RELIGION TODAY

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Religion Today Summaries - Mar. 9, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * U.S. Economic Woes Compound Severe Food Shortage Worldwide
    * Calif. Court Appears Likely to Uphold Prop 8
    * China: Law Firm Closed for Defending Human Rights Cases
    * Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability Names New Head

U.S. Economic Woes Compound Severe Food Shortage Worldwide

ASSIST News Service reports that while the United States continues to dwell on the stock market plunge and the current credit crisis, there are severe worldwide consequences to the nation's economic woes. "Average food prices around the world between 2006 and 2008 have risen at staggering levels," said Mark Hanlon, senior vice president for Compassion International-USA. "I have been fighting poverty for more than 30 years," said Wess Stafford, president and CEO of Compassion International. "Throughout that time I have never seen the potential for devastation that I see in the current Global Food Crisis." The price of rice has risen 217 percent in many countries. Maize, wheat and soybeans have also jumped more than 100 percent.

Calif. Court Appears Likely to Uphold Prop 8

Baptist Press reports that the California Supreme Court appeared willing Thursday to allow Proposition 8 to stand, with key justices during oral arguments expressing skepticism at the legal reasoning made by attorneys urging the striking of the "gay marriage" ban. At issue is an amendment to the state constitution passed by a majority of voters last fall defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. Prop 8 overturned a 4-3 ruling six months earlier by the court legalizing gay marriage. "From what I'm picking up from the oral arguments in this case is that this court should willy-nilly disregard the will of the people," Justice Joyce Kennard, who voted with the court's majority last year, told an attorney who was arguing against Prop 8. The measure's success at the polls in November depended in large part on hundreds of churches' efforts.

China: Law Firm Closed for Defending Human Rights Cases

Christian News Wire reports Beijing Yitong Law Firm faces a six-month forced closure by Chinese officials. ChinaAid sources say the reason behind the forced closure is that Haidan District Judicial Burea officials are punishing the firm because some of its attorneys signed an open letter in August 2008 asking that independent candidates be allowed to run in the election of the leadership of the Beijing Lawyers Association [equivalent to the U.S. Bar Association], and because the firm has provided representation for a number of human rights cases, including cases of persecution against house church Christians. Only one lawyer from the firm was allowed to attend a hearing on the subject of the firm's closure on March 3. The committee has not yet reached a decision.

Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability Names New Head

ASSIST News Service reports that the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA), founded in 1979 to provide accreditation to evangelical Christian nonprofit organizations, has named Dan Busby as its new president, tapping him to lead the national accreditation organization. "Dan not only has a stellar track record of leadership and innovation in the arena of financial accountability and integrity, but he is a nationally recognized authority on the subject. He is the primary 'go to' person in America on matters related to financial integrity for Christian ministries and churches," said Michael Batts, chairman of ECFA's board. For the past 11 months Busby has been the acting president of ECFA during the board's search process. During this period, ECFA experienced one of the largest single-year membership increases in its history.

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Religion Today Summaries - Mar. 10, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Survey: Non-Religious Americans on the Rise in Every State
    * One Woman Dead in Attack on Christians in Pakistan
    * Group Remembers Three Eritrean Martyrs
    * Vatican Worries about Faith-Based Web Addresses

Survey: Non-Religious Americans on the Rise in Every State

A new survey of American religious life shows that the number of people who claim no religion has nearly doubled since 1990, the Christian Post reports. The 2008 American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS), only 8.2 percent did not claim a religion in a 1990 version of the study, compared to 15 percent today. The number of outright atheists has atheists has nearly doubled to 1.6 million today, but still only comprise about 1.6 percent of the population. Much of the non-religious ("Nones") population now resides in Northern New England, the study found. "The 'Nones' are the only group to have grown in every state of the Union," said Ariela Keysar, associate director of Trinity's Institute for the Study of Secularism in Society and Culture. The percentage of Christians has also decreased, the survey showed, shrinking from 86.2 percent in the 1990s to 76.7 percent today.

One Woman Dead in Attack on Christians in Pakistan

Compass Direct News reports that gun and club attacks on a Presbyterian church and neighboring homes in the predominantly Christian area of a village in Pakistan last week killed one woman and left 16 people wounded. Seeking revenge for a robbery complaint that a Christian filed against him, local Muslim Waseem Butt on March 2 led groups of his friends and family members in indiscriminate attacks aimed at the Christian community in Sangu-Wali, village, near Aroop town in Gujranwala district, reported advocacy group Sharing Life Ministries Pakistan (SLMP). Groups of between five and 15 Muslims arriving from different directions attacked the church and area homes, said Sohail Johnson, head of SLMP. During the violence, 45-year-old Shakeela Bibi sustained bamboo rod blows to the head and died before reaching the hospital.

Group Remembers Three Eritrean Martyrs

Mission News Network reports that a persecution watchdog is honoring the memory of a Christian woman and two Christian men who were killed for their faith in Eritrea this month. International Christian Concern (ICC) notes that persecution by Eritrea's ruling party places the country in ninth place on the watchdog's "Hall of Shame" list, following other high-risk areas such as North Korea, Iraq and Iran. An estimated 2,000 Eritrean Christians have been jailed since 2002. All three Christians were arrested for participation in unsanctioned denominations, and suffered extreme torture for their decision. The two men were deliberately exposed to malaria while incarcerated, and offered medication only if they recanted. All three refused, and were subsequently put to death. ICC encourages prayer for all Christians in Eritrea.

Vatican Worries about Faith-Based Web Addresses

Religion News Service that establishing Internet domain names based on religion would lead to "bitter disputes" among churches, the Vatican has warned. Domain names that refer to religion, such as ".catholic, .anglican, .orthodox, .hindu, .islam; .muslim, .buddhist, etc. ... could provoke competing claims among theological and religious traditions," wrote Msgr. Carlo Maria Polvani, a Vatican diplomat, in a Feb. 20 statement to the board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the non-profit entity responsible for the Internet's naming system. Such disputes "would force ICANN, implicitly and/or explicitly, to abandon its wise policy of neutrality by recognizing to a particular group or to a specific organization the legitimacy to represent a given religious tradition," Polvani wrote.

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Religion Today Summaries - Mar. 11, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Funeral Set for Slain Ill. Pastor
    * Libya Tortures Four Christian Converts from Islam
    * 1 in 50 American Children Experience Homelessness
    * Mercy Corps Says Millions Left at Risk in Darfur

Funeral Set for Slain Ill. Pastor

Baptist Press reports that funeral arrangements have been announced for the Illinois Baptist pastor who was gunned down Sunday while delivering his morning sermon. Fred Winters was killed March 8 when a gunman entered the 8:15 a.m. worship service at First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill. and fired on him. Visitation will be held at the church March 12, from 2-8 p.m. Funeral services will be held at the church on March 13 at 10:30 a.m. The church is located at 7110 State Route 162 in Maryville. The family will hold a private burial service. The gunman, 27-year-old Terry Joe Sedlacek of Troy, Ill., has been charged with murder and aggravated battery. Winters' wife, Cindy, said in a statement that her husband "died doing what he loved -- communicating the hope found in Jesus Christ. God is so much bigger than this situation, and our hope and trust is in Him."

