Rapid Reading Review – Short reports and web linksSalvation Army aids tornado-affected communities
Christian Today – The Salvation Army is responding after a series of tornadoes killed at least 28 people in the US. The powerful storms struck in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. According to the BBC, at least 13 people have been confirmed dead in Indiana, 12 in Kentucky, and two in Ohio. Another fatality was recorded in Alabama during an earlier tornado. In Indiana, The Salvation Army has sent in Emergency Disaster Service teams from nearby New Albany to the badly damaged town of Henryville in Clark County, where mobile canteens have been set up. Another team is providing food for 200 people at the Red Cross shelter set up in Charlestown.
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/salvation.army.aids.tornadoaffected.communities/29423.htm
RC archbishop urges Catholics to become more active in politics
New York Times – Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan told Roman Catholics on Saturday that in an era when the church was fighting the government on several fronts, they needed to make their voices heard more clearly in the political sphere.Speaking at a diocesan convocation on public policy here, Cardinal Dolan, who is the archbishop of New York and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, said, “We are called to be very active, very informed and very involved in politics.” The cardinal’s speech came in advance of the church’s annual lobbying day in Albany, scheduled for March 13.
Inking for Jesus: Dozens of church members take Lenten tattoo challenge
CNN– In a hip, artsy, area of Houston,Texas, a hip, artsy pastor is taking an unorthodox approach to Lent. Standing in front of his congregation at Ecclesia Church, a congregation he admits is different – more diverse, more urban – than many evangelical churches – Chris Seay encouraged them to do so something he said combines the ideas of sacrifice and devotion that mark the Lenten season, the 40-day lead up to Easter.
He asked them to get tattoos. Specifically, he asked congregants to get a tattoo corresponding with one of the Stations of the Cross, the collection of images that depict scenes in Jesus’ journey to his crucifixion.
http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/03/03/inking-for-jesus-dozens-of-church-members-take-lenten-tattoo-challenge/
Mormon church to further educate members about proxy baptisms
Washington Post — Mormon church leaders say the church’s policy of not performing posthumous baptisms of Holocaust victims and others unrelated to its members will be reiterated worldwide during Sunday services. The announcement this week follows outrage over recent claims that Mormon temples posthumously baptized the family of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal, along with Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager forced into hiding in Amsterdam during the Holocaust and killed in a concentration camp, and other notable Jewish figures.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/mormon-church-to-further-educate-members-about-proxy-baptisms-of-holocaust-victims-others/2012/03/02/gIQAmZKanR_story.html
‘It takes a community’ … to godparent
ENS – Report on an approach in the Episcopal Church USA
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/02/22/it-takes-a-community-to-godparent/
Episcopal Bishop of Alaska endorses marriage equality
Episcopal Cafe – Mark Lattime, the Episcopal Bishop of Alaska has written publicly of his support for Prop 5, a marriage equality measure for the City of Anchorage that is to be on the April ballot. In a letter to The Rev. Michael Burke, the rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Anchorage, who is serving as the Convener of Christians for Equality in Anchorage, Bishop Lattime writes:
“We who claim the life of Jesus, claim a life of striving for the new identity of a world restored by Grace through the resurrected life of Christ our Lord.
It is in the spirit of striving for this baptismal identity in Christ that I extend my endorsement and prayers to you, and those who stand with you, in your ministry of seeking support for the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative. The Baptismal Covenant, as expressed in our Prayerbook, calls us to strive for justice and peace and to respect the dignity of every human being. Working and praying for the just and proper protection under the law of all human beings is certainly a faithful expression of the higher calling of the Baptismal Covenant.
The Episcopal Church, through the actions of General Convention, has a long history of standing with those who society has pushed to the margins and with those who are most vulnerable to discrimination. I give thanks for the Episcopal Church’s witness to non-discrimination and give thanks for the faithful response of those who are working for the inclusion of those for whom the protections of current non-discrimination laws do not apply — especially gays, lesbians and those of transgender identity.”
More coverage of Bishop Lattime’s support here:
http://www.bentalaska.com/2012/03/episcopal-bishop-of-alaska-endorses-prop-5/