Daily Archives: March 21, 2011

For Elderly Muslims, Few Care Options Outside the Home

After Nazli Currim’s father died, her mother moved into Ms. Currim’s home. She cared for her mother full time, even after a stroke six years before she died.

Ms. Currim, 69, co-founder of the American Muslim Women’s Association and author of “Grandma Lives With Us”, a children’s book, never thought about finding a nursing home for her mother. Her attitude is common among Muslims in the United States, many of whom are reluctant even to consider placing an aging family member in a facility.

Part of that decision was a personal one, but part of it was practical: It is difficult for Muslims to find nursing homes and assisted living facilities that reflect their way of life.

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Religion News & Commentary, Aging / the Elderly, Children, Health & Medicine, Islam, Marriage & Family, Other Faiths, Religion & Culture

(SHNS) Terry Mattingly: Church life in Facebook land

A mere three years ago, Diana Davis published a hands-on book for church leaders titled “Fresh Ideas For Women’s Ministry.”

When flipping through its pages, she said, one of the first things she notices is a missing word — Facebook. She needs to rewrite the whole book to cover this reality gap.

“That obvious, isn’t it? It’s so obvious that we ought to be using Facebook to tell more women about our Bible studies and prayer groups and retreats and things like that,” said Davis, who has been married to a Southern Baptist pastor and administrator for nearly four decades, working in Texas and Indiana.

Read it all.

Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, * Culture-Watch, --Social Networking, Blogging & the Internet, Parish Ministry, Religion & Culture, Science & Technology

Time Magazine–10 Questions for Dan Savage

What advice can you give readers of TIME?

We talk about love in a way that’s very unrealistic: “If you’re in love, you’re not going to want to have sex with anyone else but that person.” That’s not true. We need to acknowledge that truth so that people don’t have to spend 40 years of marriage lying to and policing each other.

Read it all.

I will take comments on this submitted by email only to at KSHarmon[at]mindspring[dot]com.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, Ethics / Moral Theology, Marriage & Family, Pastoral Theology, Psychology, Science & Technology, Sexuality, Teens / Youth, Theology, Young Adults

The Bishop's Address to the Lichfield Diocesan Synod

… I have had one churchwarden who tells me he is definitely going to leave. We wish them well but I hope most people will wait until the final vote in Synod before making up their mind because there is still everything to play for and pray for.

Of course there is also two-way traffic between us and Rome. We regularly receive Roman Catholics into our congregations and ministry. Maybe we should set up our own Ordinariat for people coming in the opposite direction!

My other hope is that clergy or groups of laity who are seriously thinking of making a move to Rome should contact a member of the Bishop’s Staff and arrange a visit to the PCC by one of us; because not everything you read in the press is quite true or accurate and some congregations have not been well advised on this topic.

Certainly now is not the time to weaken the place of the Christian faith, and the Church of England in particular in our nation. It is quite moving to realise, as I did again this week, that our parliament does nothing without prayer, and that getting on for half the members turning up for prayer each day particularly in the House of Lords; is quite something.

Read it all (it is toward the bottom).

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Religion News & Commentary, Anglican Provinces, Church of England (CoE), CoE Bishops, Other Churches, Roman Catholic

In Nigeria Anglican Clergy March over burnt church

Clergy and laity of the Esan Diocese, Anglican Communion during the weekend embarked on a procession in Uromi, over the burning of St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Uromi, Esan North East Local Government Area of Edo State by suspected arsonists.

The Anglicans who were dressed in black, marched through the ever busy Ubiaja Road from Eguare Primary School to Angle 90 before returning to the burnt church.

They carried placards with various inscriptions and sang songs of lamentations as they marched through the road.

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, Anglican Provinces, Church of Nigeria

(CTV) At Cathedral in Vancouver, Hundreds gather to remember Japan disaster victims

Hundreds of people at a Vancouver church offered prayers and donations Sunday for the victims of the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, as they were told not even religion could explain the unspeakable tragedy that has befallen the east Asian country.

The 130-year-old Christ Church Anglican Cathedral in downtown Vancouver held a service Sunday afternoon that alternated between English and Japanese, bringing together Japanese-Canadians, members of other local Anglican congregations and people from outside the faith — many still coming to grips with the devastation unfolding across the Pacific.

The 9.0-magnitude earthquake and tsunami have together killed at least 8,600 people, with nearly 13,000 still missing and another 452,000 living in shelters. They have also sparked a continuing crisis at the damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant which has been leaking radiation since the natural disasters.

