Religion News in Brief

By The Associated Press | Clanton Advertiser

Published Thursday, February 5, 2009

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Former President Jimmy Carter addressed a packed Sixteenth Street Baptist Church with a message of racial reconciliation and cooperation on social issues.

Some 1,200 people filled the historic Birmingham church where four black girls died in a 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing.

Carter told a regional meeting of the New Baptist Covenant, which he helped found last year that there's "no way for us to ignore Jesus' emphasis on the poor, the brokenhearted."

He said the evolution of the covenant is the "highlight of my religious life."

Carter recalled a time when racial prejudice was rampant in Baptist churches, and theologians defended separate worship.

"The Baptist church was a stalwart defender of segregation," he said. "It was ingrained in our conscience."

Carter said the meeting will help churches work better together.

"We don't know whether we have a meeting or a movement," said the Rev. Jimmy Allen, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and co-organizer of the New Baptist Covenant. "What we're after is a movement."

The Rev. Arthur Price, pastor at Sixteenth Street Baptist, said, "Can you imagine that 45 years ago, people used to gather here to strategize on how to put an end to racial inequality?"

Recalling the church bombing, he said, "Imagine that 45 years ago this window to my left where Jesus is knocking on the door, the face of Christ was blown out. I believe that God was telling us back then, as he is telling us now, that we are more united than we are divided."

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http://www.newbaptistcelebration.org

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Ala. church offers prayers to counter recession

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) — A Tuscaloosa church used part of its Sunday service to anoint and pray over 40 pieces of business stationery as members asked God to help those companies and their employees.

"During these hard times, so many businesses are closing down, and people are being laid off," said Jennifer Allen, a church member who brought a letterhead from her employer, Sealy Management. "I believe in the power of God, and I believe he listens to people's prayers, and he will help us through these difficult times."

George Birmingham, student pastor at Tuscaloosa Church of God, asked members who brought letters on company stationery, brochures and business cards to Sunday's service to join him at a table in the center of the sanctuary.

He then placed sweet-scented olive oil on their hands and anointed each piece of stationery. The prayer requests came from employees and business owners, most from the Tuscaloosa area but some from farther away.

"I am a firm believer in the blessings of the Lord," said Eric White, who runs a quality-management consulting firm in Tuscaloosa.

White said his prayer was to ask God to bless not only his business, but all the businesses in Tuscaloosa and their employees because his firm can't succeed unless they do, too.

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http:/www.tuscaloosachurchofgod.org

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Christian school barred from sports league revisits legal challenge

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Christian school in Texas that was barred from joining the state's athletic league for public schools has asked a federal appeals court to revive the lawsuit it filed over its exclusion, accusing the league of religious discrimination.

A federal judge last year dismissed the suit that Cornerstone Christian Schools in San Antonio filed against the state's University Interscholastic League in February 2007.

Now, a lawyer for Cornerstone has asked a three-judge panel from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn that ruling by U.S. District Judge Fred Biery.

Cornerstone accuses the league of discriminating against parents who choose to send their children to a religious school.

The league says it has admitted two of the state's largest religious private schools but excluded Cornerstone because it was eligible to join another league.

"There is nothing in this rule that says you have to give up your religion to join UIL," Jim Todd, an assistant Texas attorney general, said during Monday's hearing in New Orleans.

Cornerstone was a member of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, but TAPPS refused to let the school continue to participate in its league. UIL lawyers say TAPPS denied membership to Cornerstone due to its "ongoing problem with illegal recruiting of foreign students for athletic purposes."

The school has said that rules violations weren't a factor in the private league's decision not to renew Cornerstone's membership. Cornerstone Christian Schools is connected with the Cornerstone megachurch founded by televangelist John Hagee.

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http:/www.cornerstonechristianschools.org

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Palin's church reopens after building damaged by arson

WASILLA, Alaska (AP) — Hundreds of worshippers flocked to the reopening of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin's home church, which was badly damaged in an arson fire in December.

"We have been blessed by people's response to us, far beyond anything we deserved," Pastor Larry Kroon told worshippers at Wasilla Bible Church. "God's grace is the one true renewing resource and it will never run out."

Palin, the former Republican vice presidential hopeful, was in Washington, D.C., over the weekend and did not attend either of the two Sunday morning services.

Damage to the church from the Dec. 12 blaze was estimated at $1 million. Five people were inside the building at the time of the fire but escaped unharmed.

Investigators say they have no evidence that Palin's link to the church was a motive for the fire.

Kroon made no mention of Palin during the service. However, he said later that the governor attends occasionally when she is in Wasilla, her hometown. He said Palin is not a member, but her ties to the church brought widespread publicity and an outpouring of support and donations.

Letters from well-wishers were displayed in a loose-leaf notebook at the back of the sanctuary. Many came from individuals and religious groups who identified themselves as supporters of Palin in her vice presidential bid.

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http:/www.wasillabible.org

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Religious discrimination lawsuit over D.C. transit uniform policy settled

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has settled a lawsuit accusing Washington's transit agency of religious discrimination.

The complaint filed in federal court accused Metro of discriminating against a woman of the Apostolic Pentecostal faith because she was unable to comply with Metro's uniform policy. She declined to wear pants, which are part of the uniform but are forbidden by her beliefs.

Gloria Jones said she wasn't hired as a bus driver because her religious beliefs.

The Justice Department announced Tuesday that Metro has agreed to pay more than $47,000 to Jones and $2,500 each to two others who say Metro didn't accommodate their beliefs.

Metro also must implement a policy to reasonably accommodate employees' religious practices and train its supervisors on religious discrimination. The agreement still must be approved by the court.

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