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Ministry Spotlight: Prison Fellowship

August 12, 2010 – 7:28 am | 21 views

Continuing with the ministry spotlight, WordJourney turns its focus to Prison Fellowship Ministries, a Christian outreach to the incarcerated and their families.

Founded: In 1976 by Chuck Colson, a former aide to President Nixon who himself was involved in the Watergate cover-up and was imprisoned. Prison Fellowship International (PFI), the global …

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NYC Seeks to Toss Churches From Schools

January 27, 2012 – 5:32 pm | 123 views

City seeks to separate churches from the state.

Religious liberty is under attack in New York City.

The city of New York is a melting pot, one of the most diverse places on earth. Scores of languages are spoken within its five boroughs and with every major religion well represented. Although the city has welcomed hundreds of millions of people with open arms down through the years, a recent city crackdown on Christian churches and orthodox Jewish congregations meeting in public schools has some people upset.

Pending Expulsion

Last December, city officials set a February 12 deadline for the approximately 60 religious organizations that have been holding services in city schools. As of that date the effected churches will be barred from holding worship services in public schools and will be forced to congregate elsewhere reports the New York Times.

Churches only began to meet in New York schools following a 2002 decision by a judge who allowed this practice. Since then, the city has issued more than 60 permits to congregations to meet for religious services. The New York City Department of Education, however, has been battling to overturn that judge’s earlier decision and in June 2011 a full panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit upheld a 3-judge panel’s decision to toss an injunction that allowed churches to meet in NYC public schools for the previous nine years.

ADF Defense

Fighting on behalf of The Bronx Household of Faith, which meets at Public School 15 in the Bronx, is the Alliance Defense Fund. In Bronx Household of Faith v. Board of Education of the City of New York , the ADF sought to have the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, but in December the court declined. That set up the Feb. 12 deadline by the city.

As the deadline approaches, concerned citizens are contacting city hall and asking Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Board of Education to delay its eviction order. Pastors and other religious leaders have called for people to march with them across the Brooklyn Bridge at 3:30 p.m. this Sunday, Jan. 29, first meeting in Cadman Plaza Park in Brooklyn to rally and pray before marching. Marchers plan to cross the bridge and meet at City Hall.

Setting a Precedent

Churches and other religious groups that currently meet in public schools around the nation will need to follow what is unfolding in New York. With the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to hear the Bronx case and city officials bent on evicting the churches, this may set a precedent for any city across the United States of America to do likewise.

On Feb. 2, the New York City Council Education Committee will hold a hearing to urge the New York Legislature to require the Board of Education to change its policy. That bill has bipartisan support and is moving to the state Senate floor.

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Is Your Plate Full?

January 18, 2012 – 2:20 pm | 6 Comments | 152 views

Americans tend to eat too much, Christians included. We are a nation that has been blessed with abundance, but so many of us find it difficult to eat balanced meals and in portions that are suitable to sustain us. We’re encouraged to “supersize” our meals and the thought of passing …

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FamilyLife Seeks to Aid Military Marriages

January 8, 2012 – 6:38 am | 48 views

Multiple deployments take its toll on military families.

Long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have meant that thousands of our military men and women complete multiple deployments before finally returning home for good. The extended time abroad leads to marital strain, making it difficult for couples to get back together again. …

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Making God’s Word New to You This Year

January 3, 2012 – 4:18 am | 5 Comments | 49 views

Consistent Bible reading makes for a stronger Christian walk.

I’m taking all of these suggestions I’ve been hearing over the past week to read the Bible regularly to heart. Regular Bible reading isn’t new to me, but disciplined reading on a daily basis is something that I only put back into …

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And So It Is Christmas

December 23, 2011 – 12:05 am | 17 views

Merry Christmas to you and yours!
We’re celebrating the birth of our Savior whose sole mission was to die for our sins. Jesus’ death on the cross may seem hard to balance with his lowly birth in a manger, but the two events go hand in hand.

Without Jesus …

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Paying It Forward This Christmas Season

December 18, 2011 – 6:28 am | 18 views

Season of good cheer brings out Christmas joy in many.
It is the Christmas season and once again we’re hearing people complain about the crass commercialism, the pervasive securalization and the rudeness of shoppers as they fight over sale items. These accounts are true, but thankfully they are not taking away …

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How to Experience True Joy This Christmas

December 11, 2011 – 5:50 am | 19 views

It is Christmas time – the annual season of joy where we celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. However, you may be one of any number of Christians who just isn’t feeling it this year. Maybe you have had a terribly difficult year, having experienced the loss of …

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