Amid decline, one Lutheran church strives to live up to its namesake’s spirit

From Religion News-

At a Bible study on a weekday evening, Lutheran minister Daniel Pugh paced before a group of 50 church members in cargo shorts and a plaid button-down shirt talking about Adam and Eve.

Clutching a hand-held remote he clicked through a PowerPoint presentation, telling members of Christ the King Lutheran Church that one way to interpret the story of Adam and Eve is as a coming-of-age allegory about a pair of carefree teens caught red-handed having sex.

In this, alternative reading of The Fall, the “forbidden fruit” offered to Eve in Chapter 3 may be a metaphor for sex, he said, and the “serpent” may be a metaphor for a penis.

Lutherans have certainly come a long way since their namesake, Martin Luther, nailed his 95 theses to the Castle Church door in Wittenberg, Germany, 500 years ago this month, sparking the Protestant Reformation.

More here-

http://religionnews.com/2017/10/16/amid-decline-one-lutheran-church-strives-to-live-up-to-its-namesakes-spirit/

Church used unemployment scam to stoke funds, ex-members say

From AP (North Carolina)-

When Randy Fields’ construction company faced potential ruin because of the cratering economy, he pleaded with his pastor at Word of Faith Fellowship church to reduce the amount of money he was required to tithe every week.

To his shock, Fields said church founder Jane Whaley proposed a divine plan that would allow him to continue contributing at least 10 percent of his income to the secretive evangelical church while helping his company survive: He would file fraudulent unemployment claims on behalf of his employees. She called it, he said, “God’s plan.”

Fields and 10 other former congregants told The Associated Press that they and dozens of employees who were church members filed bogus claims at Word of Faith Fellowship leaders’ direction, and said they had been interviewed at length about the false claims by investigators with the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

More here-

https://apnews.com/82efa6b81e0d4f1c8ae6def489ce8b01

Conservative clergy attack Barber for saying prayers for Trump ‘border on heresy’

From North Carolina-

Conservative clergy are returning fire at the Rev. William Barber for his criticism of ministers who prayed over President Donald Trump in the Oval Office last week.

At a Wednesday news conference in Charlotte, five faith-based leaders said that Barber, the liberal president of the North Carolina NACCP, was misguided and un-biblical when he called the White House prayer “theological malpractice bordering on heresy.”

“The scriptures are exceedingly clear that we are to pray specifically for our leaders,” said the Rev. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League of North Carolina, which organized the news conference. He also quoted Jesus’ command to pray for enemies. “It doesn’t matter which side of the political aisle you may be on, whether Republican or Democrat, conservative or progressive, Jesus’ words don’t leave any room for the kind of qualification in our prayers set forth by Dr. Barber.”

Read more here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article162559693.html#storylink=cpy

Woman, 2 children seek sanctuary from deportation at Greensboro church

From Greensboro NC-

A Winston-Salem woman and her two youngest children took sanctuary at a Greensboro church on Thursday morning to avoid deportation, marking at least the second such case in North Carolina.

Minerva Garcia, an immigrant from Mexico, and her two youngest sons, ages 6 and 3, will be living at Congregational United Church of Christ until she can get a stay of removal from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would delay her deportation.

Garcia came from Mexico to the U.S. 17 years ago with her oldest son Eduardo, now 21, and her second oldest son who died of cancer in 2007. She moved to the U.S. to find better educational opportunities for Eduardo, who is blind.

In 2013, Garcia obtained a stay of removal from ICE because her oldest son depends on her. Every year since, she’s received a stay of removal, until this year. During Garcia’s annual check-in with ICE in May, she received a deportation order to leave the country by June 30.
Read more here:

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/article158835604.html#storylink=cpy

also here-

http://www.wral.com/woman-facing-deportation-finds-sanctuary-in-greensboro-church/16793814/

A Charlotte church put up a sign about its Muslim neighbors. The neighbors spoke back

From Charlotte-

Kate Murphy was driving to work in East Charlotte not long ago when she saw a car that looked like it had some words painted on it. She pulled up for a closer look and saw that yes, they were words. But they were more than words. They were anti-Muslim slurs.

This was back in February, shortly after the Donald Trump administration had issued its first executive order banning people from seven Muslim countries from entering the United States. That order, you remember, was struck down in court and scorned by many. But plenty of people also thought it was exactly what the country should do.

“There was so much being said that troubled me,” said Murphy, who is pastor of The Grove Presbyterian Church.

