News

News

Dissident bishops hold defiant service

"Unauthorized and clandestine"
Apr 06, 2004 by John Dart
Episcopal church leaders have reacted sharply to what one called an “unauthorized and clandestine” service in Ohio at which five retired conservative U.S. bishops, joined by a bishop from Brazil, confirmed 110 persons without the permission or presence of the diocesan bishop.

Briefly noted

Apr 06, 2004
Proponents of traditional family values are championing a unanimous California Supreme Court ruling March 11 that halted—at least temporarily—gay marriages in the state. “What the court has done . . . is take a stand against the anarchy that has reigned in San Francisco since February 12,” said James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family.

Churches stressing health and fitness

Wellness churches
Apr 06, 2004
Larry Swain, a Pittsburgh minister, is happy that he’s lost more than 50 pounds in a year and a half. He credits several factors, especially wanting very much to wear a smaller tuxedo at his daughter’s wedding. A doctor’s visit also showed his cholesterol and blood pressure were at unhealthy levels.

South African theorist wins Templeton Prize

George F. R. Ellis
Apr 06, 2004
George F. R. Ellis—a prominent theoretical cosmologist, a Quaker and an active opponent of apartheid during its rule in South Africa—has won the 2004 Templeton Prize. Ellis becomes the latest scientist to win the $1.4 million prize that its founder, U.S.-born investor Sir John Templeton, has stipulated be the largest annual monetary prize given to an individual outside the sports world.

Data bite

Growth in the ABCUSA
Apr 06, 2004
The American Baptist Churches in the USA has reported the fastest growth of any Protestant denomination, according to the 2004 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches, which compiled figures for the end of 2002 from some 215 different denominations in the two countries. The American Baptists showed a gain for the second consecutive year after two previous years of decline.