prolonged and enthusiastic ovation in appreciation of his presence in Quebec and his instrumental role in making possible the opening of this new Church and all it represents for the future of Scientologists in Canada.

As Mr. Miscavige stated, “This new breed of Church is all in preparation for much more to come in the future. Well, that future is upon us now.”

The Quebec Church marks the beginning of a major Scientology expansion across Canada, with new Churches to be opened in Montreal, Quebec; Kitchener, Ontario; Winnipeg, Manitoba; and a full renovation of the Church of Scientology in Toronto. Also on the horizon, on 190 acres just outside Toronto, is the Scientology Advanced Organization for Canadian parishioners and Canada’s Continental Liaison Office to coordinate Scientology expansion and social betterment programs across the nation.

Dignitaries participating in the dedication of the new Church included the Honorable Alvin Curling, former Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario and now Senior Fellow at the Center for International Governance for Innovation; the Honorable Pamela Appelt, a judge in the Court of Canadian Citizenship and a patron of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development; and Mr. Alan Stein, noted religious freedom and human rights attorney and professor of law.

In his address, Mr. Curling said, “Let this new home for the Church of Scientology in Quebec be a beacon to all men and women of goodwill – a place where they will always be welcome to work together in helping this world. Bringing together people of goodwill is a hallmark of the Church of Scientology, which is why I celebrate this new Church with you today.”

The three-story stone and glass structure spans a city block with distinctive Art Deco façades at the two main entrances. The building has undergone extensive renovation to accommodate all Scientology religious services and also serve as a home for the community services the Church provides through the many activities and humanitarian programs of its members.

An expansive Public Information Center houses a permanent multimedia exhibit describing the Church’s beliefs and practices and the life and legacy of Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. Displays also cover the Church- sponsored humanitarian and social betterment programs that offer practical answers to the societal ills of crime, drug abuse, illiteracy, declining moral values and natural and manmade disasters. These programs represent the work of the Church of Scientology in servicing every community in which they reside as well as other communities around the world.

There is also a Chapel for Sunday services, weddings, naming ceremonies and other congregational gatherings; spiritual counseling rooms; course rooms for religious study; an event hall and seminar rooms; a bookstore containing the written and spoken materials of L. Ron Hubbard; and Public Affairs offices and meeting rooms to coordinate social betterment programs with like-minded organizations in the community. For the convenience of parishioners and visitors, there is also a café.

In opening the dedication ceremony, Mr. Miscavige noted that the day gave new meaning to Quebec’s motto Je me souviens— I remember. In closing, he said, “Let this new Church symbolize the fact that we not only remember

Quebec, we shall also never forget our commitment to her people—and all in the spirit of this from L. Ron Hubbard:

“‘When you leave here today and walk out into the world, remember the tools of life that you have and your role to use them to help your fellows.’”

Accompanied by Scientologists from Quebec who led the drive to build the new Church, Mr. Miscavige cut the ribbon and invited all to enter.

___________________________

The Quebec Church is the second new Church of Scientology opened this month and the seventh in the past year. The Brussels branch of Churches of Scientology for Europe was dedicated on 23 January 2010. In October 2009, Mr. Miscavige dedicated two major new Churches: the Founding Church of Scientology of Washington, DC, and the Church of Scientology of Rome. In April 2009, he dedicated new Scientology Churches in Nashville, Tennessee; Dallas, Texas; and in Malmo, Sweden.

These Churches join the roster of new Churches of Scientology opened in the world’s cultural capitals, including the National Church of Scientology of Spain in Madrid’s Neighborhood of Letters; the Church of Scientology of New York, just off Times Square; the Church of Scientology of San Francisco, California, in the original historic Transamerica Building; the Church of Scientology of London, England, located in the epicenter of the city; and the Church of Scientology of Berlin, Germany, near the Brandenburg Gate.

An additional two Churches of Scientology are scheduled for ribbon cutting in February 2010, with another 12 new Churches of Scientology scheduled for completion before the end of the year.

