Church of Baseball, redux, rebuked

Periodically throughout last year’s baseball season, we’d make note of various “Faith Night” events and reflections from the outfield. And now, preseason pundits have taken note yet again of the phenomenon. Murray Chass, writing in the New York Times, is quite frank about his feelings on the matter, and pulls no punches: “It’s time … for baseball’s constitution to dictate separation of church and baseball.”

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Best friends

This month’s Washingtonian has a feature with vignettes exploring the bonds of friendship between several pairs of best friends, among them retired Washington Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon and WAMU talk-show host Diane Rehm, who have been friends since meeting at church 40 years ago. When Rehm got word of an “Expanding Horizons for Women” adult-ed course at George Washington University in the 1970s, she nudged Dixon to join her.

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Southern Baptist leaders back climate change resolution

A group of 44 Southern Baptist leaders have signed a document that acknowledges the recklessness of ignoring the mounting evidence for climate change. Jonathan Merritt, spokesman for the Southern Baptist Environment and Climate Initiative, was quoted in the New York Times as having had an epiphany in which he realized ” when we destroy God’s creation, it’s similar to ripping pages from the Bible.”

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Obama rebukes former pastor; Wright out of campaign

Barack Obama credits the Rev. Jeremiah A. Wright Jr. with having a profound influence on his return to faith and credits him with the now-famous tagline “audacity of hope” that Obama titled his book with. The minister also was celebrant at the Obama wedding and baptized their daughters. But Wright has drawn a lot of criticism for making inflammatory statements and incendiary sermons, and as of yesterday is no longer affiliated with the Obama campaign.

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House of Bishops’ votes valid, chancellor confirms

The Presiding Bishop’s chancellor has confirmed the validity of votes taken in the House of Bishops on March 12, correcting an erroneous report published online March 14 by The Living Church News Service. Chancellor David Booth Beers said votes consenting to the deposition of bishops John-David Schofield and William Cox conformed to the canons.

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Match meeting

Recently, I have had the privilege of working with couples in pre-marital counseling who met through Match.com or other online dating services, rather than through more traditional means. Some of my parents’ generation are astonished that people would dare risk meeting this way, but their stories demystify the process.

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Accepting resurrection

“They came not only because of Jesus but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Lazarus to death as well, since it was on account of him that many of the Jews were deserting and were believing in Jesus.” (John 12:9-11)

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New Orleans: The Jeremiah Project

For years a group of committed community activists in New Orleans have been working cooperatively with local residents to better their neighborhoods and city. But after Hurricane Katrina devastated large swaths of the city, the focus of the organization has changed to focus on the rebuilding effort and its unintended effects.

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Questions raised about deposition vote earlier this week

There is a report that the House of Bishops may have acted in violation of the Episcopal Church canons when announcing the result of their vote to depose Bishops Schofield and Cox. The concerns focus on whether or not there was a quorum of eligible bishops present needed to take such action, and on whether or not the canonical procedure was followed in Bishop Cox’s case.

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