GAY MARRIAGE-KENTUCKY
Clerk who opposes gay marriage: ‘I am a soldier for Christ’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) β The Kentucky clerk who attracted national attention when she refused to license same-sex marriages has described herself in an email to a supporter as a “soldier for Christ.”
The Associated Press obtained Kim Davis’ emails under the Kentucky open records law. They offer some insight into her state of mind in the weeks leading up to the five nights she spent in jail for defying a federal court order and refusing to issue the licenses.
She described the ordeal as “a firestorm” and “chaotic” and complained that others were trying to “make a whipping post out of me!!”
But she told supporters she had “weighed the cost, and will stay the course.”
Davis told one correspondent, “I desire your prayers. I will need strength that only God can supply.”
287-v-32-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–The Kentucky clerk who attracted national attention when she refused to license same-sex marriages has described herself in an email to a supporter as a “soldier for Christ.” AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (21 Oct 2015)
< HYMNS-KEITH GETTY Getty reflects on what makes a great hymn WASHINGTON (AP) β Keith Getty says the great hymns of the Christian faith “have a great message, and most of them tend to have quite a rich deep lyric.” But he says that “for them to last over time” they need a timeless melody. Getty notes that most of the melody for “In Christ Alone,” which he co-wrote with Stuart Townend, is pentatonic. That means it can be played with five notes, like “Amazing Grace” and many of the world’s folk melodies. In the 15 years since they wrote it, “In Christ Alone” has become one of global Christianity’s most popular hymns. In concert, Keith Getty lets his wife, Kristyn, take the lead. With a mixture of admiration and humility, he says, “Part of that is because she’s a great singer and I’m a terrible singer, and part of that is she’s just more attractive than me.” The Gettys’ latest CD and DVD, “Joy β An Irish Christmas Tour,” has been released in advance of this year’s Christmas tour, which starts next month. Sound: (3:06 a.m. audio feed) CHURCH KILLING Brother beaten inside church testifies against sister NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. (AP) β A judge has ruled that prosecutors presented enough evidence to warrant grand jury action against the half-sister of two brothers who were beaten, one fatally, at a central New York church. New Hartford Town Justice William Virkler ruled after hearing testimony Wednesday from 17-year-old Christopher Leonard about the attack this month that left him injured and his 19-year-old brother, Lucas, dead. Their half-sister, Sarah Ferguson, is charged with assault and will continue to be held on $50,000 bail. The Leonards’ parents, Bruce and Deborah Leonard, face the most serious charge so far: manslaughter. Three other congregants of the Word of Life Church are also charged with assault. All have pleaded not guilty. Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara says he will ask a grand jury to consider numerous charges in the case. He hasn’t ruled out charges against others. 279-v-35-(Julie Walker, AP correspondent)–The teen beaten up in a Central New York church along with his brother who was beaten to death, says they were ordered to answer for what their parents and other church members say they did. AP correspondent Julie Walker reports. (21 Oct 2015) < 338-a-10-(District Attorney Scott McNamara, Oneida (oh-NY’-duh) County, with reporters)-“the grand jury”-Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara says it hasn’t been determined yet whether the pastor of the church — where two teenage boys were severely beaten — will face charges in the attack, even though she wasn’t present. (21 Oct 2015) < 337-a-15-(District Attorney Scott McNamara, Oneida (oh-NY’-duh) County, with reporters)-“against his sister”-Oneida County District Attorney Scott McNamara says he feels for the trauma that 17-year-old Christopher Leonard is going through, as the wounded teen testified in court against his half-sister, Sarah Ferguson. (21 Oct 2015) < CHURCH BUS CRASH Driver in fatal Indiana church bus crash charged with using cocaine GREENFIELD, Ind. (AP) β A church bus driver is charged with using cocaine before a crash near Indianapolis in July that killed a 6-year-old boy and injured 11 other people. Hancock County prosecutors have charged 54-year-old Charles Goodman with causing death when driving while intoxicated by a controlled substance after blood test results showed signs of cocaine use. Goodman, of Chicago, was driving a group from Gary’s St. Jude Deliverance Center to a religious convention in Ohio on July 28 when the 15-passenger bus went out of control and overturned on Interstate 70. County Prosecutor Brent Eaton said investigators suspected Goodman was intoxicated because a passenger said he seemed unfocused while driving. Goodman also is charged with reckless homicide and driving with a suspended license. He suffered a broken arm and a fractured jaw and has been jailed since he was released from a hospital the week following the crash. CHURCH FIRES-ST LOUIS St. Louis police step up patrols after spate of church fires ST. LOUIS (AP) β St. Louis police are stepping up patrols and trying to develop profiles of possible suspects in a spate of fires that have damaged six churches in largely black neighborhoods during the past two weeks. Police Chief Sam