EVANGELIZING PORTLAND KIDS
Evangelical group meets opposition in secular Portland
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) β The arrival of an evangelical Christian group in heavily-secular Portland, Oregon, has raised the ire of some residents.
Child Evangelism Fellowship is hosting child-oriented gatherings called Good News Clubs throughout the city this week. The organizers hope to bring in children between the ages of 5 and 12.
Opponents of the group say it presents a fundamentalist view of Christianity that should be rejected. Protect Portland Children took out a full-page newspaper ad to oppose the outreach.
Child Evangelism Fellowship vice president Moises Esteves (MOH’-ses ES’-te-veez) says the group is trying to engage with a younger audience that may not have heard the gospel message. He says opponents are part of an atheist effort to dismantle Christian outreach.
Sound:
285-v-31-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–The arrival of an evangelical Christian group in heavily-secular Portland, Oregon, has raised the ire of some residents. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (22 Jul 2014)
< HISTORIC CHURCH FIRE Maryland church built in 1773 ravaged by fire HEBRON, Md. (AP) β Authorities say a 241-year-old church on the National Register of Historic Places has been ravaged by fire in Hebron, Maryland. The state fire marshal’s office says the fire was reported at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church just before midday Tuesday. Officials say nearly 100 firefighters from Maryland and Delaware fought the flames. No injuries were reported. The Rev. Ronald Knapp, St. Paul’s pastor, told The Daily Times of Salisbury that the wood-frame building that burned had been in place since 1773. A church website says it has been used as a place of worship since before American independence. The cause of the fire is under investigation. US-SUDAN Congressional hearing to focus on Christian woman stuck in Sudan WASHINGTON (AP) β Members of Congress want to know why the Sudanese Christian woman whose death sentence for apostasy was overturned remains stuck in Sudan. A House hearing today will focus on the plight of 27-year-old Meriam Ibrahim, who was released from prison with her children last month after giving birth in shackles. Ibrahim, whose father was Muslim, was convicted of apostasy for marrying a Christian. She insists she was never a Muslim, but was raised as a Christian from the beginning. When Ibrahim, her husband and children tried to leave Sudan after her release, they were stopped and held for questioning. Her husband, Daniel Wani, who holds American citizenship, said Sudanese authorities accused his wife of forging her travel documents β a charge he denies. In recent weeks, the family has found refuge inside the U.S. embassy in Khartoum, where they await what they hope will be permission to fly to the United States. But New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith, who will chair today’s hearing, says there are renewed efforts in Sudan to return Ibrahim to prison. Sound: 282-a-08-(U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., in AP interview)-“will be arrested”-New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith says Meriam Ibrahim and her family have found refuge in the U.S. embassy in Sudan’s capital. (22 Jul 2014) < 283-a-12-(U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., in AP interview)-“as a Christian”-New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith says Meriam Ibrahim risks arrest if she steps outside the U.S. embassy in Khartoum. (22 Jul 2014) < 284-a-10-(U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., in AP interview)-“prayer for them”-New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith says his congressional hearing will turn a spotlight on Meriam Ibrahim’s plight. (22 Jul 2014) < 281-a-12-(U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., in AP interview)-“especially the family”-New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith says Meriam Ibrahim and her family had hoped to be in the U.S. by now. (22 Jul 2014) < IRAQ Iraq Christians flee with little more than clothes IRBIL, Iraq (AP) β Iraqi Christians who fled the northern city of Mosul rather than convert to Islam by a deadline imposed by extremist militants said they had to leave most of their belongings behind, and gunmen then stole much of what they managed to take with them. Most Christians fled to the largely autonomous Kurdish region after the Islamic State group and other Sunni militants captured Mosul on June 10 β the opening move in the insurgents’ blitz across northern and western Iraq. Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf says the following Sunday was the first one in 1600 years without a Christian Mass in Mosul. The number of Christians in Mosul dwindled further after the militants gave them a deadline of last Saturday to convert to Islam, pay a tax or face death. In a House floor speech Tuesday, the Wolf called the attacks on Iraqi Christians “genocide” and a crime against humanity. Sound: 259-a-06-(U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., in House floor speech)-“said in Mosul”-Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf says Islamic militants who overran Mosul on June 10th have persecuted and driven out the city’s ancient Christian community. (22 Jul 2014) < 258-a-05-(U.S. Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., in House floor speech)-“Iraq is genocide”-Virginia Congressman Frank Wolf says Iraqi Christians are victims of a crime against humanity. (22 Jul 2014) < 263-w-31-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf)–The U.S. is condemning Islamic militants who have made thousands of Christians flee for their lives from Iraq’s second-largest city. