SUBPOENAED SERMONS-HOUSTON
Houston withdraws subpoena requests for pastors
HOUSTON (AP) β Houston’s mayor says the city has withdrawn subpoenas seeking information from five pastors as part of a lawsuit over an ordinance banning discrimination against gay and transgender residents.
The religious leaders said the court orders violated their First Amendment freedoms.
Mayor Annise (ah-NEES’) Parker, who’s gay, said Wednesday that the subpoenas were never intended to infringe on anyone’s religious freedoms.
Attorney Andy Taylor, representing opponents of the ordinance, called the mayor’s actions a step in the right direction. But Taylor called on Parker to allow residents to vote on the ordinance passed in May by the Houston City Council.
The ordinance consolidates city bans on discrimination and increases protections for gay and transgender residents. City attorneys recently subpoenaed the pastors, seeking speeches, presentations or sermons related to the repeal petition effort.
226-w-28-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Mayor Annise Parker, City of Houston)–Houston’s mayor says the city has withdrawn subpoenas seeking information from five pastors as part of a lawsuit over an ordinance banning discrimination against gay and transgender residents. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (29 Oct 2014)
< 227-a-07-(Houston Mayor Annise (ah-NEES’) Parker, at news conference)-“pass them on”-Houston Mayor Annise Parker says her office has been flooded with hate mail and Bibles since the subpoenas were issued. (29 Oct 2014) < 220-a-08-(Mayor Annise (ah-NEES’) Parker, City of Houston, at news conference)-“five Houston pastors”-Houston Mayor Annise Parker says the city is no longer pressing subpoenas against pastors who opposed the city’s equal rights ordinance. (29 Oct 2014) < 221-a-14-(Mayor Annise (ah-NEES’) Parker, City of Houston, at news conference)-“appropriate city ordinance”-Houston Mayor Annise Parker says the subpoenas against pastors have become a distraction. (29 Oct 2014) < EVANGELICALS-GAY MARRIAGE Christians are urged to love, not judge, gays NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) β Speakers on the final day of a Southern Baptist conference titled “The Gospel, Homosexuality and the Future of Marriage” have stressed that it’s more important to love gays than to condemn their behavior. North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear publicly apologized Wednesday for the church’s failure to oppose anti-gay discrimination and abuse, but said the Bible is clear that God only designed sex to be enjoyed by a husband and wife. Greear said, “We can and should preach the possibility of sexual orientation change, but acknowledge that it may not happen in this life.” He urged evangelicals attending the three-day conference to look past a person’s sexual orientation to what everyone has in common, being “made in the image of God.” Sound: 253-a-12-(The Reverend J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., addressing conference on homosexuality and marriage)-“need your forgiveness”-The Reverend J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., says he’s sorry he and other Christians haven’t defended gays from unfair attacks. (29 Oct 2014) < 255-a-15-(The Reverend J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., addressing conference on homosexuality and marriage)-“he has said”-The Reverend J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., says the Bible condemns gay sex. (29 Oct 2014) < 256-a-15-(The Reverend J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., addressing conference on homosexuality and marriage)-“and Jesus’s lordship”-The Reverend J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., says homosexuality isn’t the unforgiveable sin. (29 Oct 2014) < 257-a-13-(The Reverend J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., addressing conference on homosexuality and marriage)-“image of God”-The Reverend J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church of Raleigh-Durham, N.C., says people are more than their sexual orientation. (29 Oct 2014) < 217-w-32-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with the Reverend Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)–More than a thousand evangelicals who believe gay sex is sinful are attending a conference hosted by the Southern Baptist Convention. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (28 Oct 2014) < PAINTED PLOWS DISPUTE Mayor: Sioux Falls plow blades keeping Jesus theme SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) β The mayor of Sioux Falls says the South Dakota city won’t paint over religious messages that Christian school students put on city-owned snow plow blades unless it is legally forced to do so. Mayor Mike Huether told KELO radio that the city is holding firm in its position unless “some Supreme Court case says that I have to.” Students at Lutheran High School and Sioux Falls Lutheran School painted the plow blades as part of the city’s Paint the Plows program. One blade features the words “Jesus Christ” and the other says “Happy Birthday Jesus.” The Siouxland Freethinkers complained to the city, saying the religious artwork on publicly owned vehicles violates separation of church and state. Lutheran High School Principal Derek Bult told the Argus Leader that he was contacted by a city official last week and told to have students repaint the plow blades, or city staffers would. Bult said he was so pleased with the mayor’s comments Tuesday that he organized an afternoon assembly to surprise students. Sound: 217-a-05-(Mayor Mike Huether (HYOO’-thur), City of Sioux Falls, in interview)-“painting over them”-Sioux Falls Mayor Mike Huether says the city won’t remove religious messages from its snow plows. COURTESY: KELO Radio ((mandatory on-air credit)) (29 Oct 2014) < 216-w-33-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor, with Mayor Mike Huether, Sioux Falls, S.D.)