Dotson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the churches damaged during the suspicious fires Oct. 8 through Oct. 18 vary denominationally and are within a few miles of each other. Four are on St. Louis’ north side, and two are in nearby Jennings. Dotson’s comments came the same day the reward for information leading to an arrest doubled to $4,000. Five of the churches are predominantly black, and one is racially mixed. In each case, the front doors were set on fire, leaving damage that ranged from virtually nothing at one church to the near destruction of another. MARIJUANA-RELIGION Man pleads guilty to growing pot; religion defense fails GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) β A man has pleaded guilty to a federal marijuana charge in Michigan after failing to convince a judge that he had a religious right to grow pot. Branden Barnes of Marshall claims to be a Native American “medicine man” who considers marijuana to be a sacrament protected by the First Amendment. But federal Judge Janet Neff rejected the argument. The Grand Rapids Press says Barnes pleaded guilty Tuesday to growing more than 50 marijuana plants. About a year ago, Lansing firefighters responding to a gas leak summoned police, who found 321 plants. Barnes said he was a member of a Native American church that accepts people who pay a fee. He will be sentenced on Jan. 28. SCHOLARLY BOOKS FRAUD Man pleads guilty to fraudulent sale of scholarly books BOSTON (AP) β A Massachusetts man has pleaded guilty to fraudulently selling non-existent scholastic books to universities, seminaries and churches. Richard Stanley Haugh was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court to 20 months in prison, which he has already served, and was ordered to pay $167,883 in restitution. Haugh had been indicted on 30 counts mail fraud but fled to Colombia in the early 1990s. He was located in 2014 and extradited to the U.S. From November 1989 to November 1990, prosecutors say Haugh claimed to be a theology scholar whose company provided translations of rare, early Christian works. Through a mail marketing scheme, he defrauded more than 150 universities, seminaries, churches and individuals. After his sentencing, Haugh was turned over to Belmont, Massachusetts, police for prosecution on unrelated sexual assault charges. PRIESTS HIT BY PAINTBALLS Priests hit by paintballs outside Pittsburgh Orthodox church PITTSBURGH (AP) β A Pittsburgh church is considering installing surveillance cameras after two visiting priests were hit by paintballs over the weekend. The Rev. Patrick Carpenter is the pastor of Holy Assumption of St. Mary Russian Orthodox Church. Carpenter says he and two priests from other churches went to dinner Sunday night. When they returned, someone fired paintballs at Carpenter’s friends as he went inside to disable a security system so he could let them in. The priest says his friends weren’t badly hurt but were shocked by the attack. Carpenter says he doubts the paintball shooter targeted them because they were priests because the visitors were wearing civilian clothes. Police are hoping a witness will come forward to identify the car or the paintball shooter riding inside it. POLAND-GAY PRIEST Polish church suspends priest who is gay and has boyfriend WARSAW, Poland (AP) β A Polish priest who lost his job at the Vatican earlier this month after revealing that he is gay and has a boyfriend has been suspended by the church in Poland from performing the functions of a priest. Krzysztof Charamsa, 43, came out as gay and criticized the Vatican for its approach to homosexuality on the eve of a major meeting of world bishops in Rome. The Vatican immediately fired him from his job with the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith. On Wednesday Charamsa’s home diocese of Pelplin said Charamsa has been suspended as a priest for his way of life and can no longer wear priestly vestments. It said the punishment can be reversed if he returns to the “true teaching of the church and Christ’s priesthood.” SPAIN-SAGRADA FAMILIA CHURCH Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia begins work on immense towers BARCELONA, Spain (AP) β Barcelona’s breathtaking La Sagrada Familia Basilica has begun its final phase of raising six immense towers that officials say will make it Europe’s tallest religious building. Chief architect Jordi Fauli says the central “Tower of Jesus Christ,” the tallest of the six, will be 566 feet high. The towers and most of the church’s structure should be completed in 2026. The basilica, an emblematic fixture of the Barcelona skyline and a major tourist site, had its first stone laid in 1882. It is 70 percent complete. It received over 3.2 million visits in 2014. SINGAPORE-PASTOR CONVICTED Singapore megachurch head guilty of embezzling $35 million SINGAPORE (AP) β The founder of a popular Southeast Asian church has been found guilty of misappropriating about $35 million in donations to support his wife’s singing career in Asia before helping her break into the U.S. market for evangelization purposes. Kong Hee, the founder and senior pastor of Singapore’s City Harvest Church, was found guilty Wednesday with five other church leaders of stealing $17 million designated for building and investment-related purposes through sham bond investments. The State Court also found that they used another $18 million to hide the first embezzlement from auditors. No date for sentencing has been set yet. The penalty for criminal breach of trust is a maximum sentence of life.
