Category: Christian Church

The December issue of Correspondance Unitarienne of L’Assemblee Fraternelle des Chretiens Unitariens notes the existance of L’Association des chrétiens unitariens du Congo. Which town — or even which Congo — isn’t noted, but it seems they value tolerance and admit ancestral practices which presumably others don’t.

This is the same newsletter that reported the Norwegian and Burundi Unitarian churches, and keeps in contact with the Unitarian Christian group in Italy.

Tough times offer opportunities for prayer.

Beppeblog notes that the Western hostages recently taken in Iraq are from Christian Peacemaker Teams.

I met some Mennonite CPT volunteers in Jerusalem — on furlough from Hebron — in 1999 and to paraphrase a schmaltzy film, they “made me want to be a better Christian.”

I hope they come home safe, and not just them.

I’m sure praying for the dead is outside the norms of Baptist theology, yet I’ll remember the Rev. Kyle Lake in prayer.

He was thirty-three when he died on Sunday, and as the headline below suggests, was electrocuted in front of his congregation, University Baptist Church, Waco, Texas. Microphone. Baptistry. You can figure out the rest or read the story. (The baptisand was not seriously hurt.) Pray for the congregation, too.

I’m thinking of other young ministers I’ve read about who’ve died young. If I find it for All Souls (tomorrow) I’ll type out a touching century old obituary of a twenty-something Universalist minister and his sweetheart who died in a boating accident. But to loose a pastor so young, in the course of duty, and before the congregation on Sunday must be unbearable.

Pastor electrocuted while performing baptism (CNN)

I share with the CrossLeft folks that the more moderate to progressive Christians that affirm a common statement of Christian faith the better. The old liberal rhubarb about focusing on the works of faith seems again and again to — well, care little about Christian faith and gives liberals a reputation for being vague and insincere. Basta! I can’t think of a better way to stand together against a not-so-Christian (and not-so-biblical) fundamentalism that’s taking over the public mind of what Christianity is. Or as they put it

The public face of Christianity in America today bears little connection to the historic faith of our ancestors. It represents even less our own faith as Christians who continue to celebrate the gifts of our Creator, revealed and embodied in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

What I’d like to get my head around is whether or not the Phoenix Affirmations is the place to start. (I’d be happy with the Apostles’ Creed, but that’s me.)

Here’s the link with the Phoenix Affirmations. I’ll muse on it here. Comment about what you think.

CrossLeft, CrossWalk and the Phoenix Affirmations

Drinking tea, getting ready for church, I turned on the TV looking for “the farm report” — Religion & Ethics Newsweekly (which Peregrinato also likes) and I couldn’t find it.

Did, however, find an hour-long condensed version of a conference on the growth of the religious right in America on Maryland Public Television.

Info: Examining The Religious Far Right

But one of the things that struck me most is the encouragement from two or three participants for centrists and leftists not to tar those on the right with (what one participant said, paraphrasing) “nasty epithets” of radical, extreme, and the like. He said these are meaningless and perjoritive, and I’m inclinded to agreed. How can you expect someone to listen to you — and there is a large opportunity to reach out to people who are both right-leaning and sensible — if we (the center to left) resorts to high-handed name-calling.

In particular, I’ve noted that highly-placed Unitarian Universalist ingulge in this and come off like partisans. I think that needs to end.

Ah! There’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly on WETA, but too late for me to get to church, too!