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Religious
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7 July - Asalha Puja Day (Buddhist)
9 July - Martyrdom of the Bab (Baha'i)
11 July - St. Benedict Day (Catholic Christian)
13 July - Ulambana/Obon (Buddhist)
19 July - Lailat al Miraj (Islam)
24 July - Pioneer Day (Latter-day Saints)
25 July - St. James the Great Day (Christian)
30 July - Tisha B'Av (Jewish)
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Bishop John
McCormack's Fourth of July Message: Concerned over Weakened "In God We
Trust" Slogan
MANCHESTER
(7/1/09) - Catholic Bishop John B. McCormack has released his
Fourth of July message on the Diocese
of Manchester Website. Below is a portion of his remarks:
"The national motto
of the United States of America, as we all know, is
“In God We Trust.” Emblazoned on every coin and note of currency,
carved into the marble of government offices, it is so much a part of
our everyday lives that the words seem to have lost their original
meaning. When was the last time you or I took a penny from your
pocket
and gave any thought to those words rounding the coin’s edge?
Probably, it’s been a long time. What does it mean to trust in
God as
Americans? This thought lingers with me on this, our country’s
Independence Day.
The weakened meaning
of the words “In God We Trust” have, in fact, been
their saving grace more than once. When lawsuits have come before
our
high courts, arguing the national motto violates the Constitutional
separation of church and state, judges have dismissed the claims,
arguing the words are solely “ceremonial” and have lost their meaning
through “rote repetition.”
This concerns me. As a person who has committed his life to God, I
worry that such bold and simple words in praise of God are permissible
in the public sphere only because our government assumes that nobody
really believes them. (read the full message HERE)
Left-Leaning
Peace Activists to Discuss Cuba Aid Mission in Concord
CONCORD (6/30/09) -
The Concord Monitor reports
that a group of religious activists will attempt to break the U.S.
embargo
on Cuba by delivering humanitarian supplies. On their way, the 2009
Pastors for Peace Caravan will stop at the Unitarian Universalist
Church on Pleasant Street in Concord. At 7 p.m. July 6, caravan
participants will discuss the consequences of the U.S. blockade and
travel restrictions for Cubans. The group has previously visited other
nations with anti-American regimes, including Nicaragua in the 1980s.
Scripture of the
Week:
June 29, 2009 - July 5, 2009: “Judge
not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye
shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured
unto you. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye,
but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how
wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote out of thine
eye; and lo, the beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast
out first the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see
clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” (Christian
Bible) Matthew 7:1-5 (American Standard Version)
See also: Previous
Scriptures of the Week
(Submit your favorite! email religion at nhreligion dot com)
NH Unitarian Universalists Excited
About New Gay Marriage Law
(6/15/09) (from UUworld.org
Website) - New Hampshire members of the gay-friendly Unitarian
Universalist denomination were celebrating last week after it
became the sixth state to approve same-sex marriage. Gov. John Lynch
signed a measure into law Wednesday, June 3 that had been approved by
both the
House and the Senate earlier that day.
Both bodies had voted
earlier to approve same-sex marriage, but
Lynch wanted additional language that would allow religious
organizations that were opposed to same-sex marriage not to perform
those ceremonies. The legislature complied and he signed the new
measure.
New Hampshire joins
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Iowa, and
Vermont in providing marriage benefits to gays and lesbians. Marriages
in New Hampshire can begin January 1, 2010.
UUs have long been on
the front lines of the campaign for same-sex
marriage in New Hampshire. The Rev. Mary Wellemeyer, of the UU Church
of Manchester, said Thursday, “The mood here is ebullient. Everybody
seems to have now decided that this action on marriage is consistent
with the way we do things in the ‘Live Free or Die’ state. This is
about people being able to live free and marry.”
The first chance that
the Rev. Kendra Ford at First UU Society of
Exeter, had to celebrate was at a program council meeting Wednesday
night in the parsonage. “We got out the rainbow flags and we found a
stack of colored paper crowns in the religious education rooms and we
put them on and had our meeting. I expect we’ll celebrate for a few
days.”
Trinity United Church of Seabrook
Welcomes New Pastor
SEABROOK
(6/14/09) - After an extensive search lasting many months, the
congregation of Trinity United Church finally has a new pastor, reports
the
Hampton Union newspaper.