Read more here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/peter-st-onge/article144196939.html#storylink=cpy

Episcopal bishops of North Carolina call for repeal of HB2

From North Carolina-

Bishop Anne Hodges-Copple of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, which includes Charlotte, was among the state’s four Episcopal bishops calling Tuesday for repeal of HB2. Courtesy of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina.
The Episcopal bishops of North Carolina called Tuesday for the repeal of House Bill 2, saying it “overtly discriminates against LGBT persons and goes further by cutting back protection against discrimination for anyone in the state.”

Their statement comes a day after the state’s United Methodist bishops released one that also called on the state legislature to repeal the controversial law.

The four Episcopal bishops said the legislature rushed HB2 into law, not making time to listen to the LGBT community, among others. “The mounting economic losses for North Carolina show this hasty process did not leave room to consider what impact HB2 would have on our state,” the bishops said. “We are all paying the price.”

Read more here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article74046002.html#storylink=cpy

Charlotte gay wedding defies United Methodist Church rules

From North Carolina-

They knew it could mean a reprimand or even a church trial that might end their careers.

Still, the pastor of Charlotte’s First United Methodist Church and a retired bishop who once did jail time with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. decided to go ahead over the weekend and preside at the wedding of John Romano and Jim Wilborne.

The two Charlotte men became the first same-sex couple in North Carolina to get married – at least publicly – in a United Methodist church.

But the mainline denomination’s Book of Discipline sanctions only marriage between a man and a woman. So there could be consequences for the Rev. Val Rosenquist and Bishop Melvin Talbert – the clergy who performed the wedding – if any complaints are filed with Bishop Larry Goodpaster, who leads the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Read more here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/living/religion/article73685782.html#storylink=cpy

St. Augustine’s University Taking First Steps Down Road to Recovery

From North Carolina-

St. Augustine’s University is regrouping after a particularly difficult academic year. Some of the challenges the small historically Black university faced included a $3 million drop in net tuition revenue, the firing of its previous president and a federal investigation of allegations that the university provided false information on a federal grant proposal.

Just 100 days into his new job, Interim President Everett Ward announced a series of tough but proactive steps the university is taking to get back on the road to recovery, last Monday.

In an interview with Diverse, Ward harkened back to the three objectives he committed to on April 23, when he was hired.

More here-

http://diverseeducation.com/article/66405/

Pastors react to appeals court ruling that would affect N.C.'s Amendment One

From North Carolina-

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals' decision Monday to strike down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban will also affect North Carolina's Amendment One. To what degree and when, we're still waiting to find out.

Monday's 2-1 ruling applies throughout the circuit that also includes West Virginia, Maryland, and the Carolinas and adds to the growing list of decrees on a hot-button issue that will likely end up being decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Two years ago on May 8, 2012, the controversial Amendment One passed in North Carolina with about 61 percent of the vote, defining marriage between one man and one woman as the only legal domestic partnership recognized in the state. And in Cleveland County, 80 percent of the people who voted that day voted for the amendment and to specify that marriage is only between a man and a woman.

More here-

http://www.shelbystar.com/news/local/pastors-react-to-appeals-court-ruling-that-would-affect-n-c-s-amendment-one-1.351945

Stained glass ceiling: Women in ministry

From North Carolina-

As women fight to break the glass ceiling in their secular professions, female clergy say some women are coming up against the stained-glass ceiling as they answer the calling to do what they believe is God’s will.

Some women ministers say while many religions have been ordaining women since the 1960s, many parishioners prefer a man as their spiritual leader.

Mary Jo Atkinson is a pastor in the Free Will Baptist Church organization and pastors two churches: Living Hope Free Will Baptist Church in Wilson and New Bethel Free Will Baptist in Rocky Mount. Marty Stebbins is head pastor of St. Timothy Episcopal Church, and Tuck Taylor heads Black Creek United Methodist Church.

"It is easier to become an Episcopal bishop as a woman than it is to become a rector of a very large church; it is what we call the stained glass ceiling,” Stebbins said in her pastor’s office. "Many times a congregation will have a certain image of what their rector will be, and wearing skirts and having tresses is not part of that picture.”

She said very slowly things are changing. 

More here-

http://www.wilsontimes.com/News/Feature/Story/29839552---The-stained-glass-ceiling

Church's Online Communion: Sacrament or Sacrilege?

From North Carolina-

A North Carolina church's new plans for breaking bread are also breaking with its denomination's wishes.

Central United Methodist Church in Concord, northeast of Charlotte, earlier this year said it would launch a "virtual campus" complete with streaming services, webcam Bible study, counseling via live chat and a dedicated online pastor.

The church also planned for virtual users to be able to regularly take Holy Communion when it is being offered during services: Online users can simply grab some grape juice and any bread or crackers they have in the house, and consume them after the pastor, in the sanctuary, blesses the juice and bread as representing the blood and body of Christ.

