CHARLESTON SHOOTING-BISHOP
Bishop says guns, racism persist after Charleston shootings
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Church says racism and gun violence continue to plague the nation nearly two months after the killing of nine parishioners at a South Carolina church’s Bible study.
Bishop John Richard Bryant says the congregation of Emanuel AME Church in Charleston “demonstrated the Christian gospel better than any theologian in any seminary.”
But he told an audience at the National Press Club in Washington that the nation is “still stuck with racism” and what he characterized as a toxic love affair with guns. Bryant said, “It’s like owning a pit bull that keeps biting people, and you keep defending it because you love it.”
But he denounced proposals to allow guns in church for self-defense, saying parishioners should trust God instead.
271-a-11-(African Methodist Episcopal Bishop John Richard Bryant, speaking at the National Press Club)-“you love it”-AME Bishop John Richard Bryant says Americans have a toxic love affair with guns. ((longer version of cut used in wrap)) (12 Aug 2015)
< 272-a-08-(African Methodist Episcopal Bishop John Richard Bryant, speaking at the National Press Club)-“to trust God”-AME Bishop John Richard Bryant says he opposes measures that would allow guns in church for self-defense. (12 Aug 2015) < 274-a-11-(African Methodist Episcopal Bishop John Richard Bryant, speaking at the National Press Club)-“week after week (second reference)”-AME Bishop John Richard Bryant says he wonders how white churches can ignore poor minorities. (12 Aug 2015) < 273-a-10-(African Methodist Episcopal Bishop John Richard Bryant, speaking at the National Press Club)-“cannot be silent”-AME Bishop John Richard Bryant says black churches must continue to speak out against racism. (12 Aug 2015) < 275-a-14-(African Methodist Episcopal Bishop John Richard Bryant, speaking at the National Press Club)-“seminary. All right”-AME Bishop John Richard Bryant says the church where nine people were slain in Charleston, South Carolina, has promoted healing and reconciliation. (12 Aug 2015) < GAY MARRIAGE-KENTUCKY Judge orders Kentucky clerk to issue gay marriage licenses FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A county clerk in Kentucky will not immediately issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, despite a federal judge ordering her to do so. Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis’s attorney, Roger Gannam, says Davis does not intend to issue any licenses until all of her appeals are exhausted. Davis was one of a handful of local elected officials across the country that stopped issuing all marriage licenses after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in June. Two gay couples and two straight couples sued her in federal court in the first lawsuit of its kind in the country. Davis argued that issuing a marriage license to a same-sex couple that contains her signature is the same as her approving the marriage, which she said violates her Christian beliefs. But U.S. District Judge David Bunning rejected that argument, saying Davis has likely violated the U.S. Constitution’s ban on the government establishing a religion by “openly adopting a policy that promotes her own religious convictions at the expenses of others.” MUSIC-DOVE AWARDS Rapper Lecrae leads Dove Awards nominations with 7 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Christian rapper Lecrae leads the pack of nominees for the 46th annual Dove Awards with seven nominations, including artist of the year, thanks to his chart-topping album, “Anomaly.” The Gospel Music Association announced on Wednesday the nominees for the awards, which will be held on Oct. 13 in Nashville, Tennessee. The Grammy-winning Lecrae, who was a co-host of the awards show in 2014, topped the Billboard 200 albums chart last year with his seventh studio album. Brothers Joel and Luke Smallbone, who perform as for KING & COUNTRY, have five nominations including artist of the year, and Crowder, Matt Maher (MAHR) and Chris Tomlin have four nominations each. Francesca Battistelli, Kari Jobe and Mercy Me round out the artist-of-the-year nominees. 251-v-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–Christian rapper Lecrae leads the pack of nominees for the 46th annual Dove Awards. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (12 Aug 2015) < LANDMARK CHURCH CLEANUP Volunteers helping repair grounds of landmark church COLUMBUS, Ind. (AP) — A community group is pitching in to clean up the property around a landmark church in Columbus, Indiana, that was badly damaged during severe storms last month. Leaders of North Christian Church say a contractor’s estimate was $18,000 to remove around 17 trees that were toppled in the storms. That’s more than church members can afford. Brooke Hawkins of the Landmark Columbus group tells The Republic newspaper that members of other religious congregations and neighbors have volunteered to help with Saturday’s cleanup project, including limb removal, weeding and lawn maintenance. The church is one of seven National Historic Landmarks in Columbus. It was finished in 1964 and is topped by a slender 192-foot spire. ROCKFORD CHURCH-ROOF Rockford woman spends 8 days church roof to raise $15,000 ROCKFORD, Ill. (AP) — An Illinois woman has come down after spending eight days on top of her father’s church to raise $15,000 for a new roof. Jacqueline Sharp of Rockford says she feels relieved and blessed to have raised the money for Ephesian Missionary Baptist Church. Her father, the Rev. Norris F. Flannigan, started the church in 1982. Sharp tells the Rockford Register Star that she climbed a ladder and started camping out on the roof on Aug. 2. She says the church’s roof is leaking and an insurance claim was denied, leaving the entire cost to the church’s congregation. Donations came in slowly at first but on Sunday three Rockford congregations brought donations. An online campaign raised money as well. Other people dropped off donations or would stay and chat with Sharp, who climbed down on Monday. POPE-PHILADELPHIA-CUTOUTS Life-size cutouts of Pope Francis pop up ahead of US visit PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Pope Francis isn’t scheduled to touch down in the U.S. until late next month, but he’s already popped up at a Philadelphia Phillies game and at the Battleship New Jersey. Cardboard cutouts of the pontiff have been appearing all over the Philadelphia region, generating buzz about his upcoming trip. Kathy McDade posed with the faux Francis near Independence Hall so she could brag to her family about spotting the famous figure. Pope Francis plans to visit Philadelphia Sept. 26-27 for the World Meeting of Families, a Catholic conference designed to bring families closer together. Nancy Caramanico, digital content manager for the World Meeting of Families, says bringing the cutout to various sites on “Philly Francis Fridays” has proved popular with both Catholics and non-Catholics. The staff encourages people to post their pictures on social media using the hashtags #PopeinPhilly or #WMF2015. KANSAS CITY DIOCESE-APOLOGIES Kansas City Diocese apologizes to victims of priest abuse KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph has apologized to victims of priest sexual abuse and invited them to a series of prayer services, but some say the move is inadequate and does little to prevent further abuse. The diocese sent letters last week from Archbishop Joseph Naumann and placed ads to let those “affected by any form of sexual abuse” know about the services. Naumann, of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas, has been apostolic administrator of the neighboring Kansas City-St. Joseph Diocese since the resignation of Bishop Robert Finn. Finn also issued a public apology in 2008 to abuse victims as part of a $10 million settlement. But the Kansas City Star reports that when victims asked for a similar apology to be part of a settlement in another case, the diocese refused. Finn resigned last April, three years after he was convicted of failure to report suspected child abuse by a now-imprisoned priest. ANTI-MUSLIM AD-BUSES Federal court: Anti-Muslim group can’t post ads on buses SEATTLE (AP) — A federal appeals court says an anti-Muslim group can’t post ads on Washington state buses showing photos of terrorists and saying the FBI offers a $25 million reward for their capture. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected the claim by the American Freedom Defense Initiative that King County violated its free-speech rights. The group sought to display an ad with 16 photographs and a “Faces of Global Terrorism” tagline. King County Metro Transit rejected it, saying the ad failed to meet its policy guidelines, which include that ads be accurate. The court agreed that the FBI claim was false, saying the bureau doesn’t offer rewards and the State Department offers only $5 million for the capture of a pictured terrorist. The group’s lawyer says it will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. ISLAMIC STATE IS affiliate in Egypt releases image of slain Croat captive CAIRO (AP) — A grisly photo circulating on social media suggests that a Croatian hostage kidnapped in Egypt has been beheaded. A caption says the 30-year-old oil and gas surveyor was killed because of Croatia’s participation in the war against the Islamic State group. It would be the first killing of a foreign captive in Egypt since the extremist group established a branch there last year. Egypt’s Al-Azhar institute, the top center of religious learning for Sunni Muslims, has condemned the killing, calling it a “demonic act” contrary to all religion. It also offered condolences to the Croatian people and government and to the victim’s family. The statement also says that under Islamic law, or Shariah, it is forbidden to shed the blood of foreigners, adding that what the “terrorists” did was a betrayal of the Prophet Muhammad and all Muslims.