Rev. Dr. William P. Beddie of Newfields was called upon in December to
lead the congregation at the circa 1836 church, home to the faiths of
United Church of Christ, American Baptist Church, and United Methodist
Church.
Dover Church To Say Goodbye to Pastor Who
Goes into Semi-Retirement Sunday
DOVER (6/14/09) - After
21 years, Rev. David Slater will leave First Parish Church at Sunday's
services to pursue a time of "contempation" before becomine a part-time
pastor, reports
Fosters Daily Democrat.
Since
he came to First Parish Church in 1988, Slater said he has seen
Dover grow from a former mill town in limbo to a community that has
become proud of its new identity and hopeful about the future.
Likewise, he said he has seen a strengthening of the faith of members
of the church.
"More and more people offer prayers," Slater
said. "What has pleased me is to me the church has not only reached out
to the community, but also into a deeper well of faith."
New Pastor of Milford Church Wants Church
to be Better Known
MILFORD (6/13/09) - The
Milford Cabinet reports that the Pierre Willems, the new pastor of
Colonial Hills Baptist Church, has several goals, among them being
raising the church’s visibility.
"I'd like the church
to be community oriented," he said recently. "We should get involved in
the Pumpkin Festival, in SHARE, things like that. The church has to get
involved and meet both physical and spiritual needs. It's going to take
time to build relationships," he added. "People need to know we are
here."
Willems, a 2005 graduate of Pensacola Theological
Seminary, is originally from San Diego. His wife, Dena,
grew up in the Nashua area. They met in college, married and completed
their masters' degrees together. Hers is in music education. Each time
he came to New Hampshire, he liked it better, he said.
Two Bishops, Two Very Different
Reactions as Gay Marriage Is Signed Into Law
CONCORD (6/5/09) - This
past week, the NH House passed a compromise bill that legalized gay
marriage in the state. Gov. John Lynch quickly signed the bill into law
within an hour of its passage.
Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay man to lead a
diocese in his church, worked hard for the bill’s passage, and said the
next step is gaining acceptance for gay marriage in Christian churches.
"What we have to work against is countless centuries of tradition which
has judged homosexual people to be an abomination before God," said
Robinson.
The AP
reported that Robinson sat in the front row of the gallery in the
House on Wednesday watching legislators vote.
"It's about being recognized as whole people and whole citizens," he
said. "There are a lot of people standing here who when we grew up
could not have imagined this," he said. "You can't imagine something
that is simply impossible. It's happened, in our lifetimes."
But the representative of the state’s Catholics had a very different
reaction.
Bishop John H. McCormack released a statement expressing his
disappointment in the legislature’s actions. (The full statement is
below.)
McCormack testified against the bill and issued statements against it
while it made its way thorough the House and Senate this spring.
Republicans almost uniformly opposed the bill, while many Democrats
said the bill granted equal rights and dignity to homosexuals. Some
political observers questioned why the issue of gay marriage was being
debated at all, with the state’s multi-million dollar shortfall in
revenue and resulting budget crisis looming over legislators
Bishop
McCormack’s statement:
“I am deeply
disappointed that the bill to legalize same sex marriage in New
Hampshire was signed into law today,” he wrote. “The new law passed our
Legislature through the narrowest of margins with precipitous haste and
without extensive study. The law strikes a blow to the cornerstone on
which our entire civilization is built and sustained: the marriage
between one man and one woman. In a manner unlike any other
relationship, the union of a husband and wife makes a unique and
irreplaceable contribution to the common good of society. A man and a
woman in a marriage bring children to life and model the way in which
women and men live interdependently and commit, for the whole of life,
to seek the good of each other. Our state has an obligation to protect
the unique gift of marriage between one man and one woman. As bishop, I
will continue to teach that marriage is a faithful, exclusive, lifelong
union of a man and a woman joined in an intimate community of life and
love. This is a natural truth that has been confirmed by divine
Revelation in Sacred Scripture.
As a citizen of this state, I am troubled that those
who respect and treasure marriage as it has been understood for
thousands of years have been marginalized while others position same
sex marriage as a “civil rights” issue. Marriage and same-sex unions
are essentially different realities. Upholding marriage as it has
always been understood is just and neither offends the dignity nor the
rights of homosexual persons. Indeed, the New Hampshire civil union law
passed by the Legislature in 2007 expressly conferred the same rights
offered to heterosexual couples to same-sex couples.