The practice, common in many evangelical churches, could help make Christianity more accessible, especially to young people who read the Bible on an app, if at all, the century-old church says. "We believe that God is not bound by space and time," said the Rev. Andy Langford, Central's senior pastor. "We believe that when we bless the bread and the cup in one place, if there are others who are worshiping with us, God will bless that bread and cup wherever they are."

But Central has run afoul of the United Methodist hierarchy. On Friday, the denomination's leading body, the Council of Bishops, declared a moratorium on all online sacraments, including communion, and called for further study of which practices would be acceptable online. The moratorium was declared at the request of an influential group of United Methodist ministers and theologians, who said in a statement that communion is understood to be celebrated "within a physically gathered community."

More here-

http://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304868404579194423734251960?mobile=y

Sen. Burr disappoints N.C. religious leaders on release of torture report

From Kansas-

 A group of more than 190 North Carolina religious leaders and other Christians, Jews, Quakers and a Muslim chaplain wrote in August to Sen. Richard Burr, urging him to support the release of the findings of an investigation into the post-9/11 treatment of terrorism suspects.

This week, the North Carolina Republican finally replied, saying he opposed making the 6,000-page report public.

“I was deeply concerned about the factual inaccuracies contained within the report, including inaccurate information relating to the details of the interrogation program and other information provided by detainees,” Burr wrote. “I believe the American public should be provided with reports that are based on accurate facts.”



It was written under the letterhead of the North Carolina Council of Churches. Among its signers were 18 bishops and other denominational executives, including Bishop Michael Curry of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, Bishop Michael Burbidge of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raleigh, Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, and Bishop William DeVeaux of the Second Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Read more here-

http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/25/3078776/sen-burr-disappoints-nc-religious.html#storylink=cpy

Author preaches forgiveness tips at Charlotte church

From North Carolina-

Do yourself a favor: Practice forgiveness.

That was the prescription Sunday from Dr. Ned Hallowell, a psychiatrist and best-selling author who addressed a packed house at Charlotte’s Christ Episcopal Church. Those who don’t forgive, he said, only hurt themselves by carrying around poisonous anger, resentment and hate.

And that goes for America’s polarized political system, too, said the author of “Dare to Forgive: The Power of Letting Go and Moving on,” who has appeared on “60 Minutes,” “20/20,” and other national TV shows.

If he could get President Barack Obama, House Speaker John Boehner and America’s other political leaders together in a room? “I’d say, ‘Shut up and listen.’ ”
Read more here:

 http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/01/27/3817011/author-preaches-forgiveness-tips.html#storylink=cpy

Germanton church move stirs up conflict

From North Carolina-

More than 120 years ago, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church was built in Germanton, N.C.

Next month, the church will make the nearly 100-mile trek to its new home in Chapel Hill.

The building will be used by The Episcopal Church of the Advocate, which has been looking for a permanent location since 2003.

But Germanton residents who grew up in the church are opposing the relocation of what they call a historic landmark.

“The people who have cared for the church for the last 20 years had no idea it was going to be sold until after the decision was made,” said Caroline Armijo of Friends of St. Philip’s Church, a group created to protest the move.

A new place to worship

In 2011, the The Episcopal Church of the Advocate — which had previously rented several facilities — made plans to build a new place of worship near Homestead Road.
More here-

http://www.dailytarheel.com/article/2012/10/church-move-stirs-up-conflict_1014

Decades old stained glass window finds home in Wilmington church

From North Carolina-

A stained glass window, decades in the making, has finally found its home in a Wilmington church.

The Church of the Servant, an Episcopal church, dedicated the "Healing Window" during a service Sunday morning. The window includes parts of a window made by artist Rowan LeCompte for an Episcopal church in Maryland in the 1950's. After the church burned down, the window sat in a box for more than 40 years.

LeCompte along with Wilmington glass artist, Susan Tharin, added onto the window to help it fit into its new frame.

"When I stepped back and looked at the whole thing, it was just overwhelming to me," Tharin says. "That he has had the faith in me to accomplish this and it's just a relief to have it done and that everyone has been so receptive."

LeCompte has completed 42 stained glass windows for the National Cathedral in Washington D.C. Tharin, who also owns Airlie Art Glass, says its an honor that he picked her to help with the project.

More here-

http://www.wwaytv3.com/2012/05/13/decades-old-stained-glass-window-finds-home-wilmington-church

N.C. passes Marriage Amendment

From North Carolina-

A majority of North Carolinians voted Tuesday in favor of a Constitutional amendment that recognizes the marriage of a man and woman as the only valid domestic union in North Carolina, with a 61 percent to 38 percent victory with 85 of the state’s 100 counties reporting.

