Christianity

US Religious Freedom Body ‘Alarmed’ Over Iraq Bombings

July 14, 2009

Author: Paolo Gallini

Source: Religious Intelligence

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=4741

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed its alarm at the recent spate of bombings of churches in Baghdad and Mosul and called on the Iraqi government to provide protection to all of the country’s citizens, especially its vulnerable Christian minority.

The bombings occurred late...

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Iraq Tightens Security Around Churches, Christian Towns After Wave of Attacks

July 14, 2009

Author: Nada Bakri

Source: The Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/13/AR2009071302043.html

Iraqi authorities on Monday tightened security around churches across Baghdad and in two Christian towns in the northern province of Nineveh, amid fears that a series of attacks against them could escalate.

The security measures were imposed a day after bombings in and around...

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Baghdad Church Bombings Leave Tiny Christian Minority Trembling

July 14, 2009

Author: Tim Cocks

Source: Reuters

http://blogs.reuters.com/faithworld/2009/07/14/baghdad-church-bombings-leave-tiny-christian-minority-trembling/

A spate of bombs targeting churches in Baghdad this week has Iraq’s minority Christian community trembling at the prospect of being the next victim of militants trying to reignite war.

Iraqi Christians, one of the country’s...

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Jerusalem Mayor Navigates Sacred City’s Religious Politics

July 13, 2009

Author: Michele Chabin

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext

When Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat decided in June to open a municipal parking lot that had been closed on Saturdays, the Jewish Sabbath, his office said he was simply being practical.

Extra parking is needed to help ease lines of double-parked cars near the Old City that have become an impenetrable maze for emergency vehicles and “an issue of...

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Iraqi Christians Need Better Protection, UN Envoy Says After Deadly Bombing

July 13, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: UN News Centre

http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=31450&Cr=iraq&Cr1=attack

The top United Nations envoy to Iraq today called for a redoubling of efforts to protect the country’s Christians, as well as its other minority communities, following a series of “orchestrated” bombings over the weekend that hit several churches.

The weekend attacks in the capital, Baghdad,...

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ACLU Seeks End to Censorship Of Religious Material By Virginia Jail

July 9, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: PRNewswire-USNewswire

http://sev.prnewswire.com/publishing-information-services/20090709/DC4429309072009-1.html

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Virginia today demanded that officials at the Rappahannock Regional Jail immediately end their illegal practice of censoring religious material sent to detainees.

In a letter sent today to the jail's superintendent...

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A Christian's Journey to Judaism

July 9, 2009

Author: Jemimah Noonoo

Source: The Houston Chronicle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/6522162.html

At an East Galveston beach, Mari Barkhausen is waist-deep in the cool, brown water. After repeating Hebrew blessings, she is immersed once, twice. When she emerges from the water a third time, she is a Jew.

She hugs her rabbi, looking to the shoreline at her husband and two sons who are waiting for their mikveh, the...

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Pharmacists Can't Refuse Plan B Pill, Appeals Court Says

July 9, 2009

Author: Carol J. Williams

Source: The Los Angeles Times

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-pill-ruling9-2009jul09,0,6469894.story

Pharmacists are obliged to dispense the Plan B pill, even if they are personally opposed to the "morning after" contraceptive on religious grounds, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

In a case that could affect policy across the western U.S., a...

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On All Things Religious, Obama Turns to DuBois

July 8, 2009

Author: Adelle M. Banks

Source: Religion News Service

http://www.religionnews.com/index.php?/rnstext/on_all_things_religious_obama_turns_to_dubois1/

From a sparsely adorned office building a stone’s throw from the White House, Joshua DuBois carefully navigates the delicate line between church and state.

Each morning, he sends a devotional message to President Obama’s BlackBerry. He...

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Wellspring Church Welcomes Rev. Mariah Tollgaard

July 8, 2009

Author: Staff Writer

Source: Wicked Local Shrewsbury

http://www.wickedlocal.com/shrewsbury/news/x931223906/Wellspring-Church-welcomes-Rev-Mariah-Tollgaard

Wellspring United Methodist Church is pleased to announce the appointment of the Rev. Mariah Furness Tollgaard by Bishop Peter Weaver of the New England Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Peter Bjork, lay leader of...

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