June 17, 2010
Photo by Vicki Harris
Stories this photo appears in:
Easter Sunday was one to savor
Religion column
Those who return to church this Sunday will note that their places of worship aren’t full like last Sunday. They will notice less crowded parking lots, nursery and pews and mournfully ask, “Where is everybody? Why can’t we be as full as we were last week?”
Hospital prayer can be challenging
Religion column
Most pastors are able to pray through almost anything. Offering public prayer in a variety of settings toughens one’s resolve to stay the course when invoking the divine. Every pastor has prayed through buzzing wasps, crying babies, ringing phones, crashing thunder, wailing trains, sonic booms, insistent sirens and bored parishioners.
Pew poll results raise concerns for churches
Religion column
There is much intriguing data in a comprehensive religion survey released last summer by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Guns not welcome in houses of worship
This week’s column is offered as a public service to readers who intend to pack your pistol to next week’s worship service at the mosque, synagogue or church.
Georgia casino is a bad gamble
Notice to all middle-aged, middle-class women looking for a little excitement! North Georgia real estate developer Greg O’Leary is riding to your rescue with a proposal to expand Georgia gambling. Mr. O’Leary, according to reports, has been working on a proposal for eight years to build a casino along the interstate in Norcross.
To sell or not to sell, a church?
The New York Times carried an article, March 31, 2012, about one of three real estate agents in the U.S. who deal exclusively in the sale of church buildings. Reporter Mark Oppenheimer’s story about David and Mary Raphael of Azusa, California, “Building a Business on Churches for Sale”, carried enough fascinating material in it for numerous columns.
Sunrise service helps capture beauty of Easter
There is something quite egalitarian about a sunrise service. You might be an unemployed carpenter sitting right next to the CEO of a major bank. There might be people whose total repertoire of church music would be “Jesus Loves Me” and “Amazing Grace” standing right next to a person who knows their church hymnal frontward and backward.
Grief comes without rules
I recently heard a wise hospice counselor clergyman speak movingly about grief. Practically everyone faces grief either for the death of a significant person, a dearly loved pet or even the death of a cherished ideal.
Pope should make meeting in Cuba
A non-event may become the most noteworthy event of the March 23-29th Pope Benedict XVI visit to Cuba and Mexico.
Word a particularly bad choice
Author Jonah Lehrer has written a book on how to foster and encourage creativity. As one who preaches and writes weekly I need all the creativity I can get and someday I may pick up his book, though it would have been sooner except for one unnecessary word in the book’s excerpt in the March 10-11, 2012 Wall Street Journal.
Doing without food takes doing
I’ll eventually order the book because of the absolutely creative title: “Flunking Sainthood: A Year of Breaking the Sabbath, Forgetting to Pray, and Still Loving My Neighbor” by Jana Riess. Ms. Reiss focused on a different spiritual practice each month for a year, documenting her failures and successes in this book.
Iron chain song turns to platinum
Sometimes it takes a long time for a story to develop and what looks bleak at the time can turn out very differently.
Here are a few words of praise...
How many controversial topics can one list regarding faith and values right now? It’s enough to make one want to crawl in a cave until the presidential election is over.
Contraceptive issue a complex one
The national health insurance plan has created another controversy with the Obama administration’s proposed rules mandating that charitable religious agencies (hospitals, colleges, etc.) provide preventative women’s health options (contraceptives, morning-after pills). Religious people with strong opinions are angry, indignant and inflexible. (Take the Quik Quiz by going to Creede Hinshaw's column.)
Faith, politics not completely separable
The National Prayer Breakfast was held this month for 3,500 guests with President Barack Obama speaking.
No civility on Capitol Hill
Every election cycle produces heated rhetoric but some in our country think partisan bashing, hate-filled comments and bitterness have reached new lows. One political veteran observes that Congress hasn’t been this divided since the 1850s, a period marked by such inability to find common ground that we eventually made war on ourselves.
Don't be afraid to ask questions
I write in praise of asking questions. (Who asked the first question in the Bible? Click on Creede's column and take the quiz to find out.)
Tebow verbalizes his faith
What if your surname became so common — due to your behavior — that it became a verb?
Government officials need prayer, too
Do you pray for those who in serve in our government? At the dawn of what will prove to be a long year of focusing on government at every level, one of the most important things the ordinary citizen can do is to pray steadfastly and consistently for our leaders and those who seek to be leaders.
Resolution can be source of strength
We keep on resolving to do some things annually because well, we need to keep on doing those things annually! Though it is always in vogue to make snide remarks about those who keep on making new year’s resolutions without ever keeping them you won’t hear me joining that chorus.
Angels come in so many forms
The Christmas story is replete with angels, those mysterious celestial beings known to Christians, Jews and Muslims.
Star shone brightly over Bethlehem
‘Tis the season when the Christian world remembers a star that shone brightly over a manger at Bethlehem, pointing the way for wise men from the east to pay homage to the newborn Jesus (Matthew 2).
A silent night isn’t easily found
Tony Perrottet recounts his hike to the floor of Maui’s Haleakala crater, a dormant Hawaiian volcano (“Into the Volcano,” Smithsonian, December 2011) where “... the silence is absolute.
No victors in church vs. church
A friend handed me a grocery bag full of accusations, suspicion and indignation last week.
Church fight more than brick and mortar
Earlier this week in Christ Church in Savannah et al. v. Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia the Georgia Supreme Court ruled decisively in favor of the Episcopal Church USA, perhaps bringing a long legal battle over the ownership of an historic Savannah church property to an imminent conclusion.
Government has no say in ordination
How would you like the federal government to help decide which men and women in your faith community are worthy to be ordained or have their ordination rescinded?
Protest puts church in sticky situation
What happens when the British protest version of Occupy Wall Street pitch their tents outside one of the wealthiest churches in London?
Churches observe Reformation Sunday
Listening to Martin Luther’s famous hymn “Ein Feste Burg (A Mighty Fortress),” I remember the courageous, larger-than-life priest and theologian who nailed his 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, on All Hallows’ Eve, Oct. 31, 1517.
Church in perilous times in Egypt
The news out of Egypt this week concerning Muslim-Christian relationships is not good.
Fiery pastor made America better
Word came this past Wednesday of the death of civil rights pioneer the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth.
Smallest church in America is a proud accomplishment
Last week, returning to Savannah from Saint Simons Island on “back road” U.S. 17, I enjoyed the moss draped scenery, the small towns, the marsh and the feel of rural Georgia.
Vincent strikes out on tax complaint
Former commissioner of Major League Baseball Fay Vincent recently served up a curve ball in a Wall Street Journal op ed piece (Sept. 16, 2011, page A11) titled “Soak the Rich?
Religious persecution still thriving
According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released Aug. 9, almost 2.2 billion people live in nations where restrictions on religion have substantially increased, according to the Lauren Markoe of the Religion News Service.
Finding our way back home
Ten years ago this coming week, churches and synagogues were packed to overflowing.
Nida sought to make Bible accessible
Eugene Nida died this week in Brussels, Belgium, age 96. Though unknown to many, The Rev. Nida was a groundbreaking leader in the field of biblical translation.
Church giving healthy during difficult times
Are religious organizations experiencing a sharp decrease in contributions due to the economic climate? Anecdotal evidence might support such a conclusion. Some congregations are reducing staff; the Crystal Cathedral (California) reported a 27 percent drop in revenue in 2009 and some surveys indicate lower levels of support on the part of many Americans.
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