Libya Tortures Four Christian Converts from Islam

ASSIST News Service reports that Libyan intelligence officials have detained and tortured four Christians for converting from Islam. According to International Christian Concern (ICC), a Christian human rights group, the Christians have been imprisoned for the past seven weeks in Tripoli, Libya's capital. Libya's External Security Organization is believed to be behind the detention and torture of the Christians. Security agents have barred the families from visiting the detained converts and are putting severe physical and psychological pressure on the Christians in order to force them to reveal the names of other converts. Fearing for their lives, other converts from Islam are on the run. The international community has previously imposed sanctions on Libya for its involvement in the bombing of an American airliner, which killed 270 people.

1 in 50 American Children Experience Homelessness

The Associated Press reports that one in 50 children in America experiences homelessness, according to a new survey based on 2005-2006 data. The number is probably higher now due to the economic environment, the report states. "These kids are the innocent victims, yet it seems somehow or other they get left out," said Dr. Ellen Bassuk, president of the National Center on Family Homelessness. "Why are they America's outcasts?" The report, released Tuesday by the center, estimates that 1.5 million children were homeless at least once during 2005-2006. Connecticut has the best plans to counter the problem, while Texas ranks lowest. Families sometimes avoid shelters that may be able to help them, as parents fear their children may be taken from them.

Mercy Corps Says Millions Left at Risk in Darfur

Religion News Service reports that Sudan's decision to expel Mercy Corps and 12 other humanitarian organizations from the war-torn nation risks millions of lives, says Mercy Corps' chief executive. According to Neal Keny-Guyer, about 2.5 million Sudanese have been living on international aid channeled largely through relief organizations. The exodus of aid agencies will leave many without food, potable water and health care, Keny-Guyer says. "People will start to move, likely toward Chad and toward the southern part of Sudan," Keny-Guyer says. "That's likely to increase instability." The expulsion orders followed the International Criminal Court's announcement Wednesday (March 4) that it was charging Sudan's President Omar al-Bashir with war crimes in Sudan's Darfur region. Sudanese media reported last week that seven more agencies would be kicked out.

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Religion Today Summaries - Mar. 12, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Study: Mainline Clergy Growing Even More Liberal
    * Egyptian Christian Burned Alive; Father Murdered Also
    * Developing Nations Slow to Adopt New Technology, Survey Finds
    * Conn. Lawmakers Withdraw Bill on Church Finances

Study: Mainline Clergy Growing Even More Liberal

Religion News Service reports that mainline Protestant clergy are inching leftward. Over the last decade, increasing numbers are identifying themselves as Democrats, supporting gay rights and calling on the government to solve social problems, according to the "Clergy Voices" study released March 6. Similar studies were conducted in 1989 and 2001. Mainline Protestants make up 18 percent of the country, according to researchers. But they are "arguably the most neglected of the major religious groups in the American religious landscape," said Robert P. Jones, president of Public Religion Research, who co-authored the survey. Historically, 53 percent of this group identified itself as Democratic, with 3 percent more agreeing in the 2008 survey. Support for environmental protection is up 10 percent to 70 percent total. Support for "gays and lesbians to have the same rights and privileges as other Americans" rose 9 percent to nearly 8 in 10 clergy.

Egyptian Christian Burned Alive; Father Murdered Also

The Christian Post that Christian/Muslim violence flared in Egypt Friday (March 6) after rumors surfaced of an interfaith relationship between a Christian man and Muslim man's sister. Yasser Ahmed Qasim reportedly doused 25-year-old Sabri Shihata, with gasoline and lit the Coptic Christian on fire. Shihata died from his wounds. Shihata's 60-year-old father, also named Sabri, was later stabbed to death by a group of Muslims when he returned to the village. The group then turned to Shihata's 22-year-old brother, Rami, who survived but sustained serious head injury. Police have arrested all involved with the attack, including Shihata. Incidents of sectarian violence have increased in the area of Qalubiya, north of Cairo, as mixed communities in favor of separate religious communities. The Egyptian government has often refused to recognized conversion from Islam.

Developing Nations Slow to Adopt New Technology, Survey Finds

ASSIST News Service reports that a new survey of people in four developing countries shows that they are decades behind their Western counterparts in the adoption of emerging technologies. Radio remains vital for information they use in their everyday lives. "Radio was an important means of gaining information in Africa long before these countries gained independence in the 1950s and '60s, and it's still the dominant means of communications," said Dr. Robert Fortner, executive director of the International Center for Media Studies (ICMS). "The same trends hold true elsewhere in the developing world as well. For the missionary who works in Asia, or the nonprofit organization that provides relief in the Middle East or Latin America, this information is just as valuable." ICMS conducted the study and plans to present further findings at a conference in April.

Conn. Lawmakers Withdraw Bill Dictating Control of Church Finances

Cybercast News Service reports that a bill in the Connecticut legislature that would have removed Catholic Church administration from the church hierarchy has been withdrawn. The bill had sparked massive public outrage, and thousands were expected to attend a public hearing on bill Wednesday. If the law had passed, a board of laypersons from the diocese would have had governance of church finances, with the bishop sitting as a non-voting member. The bill's sponsors released a statement Tuesday announcing that they had "decided to cancel the public hearing for tomorrow, table any further consideration of this bill for the duration of this session, and ask the Attorney General his opinion regarding the constitutionality of the existing law that sets different rules for five named separate religions." Church bishops had called the bill a "grave violation" of religious liberty.

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Religion Today Summaries - Mar. 13, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * International Aid Workers Kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur
    * Church Elders OK Merger of Coral Ridge, New City
    * NBC's 'Kings' Steals a Few Pages from the Bible
    * Somalia Votes to Implement Sharia Law

International Aid Workers Kidnapped in Sudan's Darfur

Reuters reports that five aid workers from Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) Belgium have been kidnapped from their base in Darfur, Sudan. "This will be a further blow to the delivery of humanitarian assistance in that area, so the consequences are also extremely worrying for the population, the civilians of Darfur," Christopher Stokes, General Director of MSF Belgium told reporters in Brussels. Armed men reportedly entered the base and ordered three international staff and two national staff to leave with them. MSF "is in the process of withdrawing its last teams from the field, from Darfur ... The only staff who will be staying there will be dedicated to the liberation of our colleagues," Stokes said. Although Sudan's foreign ministry condemned the kidnappings, the incident only increases an already tense situation. The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes in Darfur.

Church Elders OK Merger of Coral Ridge, New City

New City Church pastor Tullian Tchividjian has announced that the merger of his church and Coral Ridge Presbyterian will move forward after weeks of discussion, the Christian Post reported. Church elders of both churches unanimously approved the merger Monday evening. Coral Ridge extended an invitation to Tchividjian, 36, to become its new senior pastor seven weeks ago. Tchividjian tentatively accepted, but only if his whole church came with him. "Only if agreeable terms on all of these fronts can be reached and those terms approved by both church sessions would Tchividjian formally accept the call and the two [churches] become one," New City announced. Tchividjian, who is the grandson of evangelist Billy Graham, expressed enthusiasm for the merge on his blog Wednesday. "God is clearly up to something big," he wrote.

