MIDTERM ELECTIONS-HOUSTON PASTORS
Huckabee joins pastors demanding vote on Houston ordinance
HOUSTON (AP) β Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee says if Christians love God, they have not just a right, but a responsibility to vote.
Huckabee, who sought the GOP presidential nomination in 2008, spoke Sunday evening at one of Houston’s largest churches.
The assembly’s main focus wasn’t on Tuesday’s midterm elections, but on the city’s refusal to allow a referendum on a gay rights ordinance passed by the City Council.
Opponents of the ordinance say they turned in more than three times the number of petition signatures needed to call a referendum, but the city attorney disqualified most of them. When Houston pastors then sued, the city subpoenaed their sermons and private communications.
Mayor Annise (ah-NEES’) Parker said last week that the subpoenas were being withdrawn, but the pastors and their supporters are still demanding a vote on the ordinance.
Huckabee said Americans have died for the right to vote, and Christians have a duty to make their voices heard.
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250-w-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and attorney Andy Taylor)–Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says if Christians love God, they have not just a right, but a responsibility to vote. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (2 Nov 2014)
< 229-a-13-(Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, addressing rally at Houston church)-“for our nation”-Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says voting is a Christian duty. (2 Nov 2014) < 231-a-18-(Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, addressing rally at Houston church)-“must stand up (applause fades)”-Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says the vote is worth fighting for. (2 Nov 2014) < 230-a-16-(Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, addressing rally at Houston church)-“will be done (applause fades)”-Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee says Tuesday’s election won’t solve America’s problems. (2 Nov 2014) < 232-a-11-(Andy Taylor, attorney representing Houston pastors suing the city, addressing rally at Houston church)-“the people vote (applause fades)”-Andy Taylor, the attorney representing Houston pastors suing the city, urges the crowd to demand that the mayor allow a referendum on the city’s gay rights ordinance. (2 Nov 2014) < MEGACHURCH MELTDOWN Seattle megachurch dissolves after founder resigns SEATTLE (AP) β Two weeks after Mars Hill Church founding pastor Mark Driscoll resigned amid questions about his leadership, the Seattle megachurch he founded has announced that it is dissolving its network of branches across four states. The church said on its website that the best future for its branches would be for them to become “autonomous self-governed entities.” The church says it hopes the reorganization plan will be completed by Jan. 1. Driscoll took a leave of absence in August so church leaders could investigate whether he was fit to lead. The Seattle Times reports he faced accusations that he bullied members, threatened opponents, lied and oversaw mismanagement of church funds. The church said it found Driscoll had a domineering style with a quick temper and harsh speech, but noted that he was never charged with immorality or heresy. BIBLE STUDY-RESCUE Portales church group helps save an injured man PORTALES, N.M. (AP) β A Bible study group in Portales (pohr-TAL’-ehz), New Mexico, is credited with rescuing a man who was pinned under a pickup truck. Some members of the Church of the Nazarene rushed to the aid of the man this past Wednesday evening, lifting the vehicle off of him and pulling him to safety. The Portales News-Tribune says 47-year-old John Reilly was hospitalized in stable condition with a broken back and bruising on his face and chest, but was expected to recover. He apparently became pinned face-down under his pickup after it popped into gear while he was making repairs at his house adjacent to the church. About 10 church members managed to lift the truck high enough off Reilly for Nazarene pastor Johnny Pacheco to pull the injured man to safety. PAINTED PLOWS DISPUTE SD painted plow art could face cloudy legal fight SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) β Sioux Falls officials could face a legal fight over religious artwork that students painted on two city-owned snowplows. The Argus Leader reports that a disclaimer the South Dakota city plans to put on 27 student-decorated snowplows isn’t satisfying the artwork’s critics. Students at two Christian schools painted the blades for the city’s Paint the Plows program last month. One blade reads “Jesus Christ” and