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (21 Jul 2014) < EUROPE-GAZA PROTESTS Germany, France, Italy condemn anti-Semitic demos BERLIN (AP) β The foreign ministers of Germany, France and Italy are condemning the rise in anti-Semitic protests and violence over the conflict in Gaza. In a joint statement Tuesday, they said, “Anti-Semitic rhetoric and hostility against Jews, attacks on people of Jewish belief and synagogues have no place in our societies.” Since the outbreak of violence between Israel and Hamas, participants at anti-Israel demonstrations across Germany have frequently used anti-Semitic slogans and also called for Jews to be gassed β a reference to the killing of Jews by the Nazis in the Holocaust. In France, pro-Palestinian youths have clashed repeatedly with police, and on Sunday set fire to cars, pillaged stores and attacked two synagogues in the Paris suburbs. At a hearing in Washington Tuesday of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, Rabbi Andrew Baker said many European Jews fear they’ll be attacked by Muslim radicals “returning from Syria looking for local targets.” Sound: 265-a-05-(Rabbi Andrew Baker, personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, U.S. Helsinki Commission, at U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing)-“that’s clearly anti-Semitic”-Rabbi Andrew Baker, the U.S. Helsinki Commission’s personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, says European capitals are being disrupted by anti-Israel protesters. (22 Jul 2014) < 266-a-08-(Rabbi Andrew Baker, personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, U.S. Helsinki Commission, at U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing)-“200 worshippers inside”-Rabbi Andrew Baker, the U.S. Helsinki Commission’s personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, says some protesters are targeting Jews. (22 Jul 2014) < 264-a-11-(Rabbi Andrew Baker, personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, U.S. Helsinki Commission, at U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing)-“several European capitals”-Rabbi Andrew Baker, the U.S. Helsinki Commission’s personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, says anti-Semitism has increased in Europe amid the new Israeli-Palestinian war. (22 Jul 2014) < 267-a-13-(Rabbi Andrew Baker, personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, U.S. Helsinki Commission, at U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing)-“for local targets”-Rabbi Andrew Baker, the U.S. Helsinki Commission’s personal representative on Combating Anti-Semitism, says European Jews are fearful of Muslim militants. (22 Jul 2014) < 120-c-16-(Charles de Ledesma, correspondent)-“acts and statements”-Correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports European foreign ministers have spoken out against what they say is a rise in anti-Semitism in their countries amid protests against the conflict in Gaza. (22 Jul 2014) < 119-v-28-(Charles de Ledesma, correspondent)–Senior officials in Europe have condemned anti-Semitic protests and attacks in the wake of the Gaza conflict. Correspondent Charles de Ledesma reports. (22 Jul 2014) < NIGERIA-KIDNAPPED GIRLS-HOMETOWN 11 parents of Nigeria’s abducted girls die LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) β In the three months since Islamic extremists kidnapped more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls, 11 of their parents have died according to town residents. The town where the girls were kidnapped, Chibok, is cut off by militants, who have been attacking villages in the region. Seven fathers of kidnapped girls were among 51 bodies brought to the Chibok hospital after an attack on a nearby village this month, according to a health worker who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisals by the extremists. A community leader says at least four more parents have died of heart failure, high blood pressure and other illnesses that the community blames on trauma due to the mass abduction 100 days ago. President Goodluck Jonathan met Tuesday with parents of the 219 kidnapped Nigerian schoolgirls and some classmates who managed to escape from Islamic extremists. BRITAIN-EXTREMISM Report finds Islamic plot to control UK schools LONDON (AP) β A British government investigation has found evidence that Muslim fundamentalists successfully gained control of some schools to promote aggressive religious values. The report published Tuesday said some young students in Birmingham, Britain’s second-largest city, were encouraged to “adopt an unquestioning attitude to a particular hard-line strand of Sunni Islam.” It also criticized the Birmingham City Council for failing to alert authorities of practices that made teachers worry that pupils were learning to be intolerant of diversity. Investigators did not find any evidence of violent extremism. The investigation followed an anonymous letter that triggered several inquiries, one of which found “a culture of fear and intimidation” in some Birmingham schools. MUSLIM WOMAN ASSAULTED Muslim group wants Michigan assault investigation MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) β A Muslim civil rights group wants Michigan authorities to investigate a reported attack on a Muslim woman as a possible hate crime. The Council on American-Islamic Relations says three people allegedly attacked a 26-year-old woman in a shopping mall parking lot in Meridian Township on Saturday. It says they attempted to pull her dress and face veil off before knocking her down and shouting expletives at her. The group says she was hospitalized for 36 hours for chest pain and numbness in her left arm. A Meridian Township police officer tells the Lansing State Journal authorities responded to an assault complaint at the mall Saturday. He declined to discuss details but said no arrests had been made by Monday afternoon.
