EBOLA AMERICANS
American nurse with Ebola to leave Liberia Tuesday
ATLANTA (AP) β A second American medical missionary stricken with the often deadly Ebola virus is expected to fly Tuesday to Atlanta for treatment.
Nancy Writebol will join Samaritan’s Purse Dr. Kent Brantly, who is being treated in the infectious disease unit at Emory University Hospital after arriving on Saturday.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, says, “We thank God that they are alive and now have access to the best care in the world.”
Brantly’s wife says in a statement that she was able to see her husband Sunday and found him in good spirits. Amber Brantly says, “He thanked everyone for their prayers and asked for continued prayer for Nancy Writebol’s safe return and full recovery.”
Ebola has killed more than 700 people in Africa, but U.S. public health officials say treating Writebol and Brantly in the U.S. poses no risks to the American public.
Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed)
191-v-32-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–A second American medical missionary, stricken with the often deadly Ebola virus, is expected to fly Tuesday to Atlanta for treatment. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (3 Aug 2014)
< 192-a-12-(Dr. Thomas Frieden, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in interview)-“quality health care”-CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden says Dr. Kent Brantly, a Samaritan’s Purse medical missionary, is now hospitalized in Atlanta. COURTESY: Fox News Sunday ((mandatory on-air credit)) (3 Aug 2014) < 193-a-09-(Dr. Thomas Frieden, director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in interview)-“to be easy”-CDC Director Dr. Thomas Frieden says there’s no risk to the American public in repatriating missionaries infected with Ebola. COURTESY: Fox News Sunday ((mandatory on-air credit)) (3 Aug 2014) < EBOLA-MORMON MISSIONARIES Ebola forces Mormon missionaries from West Africa SALT LAKE CITY (AP) β Church officials say 274 Mormon missionaries are being transferred out of Sierra Leone and Liberia due to the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints says the missionaries are being reassigned to other countries. So far, there are no reports of Mormon missionaries being sick with Ebola. The transfers are precautionary. The church says missionaries have been asked to remain in their apartments in recent weeks to prevent them from getting sick. More than 300 Peace Corps volunteers also have been evacuated from Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. SUDAN-DEATH SENTENCE-US Sudanese family ‘very tired,’ thankful for freedom MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) β The husband of a Sudanese woman who refused to recant her Christian faith in the face of a death sentence says the family is healthy but “very tired” and grateful for the global efforts to free his wife. Meriam Ibrahim flew from Rome with her husband, Daniel Wani, and two children to New Hampshire. Wani has family in Manchester, where they will make their new home. In a statement issued through a spokesman, Wani thanked members of Congress, human rights organizations, diplomats and lawyers who helped free Ibrahim. Ibrahim had been sentenced to death over charges of apostasy, the abandonment of a religion. Her father was Muslim, and her mother was an Orthodox Christian. She married Wani, a Christian, in 2011, a violation of strict Muslim law. FILMS OF FAITH 2 Bible Belt filmmakers expand box office horizons NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β Christian filmmakers Alex and Stephen Kendrick have grossed nearly $80 million on four films they made for less than $4 million combined. The makers of “Courageous,” ”Fireproof,” ”Facing the Giants” and “Flywheel” began with a tiny production company at Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia, where they remain associate pastors. But they’ve decided to strike out on their own with their fifth film. The Kendrick brothers say the move was necessary for them to grow as filmmakers and recruit actors and crew nationwide. Their latest movie, which has yet to have a title, centers on a family realizing the power of prayer. Major studios also have started making the leap for faith-based audiences with biblical epics such as “Noah,” the planned December release of “Exodus” and a remake of “Ben-Hur” for early 2016. At one point in April, there were four faith-based movies in the Top 20 at the box office. Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed) 160-v-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–Some Christian filmmakers have produced the Hollywood ending every studio wants: Low-cost production and high returns at the box office. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (3 Aug 2014) < 161-c-24-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)-“over 20 million”-AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports this has been a big year for faith-based films. (3 Aug 2014) < 162-c-23-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)-“the next one”-AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports that two Christian filmmakers have grossed nearly $80 million dollars on four films they made for less than $4 million combined. (3 Aug 2014) < VATICAN-SOUTH KOREA Korean bishop sees hope for peace in pope’s visit VATICAN CITY (AP) β Vatican radio has quoted the head of the Korean Catholic Bishops’ Conference as expressing hope that Pope Francis’ visit to the peninsula will help re-launch the reconciliation process between the two Koreas. Bishop Peter Kang U-il was quoted over the weekend as saying there have been “sporadic but important signs of rebellion against the regime” in Pyongyang, which he said were motivated by difficult living conditions. Kang said “hunger is a stronger motor of rebellion than the ideals of democracy and justice.” Pope Francis will participate in a Catholic youth festival during his trip to South Korea later this month, the first by a pope in 25 years. The two Koreas have been in a near-constant standoff since an armistice ended the Korean War in 1953. CHURCH FOR ATHEISTS Madison chapter promotes church for atheists MADISON, Wis. (AP) β A movement that gives atheists a chance to experience the fellowship of church without religion is growing. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Sunday Assembly Madison will hold its first service Sept. 28. One of the local organizers is 30-year-old Naomi Kroth of Madison. She doesn’t believe in God but says she misses the singing, volunteerism and feeling of community that a church provides. The first Sunday Assembly was held in London about 18 months ago. Since then the idea has spread around the globe, with varying degrees of success. A similar group in New York City was divided over how strongly to embrace or downplay atheism. The Madison group says its goal isn’t to promote antagonism to religion, but to celebrate life. PROGRESSIVE MUSLIMS Muslim movement accepts once-taboo causes LOS ANGELES (AP) β A small but growing number of American Muslims are challenging the long-standing interpretations of Islam that defined their parents’ world. Some believe that a Muslim can be gay, that the sexes can pray shoulder-to-shoulder, that females can preach and that Muslim women can marry non-Muslims. They cite Quran passages and say the stricter version of Islam found in many immigrant mosques isn’t representative of their faith. Nearly 40 percent of the estimated 2.75 million Muslims in the U.S. are American-born and the number is growing. According to a 2011 survey by the Pew Research Center, the Muslim American population also skews younger than the general U.S. population. The organization Muslims for Progressive Values is among those groups pushing for a more inclusive American Islam. SIKH TEMPLE-SHOOTING SURVIVOR AP Exclusive: Sikh victim’s lessons sustain family OAK CREEK, Wis. (AP) β A Sikh priest who was wounded in a mass shooting in the Milwaukee area two years ago spent a lifetime preaching the Sikh principles of optimism and hope. His family says those same principles have sustained them during his slow recovery. Punjab Singh suffered brain injuries in the 2012 Sikh temple shooting, which left six people dead and four others wounded. The 66-year-old still can’t move or speak, but his family hasn’t lost hope for his recovery. Raghuvinder Singh says his father taught him the Sikh principle of constant optimism. He says he respects his father’s teaching and practices it. Punjab Singh is in a nursing home in southeastern Wisconsin. Insurance has covered his medical bills.