NBC's 'Kings' Steals a Few Pages from the Bible

USA Today reports that the new NBC drama, "Kings," bases its story on the Bible's account of King David. But the plot is more than "sandals and sand," which has some Christian groups upset. The drama transplants the story from ancient Israel into the modern-day kingdom of Gilboa, while retaining the "steamy" elements of David's less-than-perfect life. "One of the things that interested me is that David is one of the most classic heroes of all time and one of the most complicated," creator Michael Green said. "He starts out as a real innocent and becomes a very complex person later on." That complexity includes a relationship with "Jack," the character based on David's best friend Jonathan. In the drama, Jack is gay. "If homosexual activists are looking for examples of homosexuality in the Bible, they are better off looking at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah and what happened there instead of creating fiction out of thin air and wishful thinking," said Tom McCluskey of the Washington-based Family Research Council.

Somalia Votes to Implement Sharia Law

Mission News Network reports that Somalia's new government has voted to implement Islamic law throughout the country. Officials hope the move will weaken the hold of Islamist guerrillas, who gained a foothold by questioning the old government's faithfulness to Islam. Somalia is already one of the world's worst persecutors of Christians, and Open Doors President Carl Moeller says this move will only decrease religious freedom. "We're very concerned about the nature of the way that this Sharia law is being forced into Somalia as a wedge to get a peace deal and for the condition of the Christians there," he said. "Many people will remember the desperately chaotic situation in Somalia in 1993. The truth of the matter is -- Somalia isn't any better today. And Christians continue to be the most vulnerable segment of that society."

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Pope Set to Make First Trip to Africa
Francis X. Rocca


March 16, 2009

VATICAN CITY (RNS) -- When Pope Benedict XVI visits Africa for the first time as pope later this month, he will be visiting the region that has produced the greatest growth for the Catholic Church -- and some of its greatest challenges.

Benedict's March 17-23 visit to Cameroon and Angola will celebrate what has become the church's most fertile mission field, and ground zero for ongoing tension with the continent's other fast-growing faith, Islam.

Over the course of the 20th century, the Catholic population of sub-Saharan Africa grew from less than 2 million to nearly 140 million.

Last month, the Vatican reported that the continent was producing priests at a higher rate than any other part of the world, with ordinations rising by 27.6 percent in 2007.

The pope has praised African Catholicism as a model from which the religion's traditional heartland should draw inspiration.

"To see that there isn't only a tired church, as we often find in Europe, but also a youthful church, full of joy of the Holy Spirit, is certainly a spiritual refreshment," Benedict told a gathering of priests in Rome last month.

Benedict will start his week-long visit in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde, where he will meet with African bishops and preview an upcoming Vatican synod on "reconciliation, justice and peace."

The pope will presumably address the armed conflicts that have plagued so much of the continent, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where a decade-long civil war has left an estimated 5.4 million people dead.

Benedict is likely to join other church leaders in stressing the need to transcend longstanding tribal animosities, a continuing source of civil tensions and violence.

"I am also hoping that the Holy Father will talk about issues of governance, the democratic process, and corruption," said the Rev. Patrick Lafon, a former Secretary General of the Cameroonian bishops' conference, who noted that his country's ruler, President Paul Biya, has been in power since 1982.

"One cannot underestimate the moral authority of the Holy Father," Lafon said. "Our leaders will not necessarily follow what he says, but it will be on the record."

While in Cameroon, Benedict will meet with representatives of the country's Muslim minority, which at 22 percent of the population is a little more than half as large as its Christian counterpart. (Adherents of traditional African religions account for the rest.)

Interfaith relations in Cameroon are generally stable, Lafon said, but in neighboring Nigeria, hundreds have died in recent fighting between Muslims and Christians.

Because of its proximity to some of the areas hardest hit by desertification, including Sudan, Cameroon will offer the pope a natural occasion to discuss the humanitarian impact of climate change, said Msgr. Robert J. Vitillo, an American priest who works with the Catholic aid network Caritas Internationalis.

"I also hope that the Holy Father talks about the even deeper levels of poverty that we can expect in Africa as a result of the global economic crisis," Vitillo said.

In Angola, Benedict will mark 500 years of Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa in the country that received the first Catholic missionaries.

Benedict's presence in southern Africa could also highlight the church's fight against HIV/AIDS. Although Angola's own rate of HIV prevalence is relatively low at 2.5 percent of the adult population, in some part of the region that figure tops 30 percent, Vitillo said.

Catholic agencies around the world provide more than 25 percent of care of those with HIV/AIDS, according to the Vatican. Yet the church's activities have drawn criticism from those who say that its prohibition of condoms undercuts prevention efforts.

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Ministries Go Underground to Aid North Korea
Ginny McCabe


March 17, 2009

North Korea's oppressed people live in a state of constant fear. They suffer from poor economic conditions, and many are starving. To make matters worse, they are increasingly isolated from the rest of the world.

Open Doors World Watch List 2009 again ranked North Korea as the number one worst persecutor of Christians in the world. For seven years in a row, the county has topped the list.

North Korea is suspected of detaining more political and religious prisoners than any other country in the world. Estimates reveal there are at least 200,000 prisoners, with up to as many as 70,000 being Christians.

Paul Estabrooks, Minister-at-Large for Open Doors International and author of Escape from North Korea: A Desparate Quest for Food, Love and Life said officials in North Korea view Western Christianity negatively for several reasons.

"There are two aspects to this. One, they look at Eastern Europe and the fall of Eastern Europe, countries like Poland and others, and they feel that Christianity had a very significant part in the fall of Poland, and other countries in Eastern Europe. And, they don't want that to happen in North Korea," said Estabrooks. "But, even more importantly, they consider Christianity as an American religion."

Christianity is not allowed in North Korea and the Bible is banned. If found to be a Christian, a person can be executed or put into a labor camp for years. The majority of people in the country have never heard the Scriptures, seen a church or heard about the biblical God, and the constitution is heavily based on Juche ideology.

Under the leadership of Kim Jong-Il, Christianity is considered to be one of the greatest threats to the regime's power. Kim has elevates himself as a god among his people.

Going Underground

"Our brothers and sisters in Christ in North Korea live under the worst oppression in the world--a modern day Holocaust. But because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus is making an impact through us against the powers of darkness behind Kim Jong-Il," said Mrs. H.S. Foley, Executive Director, Seoul USA.

Foley, a fourth generation Christian, born in Seoul, South Korea, lived half of her life there before coming to the United States to earn an MBA. Through her work at Seoul USA and the new Underground University project, she is committed to making a difference around the world, and specifically in North Korea.

"My passion and purpose is to serve as a bridge between Korean and American culture, mobilizing the resources of both to equip and collaborate with those in Asia who are typically overlooked for ministry. I want to equip and collaborate with them to reach others who, like themselves, are overlooked by the church and by society in general."