–The mayor of Sioux Falls says the South Dakota city won’t paint over religious messages that Christian school students put on city-owned snow plow blades, unless it is legally forced to do so. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (29 Oct 2014) < 218-a-10-(City Attorney Dave Pfeifle (FYF’-lee), Sioux Falls, in interview)-“all the parties”-Sioux Falls City Attorney Dave Pfeifle says the city doesn’t want to paint over the religious messages painted on snow plows by students. COURTESY: KELO Radio ((mandatory on-air credit)) (29 Oct 2014) < ARAB FEST-CHRISTIANITY Full appeals court will rehear Arab fest case DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) β A federal appeals court has agreed to take another look at a First Amendment claim made by Christian evangelists who were told to leave an Arab-American street festival or be ticketed by police in suburban Detroit. It’s rare for the full appeals court to rehear a case. Appeals are handled by three-judge panels at the Cincinnati-based court. But the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has set aside a 2-1 decision from August. In that opinion, a panel said sheriff’s deputies didn’t violate the free speech rights of a group called Bible Believers. In 2012, members were pelted with rocks after they denounced Islam, carried a pig’s head and called Muhammad a false prophet. Wayne County authorities said they threatened to ticket the evangelists because they were concerned about safety. The dissenting judge said that while the preaching was offensive, police should have tried “to control the lawlessness” of the crowd instead of stifling free speech. Sound: 215-v-34-(Steve Coleman, AP religion editor)–A federal appeals court has agreed to take another look at a First Amendment claim made by Christian evangelists who were told to leave an Arab-American street festival, or be ticketed by police in suburban Detroit. AP Religion Editor Steve Coleman reports. (29 Oct 2014) < CREATIONISM-MICHIGAN STATE Creationism conference planned at Michigan State EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) β A planned event on creationism at Michigan State University is raising concerns among faculty and graduate students. MLive.com reports that the Saturday conference includes workshops such as “The Big Bang is Fake” and “Hitler’s Worldview,” on how evolution influenced the views of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. The Origin Summit is sponsored by the group Creation Summit, which aims to promote creationism in places which it feels have banned teaching creationism. Creation Summit director Mike Smith says the conference aims to show scientific evidence of intelligent design and won’t promote Bible verses or sermons. Faculty members and students have contacted university officials to voice their displeasure with the summit. An MSU spokesman says the public university feels it’s important to allow the event to happen because it encourages free speech and academic freedom. VATICAN-EBOLA Pope praises ‘heroic’ responders to Ebola VATICAN CITY (AP) β Pope Francis has praised what he calls the “heroic” response by doctors, nurses and volunteers helping contain the Ebola epidemic and has called for renewed international efforts to defeat the virus. Francis also asked for prayers for Ebola victims during his Wednesday general audience, noting that Ebola is striking parts of Africa where some of the world’s most disadvantaged people live. He said that he was gravely concerned about this “implacable illness” and was praying for those infected as well as those “who are heroically doing everything possible to care for our sick brothers and sisters.” Sound: 139-r-21-(Sound of Pope Francis, in Italian, in address during weekly general audience via Vatican TV)–Sound of Pope Francis, in Italian, saying: prayers go out to those who’ve contracted Ebola, and to all the doctors, nurses and volunteers, “who heroically devote themselves to saving our brothers and sisters taken ill.” (29 Oct 2014) < 138-r-20-(Sound of Pope Francis, in Italian, discussing the Ebola crisis in West Africa, in address during weekly general audience)–Sound of Pope Francis, in Italian, discussing the Ebola crisis in West Africa, saying: all efforts possible should be directed at the worsening Ebola crisis, the “relentless disease” that is spreading “especially among the most impoverished people.” (29 Oct 2014) < MUSIC-ELTON JOHN GALA Elton John at AIDS event: Pope Francis is my hero NEW YORK (AP) β Elton John, at his annual AIDS benefit, has called Pope Francis “my hero” for his compassion and his push to accept gays in the Catholic church. John hosted the event, “An Enduring Vision: A Benefit for the Elton John AIDS Foundation,” Tuesday night in New York City. He said Francis is pushing boundaries in the church and told the crowd: “Make this man a saint now, OK?” Catholic bishops scrapped their landmark welcome to gays earlier this month, showing deep divisions at the end of a two-week meeting sought by Francis to chart a more merciful approach to ministering to Catholic families. An earlier draft of the document offered a welcoming tone of acceptance, but that was stripped away. Elton John called Francis “a compassionate, loving man who wants everybody to be included in the love of God.”
