SHOEBOX GIFTS-IRAQ
Christian ministry flies Christmas gifts, relief to Iraq
BALTIMORE (AP) β The Christian ministry Samaritan’s Purse is flying more than 60,000 shoeboxes packed with Christmas gifts to children in northern Iraq.
A 747 cargo plane loaded with the shoeboxes, clothing and food, took off from Baltimore-Washington International Airport Wednesday.
The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, says the Operation Christmas Child gifts and relief will be delivered to families in Iraq’s Kurdish region who have fled Islamic State militants.
Operation Christmas Child officials say Christians packed more than 10 million shoeboxes with gifts and messages this year for delivery to children around the world.
Graham said a boy who packed a shoebox with gifts and his picture 14 years ago was recently contacted through Facebook by the Philippine girl who received it. Graham said they fell in love, got married in October and asked everyone at their wedding to pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child this year.
Sound:
259-a-13-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, with reporters as cargo plane was being loaded)-“to the children”-The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, says the 747 is carrying 60,000 shoebox gifts to refugees in Iraq’s Kurdish region. ((cut used in wrap)) (10 Dec 2014)
< 258-w-35-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with the Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse)–A Christian ministry is flying more than 60,000 shoeboxes packed with Christmas gifts to children in northern Iraq. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (10 Dec 2014) < 262-a-08-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, with reporters as cargo plane was being loaded)-“pack a shoebox”-The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, says an Idaho boy who gave a shoebox 14 years ago when he was 8-years-old was recently contacted through Facebook by the Philippine girl who received it. (10 Dec 2014) < 261-a-13-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, with reporters as cargo plane was being loaded)-“this without you”-The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, says more than 10 million Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes are being delivered to children around the world. (10 Dec 2014) < 260-a-09-(The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, with reporters as cargo plane was being loaded)-“very little hope”-The Reverend Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, says the cargo plane is loaded with Christmas gifts, food and clothing for refugees who have fled Islamic State militants. (10 Dec 2014) < NOAH’S ARK PARK Kentucky: No tax breaks for Noah’s Ark project LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) β Kentucky has withdrawn its offer of tax breaks for a religious-themed park that would feature a 500-foot-long wooden ark. Tourism Secretary Bob Stewart says the planned project had evolved from a tourism attraction into an outreach for the Christian ministry that is building it. Stewart wrote in a letter Wednesday to the group’s lawyer that “state tourism tax incentives cannot be used to fund religious indoctrination.” He said the group was no longer honoring its pledge to not discriminate in hiring for the ark park. The long-planned Ark Encounter attraction is being built by a nonprofit subsidiary of Answers in Genesis, the Kentucky-based Christian ministry that operates the popular and controversial Creation Museum. The ark project got preliminary approval in July for up to $18 million in tax rebates. Mark Looy, vice president for outreach at Answers in Genesis, said in an email Wednesday that the group is exploring its legal options. SCHOOL VOUCHERS-COLORADO Colorado’s high court hears school voucher case DENVER (AP) β Colorado’s Supreme Court has heard arguments about a school voucher program that provides money for students to attend private schools, including religious ones. Opponents of the program in Douglas County told justices Wednesday that the vouchers violate state constitutional provisions barring the use of taxpayer money to fund religious schools. Supporters of the program told justices the vouchers simply provide parents a choice of where to send their children to school. They say the program does not harm other students, and that it doesn’t take away funding from school districts, as opponents argue. The Colorado Supreme Court will issue a ruling later. A lower appeals court upheld the Choice Scholarship Program last year. The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado and other groups appealed. GAY PRIDE SHIRTS Business appeals commission’s ruling LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) β A business in Lexington, Kentucky, has appealed a ruling by the city’s Human Rights Commission that it discriminated against an organization by refusing to print T-shirts for a gay rights festival. The owners of Hands On Originals argue that the ruling violates their freedom of religion and expression. Attorney Jim Campbell, who represents the owners, says they should not be forced to communicate a message they find morally objectionable. The Human Rights Commission decided in October that the business discriminated against the Gay and Lesbian Services Organization of Lexington in 2012 by refusing to print the shirts. The decision was based on Lexington’s adoption of an ordinance that prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. The appeal asks the court to overturn the commission’s ruling. It does not seek monetary damages. Sound: 269-a-10-(Jim Cambell, attorney representing Hands On Originals, in prepared statement)-“shirts would communicate”-Jim Cambell, attorney representing Hands On Originals, says T-shirt printer Blaine Anderson has no objection to serving or hiring gays. (10 Dec 2014) < 268-a-09-(Jim Cambell, attorney representing Hands On Originals, in prepared statement)-“fear of punishment”-Jim Cambell, attorney representing Hands On Originals, says his clients’ free speech and religious rights are being violated. (10 Dec 2014) < HANUKKAH-LIKE CHRISTMAS Hanukkah gifts echo Christmas themes NEW YORK (AP) β Hanukkah starts next week, and several Hanukkah-themed products inspired by Christmas are on sale this holiday season. For Jews who admire their neighbors’ Christmas trees, there’s now a Menorah Tree, designed so lights can be put on top for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights. Jewish author Abra Liberman Garrett, a fan of the Christmas story “Elf