According to Foley, "Seoul USA is a network of people who want to go beyond the roles of donor or volunteer to become champions of the cause of serving the North Korean church.  And, we want to expand our network to include others with the same goal."

To that goal, Seoul USA collaborates with Voice of The Martyrs in the United States and around the world to launch a million Gospel tracts by balloon into North Korea every year. The group also runs Underground University, a one-year North Korea missionary-training program, as well as a host of literature, radio, family ministries to North Korea.

Foley hopes these efforts and new partnerships will raise up a new generation of church leadership for North Korea.

"The main thing we see is a change in the way North Korean exiles view themselves," she said. "They're called North Korean defectors. They've even swallowed that identity for themselves. But they're not defectors. They're the North Korean Church in Exile--and waking them up to what that means will blow the future and the present wide open for the Underground Church inside North Korea."

Many defectors have previously trained in South Korean seminaries, hoping to return when the North is more open to the South. Such training may never be of use, Foley says, as North Korea shows no signs of warming to its counterpart.

"Worse, the bared arm of the North Korean Underground Church--the one arm we can fully strategize with, train, equip, and redeploy to thrive today back inside of North Korea and China and wherever NK citizens travel around the world--hangs limp and lifeless," Foley continued.

Foley hopes to change that with the group's April 2 banquet. The evening's featured speaker, Kim Sun Min, is a North Korean defector who has twice escaped the country and now functions as dean of Underground University.

Meeting the Greatest Needs

"Probably the most restricted nation in the world is the country of North Korea, as far the gospel," said Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development for Voice of the Martyrs (VoM). The persecution watchdog partners with Seoul USA.

"The phrase that I use is, 'North Korea is a prison camp disguised as a country.' Everyone in North Korea is oppressed, everyone is persecuted. Christians are just singled out for the very worst persecution and the very worst oppression."

The country's government encourages its citizens to spy and report on each other, creating a "paranoid society," Nettleton said. In such an environment, everyday needs such as food and clothing become huge challenges.

Because of that, current mission to North Korea mostly take the form of food assistance, said Alpha Relief President Chris Moore.

"The biggest push that we have right now, is doing everything we can to directly assist, and sustain the orphans, the street kids, believers, and people connected with believers in the county of North Korea, primarily in the form of food aid," said Moore. "North Korea is in a situation where they are perpetually on the edge of famine, or actually in famine."

While an increased food supply open the door to share physical and spiritual food with neighbors, Alpha Relief is mindful of the costs.

"If you are caught with any form of scripture, you get up to a thirteen-year concentration camp sentence," Moore said. "So because of that we have to be very creative."

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For Spring Breakers, No Sign of Katrina Fatigue
Bruce Nolan


March 18, 2009

NEW ORLEANS (RNS) -- The staccato banging of dozens of hammers dispelled the morning quiet as college students, lawyers and nurses from Massachusetts clambered about four new houses rapidly taking shape at the hands of Habitat for Humanity and St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Meantime, across town, students from the University of Pennsylvania, Syracuse University and dozens of other colleges painted, laid tile and nailed weatherboards on older homes, pulling them back from ruin. And in nearby St. Bernard Parish, 600 professionals gathered by United Jewish Communities plan to transform a gutted Catholic school into a community center.

Nearly four years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans remains a prime destination for thousands of out-of-state volunteers willing to take a break from their own lives to help rebuild the city -- never more so than during spring break season.

Here, at least, Katrina fatigue has not yet settled in, say managers of major church and community groups that consume millions of volunteer hours as they build and repair thousands of homes.

"We're completely maxed out," said Paul Cook, senior project coordinator for Catholic Charities' Operation Helping HandsSimilar reports come from other major rebuilding nonprofit groups: the St. Bernard Project, Habitat for Humanity, the United Methodist Church's Southeast Louisiana Disaster Recovery Center, the Presbyterian-affiliated Project RHINO and others.

"Camp Hope is getting tremendous numbers. I think they've got 800 people there a night," said Habitat spokeswoman Aleis Tusa, referring to the no-frills bunkhouse where Habitat and other nonprofit groups house volunteers.

But during off-peak months -- in late autumn and during the hottest weeks of summer, for example -- managers said the flow of helpers has tapered off somewhat.

As a result, some like Dale Kimball, manager of the huge Methodist-affiliated rebuilding operation, regularly make distant recruiting swings. Kimball said his PowerPoint demonstration, documenting post-Katrina New Orleans and the continuing need for volunteers, continues to yield a fresh harvest of newcomers.

Kimball's recovery center needs them. It is a huge consumer of volunteers. At seasonal peaks, it can dispatch 500 bodies a week from 11 bunkhouses around the New Orleans area.

A few steps from Kimball's office, an upstairs conference room is covered with whiteboards plotting the construction phases of its many jobs."I don't know any contractor doing as many jobs at one time as we do -- and we're a nonprofit," Kimball said. "And we do it with 300 new employees every Monday."

Many managers report that mixed with first-time college students is a high proportion of volunteers -- students and other adults -- returning for their second or third work tour.

"Seventy percent of our volunteers are repeaters," Kimball said.

By now, churches, colleges and community groups around the country have relationships with rebuilding groups in New Orleans. By now, they know whom to call in New Orleans, what to expect and how to prepare.

Among the teams was a group from Pilgrim Church in Sherborn, Mass., on its fourth trip to New Orleans, working with St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church.

Here volunteers see an ocean of human need, make face-to-face contact with people they are helping and see the fruit of their work rise out of the ground, said the Rev. John Hudson, Pilgrim's pastor.

"It gives people a chance to do good," he said.

Danielle Ladin, a 21-year-old senior on her fourth trip with a Jewish student group from the University of Central Florida, said she finds volunteering in New Orleans powerfully addictive.

Last week she helped gut an old funeral home that is slated for use as a warehouse and operations center.

"There are so many large causes: Darfur, global warming," Ladin said. "What I wanted was something smaller, where I could touch just one person in a real way, not necessarily the whole world."

Kimball estimates that his volunteers, valued at $18.50 per hour, a rate set by the federal government, have offered more than $48 million in free labor so far.

That's part of his recruiting pitch, Kimball said.

"We make sure the volunteers understand -- there's no recovery without them."

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Religion Today Summaries - Mar. 16, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Archbishop Urges Redoubled Peace Efforts in N. Ireland
    * After Shooting, Ark. Lawmaker Wants Concealed Weapons in Churches
    * Graham: U.S. Must Lead in Solving Sudan Crisis
    * Christians Still Being Attacked in Orissa, Says Archbishop

Archbishop Urges Redoubled Peace Efforts in N. Ireland

ASSIST News Service reports that the Archbishop of Ireland Monday called for a redoubling of efforts for peace. The Archbishop made his comments after the latest incident of violence happened near Lismore High School at Brownlow when police came under attack while investigating suspicious activity near the school. The attack followed the weekend murder of two soldiers outside an Army base in Antrim. The 'Real IRA' said they were responsible. "The lethal attack on Massereene Barracks leaving two people dead and four injured is deeply distressing and deplorable" Alan Harper, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland said in a statement. "I send my heartfelt sympathy to those who have been bereaved or injured... efforts must be redoubled to create a respectful and inclusive society that ensures that there is no place in our midst for agents of terror."