I pray that the citizens of this state will
recognize the clear need for a constitutional amendment on marriage.”
DNA Evidence Could Nab 2005 Vandal Of
Portsmouth Church
PORTSMOUTH (5/24/09) - Police
have made an arrest in a 2005 vandalism incident using DNA evidence
left by the accused vandal, reports Fosters
Daily Democrat.
When investigators
walked into North Church on June 10,
2005, they found a message written in blood on a white marble communion
table that helped lead them to the recent arrest of a Maine man charged
with causing more than $26,000 in damage to the historic downtown
church.
DNA
evidence from a 4-year-old blood sample found at a crime scene led to
the arrest of Patrick Allen, who was arraigned recently in Portsmouth
District Court.
Nigerian Cardinal Arinze Gives
Commencement Address at Merrimack, NH Catholic College
-
Was on "Short List" For Papacy After John Paul II's Passing
MERRIMACK (5/18/09) (from Catholic.org)
- Nigerian Cardinal Francis Cardinal Arinze, former Prefect of
the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, delivered the
commencement speech and received an honorary doctorate at The Thomas
More College of Liberal Arts (TMC) in Merrimack, on Sunday, May 10.
Arinze, who was considered a strong candidate for pope before the 2005
elevation of Pope Benedict XVI, delivered an address focusing on his
vision for
the mission of Catholic institutions of higher education.
Cardinal Arinze
emphasized the mission of Catholic universities to
strive to educate students about the relationship “between faith and
reason, on specialization and orientation, and on science and ethics.”
He noted that the marker of success for Catholic colleges and
universities is having “succeeded in forming and turning out model
Christians who are good citizens.”
Arinze continued, “If a Catholic College or
University adopts this
attitude of ‘courageous creativity and rigorous fidelity,’ it will be
able to contribute much to promote a healthy synthesis between faith
and culture in society.”
“A Catholic college or university educates students
to appreciate
that moral rules of right and wrong apply also to science, technology,
politics, trade and commerce, and indeed to all human endeavors.”
“In the complicated world of today, where all kinds
of ideas are
struggling for the right of citizenship, a university student needs a
clear and viable orientation on the relationship between religion and
life. The Catholic College or University is ideally positioned to help
him see the light and equip himself for a significant contribution in
society.”
Cardinal Arinze encouraged TMC for its rigorous
moral, as well
intellectual formation. He asked, “But what does it profit us if a
student is an intellectual giant but a moral baby… if he or she can
shoot out mathematical or historical facts like a computer but is
unfortunately a problem for the parents, corrosive acid among
companions in the College, a drug addict and sexual pervert, a disgrace
to the school, a waste-pipe in the place of work and Case number 23 for
the Criminal Police? It is clear that intellectual development is not
enough.”
Catholics Pan Same Sex Marriage Bill
"Religious Exception" Proposed by Gov. Lynch
CONCORD
(5/18/09) (Catholic News Service) Gov. John
Lynch on
Thursday said he will sign a bill to
recognize same-sex "marriages" contracted in the state if religious
liberty protections are added to the bill. Backers of the proposal said
they would make the requested changes, which would protect individuals
and institutions only "in some instances."
Lynch, a Democrat, told reporters he personally
opposes same-sex
"marriage" but decided to view the issue "through a broader lens," the
Associated Press reports.
"Throughout history, our society's views of civil
rights have
constantly evolved and expanded," Lynch said. "New Hampshire's great
tradition has always been to come down on the side of individual
liberties and protections."
Gov. Lynch said he wanted religious liberty
protections modeled on
Connecticut. He said he wanted protections in cases such as an organist
employed by a church opposed to same-sex marriage could legally
refuse to perform at a homosexual wedding.
If the bill is signed into law, New Hampshire
would become the sixth
U.S. state to give legal marriage licenses to homosexual couples.
House Speaker Terie Norelli, D-Portsmouth,
thanked the governor for
his "leadership" in providing a way for New Hampshire "to move forward
to enact marriage equality and, at the same time, respect religious
tolerance."