on the Shelf,” has written a new Hanukkah book called “The Maccabee on the Mantle.” And instead of a gingerbread house, Jews can buy a Hanukkah House with a candy star of David. It’s made by Manischewitz (man-ih-SHEV’-itz), best known for selling kosher wine and Passover Matzo. Dianne Ashton, a religion professor at Rowan University, says some Jews complain that Hanukkah shouldn’t be a Jewish reflection of Christmas. She says it’s like Christian complaints that “it’s difficult to keep Christ in Christmas with all the consumerism.” Sound: 233-w-31-(Ted Shaffrey, AP correspondent, with Abra Liberman Garrett, author of “The Maccabee on the Mantle”)–Hanukkah starts next week, and it’s starting to look a lot like Christmas. AP correspondent Ted Shaffrey reports. (10 Dec 2014) < 234-a-17-(Dianne Ashton, religion professor, Rowan University, in AP interview)-“all the consumerism”-Dianne Ashton, a religion professor at Rowan University, says not everyone is happy about merging Hanukkah with Christmas. ((note length of cut)) (10 Dec 2014) < 232-w-34-(Ted Shaffrey, AP correspondent, with Dianne Ashton, Rowan University religion professor)–This season, several Hanukkah-themed products inspired by Christmas are hitting store shelves. AP correspondent Ted Shaffrey reports. (10 Dec 2014) < ISRAEL-AMERICAN ARRESTED Lawyer: American arrested in Israel denies charges JERUSALEM (AP) β A lawyer for an American accused of trying to blow up Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem says his client calls the allegations “nonsense.” Israeli authorities have indicted 30-year-old Illinois-native Adam Everett Livvix on weapons charges. His lawyer, Gal Wolf, said Wednesday that Livvix claims the explosive material he is charged with possessing belonged to someone else. He denies accusations that he wanted to attack Muslim holy sites. Wolf says that after his arrest, Livvix was held for eight days without access to a lawyer. He says Livvix may have “psychological issues” that need to be assessed. Police said Livvix, posing as a former U.S. Navy SEAL, once turned down a Palestinian offer to assassinate President Barack Obama during his visit to the region in 2013. NYC SYNAGOGUE ATTACK Security stepped up after Jewish center stabbing NEW YORK (AP) β New York police are stepping up security at the headquarters of a major Jewish organization in Brooklyn after a mentally ill man wandered inside and stabbed a student. The man, Calvin Peters, was shot and killed by police. He was seen on amateur video waving a knife in the Chabad-Lubavitch (hah-BAHD’ loo-BAH’-vich) headquarters at 1:40 a.m. Tuesday after the attack on Levi Rosenblat. Rosenblat, wounded in the side of the head, was listed in stable condition. Police say the stabbing was not believed to be connected to terrorism. But it shook the Jewish community, which is still reeling over an attack on a Jerusalem synagogue by two Palestinian cousins last month that left four worshippers and an officer dead. 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VATICAN-FAMILY Pope gives his take on divisive family meeting VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis says bishops spoke their minds, and may have even fought among themselves during a divisive church meeting on family issues. But he says no one questioned the church’s teaching on marriage. Francis gave his first complete assessment of the October synod during his Wednesday general audience. He praised the attention that the media gave the meeting but complained that it was often portrayed as a sporting event, with factions squaring off, rather than an assembly of bishops with the pope present as a guarantor of orthodoxy. He sought to diminish the importance given to an interim, summary document that contained a groundbreaking welcome to gay and divorced Catholics, saying it wasn’t one of the three official texts. VATICAN-SINGING NUN Singing nun gives pope CD with ‘Like a Virgin’ VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis has a new addition to his music collection, and it includes “Like a Virgin.” Italy’s singing nun, Sister Cristina Scuccia, finally met Francis on Wednesday during his general audience. She presented him with a copy of her first CD, which features a remake of the Madonna hit. Scuccia won the Italian edition of “The Voice” in June with a series of pop song performances, romping around the stage in a full habit. While some privately questioned her behavior then, the Italian Bishops’ Conference went public with its criticism this fall when Scuccia included “Like a Virgin” on her first CD. The bishops said it was a commercial ploy. Scuccia defended her decision and said the song was like a prayer. POLAND-RITUAL SLAUGHTER Polish court overturns ban on ritual slaughter WARSAW, Poland (AP) β Poland’s constitutional court has overturned a ban on the ritual slaughter of animals which had affected the Jewish and Muslim communities. The Constitutional Tribunal ruled that the protection of animals could not take precedence over the guarantees of religious freedom. Though the judges did not rule unanimously, it is nonetheless a victory for Poland’s small Jewish and Muslim communities and for the agricultural industry, which in the past profited from the production of meat for export to Jewish and Muslim communities. Ritual slaughter, which involves the killing of livestock without stunning them first to reduce their pain, has been illegal since Jan. 1, 2013, due to a ban that the same court imposed after a campaign by animal rights activists. Wednesday’s ruling came in reaction to a complaint lodged by Poland’s Jewish community, which argued that the ban violated guarantees of religious freedom enshrined in Poland’s constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights. GERMANY-HUMANIST HOLIDAY Berlin grants humanist pupils own holiday BERLIN (AP) β Schools in Germany’s capitol have recognized World Humanist Day as a holiday on a par with All Saints’ Day, Yom Kippur and Eid al-Fitr. The decision means Berlin pupils who subscribe to humanism β a philosophy that rejects the existence of deities β can apply for a day off to celebrate their belief in the same way as Christians, Muslims and Jews do for their holy days. Arik Platzek, a spokesman for Germany’s Humanist Association, said Wednesday the decision “is a positive signal and a good example.” He says it will be the first sanctioned holiday for humanists in any of Germany’s 16 states “and as far as we know worldwide.” World Humanist Day was conceived in 1986 and takes place annually on June 21. It often falls on the solstice.