another says “Happy Birthday Jesus.” The Siouxland Freethinkers complained, saying the religious messages on city property violate separation of church and state. Sioux Falls officials said the disclaimer they’re adding will state that the city isn’t endorsing a particular point of view. An attorney working with the complainants, however, says the disclaimer won’t pass legal muster or resolve the issue. NIGERIA-VIOLENCE Nigerian extremist says kidnapped girls married MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) β With a malevolent laugh, the leader of Nigeria’s Islamic extremists tells the world that more than 200 kidnapped schoolgirls have all been converted to Islam and married off, dashing hopes for their freedom. “If you knew the state your daughters are in today, it might lead some of you … to die from grief,” Abubakar Shekau sneers, addressing the parents of the girls and young women kidnapped from a remote boarding school more than six months ago. In a new video released late Friday, the Boko Haram leader also denies there is a cease-fire with the Nigerian government and threatens to kill a German hostage. SUPREME COURT-BORN IN JERUSALEM Born in Jerusalem passport case returns to court WASHINGTON (AP) β The Supreme Court is taking its second look at a dispute over the wording of U.S. passports for Americans born in Jerusalem. The justices are hearing arguments today in a lawsuit filed by the parents of an American boy born in Jerusalem in 2002. The family is invoking a law passed just before the boy’s birth to try to force the State Department to list his place of birth as Israel on his U.S. passport. Administrations of both political parties have said the law is contrary to long-held U.S. policy that refuses to recognize any nation’s sovereignty over Jerusalem until the Israelis and Palestinians resolve the city’s status through negotiations. Two years ago, the justices rejected lower court decisions that called the matter a political issue that should be resolved by Congress and the president without the help of the courts. The federal appeals court in Washington then struck down the law as an unconstitutional intrusion by Congress on the president’s authority over foreign affairs. Sound: 248-v-32-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–The Supreme Court is taking its second look Monday at a dispute over the wording of U.S. passports for Americans born in Jerusalem. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (2 Nov 2014) < 249-c-17-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)-“status through negotiations”-AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports that the Supreme Court is hearing a dispute Monday over the wording on U.S. passports for Americans born in Jerusalem. (2 Nov 2014) < MIDEAST-HOLY FLASHPOINT Jerusalem on edge in row over contested shrine JERUSALEM (AP) β Seeking to ease tensions at the site of the biblical Jewish temples, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pledged to maintain a long-standing ban on Jewish worship at the Muslim-run site, despite demands for Jewish access from members of his coalition. Netanyahu’s reassurance to Muslims came just days after the religious feud over the shrine, known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount, threatened to spin out of control. Israel closed the compound for a day last week after a Palestinian shot and wounded Rabbi Yehuda Glick, who has campaigned for more Jewish access to the site. The gunman, who was killed the next day in a shootout with Israeli police, was hailed as a “martyr” by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Sound: 183-a-08-(Jane Kiel, a Jewish activist from Denmark, in AP interview)-“the Temple Mount”-Jane Kiel, a Jewish activist from Denmark, says she’s in Jerusalem to pray for an activist rabbi who was wounded by a Palestinian gunman last week. (2 Nov 2014) < 184-a-11-(Jane Kiel, a Jewish activist from Denmark, in AP interview)-“pray for him”-Jane Kiel, a Jewish activist from Denmark, says Rabbi Yehuda Glick has been campaigning for the right of Jews to pray at the site of the biblical Jewish Temples. (2 Nov 2014) < ISRAEL-CONVERSION Israeli Cabinet passes bill to ease conversion JERUSALEM (AP) β Israel’s Cabinet has passed a controversial bill aimed at easing conversion to Judaism in Israel. Sunday’s vote came despite political pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties on the prime minister to shelve the bill for fear of losing their monopoly over religious regulations in Israel. Under the new reform, municipal rabbis will be allowed to hold special conversion courts, thus expanding those entitled to perform conversions. The bill looks to smooth the conversion to Judaism for tens of thousands of people, many of them immigrants from the former Soviet Union, who currently don’t qualify under strict Jewish law and have trouble marrying in Israel or receiving a Jewish burial. Julie Schonfeld, a U.S.