Mo Baxley, executive director of the
pro-homosexual "marriage" group
New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, said her group could support
the language.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, which says
it does not take a
position on same-sex "marriage," praised Gov. Lynch for "taking
religious liberty seriously."
"Giving legal recognition to same-sex marriages
promises to unleash
a host of legal and financial penalties on those who conscientiously
object to it, unless states make the effort to enact robust legal
protections," Eric Rassbach, National Litigation Director for the
Becket Fund, said in a press release.
However, the Becket Fund acknowledged that
Lynch’s proposal would
not protect small business owners such as an Arizona photographer who
faces a fine for refusing to photograph a same-sex ceremony. The
protections reportedly will only cover the solemnization, celebration
or promotion of same-sex "marriage."
The Becket Fund said the proposal would protect
individuals and institutions "in some instances."
Kevin Smith, executive director of Cornerstone
Policy Research,
characterized Lynch’s religious liberty proposal as a "smoke screen"
providing cover for his change of opinion.
"There are people with very deeply held
convictions on this issue
who are now going to have their conscience violated," Smith told the
Concord Monitor. He added that the proposed modification "seems like a
rather disingenuous attempt on the part of the governor to try and
couch his actions today and say it's some sort of compromise. It isn't."
"The folks who are not protected are your
individual business
owners, caterers, photographers, who now will be forced to provide
these services for same-sex weddings," he also said, according to the
Boston Globe.
The Associated Press reports that New Hampshire
Republican Party
Chairman John H. Sununu also criticized Lynch, saying: "Once again,
Gov. Lynch has discovered a way to be against something and for it at
the same time."
In
a May 7 statement, Bishop of Manchester John
B. McCormack opposed
the proposal, saying "We believe that we should be doing all we can as
a society to support and protect marriage, which is a union of a man
and woman and has been throughout history."
He said the bill
would "redefine marriage on the run" with the
"slimmest of legislative margins." His comments, made before religious
liberty protections were proposed, also emphasized the need to secure
religious liberties. Bishop McCormack warned "unintended consequences"
of the proposal would lead to "unnecessary confusion, litigation and
denial of rights to many people in our state."
After Catastrophic Fire, Work of Alton
Center Goes On
ALTON (5/12/09) - The
Laconia Citizen follows up on an Easter Sunday fire that devastated
part of the Christian Conference Center in Alton.
Although
it was a brisk, chilly wind blowing up from Lake Winnipesaukee Sunday
morning, cars from Maine and New Hampshire packed the parking lot as
the East Dover Church Alpha course wound down to its final day."This
was a tragic fire but the place we used was still there," said Kathy
Michaud of Berwick, Maine. "You should have seen it yesterday," she
continued. "It was packed with people."
Historic Greenfield Church Closes Its Doors
GREENFIELD
(5/4/09) -
The
Monadnock Ledger-Transcript reports that this past
Sunday, the Greenfield Congregational Covenant Church held its final
service in the Meeting House, the home of Greenfield's principal church
congregations for the last 214 years.
The building is the oldest original meeting house in New Hampshire
built to serve both the church and the town, which were incorporated in
1791. They have shared the Meeting House since the two entities built
it jointly in 1796. That was the year Sen. Judd Gregg's
great-great-great-grandfather Hugh Gregg erected it with the help of
100 local residents.
Alleged Church Vandal Charged Using DNA
Evidence
PORTSMOUTH (5/4/09) - Fosters
Daily Democrat reports DNA evidence from a four-year-old blood
sample foun
n
Bibles - Apocrypha) Book of Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
40:28-30 (King James Version)d
at a crime scene led to the arrest of a Maine man on
charges he was responsible for smashing windows at the North Church.
Pembroke Conference to Focus on Hunger
Groups' Work
(4/27/09) The New
Hampshire Council of Churches will hold a conference May 2 to feature
groups fighting against hunger in New Hampshire.
Bread for the World,
Church World Service New England and The New
Hampshire Council of Churches will hold a one day conference event,
“Yes We Can…End Hunger Through Advocacy and Service,” featuring four
advocates for reducing local, national and global poverty.
The event
will focus on how citizens of New Hampshire can
help the world’s desperately poor people, even as we face an economic
crisis at home.