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, * General Interest, * International News & Commentary, Anglican Church of Canada, Anglican Provinces, Asia, Japan, Natural Disasters: Earthquakes, Tornadoes, Hurricanes, etc., Parish Ministry

(CEN) Crisis deepens in Libya and Egypt as Anglicans seek to Minister Amidst the Crisis

On March 13, Bishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt reported that the Rev. Hamdy Doud, the assistant rector of Christ the King Church remained in Tripoli, caring for the church.

Two of the three clergy have been evacuated from Libya as have the Western expatriate members of the congregation, Bishop Anis reported. However, a number of Anglican Africans remained in the city, unable to flee.

“It is my responsibility to keep the Christian presence here,” Fr. Hamdy told Bishop Anis, adding that he and the city’s “Roman Catholic priests are having a good time of fellowship in spite of the crisis in Libya.”

Read it all.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, * Religion News & Commentary, Africa, Anglican Provinces, Ecumenical Relations, Egypt, Libya, Middle East, Ministry of the Ordained, Other Churches, Parish Ministry, Roman Catholic, The Episcopal Church of Jerusalem and the Middle East, Violence

(The State) Drinking crackdown at Carolina Cup aimed at youths

Call it a buzz kill, but anyone younger than 21 who brings alcohol to the Carolina Cup next month in Camden will find it harder to slip in and party.

Kershaw County deputies will be cracking down at the April 2 event by checking coolers and IDs. They will confiscate booze and arrest violators. And those particularly wily kids will find they no longer can hire a local adult to carry their booze onto the site.

Kershaw County officers are focusing on “College Park,” an area where thousands of young people ”” high school through young adults ”” have met for years to overindulge during the horse races, said newly elected Sheriff Jim Matthews.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, * South Carolina, Alcohol/Drinking, Sports, Teens / Youth, Young Adults

(BBC) Two-thirds of Britons not religious, suggests survey

Nearly two-thirds of people do not regard themselves as “religious”, a new survey carried out to coincide with the 2011 Census suggests.

The British Humanist Association (BHA), which commissioned the poll, said people often identified themselves as religious for cultural reasons.

The online poll asked 1,900 adults in England and Wales a question which is on this month’s census form.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, England / UK, Religion & Culture

(WSJ) Airstrikes in Libya Boost Rebel Forces; U.S. Lauds Efforts, but Some Partners Show Unease

The U.S. and its allies intensified air attacks against forces loyal to Col. Moammar Gadhafi on Sunday, keeping anti-Gadhafi rebels from being immediately overrun and bringing a reprieve to the increasingly desperate pro-democracy uprising.

Allied jets and missiles pounded Libyan military targets over the weekend, including one of Col. Gadhafi’s armored columns seen charred on the road to Benghazi, the rebels’ de facto capital. Rebels emboldened by the international support renewed fighting in Ajdabiya, a strategic city they had lost last week, witnesses said.

On Sunday night, fighter jets were heard above the center of Tripoli, followed by explosions and antiaircraft fire a witness said struck military installations. Later, Libyan authorities said a building in Col. Gadhafi’s compound had been hit and damaged.

Read it all.

Posted in * Economics, Politics, * International News & Commentary, Africa, Defense, National Security, Military, Libya

(NY Times Magazine) Why Yasir Qadhi Wants to Talk About Jihad

Over the next year, [Yasir] Qadhi was thrust into the center of a crucial struggle ”” for the minds of his young students, the trust of his government and his own future as America was waking to a new threat. Since 2008, more than two dozen Muslim-Americans have joined or sought training with militant groups abroad. They are among the roughly 50 American citizens charged with terrorism-related offenses during that time. These suspects are a mixed lot. Some converted to Islam; others were raised in the faith. They come from a range of socioeconomic backgrounds and have migrated to different fronts in their global war, from Somalia to Pakistan. Their motivations differ, but the vast majority share two key attributes: a deep disdain for American foreign policy and an ideology rooted in Salafiya.

In the spectrum of the global Salafi movement, Qadhi, who is 36, speaks for the nonmilitant majority. Yet even as he has denounced Islamist violence ”” too late, some say ”” a handful of AlMaghrib’s former students have heeded the call. In addition to the underwear-bomb suspect, the 36,000 current and former students of Qadhi’s institute include Daniel Maldonado, a New Hampshire convert who was convicted in 2007 of training with an Al Qaeda-linked militia in Somalia; Tarek Mehanna, a 28-year-old pharmacist arrested for conspiring to attack Americans; and two young Virginia men held in Pakistan in 2009 for seeking to train with militants.