-based conservative rabbi, said the move would make conversion “more available and more accessible” in Israel. NORTH KOREA-FREED DETAINEE Ohio man held in North Korea hoped to aid church LEBANON, Ohio (AP) β An American who is back home after being detained in North Korea says he left a Bible in a nightclub hoping it would get into the hands of the underground Christian church. Jeffrey Fowle said Friday that he left the Bible under a trash bin at a nightclub in the northern city of Chongjinin in an effort “to carry the Gospel to all corners of the Earth.” Fowle had arrived in North Korea on April 29. He was detained after North Korean officials found the Bible. Fowle said he knew there was a risk but believed it was worth taking to get the Bible into the hands of North Korean Christians. In hindsight, he said, he wouldn’t do it again. Fowle was detained for nearly six months. He returned to his home in Ohio last month after negotiations involving retired diplomat and former Ohio Congressman Tony Hall. Sound: 286-a-14-(Jeffrey Fowle, American who was detained in North Korea, in AP interview)-“I was hoping”-Jeffrey Fowle says he miscalculated in deciding to leave a Bible in hopes a Christian would find it in North Korea. (2 Nov 2014) < 285-a-17-(Jeffrey Fowle, American who was detained in North Korea, in AP interview)-“to remote corners”-Jeffrey Fowle says he felt compelled to try to leave a Bible in North Korea to spread the word of God. ((note length of cut)) (2 Nov 2014) < NY-CATHOLIC CHURCH-REORGANIZATION Cardinal Dolan: 30 percent of NY parishes to merge NEW YORK (AP) β Cardinal Timothy Dolan has announced plans to merge almost a third of the parishes in the Archdiocese of New York. An advisory committee of clergy and other diocesan officials conducted a yearslong review before coming up with the plan to merge 112 parishes. The reorganization affects churches throughout the archdiocese and takes effect on Aug. 1, 2015. It was unclear what would be done with the unused churches and buildings. VATICAN-POPE POOR SAINTS Pope hails the poor, homeless as ‘unknown saints’ ROME (AP) β Pope Francis has paid tribute to what he calls the “unknown saints” β those who flee war, hunger and poverty, the jobless and the homeless. Francis marked the Catholic Church’s Nov. 1 All Saints Day by celebrating Mass and giving a homily Saturday in Rome’s sprawling Verano cemetery. He hailed those who are forced to flee their homes and villages to save their lives, risking hunger, illness and cold. He lamented that sometimes people regard these refugees, including hungry, ill children “as if they are of another species, not human.” Francis praised these suffering people as “unknown saints,” sanctified through their distress. Using his papacy to advocate for the poor, Francis said these people are pleading for peace, bread and work. MORMON EXCOMMUNICATION Excommunicated Mormon loses her appeal SALT LAKE CITY (AP) β The founder of a Mormon women’s group who was excommunicated this summer says she has lost her appeal. Kate Kelly’s organization, Ordain Women, said Friday that her appeal was denied by regional church leaders in Virginia, where she used to live. Kelly says she will now appeal to the worldwide leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was found guilty of apostasy, defined as repeated and public advocacy of positions that oppose Mormon teachings. Church spokeswoman Kristen Howey said church discipline is a private matter between members and their local leaders. Ordain Women was founded in 2013 to push for women to be allowed in the all-male lay clergy. The group staged demonstrations outside two Mormon conferences, drawing criticism from church leaders. GREECE-MONKS Greek police clear apartment used by rebel monks THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) β Dozens of Greek police have taken part in an operation to clear an apartment used as the headquarters of a rebel monastery whose monks have been declared schismatic by the Orthodox Church. Police said one monk and five supporters were in the apartment in Thessaloniki during the Friday’s raid, which followed a court order for the eviction. Riot police closed surrounding blocks to prevent supporters from hindering the operation. Monks from the 1,000-year-old Esphigmenou Monastery, in the self-governed Mount Athos monastic community near Thessaloniki in northern Greece, are in a bitter dispute with the Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians. They accuse the patriarch of treason for seeking better relations with the Catholic Church.