After Shooting, Ark. Lawmaker Wants Concealed Weapons in Churches

Religion News Service reports that just days after a fatal shooting at an Illinois megachurch, an Arkansas lawmaker said she plans to make a second try to pass a bill allowing concealed weapons in churches. "I have received numerous e-mails and phone calls concerning this wanting me to bring this back, none against it," said State Rep. Beverly Pyle, a Republican. The bill, which Pyle originally introduced on Jan. 29, would remove churches from a list of locations where people licensed to carry concealed weapons can't bring guns. The bill died on a voice vote in committee. State Sen. Hank Wilkins, a Democrat, told KTHV he may change his vote from no to yes. "In light of the shooting yesterday I think there will be a number of legislators who will want to reconsider this," Wilkins said. Pyle says she plans to make some changes to the measure before reintroducing it.

Graham: U.S. Must Lead in Solving Sudan Crisis

Evangelist and humanitarian group leader Franklin Graham urged increased diplomatic relations with Sudan's government last week while urging that government to reconsider its expulsion of 16 aid groups, the Christian Post reports Graham has a long-standing relationship with Sudanese president Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and visited him last week. Graham urged President Barack Obama to appoint a special envoy to Sudan, saying that the U.S. "must take the lead" in ending the humanitarian crisis in Darfur. "I urge President al-Bashir and the government authorities to stop NGO (non-government organization) expulsions and allow those expelled to return," Graham said. "The displaced people of the Darfur conflict are in a vulnerable position and urgently need the assistance of those organizations." Sudan's civil war ended in 2005, but the peace agreement between North and South is increasingly fragile.

Christians Still Being Attacked in Orissa, Says Archbishop

The Christian Post reports that Orissa's government has yet to enact adequate protections for Christians in the state, says the Archbishop of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar. Returning Catholic priests "are still not free to move about and the police themselves have recommended they request police escorts ahead of time [when traveling]," Archbishop Raphael Cheenath said. In addition to attacks, he reported multiple instances of discrimination by Hindu extremists. He said extremists have refused to let Christians use public restrooms, and forced women to wear "degrading outfits," the Post reported. Despite government promises of compensation for lost property, the amount offered so far has been far below the actual value of destroyed buildings. Only about half of the 8,000 Christians who fled last year's violence have returned, as many still feel vulnerable.

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Religion Today Summaries - Mar. 17, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Church Resumes Services a Week after Pastor Slain
    * Sudan Wants Foreign Groups Out in a Year
    * Pakistani Faces 'Blasphemy' Abetting Charge, Dangers
    * Family of Top Chinese Rights Lawyer Escapes to U.S.

Church Resumes Services a Week after Pastor Slain

Baptist Press reports that roughly 200 people came back to First Baptist in Maryville, Ill., Sunday to listen to a guest pastor whose own church experienced a deadly shooting. Al Meredith, pastor of Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, where seven people were murdered by a gunman nearly 10 years ago, told members of the church, "I've come here to be with you to let you know there is hope." Fred Winters, First Baptist Maryville's pastor, died the previous Sunday when a gunman entered the sanctuary and shot him on the platform. Meredith encouraged the congregation to use the opportunity to share the Gospel and grow in spite of the attack. "We've been praying for these kinds of opportunities, and we didn't even have to budget for it. Fred would like that," Meredith said, referring to the slain pastor's thriftiness.

Sudan Wants Foreign Groups Out in a Year

Reuters reports that Sudan plans to be rid of all foreign aid groups within one year, according to President Omar Hassan al-Bashir. Bashir expelled 13 of the largest groups earlier this month after the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for his arrest for warm crimes. Bashir says foreign groups should turn over relief efforts in the war-torn Darfur region to domestic agencies. "If they want to continue providing aid, they can just leave it at the airport and Sudanese NGOs (non-governmental organizations) can distribute the relief," he said. "We need to clear our country of any spies." U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said aid groups can't believe Bashir is serious. "Obviously, the idea that we would simply hand over goods at the port to be distributed or monitored without our involvement is not one that would be acceptable to us."

Pakistani Faces 'Blasphemy' Abetting Charge, Dangers

Compass Direct News reports that a Pakistani investigator has ruled out a charge against a Christian for "blaspheming Islam" but retained another for abetting blasphemy, and advocates worry the stigma of the charges could make him a target for local Islamists. Hector Aleem, 51, remains in Adiyala Jail in Rawalpindi, near Pakistan's capital of Islamabad. His lawyer said he believes law enforcement officers and community members framed Aleem for his social activism on behalf of Christians so that the stigma of the charges would subject him to the danger of violence. Aleem's attorney, Malik Tafik, said the remaining charge's connection to blasphemy against Islam could put Aleem in danger of attacks by Muslim extremists even if he is found innocent. "He will continue to be in danger from religious extremists after the case finishes," Tafik said.

Family of Top Chinese Rights Lawyer Escapes to U.S.

The Christian Post reports that the family of an imprisoned Chinese human rights lawyer has escaped to the United States, and now tells a haunting story. China Aid helped the family of Gao Zhisheng, who was imprisoned last month for his work, leave after the family faced increased pressure from Chinese security officials. "We are very thrilled to see their safe arrival to this free nation," said Bob Fu, president of China Aid, in a statement. "We traveled by night," said Geng He, Gao Zhisheng's wife. "Friends took us, and we didn't really talk. Sometimes we were traveling by motorbike, and we had to get off to walk across mountain passes. We were scared, and it was hard, but we had to keep going forward."

[nChrist]

Religion Today Summaries - Mar. 18, 2009
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff

Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.

In today's edition:

    * Pope Offers Gospel as Answer to Africa's Problems
    * Graham to Bring 'Hope' to Secular Uruguay
    * Needs Only Increasing in Haiti, Says Ministry
    * Joyce Meyer Ministries Moves toward Accountability

Pope Offers Gospel as Answer to Africa's Problems

Catholic News Service reports that Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Cameroon yesterday with a message of hope and unity. Benedict said he came as a pastor, not a politician, but nonetheless stood ready to combat injustice. "In the face of suffering or violence, poverty or hunger, corruption or abuse of power, a Christian can never remain silent," the pope said. "At a time of global crisis in food shortages, financial turmoil and disturbing patterns of climate change, Africa suffers disproportionately: More and more of her people are falling prey to hunger, poverty and disease. They cry out for reconciliation, justice and peace, and that is what the church offers them." The trip is the pope's first visit to Africa, and he visited the continent only once as a cardinal in 1987.