Locally, Orange and Durham counties voted overwhelming against Amendment One, with 78.9 percent against it in Orange County and 69.7 percent against it in Durham County. Person County voted 72.4 percent for the amendment.

The Rev. C.J. Bordeaux, senior pastor of Gorman Baptist Church in Durham, watched returns Tuesday night in Raleigh with Vote for Marriage NC, the largest pro-amendment group in the state.

Bordeaux said they’re very humble and grateful for the amendment’s passing.

“I’m proud North Carolinians stood their ground and voted their conscience,” he said. “Now the people have decided, and it’s not up to a radical judge.” Bordeaux said he heard misrepresentations from the opposing side, and said that if the amendment had not passed, a radical judge could have overturned the existing state law.

“I’m not going to gloat on it. We cast our ballot. It’s a very democratic way of going about it, and we’re proud of it,” he said.

More here-

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/18505627/article-N-C--passes-Marriage-Amendment

Church to re-dedicate Napoleonic chandeliers

From North Carolina-

All Saints’ Episcopal Church’s four brilliant chandeliers were first lit at the original downtown Concord church May 9, 1937.

But they had burned long before that – by candlelight – in the Paris palace of Prince deRohan Bonaparte, cousin of French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte, according to church archives.

At morning worship April 22, a simple ceremony of re-consecration and re-dedication, celebrating the 75th anniversary of the four chandeliers as part of the church, will be observed in the sanctuary of the building on Lake Concord Road that All Saints’ Episcopal erected in 1972.

Leading the service will be the Rev. Nancy Cox and the Rev. Chip Marble, assistant bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. A reception will take place after in the parish hall.

A writer covering the first local lighting for the Concord Tribune wrote that even the royal pomp and ceremony of the coronation of King Edward VI of England couldn’t match the brilliance of those chandeliers

Read more here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/04/20/3184906/church-to-re-dedicate-napoleonic.html#storylink=cpy

Steps taken to move St. Philip's

From North Carolina-

An Episcopal church in Chapel Hill is clearing the way for St. Philip's Church to move 160 miles east of its longtime home in Germanton.

The town of Chapel Hill recently approved a modification to a special-use permit needed to relocate the 120-year old church to 15 acres owned by The Advocate, a small congregation in Chapel Hill.

The decision sets in motion The Advocate's plan to have the church on its property by late 2012, said the Rev. Lisa Fischbeck.

The proposed move has upset some current and former residents of Germanton, who consider the architecturally important church a crucial part of the town's character.

Located on Germanton's main strip, the church was built in a Gothic Revival style that features pointed arched windows and board-and-batten siding. But the church never flourished, reaching its peak of 22 members in 1890, and closed in the early 1980s.

A group of citizens has formed Friends of St. Philip's Church of Germanton to keep the church in Germanton.

More here-

http://www2.journalnow.com/news/2012/apr/06/2/chapel-hill-church-moves-forward-with-plan-to-move-ar-2134895/

In a holy season, faiths share a meal and understanding

From North Carolina-

With plates of horseradish, bitter herbs and boiled eggs set in their familiar places on the table, Jews gathered Sunday for a ritual that broke from tradition in a few notable ways.

For starters, the setting for this Passover Seder was the Irregardless Cafe, a Raleigh mainstay known more for its eclectic menu and music than a role in Holy Week activities.

And among the invited guests were Presbyterians, Baptists and Episcopalians, some experiencing the Jewish holiday of Passover for the first time. It coincided with a day associated with the beginning of their Christian faith, Palm Sunday.

Read more here:

http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/02/1974787/in-a-holy-season-faiths-share.html#storylink=cpy

Historic church building could be moved 80 miles away

From North Carolina (with video)

A 19th-century Germanton church building that’s on the National Register of Historic Places may be moved 80 miles away.

St. Philip’s Episcopal Church has straddled the Stokes and Forsyth County lines since 1894. The church still doesn’t have electricity or running water, just like when it was built.

The Episcopal diocese, which owns the property, wants to move the building to the Church of the Advocate in Carrboro, Orange County. The diocese believes it could be better used by a growing congregation than continuing to sit unused like it has for many years.

The proposal got rolling last year, when the diocese contacted Germanton Baptist Church, which sits literally next door to St. Philip’s.

“They expressed that they nether had the energy or the resources to maintain St Philip’s,” said Rev. Jeff Stevens with Germanton Baptist. “They expressed to keep that building in the Kingdom of God and for it to be used for its purposes.”

More here-

http://myfox8.com/2012/02/15/historic-church-building-could-be-moved-80-miles-away/