The event will be
held Saturday, May 2, from 9 am to 2 pm at the the New Hampshire
Council of Churches, 140 Sheep Davis Road, Pembroke.
Saturday afternoon
workshops will provide in–depth training for
churches and individuals on how to promote the annual CROP Walk,
conducting a bread letter–writing campaign, and communicate effectively
with our decision makers.
You can respond at www.bread.org/rsvp
or by calling NHCC at [603] 224–1352. Reservations are asked.
Contact
persons include Flavia DeSouza, Northeast Field Organizer,
Bread for the World
fdesouza@bread.org
(646) 623–6873; David Lamarre–Vincent, Executive Director, The
New Hampshire Council of Churches david@nhchurches.com (603)
224–1352.
New Interim Pastor for Laconia Church
LACONIA (4/21/09) - The
LifeQuest Church in Laconia officially welcomed its interim pastor, the
Rev. Robert H. Smith this past Sunday, reports
the Citizen.
Smith
grew up in New Hampton and attended the LifeQuest Church as a teenager.
He has been a pastor since 1962 and has led churches in small
communities in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Maine, and New
York.
The church's former pastor, the Rev. Rick Mowery,
left
recently for Maine, to become pastor at a small congregation where
Smith at one time was previously stationed.
Coffeehouse Hosts Nashville Singer May 1
MANCHESTER (4/20/09) -
New England Revival Coffeehouse will host Nashville recording artist
and worship leader Kathleen Fowle Fiday, May 1 at 8 p.m.
Fowle will be sharing music from her new album “Fly Free.” She has
significant airplay, landing her at #11 in the Top 100 Global Pop
Charts in 2008.
The Coffeehouse calls her, “Both powerful and playful, Kathleen's
musical style is worshipful in a unique and fresh way. Her vocals are
raw and honest, reminiscent of Natalie Merchant or the Cranberries.”
She can be found online at www.KathleenFowle.com.
New England Revival Coffeehouse concerts are held at Calvary Fellowship
Church, 60 Bailey Ave.( off of Candia Rd.) Manchester, NH and feature
regional and national Christian contemporary artists.
“LIVE at NERCH” performances are videotaped and broadcast on Mcam TV 23
in Manchester NH and several other local cable access stations across
New England and nationwide.
To be part of the “studio” audience (with frree admission and
refreshments) visit www.nerch.org
for map and schedule, or call (603) 625-9550.
NH Pastors Give
Hope During Hard Times
MANCHESTER (4/13/09) - The New
Hampshire Sunday News reported
on Easter Sunday of churches throughout the state that are offering
hope and comfort to those struggling through tough economic times.
The
Easter message of hope and redemption resonates even more deeply in
these hard times, New Hampshire pastors say. And many believe a loss of
trust in material goods might lead to a greater spiritual awakening.
The Rev. Michael
Kerper is pastor of Corpus Christi parish in Portsmouth, where some
parishioners have told him the economic crisis has changed their lives
in positive ways.
Fire In Alton
Damages Christian Conference Center
ALTON (4/13/09) -
A massive fire, srpead by violent, whipping winds damaged 50 homes
Sunday along with cabins and other property owned by a Christian
Conference Center.
Firefighters managed
to protect a historic church hall at the Alton Bay
Christian Conference Center complex on top of the hill, Lockwood said.
Most of the destroyed cabins, however, may have belonged to the
complex.
See report in Fosters
Daily Democrat; The
Laconia Citizen
Keene Pastor "Pays it Forward" Read more..
SWAT Teams Swarm Into Londonderry Church -
But It Was a Pre-Planned Training Exercise
LONDONDERRY
(4/9/09) - Preparing for the unthinkable, but the possible,
SWAT teams in several NH towns trained at St. Jude's Parish in
Londonderry Tuesday, acting out three hostage scenarios as part of a
training exercise, reports
the Union Leader.
The hostage-related scenarios were practiced by the Southern New
Hampshire Special Operations Unit Tuesday at the church. There were no
congregants in the church at the time of the exercises.
In one scenario, the hostage-taker had already shot one churchgoer
before police arrived and had locked himself in a basement conference
room outside the Sunday school classrooms.
The unplanned arrival of a florist to the church’s office lent an air
of unpredictability to the exercise, but organizers said that’s just
what they need in order to learn to adapt to rapidly changing
situations.