Graham to Bring 'Hope' to Secular Uruguay

The Christian Post reports that the strongly atheist nation of Uruguay will host the first Franklin Graham evangelistic festival of 2009. According to the CIA World Factbook, the country is 17.2 percent atheist or agnostic. Six hundred local churches joined to organize the Festival of Hope event in Montevideo, and has drawn international as local Christian music artists to participate. Local Christians hope the three-day event draws more than just Christians."God is working in Uruguay," said Alejandro Wojnarowicz, senior pastor of El Rebaño Church and prominent Christian leader in Uruguay, according to BGEA's Decision magazine. "God is working through thousands of Christians immersed in the Holy Spirit" to see people from all levels of society "transformed."

Needs Only Increasing in Haiti, Says Ministry

Mission News Network reports that Haiti's people face an increasingly dire situation, as unemployment, food costs and shortages and abandoned children continues to rise. "Things have changed for the worse," said Tom Froese, field director for Kids Alive International. "There are a few things that change for the better temporarily, and they take a couple of steps backward. But basically things are pretty rough in the community." Kids Alive currently houses 21 children, but the need is astronomical. "We have seen fuel costs rise as high as $5 a gallon. Food costs have risen. Rice prices, for a bag of rice has tripled. That's put big expense on our ministry to try and meet those costs with the budget that we have... I believe the Christian church is the only hope for this country. It's so morally bankrupt that there is a need for strong Christian influence."

Joyce Meyer Ministries Moves toward Accountability

Religion News Service reports that the senator who has investigated six prominent ministries for questionable finances has praised one of them -- Joyce Meyer Ministries -- for joining the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. "This is a positive development," said Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who is the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. "It's good to see increased financial accountability, transparency, board governance, and ethical fund-raising taken seriously." The council announced the new membership of Meyer's Missouri-based ministry on Thursday (March 12). So far, Meyer's ministry is the only one of the six that has affiliated with the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a group Grassley compared to a "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval."

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Walking the River for World Water Day
Peter Wooding


March 19, 2009

NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND (ANS) -- As World Water Day takes place this coming Sunday (March 22), a Samaritans Purse team is walking the entire length of the River Thames in England this week to raise money for their vital water projects. En route the walkers will stop off at 10 Downing Street in London to urge UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to act urgently for better access to sanitation in the developing world.

Simon Barrington Executive Director of Samaritans Purse UK spoke to me during an Operation Christmas Child teams debrief weekend in Northampton, England and first of all told me more about their plans: "March 22nd is World Water Day and we have some volunteers Martyn Cotterell from Manchester and John Gant from Derby and they're walking 183 miles, the whole length of the River Thames from its source in Cirencester up to the Thames barrier and along the way.

"Various people like me will be joining them doing a shorter length. In my case 14 miles from Tilehurst to Reading and including walking past Downing Street and we'll be popping into number ten to present some postcards that we'll have collected on the way. What we're saying to the British government is this an outrage that 1.1 billion people around the world still don't have access to safe water in 2009. So we're calling on the government to increase its efforts to meeting the Millennium Development goals for access to sanitation."

"It's unlikely that we'll meet with Gordon Brown, but I think representing the voice of the UK public, rising up to have their voice heard at the highest level is an important part of what we do."

Increasing Aid in the Midst of the Credit Crunch

Simon is hoping that Gordon Brown will respond positively despite the government's challenges of the credit crunch: "I was at Downing Street last December and heard Gordon Brown very clearly say then to a group of Christian leaders who were there that he was determined that even in the credit crunch, even with the issues the government is facing, that they were absolutely focused on ensuring that the amount of development aid didn't drop.

"But I think there's a challenge for us to actually increase that aid. People in the UK are having a hard time right now in terms of job losses, losing their homes, but at the same time we see an outpouring of compassion as people understand that even in those situations they have a relative amount of material goods and most people in the UK have access to clean water."

While Samaritans Purse UK is putting pressure on the British government, Franklin Graham is urging US president Barack Obama to take action to help the people of Sudan. Simon says the situation there is extremely urgent: "Well the situation in Sudan has definitely deteriorated with 13 agencies being asked to leave Darfur last week and that's put 1.5 million people at risk in the Darfur region. We currently have staff in South Darfur who are responding to that crisis and looking at what might be possible for us to up the level of aid there that we're able to provide."

Coming Together for Good

During the Operation Christmas Child debrief weekend for those that had been on shoebox distribution teams Simon made a presentation to delegates on their Samaritans Purse initiative Coming Together for Good: "Over the last couple of years we've seen Operation Christmas Child grow and recognize that it's a fantastic project that links up individual people in the UK with children overseas and allows churches to get involved in their communities both proclaiming and demonstrating the Gospel.

"We've seen churches coming together in their communities with their schools. We've seen churches link up with churches overseas and we were trying to look for a phrase that will bring that out and explain it. So we've come up with 'Coming Together for Good' which really says this is about proclaiming and demonstrating. It's about those two things coming together. It's about churches and communities coming together to do some good. It's about good in terms of the good work that we do but also in the terms of the good news that we want to share as well. It's about a movement of people who actually come together saying we can make a difference.

"We can make a difference in a small way one child at a time. When that's multiplied 1.3 million times to children every Christmas then it's huge. We can make a difference to the 1.1 billion people who don't have access to safe water. We can make a difference to the 15 million orphans who have been orphaned by HIV and AIDS and we call that 'Coming Together for Good'."

Small Things Make a Difference

Finally I asked Simon how the public can stand with Samaritans Purse in the midst of the current financial crisis: "It's the small things that make a difference. It doesn't take a lot. A single shoebox wrapped with some love and care even with some small items makes a massive difference to a child in Belarus or Ukraine or Mozambique.

"A water filter makes a huge difference to a family, providing them with safe water and costs $60 at the most, helping some with HIV/AIDS with the pledge a pound campaign, which says one pound will put a meal on the plate of an orphan family in Mozambique or Liberia. So a pound can make a difference, a shoebox can make a difference; a water filter can make a difference.

"The UK British public has always been generous and we see that generosity continuing even during the hardest times and what happens in the UK often is the harder the times get the more people rise up to respond and show that great British spirit. This is characteristic of us as a country in responding to issue not only in the UK but right around the world."

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Congregations Face Difficult Choices in Sour Economy
Adelle M. Banks


March 20, 2009

(RNS) -- When Eastminster Presbyterian Church in Simpsonville, S.C., was planning a 10th-anniversary celebration dinner, the $15-per-person ticket price seemed reasonable -- until members started doing the math.

"We began to realize that people in our congregation were going to stay home because of the cost. ... If you're a family with two teenagers, that's 60 bucks," said the Rev. Tandy Taylor, co-pastor of the 300-member congregation.

Instead, their March 14 celebration was a potluck.

Across the country -- fraught with foreclosures, job losses and other cutbacks -- congregations and other religious organizations are facing the same belt-tightening challenges as everyone else. Consider:

-- The National Association of Church Business Administration conducted an online survey in February and found that 32 percent of congregations reported financial difficulties related to the economy; an even larger number, 47 percent, had reduced or frozen staff benefits.

-- Prominent ministries like the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary are cutting staff, and numerous other religious institutions are dealing with budget reductions as they face plummeting investments and decreased giving.

