Today is the feast day of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386) who has one of the best quotes on respecting parents: “For however much we may repay them, yet we can never be to them what they as parents have been to us.”
[Read more...]
So the time is finally here. The season most of our folks long for and the children actually pine for is here but are we as a church ready to fulfill those longings? Recently I sat in a team meeting where the focus wasn’t on planning for the Advent season but it did come up. My sense was that as a church we really weren’t ready for this moment. By that I mean we were not ready to educate our congregation about the meaning of the season.
[Read more...]
In 1996, Catholic Bishop Pierre Claverie of Algeria was martyred after a lifetime of serving the Christian and Muslim community in that country. Bishop Claverie was convinced that Jesus’ model for table ministry was the key to Islamic-Christian relations. A review of his biography, recently translated into English is featured below.
[Read more...]
It has been a few weeks since I posted - (the week on the beach at Hattaras was divine). I thought that I might toss out a discussion starter to tap into our collective scripture & historical expertise. The article below addresses a question that I hear often: Why do Catholic Bibles have more books than Protestant Bibles? The article is the Catholic response with additional input from me at the end. I am curious to see samples of Protestant responses to this issue.
[Read more...]
Don’t miss CNN’s upcoming program “God’s Warriors”
Correspondent Christiane Amanpour presents a three part (Jewish, Muslim, Christian) documentary in the “God’s Warriors” series that will be airing on CNN at 9 pm Tuesday through Thursday evenings (Aug. 21-23) next week.
This can make for a great home Bible study. Invite some friends for viewing and discussion!
The following is from the book Myths: Fact and Fiction about Teaching and Learning by Israel Galindo. How well do you know fact from fiction?
MYTH: Penicillin kills bacteria.
[Read more...]
It is my privilege to serve on the Development Team of Cross Over Ministry, a non-denominational, Christian-based organization that serves the needs of the uninsured in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. The mission of Cross Over Ministry is “To provide health care, promote wellness and connect the talents and resources of the community with those in need in the name of Jesus Christ.”
[Read more...]
I’ve been reading up on heresies lately. In the course of my readings I was inspired by the words of confession from the Athanasian Creed (also know as the “Quicumque vult”). The creed is authoritative to Catholic, Anglican, and some Protestant churches. I remember it as one we would recite on occasion in our Baptist church when I was a liturgically overly-attentive child.
[Read more...]
Five members of the Greater Richmond Area Christian Educators (GRACE) peer learning group took a field trip to The Center for Church Understanding of Islam and a local mosque, The Islamic Center of Virginia in November of 2006. The event was put together by GRACE member, Marty Canaday, Minister of Christian Formation at the Derbyshire Baptist Church (Richmond, VA) as a small group learning experience to facilitate greater understanding of Islam and dialogue between Christian and Muslim leaders. Dr. Charles Beckett, Director of The Center for Church Understanding led the GRACE group in an orientation to Islam through a tour of the Center and arranged a tour and dialogue with the administrative director of a local mosque. After the tour the group met over lunch for discussion with Dr. Beckett. They shared impressions and pondered questions about their experience.
[Read more...]