As usual
with Union Leader stories, the online comment board lit up with
comments about the exercises, with comments ranging from condemnation
of the police to praise for their attempt to train for these disasters.
Some
commenters decried the abuse of police power they believe is inherent
in SWAT-like para-military teams, while others questioning the
advisability (or propriety) of doing this training inside a church
during Holy Week.
Others
countered that the training is absolutely necessary, due to the random
nature of shootings of recent years (and recent weeks) while some noted
that the event was obviously cleared through the parish priest.
NH's Jews Set to Bless the Sun on Wednesday
in Rare Event Not Witnessed Since 1981
(4/7/09) - Jewish people throughout
New Hampshire are preparing to "Bless the Sun" Wednesday morning at
sunrise in an ritual that dates back 2000 years.
Called
Birkat HaChama, or Blessing of the Sun, the ritual commemorates the sun
returning to the exact place in the sky in which it stood when it was
created. Talmudic scholars say this is the 206th 28-year cycle of the
Sun, which always falls on a Wednesday, and in this year, falls on the
same day as the start of Passover. In the 20th and 21st Centuries, it
will always fall on April 8, this year 14 Nisan in the Hebrew Calendar.
The next Birkat HaChema celebration will occur in 2037.
Rabbis
caution that no astrological phenomena - such as an alignment of
planets - is occurring during this event. In fact, the sun
*technically* isn't going to be in the same exact place as it was in
past cycles. And while it is supposedly falling on the Spring Equinox,
it's "late" because it reckons the Spring Equinox in the old Julian
calendar, which began to be replaced centuries ago because it was
astronomically "off" by a few days - and now off by more than two weeks.
The
Talmud (Brachot 59b) teaches: "He
who sees the sun at its season, the moon at its strength, the stars in
their paths, and the constellations in their order, recites "Blessed is
the One Who performs the act of creation."
Some
are using the Sun celebration to call attention to global warming
issues and the need to care for the Earth. (See this
Wall Street Journal article)
Congregants
at Temple Israel in Manchester is planning to commemorate the event at
, followed by the Siyyum of the First Born, in which the fast of the
first born sons (which occurs before Passover) is broken. Members of
the Etz Hayim Synagogue in Derry will meet at 6:15 a.m. for a brief
ceremony, followed by singing of Psalms and a Kaddish for those who
have died.
The
Birkat HaChama prayers can be downloaded
here (.pdf format, in English and Hebrew.)
Check
this link for more
Biblical and Talmudic background on the timing and reasoning behind
this rare celebration, and this
one for more detail on its celebration..
Congregationalists in Concord Unite for
Holy
Week Events
CONCORD (4/5/09) - Concord's
four United Church of Christ churches - First Congregational, South
Congregational, East Congregational and West Congregational - are
sharing the celebration of Holy Week.
• Holy
Week Labyrinth Walks will be offered daily at South Congregational
Church.
• Yoga
for families will be held Monday from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at South
Congregational Church. The cost is $12; the fee benefits a youth group
trip to New Orleans.
• The
last book study of Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard will be
held Thursday from 6 to 7:25 p.m. at South Congregational Church.
• "The
Cross of Nonviolent Love: A Contemplative Walk with Jesus" will be held
Good Friday from noon to 3 p.m. at East Congregational Church;
• Easter
Vigil and Labyrinth Walk will begin Good Friday at 6 p.m. and continue
through Easter morning at 6 a.m. at South Congregational Church.
• Easter
Sunrise Service will be celebrated at 6 a.m. at the Society for the
Protection of New Hampshire Forests.
NH Catholic Bishop
to Consider Listing Some Abusive Priests
MANCHESTER (3/31/09) - The
leader of the Catholic Church in New Hampshire has told the founder of
a group that tracks reports of clergy sexual abuse that he’ll consider
posting names of some accused priests, reports
the Keene Sentinel.
The conversation between Bishop John
McCormack and Terry McKiernan of BishopAccountability.org
happened after a Sunday mass in Manchester while McCormack was greeting
parishioners in the church hall, the New Hampshire Union-Leader reports.
McCormack
said he would think about the diocese listing the names of priests who
have been defrocked or assigned to prayer and penance, and are no
longer active in the ministry.