When the network of church administrators asked what congregations were doing to respond to the economic crisis, it received hundreds of responses. Some were taking small steps -- replacing fresh flowers with silk, or taking one light bulb out of three-bulb fixtures. Others were cutting back on long-distance mission trips and focusing on local mission efforts closer to home. Some said they were relying on prayer.

"People are looking at anything and everything to try to hold down costs," said Simeon May, CEO of the Texas-based network of church administrators, who represent churches with at least 500 weekend worshippers.

"Of course, the last thing they want to do is cut ministries and program services, so they're trying to find every way to reduce utilities and just anything they can do before they get around to cutting ministries or cutting staff."

But others have had to make those bigger cuts in personnel.

At West Shore Evangelical Free Church in Mechanicsburg, Pa., three of the 14 staff ministers have been told they will likely be laid off by June. That means their duties -- men's ministry, children's ministry and local outreach -- will have to be assumed by other staffers and volunteers.

"We have never had to lay people off," said John Nesbitt, executive pastor of the church, which draws about 2,400 on Sunday mornings. "It was a shock to the congregation when we announced it."

Nesbitt said donors, who had previously supported the congregation at high levels, either own or work at businesses that have been hit by the economic downturn.

"If their resources were in the stock market, they don't have appreciated assets," he said. "If they were business owners, they're working hard to stay open in this economy and so they don't have the profits that they may have had in the past that they would generally give from."

The economic effect trickles down -- or up -- along all levels of some denominations.

For example, executives of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have announced an unpaid week-long furlough for national staffers in May and eliminated scheduled pay raises for 2010. At the regional level, the denomination's Foothills Presbytery in northwest South Carolina is struggling to maintain a ministry for Hispanics that includes a church, Bible studies and a computer lab.

"Our investments took a tumble and we suddenly find that we don't have the money that we thought we were going to have to fund this," said the Rev. Bill Lancaster, the presbytery's associate for new church development. "So we have to either find new sources of funding or find ways to phase it out."

Nationwide, some worshippers have taken a greater interest in financial courses that help members reduce their debt and, in turn, may help congregations eventually reap the benefit of increased giving.

Ken Munday, a church liaison for financial adviser Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace University," said the number of 13-week classes in churches has almost doubled in the last two years, in part because of the state of the economy.

Luane Bastianelli, who has taught the program at Kensington Community Church in Troy, Mich., for four years, said people previously wondered how they could live without their credit cards.

"What I'm seeing now, clearly because of the times -- we have a lot more people in difficulty, a lot more people in danger of losing their homes," she said of the church attended by about 11,000 people each weekend. "Now we get questions like ... `If I have to choose between keeping my credit cards and my house, what do I pay?'"

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Is Your Church a Safe Church?
Ginny McCabe

March 23, 2009

With proper security measures in place, a church or religious organization can deter or prevent a potential incident from happening, said security experts.
Earlier public occurrences, such as Paducah, Kentucky's Heath High School shooting in 1997, or the Columbine High School shooting in 1999 forced security precautions to be instituted in places like schools, malls, theaters and other public arenas.

Now, incidents such as the First Baptist Church of Maryville, Ill., and Colorado Springs New Life Church shooting in 2008 and similar tragedies have caused officials to step up security measures in churches and other religious institutions.

In today's culture, church leaders need to be armed against the potential dangers of a stranger or intruder. They also need be aware and protect themselves against possible threats and accusations, as well as insure the church is a safe place for everyone, according to Rick Anderson, co-founder/owner, Church Security Solutions, LLC.

Anderson said there are several things churches can do to lessen the likelihood of an attack. He suggests following several steps, including assessing your church's areas of security vulnerability, developing a volunteer safety and security team, and providing your key staff and volunteers of the knowledge of what to look for in a threat.

Anderson, a former mega-church pastor of administration of 18 years and his partner, Raul Ramirez founded the Salem, Oregon-based Church Security Solutions, LLC. in 2007. The company helps churches across the country become proactive with their security by offering services through their private consulting firm that is dedicated to protecting the church. One of their clients is Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., whose media arm has produced the Christian blockbusters "Facing the Giants" and "Fireproof."

"As a pastor, and as someone who has been through seminary, I know you don't get classes on 'Security 101,'" Anderson said. "We felt a burden to come alongside of pastors and to assist them, unfortunately, against what we think is probably going to increase as time goes on, and that is these acts of violence against the church. As society becomes more secular, and moves away from a Christian worldview, it is going to increasingly become uncomfortable with this icon of righteousness, and that would be the church. And, it will lash out at this benchmark of morality and strike at it."

He said churches need to take a proactive approach, and that they have a responsibility to insure congregants are safe.

"Pastors need to take this seriously," Anderson said. "They are going to be identified as a target, because they are that personification of this gold standard of morality."

As a result of his own experiences, Ron Aguiar, mega-church director of security at the 18,000-member Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., has recently released a book on church safety called "Keeping Your Church Safe." The book serves as a blueprint for implementing security protocols and processes in churches of all sizes across the nation.

"In a world when a gunman can enter a church and go on a shooting rampage or a person can walk in and steal a child from the church nursery without any obstacles, we need to be sure that protecting our houses of worship is one of our top priorities," said Ron Aguiar. "Keeping Your Church Safe" suggests ways to protect every corner of a church building, its members, its employees and its volunteers. Topics covered in the book include risk management, how to implement a medical program, how to protect the children of the church, protecting the church's money, and dealing with protests and terrorism.

Aguiar has over 20 years of experience with a combined background in personal security, public law enforcement and church security. He offers readers advice as well as real-life experiences and lessons learned throughout the course of his career.

"During the last ten years, I've had many requests from churches that call and ask for help in specific areas related to safety and security, or risk management in general," Aguiar said. "I finally said, 'I need to put this into a book, it would be easier, and if someone requests information, I can tell them to pick it up and it covers A to Z.'"

Dennis Richards, lead director of connections; Joe Mauldin, director of facilities; and Robyn Holmes, director of operations  for kid's ministry,  of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrollton, TX, agreed that safety in the church is vital. They work together on a regular basis to make sure their 5,000 member church is safe, and said safety is an issue that all churches, large or small, need to consider.

"Church safety is very important. Our goal is to have our people trained and have a set of guidelines in place that we can go into action mode if anything happened," they said. "Churches need guidelines which keeps the environment as safe as possible."

In regard to that security, Bent Tree Bible Fellowship has a team in place that spans the Operations and Facilities team, Connections Team (guest services and communications) and Missions, with an alliance from their Public Relations Agency.

One of the particular security measures taken at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship is the presence of police officers.

"We have eight police on site every Sunday. Their main role is traffic control as we are flanked by two other large churches, so Sunday morning traffic is an issue. When those officers are not directing traffic they are posted around our campus. We keep them low profile, but their presence is definitely there," the staff said. "Two years ago we did a topical series on issues that had political ties. We brought in for the first time a plain-clothes officer into our services. From that learning we decided to continue that practice. One of the awesome results of that is after a recent service the officer approached our Senior Pastor and said 'I need to get right with Jesus right now.' He prayed and now is a brother is Christ. No amount of planning or guidelines can account for that fruit."