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Posted on November 22, 2010 by , Reply

Madcap – Church and State


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Posted on November 20, 2010 by , Reply

Latest Church And State News

What Does the Word ‘Church’ Mean in ‘Separation of Church and State?’
What does the word “church” in the often-used American phrase “separation of church and state” mean? Most folks think this appears in the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Does “church” just mean churches as used by those who believe in Jesus, or all religions no matter what they call their places of worship?
Read more on ContributorNetwork via Yahoo! News

Burmese Officials Order Closure of Church in Chin State
Officials in Chin state, Burma, ordered a Baptist church to cease holding worship services after the pastor refused to wear an election campaign T-shirt supporting the military government’s Union Solidarity and Development Party
Read more on The Christian Post

China church to ordain bishop Vatican objects to
China’s government-backed Catholic church will proceed with the ordination of a bishop who does not have the pope’s approval, despite objections raised by the Vatican, a spokesman said Friday.
Read more on AP via Yahoo! News

Posted on November 19, 2010 by , Reply

At War – Church and State


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Posted on November 18, 2010 by , Reply

LifeWay’s Reconsider Explores the HIV/AIDS Epidemic Confronting the Black Church




Nashville, Tenn. (Vocus) March 20, 2010

The Black Church has traditionally been a loud voice for social change, though research conducted by LifeWay’s Marketing Research and reported in the current issue of Reconsider, a publication for leaders in today’s black churches, found that those churches have been curiously silent on the crisis of AIDS in the African-American community. Black church members say they need their churches to help stem the growing tide of new HIV and AIDS cases within the black community.

In this recent study to understand the needs of the Black Church, LifeWay found that 92 percent of black church members surveyed said they wanted their church to provide support to people dealing with socially stigmatized issues (i.e. HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, etc.) with a maximum amount of services (e.g. counseling, clinics, classes, etc.).

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the HIV/AIDS epidemic in African-American communities is a public health crisis in the United States. At the end of 2006, there were an estimated 1.1 million people living with HIV, of which almost half (46%) were African-American.

And while blacks represent approximately 12 percent of the U.S. population, they continue to account for a higher proportion of cases at all stages of HIV/AIDS—from infection with HIV to death with AIDS—compared with members of other races and ethnicities.

“In sharing these findings, we at LifeWay admit that we don’t have all the answers, but we share in the churches’ burden to react to the realities we see and to consider and determine tangible ways to respond,” said Elgia Wells, who directs LifeWay’s focus on the Black Church and serves as the pastor of a black church near Nashville, Tenn. “We hope these statistics cause pastors and leaders in black churches to work to determine specific ways to address these and other similar issues.”

LifeWay’s findings about the issue of HIV/AIDS in the Black Church are part of a broader set of findings from a larger survey among black churches across the United States. Study findings are the result of more than 60 qualitative interviews with church leaders, church members and unaffiliated persons and a quantitative survey with responses from approximately 780 individuals (196 church leaders, 315 church members and 272 unaffiliated persons) from across the U.S.

“Our research findings, which we are releasing through our new publication, Reconsider, give us a tool and a challenge to help churches evaluate the way they minister to different people and different situations in our communities,” said Wells.

About LifeWay’s Reconsider Campaign

Reconsider is a quarterly publication designed to help black churches evaluate the way they minister to different people and situations in today’s communities. To find more information on LifeWay’s Black Church research, or to learn about resources available to help churches address theses issues, visit www.lifeway.com/blackchurchlife.

About LifeWay Christian Resources

LifeWay Christian Resources, established in 1891 in Nashville, Tenn., is one of the world’s largest providers of Christian products and services, including Bibles, church literature, books, music, audio and video recordings, church supplies, and Internet services through LifeWay.com. The company owns and operates 154 LifeWay Christian Stores across the nation, as well as two of the largest Christian conference centers in the country. The company is a nonprofit organization that reinvests income above operating expenses in mission work and other ministries around the world. For additional information, visit www.lifeway.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Amy Gray, APR

Gray Public Relations

615.497.1799    

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Posted on November 17, 2010 by , Reply

LifeWay Research Study Reveals Church Planting in U.S. is Bigger Than Previously Realized



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Nashville, Tenn. (Vocus) November 15, 2007

Denominational growth in America has reached a plateau and in many cases has declined, but one would get the wrong idea to think the evangelical church is dying in the United States. A recent study finds just the opposite.

