Porous floors and changed lives
When James Warren heard that his column in the New York Times describing All Saints Episcopal Church on Chicago's North Side and their ministry to the homeless might have motivated someone to vandalize the church, he felt terrible. But when he visited the church, he found forgiveness and the ministry going forward. The Rev. Bonnie Perry reminded her congregation of the porous floorboards and “mud pit” in the basement. “That’s why I give 10 percent of my salary to this place each year," she said. "The floorboards are porous, and we change people’s lives.” Warren writes: On Tuesday night — as nearly 200 people stood in line outside for a can of

Our choice: speak out togetheror abandon the persecuted.
The religion and society thinktank Ekklesia says that opposition against the 'anti- homosexuality' Bill currently being proposed in Uganda is an opportunity for churches to experience some unity around issues of sexuality which so often divide them because, no matter what their views on sexual ethics, Christian leaders should be able to speak with one voice against this bill. Standing against violence, persecution and unjust laws may be the basis for building common ground in the future. A news release from Ekklesia reads: But Ekklesia also warns that continued silence from church leaders on the issue will also speak volumes. A failure to speak out will be widely

Report on child sexual abuse in Ireland released
The Irish Times reports that the Commission of Investigation into Dublin’s Catholic Archdiocese has concluded that there is “no doubt” that clerical child sexual abuse was covered up by the archdiocese and other Church authorities. The commission’s report covers the period between January 1st 1975 and April 30th 2004 said that both the Catholic Church in Ireland and the Irish government facilitated the cover-up. The Church covered up by moving offending clergy to new assignments and using its influence to discourage reporting by victims and prosecution by authorities. The report said that that government facilitated the cover up "by not fulfilling their respons

Whalon on The Pope, Rowan Williams, and Henry VIII
Pierre Whalon, Bishop of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, responds to the recent Apostolic Constitution issued by Pope Benedict XVI aimed at disaffected Anglicans and praised the Archbishop of Canterbury's response to it. He writes: In light of the lack of consultation with their own bishops, including the new Archbishop of Westminster, the unexplained delay between the announcement and the publication of this “Apostolic Constitution” (currently available only in English and Italian), as

Supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act
By Bill Carroll I recently wrote to my local paper in support of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which will most likely be up for a vote in the U.S. House soon. The text of my letter is found at the conclusion of this article. Please remember to write your Representatives in Congress, as well as your local newspaper, in your own words. They particularly need to hear from Christians who support an end to workplace discrimination against LGBT persons. As the letter notes, some conservative Christians will try to frame ENDA as an assault on religious liberty, as they attempted to do with regard to the hate crimes bill. This false witness makes a mockery