Qadhi said that none of those former students had approached him for counsel. But in recent years, countless others have come to him with questions about the legitimacy of waging jihad. “We’re finding ourselves on the front line,” Qadhi said. “We don’t want to be there.”

Read it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, * International News & Commentary, * Religion News & Commentary, America/U.S.A., Education, Islam, Other Faiths, Religion & Culture, Terrorism

A Prayer for the Feast Day of Thomas Cranmer

Merciful God, who through the work of Thomas Cranmer didst renew the worship of thy Church by restoring the language of the people, and through whose death didst reveal thy power in human weakness: Grant that by thy grace we may always worship thee in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate, who livest and reignest with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Posted in * Anglican - Episcopal, * Christian Life / Church Life, Anglican Provinces, Church History, Church of England (CoE), Liturgy, Music, Worship, Spirituality/Prayer

A Prayer to Begin the Day

O Eternal God, who hast taught us by thy holy Word that our bodies are temples of thy Spirit: Keep us, we most humbly beseech thee, temperate and holy in thought, word and deed, that at the last we, with all the pure in heart, may see thee and be made like unto thee in thy heavenly kingdom; through Christ our Lord.

–B. F. Westcott

Posted in * Christian Life / Church Life, Church Year / Liturgical Seasons, Lent, Spirituality/Prayer

From the Morning Bible Readings

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, the gospel concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord…

–Romans 1:1-4

Posted in Theology, Theology: Scripture

Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan Presents Stress Test for the Global Supply Chain

Day in and day out, the global flow of goods routinely adapts to all kinds of glitches and setbacks. A supply breakdown in one factory in one country, for example, is quickly replaced by added shipments from suppliers elsewhere in the network. Sometimes, the problems span whole regions and require emergency action for days or weeks. When a volcano erupted in Iceland last spring, spewing ash across northern Europe and grounding air travel, supply-chain wizards were put to a test, juggling production and shipments worldwide to keep supplies flowing.

But the disaster in Japan, experts say, presents a first-of-its-kind challenge, even if much remains uncertain.

Japan is the world’s third-largest economy, and a vital supplier of parts and equipment for major industries like computers, electronics and automobiles. The worst of the damage was northeast of Tokyo, near the quake’s epicenter, though Japan’s manufacturing heartland is farther south. But greater problems will emerge if rolling electrical blackouts and transportation disruptions across the country continue for long.

Read it all.

Posted in Uncategorized

(NPR) Allies Continue Attack On Libya For Second Day

Still, the top U.S. military officer said the goals of the international campaign are “limited” and won’t necessarily lead to the ousting of Gadhafi.

Asked on NBC’s “Meet the Press” whether it was possible that the mission’s goals could be achieved while leaving Gadafi in power, Adm. Mike Mullen said, “That’s certainly potentially one outcome.” Pressed on this point later in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Mullen was more vague, saying it was too early to speculate. He said the Libyan leader is “going to have to make some choices about his own future” at some point.

Gadhafi vowed to fight on. In a phone call to Libyan state television, he said he would not let up on Benghazi and said the government had opened up weapons depots to all Libyans, who were now armed with “automatic weapons, mortars and bombs.” State television said Gadhafi’s supporters were converging on airports as human shields.

Read it all.

Posted in * Economics, Politics, * International News & Commentary, Africa, Defense, National Security, Military, Libya

(RNS) Obama Taps Campuses for Interfaith Service Projects

The White House is hoping to recruit America’s college and seminary students in a nationwide interfaith service campaign that was launched Thursday (March 17).

In the next month, the Obama administration will solicit plans submitted by colleges, universities, seminaries and rabbinical schools for year-long community service projects such as food drives, house building or mentoring.

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Posted in * Culture-Watch, * Economics, Politics, Economy, Education, Office of the President, Politics in General, President Barack Obama, Religion & Culture, The U.S. Government

Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment at 10.2% in Mid-March

Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, was at 10.2% in mid-March — essentially the same as the 10.3% at the end of February but higher than the 10.0% of mid-February and the 9.8% at the end of January. The U.S. unemployment rate is about the same today as the 10.3% rate Gallup found in mid-March a year ago.

Read it all.

Posted in * Economics, Politics, Economy, Labor/Labor Unions/Labor Market