Dallas-based Leadership Network, in cooperation with the director of LifeWay Research , has uncovered striking changes in the number and type of new churches started in the United States. These developments promise profound cultural implications for the future.

“While much of the North American church is in decline, a surprising number and increasingly diverse group of new churches are being started in innovative ways,” said Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research, the research arm of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. “These churches are causing many Americans to reconsider churches they have rejected and to re-think what church is. I anticipate that as cultures change, through the inevitable shift of time, migration, and other means, even more churches will be born that reach people from these new cultural contexts.”

The “State of Church Planting USA” study was based on interviews with more than 100 denominational leaders (representing dozens of different denominations), 200 church-planting churches and some 45 church planting networks (The four-part study including a podcast can be downloaded at www.leadnet.org/churchplanting). Stetzer headed up the project and reported that the results surprised him in many respects.

“Church planting has grown in its scope, diversity and impact,” Stetzer said. “North American churches, networks and denominations are making church planting a growing priority. Such emphases push the church closer toward a movement – where churches plant churches that plant churches across North America and the world.”

Dave Travis, managing director at Leadership Network, observed, “Most church-planting studies tend to look at either a very narrow slice of church planting or developments on a global scale. In commissioning this study, our goal was to review the current state of U.S. church-planting efforts and begin to assess what today’s reality means for the next generation of planters.”

Key findings of the six-months-long effort include the following:

1.    Interest is growing rapidly. The pace of church planting has accelerated dramatically in recent years. For example, a simple Google search on the term “church planting” now returns over one million hits. And, while only two mainstream books were published on church planting from 1996 to 2002, no fewer than 10 have been released in the last five years, with several more on the horizon. Equally important, church planting has now become a preferred ministry option, not a consolation prize – denominations and individual churches report that many of their “best and brightest” leaders are pursuing church planting as a primary ministry focus.

2.    Local churches and church planting networks are driving the charge. Historically, church planting has been a denominationally driven activity. Today, the picture is quite different – with much of the energy centered at the local level. Many of the country’s most vibrant congregations see church planting as one of their central purposes. “Church-planting networks” – loose affiliations of churches that may or may not be tied by denomination but do share a commitment to launching new, like-minded congregations – are also at the forefront of the movement. As a result, denominational offices are increasingly taking a subordinate role – equipping rather than directing local congregational efforts.

3.    “Affinity” strategies dominate. Church planters once based their efforts on geography – the goal was to place new churches in “unserved” communities and areas. Today’s church planters are much more sophisticated. As Travis noted, “Through this study, we learned that most successful church planters today are specialists who emphasize a particular style of worship or a specific demographic. For example, they may exclusively plant house churches or ethnic churches – or perhaps build purpose-driven, seeker or missional churches. And the trend toward specialization is likely to continue as more tools and resources that serve specific types of planting strategies are developed.”

4.    Survival and success are markedly greater than realized. Observers have long assumed that most church plants fail within the first year – as many as 80-90 percent, by some estimates. Research reveals a very different picture – suggesting that 68 percent of the roughly 4,000 churches planted each year are still functioning four years later. These baby churches may not yet be self-sufficient, but the congregations themselves are alive and many are thriving.

What do these results mean for the future of the U.S. church? According to Travis, “I am hopeful that this study and the growing number of outstanding church planting conferences and resources will inspire a new wave of planters in the years ahead. That would be very good news indeed. Launching vibrant new congregations is often a more feasible and more fruitful strategy than attempting to revitalize struggling congregations.”

Leadership Network has created four free reports that summarize different aspects of this groundbreaking study:

    Church Planting Overview
    Who Starts New Churches?
    Funding New Churches
    Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches

All can be downloaded at www.leadnet.org/churchplanting. A 25-minute podcast interview of Dave Travis and Ed Stetzer is also available as a free download at www.leadnet.org/podcasts.

About LifeWay Research: LifeWay Research is a department of LifeWay Christian Resources and exists for the purpose of assisting and equipping church leaders with insight and advice that will lead to greater levels of church health and effectiveness. Additional studies can be found at www.lifewayresearch.com. Contact Chris Turner, media relations manager, LifeWay Christian Resources, to arrange an interview with Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research.