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Uzbekistan: Police Raid Home, Arrest Christians
Jeremy Reynalds


March 24, 2009

UZBEKISTAN (ANS) -- Three Protestant Christians have each been sentenced to 15 days in prison in the Andijan region of eastern Uzbekistan after police raided a meal in a home where the three were present.

Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, north of Afghanistan.

Protestants speaking on condition of anonymity because of fear of retaliation spoke about the issue to Forum 18 News Service.

According to a story by Forum 18's Mushfig Bayram, three additional Protestants at the house were detained in a homeless center for between four and eleven days, for not having their identification documents with them.

In a separate case, a Baptist in the capital city of Tashkent was given a ten-day prison sentence after about 20 officials from various state agencies -- including the Presidential Administration -- raided a prayer meeting in a registered church.

Officials told church members that they need special permission for any services aside from those on Sundays, though Forum 18 said the news service can't find any requirement for this alleged regulation.

Forum 18 said attempts to discuss this increase in detentions of Protestants, and also Muslims, since the beginning of March with any official at the Uzbek Parliament's Human Rights Ombudsperson's Office were unsuccessful.

On March 18, Forum 18 said the news service was told that Ombudsperson Sayora Rashidova was "unavailable" to talk about the detentions, as she was "receiving citizens with complaints."

Forum 18 was referred to Jamshid Yusupov, but he was also unavailable. Forum 18 was asked to call back several times, and was finally told that Yusupov was also "receiving complaints from citizens and was unavailable."

Forum 18 said the religious freedom situation is worsening in Uzbekistan. There is a country-wide campaign against followers of the Muslim theologian Said Nursi, with harsh jail sentences being given to five Nursi followers.

Nine others accused of following Nursi remain in prison awaiting trial.

Forum 18 said other prisoners of conscience include one Pentecostal Christian and two Jehovah's Witnesses, who are being held in a labor camp under harsh conditions.

Members of other Protestant churches, as well as Hare Krishna devotees and Jehovah's Witnesses are currently also being detained or harassed. In north-west Uzbekistan, Forum 18 said, officials attempt to obstruct the burials of Protestant Christians and those related to them.

Officials have also stepped up pressure since late 2008 on school children who attend places of worship -- including mosques and Christian churches -- as well as on their parents.

Following the raid on the meal in the town of Kurgantepe in Andijan Region, Judge Shavkat Shadmanov of Kurgantepe District Criminal Court handed down 15-day jail terms on March 3 to three members of an unregistered Protestant church. They were found guilty of violating Article 241 of the Code of Administrative Offences, which punishes violating the procedure for teaching religious doctrines.

Protestants from Andijan told Forum 18 that the arrested church members are being held together with criminal offenders at the Temporary Detention Center of Kurgantepe Police Department. "They should instead have been sent to the Detention Center for administrative violators at Andijan Regional Police Department," one Protestant complained to Forum 18.

Shadmanov told Forum 18 that because the defense did not appeal against the court decision within the allowed ten days, the three Protestants can now only complain to the Panel of Judges for any violation of court procedures.

"My decision was based on the Law," he said. Asked by Forum 18 why individuals must ask for permission to gather for a religious purpose, he replied, "I am not a law-maker, and I don't want to discuss the law."

Shadmanov said the three are due to be released on March 18.

Shadmanov declined to say whether the detained Protestants would receive any compensation if the Panel of Judges overrule his decision to imprison them.

"I don't think 15-day administrative detention is a very strict punishment for such a violation," he insisted. However, he warned that if caught a second time for another administrative violation, the three would then face criminal charges.

Forum 18 said problems for the three Protestants began on the evening of March 1, when five police officers from Kurgantepe District Police raided the home of a church member, claiming to be conducting a passport check-up. Two of the officers were from the Anti-Terrorism Department. This was where a group of Protestants and their families had gathered for a meal.

Six men out of those present -- the three who were subsequently imprisoned, as well as three others -- were detained and taken to the police station.

Forum 18 said the news service was told that Kurgantepe District Police and the Prosecutor's Office "fabricated" administrative violations against the detained Protestants.

The District Prosecutor sanctioned the one-month detention of three of them at the Kurgantepe Rehabilitation Center for Homeless Persons on March 2, for failing to carry identification documents. The three were taken to the Center the same day. However, after intervention on their behalf, one -- whose health had deteriorated - was released on March 6, and the two others were released on March 13.

The wife of one of the three mean imprisoned at the Detention Center brought food daily for her husband and the other two men. However, she was unsure if it was given to them, Protestants told Forum 18.

But on March 14, Police Captain Abduvohid Ahmedov, the Chief of the Detention Center, stopped her bringing additional food.

Ahmedov illegally asked the woman to pay 136 U.S. Dollars for "feeding and keeping" the three detained men in the Detention Center, Protestants told Forum 18. "Otherwise he threatened not to release them until she paid the entire amount," they said.

Ahmedov denied that he was extorting money from the woman. "I will not tell you anything about this case," he told Forum 18.

In a similar case in Tashkent, Judge Jafar Kurbanov of Mirza-Ulugbek District Criminal Court on March 11 handed down a 10-day jail term to Roman Tsoi, a member of an ethnic Korean Baptist Church. He was found guilty under Uzbekistan Article 201 Part 1 of the Code of Administrative Offences, which punishes "violating the procedure for arranging and holding gatherings, meetings, street marches and demonstrations."

The court decision, seen by Forum 18, records that the charges brought against the Church were based on separate complaints from the Tashkent City Justice Department, the State Religious Affairs Committee and others.

Forum 18 said all the agencies complained to the court that the Baptist Church did not specifically ask for permission to hold a meeting on March 6. The Baptist Church has had official registration with the Tashkent City Justice Department since Oct. 27 1998.

Tsoi is being held at Tashkent City Police Department's Detention Center for administrative violators, Forum 18 was told.

Kurbanov's assistant, who did not give his name, told Forum 18 that Tsoi is due to be released on March 21. He said Kurbanov was unavailable to talk, and he could not comment on the case either.

The Church was raided late in the evening of on March 6, while about 60 congregation members were holding a prayer meeting, Forum 18 was told. Most of those present were ethnic Korean citizens of Uzbekistan. About 20 officials from various state agencies -- including the police and the National Security Service (NSS) secret police - broke into the church, some carrying video-cameras.

Five officials gave their names, Forum 18 was told. The officials told the congregation that they were looking for foreign missionaries. "They checked up and took video footage of everyone present."

One official told church members that they may "only" come to services on Sundays, and that for other meetings they have to ask for specific permission from the Tashkent City Justice Department ten days in advance, Forum 18 said the Baptists reported. The official also "warned that it is prohibited at all to gather in the church building after 10 p.m."

Forum 18 said officials demanded that the pastor, Artur Kan, write a statement. When he refused to do so he was "threatened" that the church would be stripped of its registration. The officials pressured the pastor and some of those present to write statements, Baptists reported.

Tashkent City's Justice Department referred Forum 18 to one of their officials, but he refused to discuss the case, the news service reported.