Last week,
BishopAccountability.org
called for eliminating the statute of limitations on sex-abuse cases
after files released by the attorney general’s office included the
names of 26 newly accused clergy members. Most of the alleged abuse
took place decades ago.
NOTICE:
New England Revival
Coffeehouse Presents: Buddy Fanjoy on April, 8 p.m.
Buddy's passion for music
started at the age of seven when he first picked up the guitar and
began to sing. He'd spend hours playing, singing and eventually writing
songs. Before long he was playing in various bands at the clubs and
colleges in the New England area. But God had other plans. In 1982 God
pulled Buddy out of the mire and put a new song in his heart. God
renewed that passion for music and transformed it to be used for His
own glory. Since then he has led worship in churches and ministered at
various Christian events and coffee houses. "It's really amazing how
God can take our sorrow and pain and replace it with His joy, as He has
done in my life, and I'll be forever grateful for His mercy, grace and
love." Buddy continues reflecting on all that God has done in his
life... "I have found that there is only One who can truly comfort and
we need Him desperately ...and that's my hearts cry."
New England Revival
Coffeehouse concerts
are held at Calvary Fellowship Church, 60 Bailey Ave.( off of
Candia Rd.) Manchester, NH. Featuring quality regional and national
Christian contemporary artists.
“LIVE at NERCH”
performances are videotaped and broadcast on MCAM TV on Comcast 23 Manchester NH
and several other local cable access stations. Be a part of our
“studio” audience. Free admission and refreshments. Donations accepted.
All are welcome.
Visit www.nerch.org for map and schedule, or call
(603)625-9550.
NYT: Catholic Diocese
Releases Names of 27 Clerics Who Were Accused of Abuse
MANCHESTER (3/27/09) - The New
York Times is reporting that the NH Attorney General’s Office has
released dozens of sex abuse accusations against clergy members,
including 27 whose names previously haven’t been released.
Many of the cases aren’t being pursued, says Attorney General Kelly A.
Ayotte, because the clerics are dead or the statute of limitations has
expired.
Muslim Mosque Featured in
Union
Leader Article Sparks Outrage, Online Critiques of Islam
MANCHESTER (3/24/09) - A Union
Leader article on the progress of construcion on the state's first
Islamic house of worship has sparked outrage and calls to stop its
construction on the newspaper's Website.
The
paper reports:
Relatively
small in scale, the project is epic in scope.
Not
only did it take more than a dozen years of planning and persistence
against countless obstacles to get this far, but the mosque means
Muslims will join the world's other monotheistic faiths -- Christianity
and Judaism -- in having a permanent place of worship in the Granite
State.
"This
is the place that God has given us," Mahboubul Hassan said on a recent
visit to the nearly 4-acre Karatzas Avenue site. Hassan is president of
the Islamic Society of Greater Manchester, which is building the mosque
to serve the region's estimated 3,000 to 3,500 Muslims. Currently, the
nearest mosques are in Methuen, Mass., and Boston.
Despite
this relatively innocuous article, mosque opponents came out in force
in the comment section below the online article, however. As of Tuesday
afternoon (4 p.m.) there were 91 comments.
"Quit
bickering people and do something about it if you are against the
mosque," urged Kevin from Portsmouth. Guy Plante of Manchester, among
others, raised issues of how women and Christians were treated in
European and Arab nations where Muslims are predominant..
"Why
do Muslims in many cities in Europe insist on having "no go zones" or,
in France "zones sensibles", where non-Muslims, even the police, the
firefighters and other emergency responders, are not allowed in? Is
that found in the Qur'an?" said Plante.
Many
others pointed to the terrorist reputation of Islam, while others -
including sefl-identified Muslims - pleaded with the commenters to "get
the facts" and not paint the entire religion with one brush.
"To
all of you who are attacking us with all these comments, Please try to
build bridges not walls and come meet with us and get to know us better
like many other that they invited themselves to our mosque," writes
Ahmed of Hooksett.
The
newspaper's open and rarely edited comment boards often attract
attention from readers - sometimes from across the nation - on
controversial topics. Most often, those topics are political in nature,
rather than religious, however. This, of course, being an exception.
A
drawing of the proposed mosque has graced our nhreligion.com header for
several years.
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