About Leadership Network: Based in Dallas, Texas, Leadership Network is a non-profit public charity that fosters church innovation and growth in furtherance of its far-reaching mission to identify, connect and help high-capacity Christian leaders multiply their impact. Church planting is one of many areas in which the organization works. For more on Leadership Network, see www.leadnet.org , www.halftime.org and www.successtosignificance.com or contact Rick Long at 1.800.477.6698 x102 or rlong @ sourcepub.com.

CONTACT:

Chris Turner, Media Relations Manager

chris.turner @ lifeway.com

(615) 251-2307

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Posted on November 16, 2010 by , Reply

Church Openings Outpace Closings, but Support for Church Plants Lacking




Orlando, Fla. (Vocus) April 22, 2010

A newly released LifeWay Research survey of 1,004 Protestant pastors found only 3 percent of their churches served as the primary sponsor of a church plant (new congregation) during the previous 12 months, and only 14 percent gave financial support in partnership with other churches to help start new congregations.

However, a second study completed in partnership with Leadership Network revealed more churches open than close yearly. Only in recent years has the annual number of new churches in the United States outpaced the annual number of churches closing their doors.

Twenty-eight percent of the congregations participated in some way, financial or otherwise, in church plants, LifeWay Research President Ed Stetzer said today during the Exponential Conference, a church-planting seminar in Orlando, Fla. Among that 28 percent, roughly half partnered with other congregations in supporting the new church financially, while 12 percent took direct financial responsibility as primary sponsor of the new church.

“Although we see more church planting involvement, we need to see a much higher number of churches starting churches,” Stetzer said. “It is widely acknowledged that church planting is the most effective form of evangelism. It should be of great concern that only 28 percent of our North American churches helped start new congregations at all, including only 12 percent of those who took primary responsibility.

“For too long, churches have assumed that mission involvement and church planting is someone else’s responsibility,” Stetzer continued. “The ‘pay, pray and get out of the way’ mentality causes churches to pay someone else to do what God has called them to do – and that may be part of why so many have become cul-de-sacs on the Great Commission highway.”

Far more churches reported participating in missions than church planting, Stetzer noted. A full 85 percent of the pastors said their congregations prayed as a group for missionaries at least once a month during the previous year, and 74 percent said their congregations focused that prayer on a specific mission field or people group. Fifty percent said their congregations conducted one or more short-term mission projects during the past year, and 20 percent reported their churches sent out missionaries who served 10 weeks or longer.

“We’re glad to see these numbers; prayer is where a heart for missions and church planting begins,” Stetzer said. “If God’s people are praying, they eventually will hear Him telling them to get their hands working directly in the fields that are ‘white unto harvest,’ but we have to help our people transition from short-term hands-on involvement to longer-term investment of their lives.”

Some of the other survey results, however, do represent a cause for concern, Stetzer added.

Among all Protestant churches surveyed, 5 percent provided one-time direct financial support, such as a cash gift, for a church plant, and 4 percent provided tangible support, such as equipment or rent-free meeting space, Stetzer said.

Although most churches are not currently involved in church planting, there is evidence – increases in the number of church plants and the response to church planting events – to suggest a growing interest and involvement in church planting. According to new research reported in the recently released book “Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers” by Stetzer and Warren Bird, all types of church leaders can become movement makers.

Citing several of the practical examples in “Viral Churches,” Stetzer challenged attendees at the Exponential Conference to adopt future church planters as short-term interns; co-sponsor a new church by loaning people and resources; and provide coaching, whether directly or indirectly, for the leaders of recently launched churches.

For more information on this and archived studies, visit LifeWayResearch.com.

The LifeWay Research telephone survey of 1,004 Protestant senior pastors, ministers or priests was conducted with a randomly drawn list of churches in December 2008. Up to six calls were made to reach a sampled phone number. Responses were weighted to reflect the geographic distribution of Protestant churches, and the sample provides 95 percent confidence that the sampling error does not exceed +3.1 percent. Margins of error are higher in sub-groups. The Leadership Network data determining a greater number of church openings than closings was compiled in 2007. Numbers were determined by analyzing church plants and closures from 13 denominations representing 46 percent of America’s 300,000 Protestant churches.

Media Contact:

Micah Carter

615-251-2307

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Posted on November 15, 2010 by , Reply
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