Nine denominations banded together for a “building blitz” in the spring of 2009, fixing up 12 hurricane-stricken homes in Little Woods, Louisiana, a suburb of New Orleans. The homes were damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005. “We were amazed at the extent of the damage to the New Orleans area, even three to... Continue Reading

By RACHEL ZOLL (AP) NEW YORK — Organized religion was already in trouble before the fall of 2008. Denominations were stagnating or shrinking, and congregations across faith groups were fretting about their finances. The Great Recession made things worse. It’s further drained the financial resources of many congregations, seminaries and religious day schools. Some congregations... Continue Reading

Here is your coffee break prayer list from Chris and Zhenya Bear, church planters in London. We try to keep it simple enough that you can pray for us on the way to the coffee machine. In our last newsletter we had so much we wanted to tell you about but could not go into... Continue Reading

AFGHANISTAN: While healthcare reform dominates D.C. these days, politicians face serious questions about raising troop levels | Emily Belz WASHINGTON—The Taliban is growing in power in certain Afghan cities like Kandahar, the results of the recent presidential election are in question, corruption is overwhelming efforts at good governance, and the chairman of the U.S. Joint... Continue Reading

Study finds faithful can’t agree on Bible, government’s role, social responsibility The commonly referenced “God gap” between Republicans and Democrats is disappearing. Polls released before the 2008 election demonstrated America’s Christian voters are no longer synonymous with the political right: a George Barna survey showed born-again Christians evenly split between John McCain and Barack Obama,... Continue Reading

Several virtual meetings will be offered during the month of October 2009 by the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). See Calendar for details. Please note the following schedule for the virtual meetings: Option 1: Wednesday, 10/7/2009: Discuss the EPC Wellness Program. The meeting begins at 3:00 pm EST and ends at approximately 3:30 EST. To attend... Continue Reading

By Niall O’Dowd A new survey shows 34 million Americans, or 15 percent of the population, say they have no religion. Even more significant is that one-third of those, about 11 million people, are Irish Americans. The survey by professors at Trinity College in Hartford, CT, does not explain why Irish Catholics are by far... Continue Reading

POLITICS: Republican politicians at this past weekend’s Values Voter Summit stick to singing the same tune | Edward Lee Pitts WASHINGTON—For the second weekend in a row, thousands of the nation’s conservatives are invading what they now call enemy territory: Washington, D.C. And just like at last week’s protest march on the U.S. Capitol, for... Continue Reading

Students at the University of Mobile spent Thursday and Friday this week reading aloud “The Chronicles of Narnia”. Narnia is the magical kingdom entered through a wardrobe closet in C.S. Lewis’ “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,” the first installment of the “Chronicles of Narnia” books. A special invitation was given to children who... Continue Reading

World Relief’s almost-hire spotlights ministries need for government funds | Warren Cole Smith World Relief is the compassion and benevolence arm of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). “We’re not the mouth of the NAE, but we are its arms and legs,” said Don Golden, the group’s senior vice president of church engagement. In theory,... Continue Reading