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This page contains an archive of the last 100 entries posted to ProgressNow.org Daily News Digest in the Religion category. They are listed from newest to oldest. You can find older entries using the search box below.

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February 29, 2008

Sabbath hoops controversy deflected -- for now : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/29/twin-losses-sideline-controver...
And on the seventh day, the Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy Tigers will rest. Both the boys and girls basketball teams of the Jewish high school lost Thursday night to the Shining Mountain Lions of Boulder, thus eliminating the Tigers from tournament play and avoiding a conflict where they would have had to put their faith ahead of their athleticism. The twin losses sideline a looming controversy over whether the teams should have been allowed to compete in the tournament at times that did not conflict with the Jewish Sabbath. That controversy remained unresolved as the Colorado High School Activities Association stood by its position that the schedule of games in a March 8 tournament in Sterling could not be adjusted to allow the Tigers to play after sundown on Saturday. The boy's team played a nail-biter, trailing most of the game but keeping it close in a 38-35 loss.
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February 28, 2008

Lawmakers call a foul over team's Sabbath showdown : Colorado Government : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/28/lawmakers-call-a-foul-on-stanc...
A group of lawmakers put on a full-court press to salvage a Jewish team's chance at a regional high school basketball championship, but it failed to score. The Colorado High School Activities Association board stood firm Wednesday on its refusal to reschedule the March 8 championship game so the Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy wouldn't have to play on the Jewish Sabbath. State Senate leaders called the CHSAA decision inflexible and "despicable." One lawmaker suggested the CHSAA could face a discrimination lawsuit for allowing games on the Saturday Jewish Sabbath, but prohibiting play on the Sunday Christian Sabbath. The religious beliefs of the Jewish team from Denver prevent it from playing on the Jewish Sabbath between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday. March 8 falls on Saturday, and the game is scheduled before sundown.
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Jewish athletes lose off court - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8386606...
The Colorado High School Activities Association board reaffirmed Wednesday that it will not jump through hoops to reschedule regional and state basketball finals for a Jewish team that won't play on Saturdays — their Sabbath. Several state lawmakers pressed the association to push back a March 8 regional finals game until after sundown that Saturday so that the Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy could compete. The Herzl/RMHA Tigers still have one game to win before securing one of two regional berths. The school's girls team is in the same situation. "We made the accommodation for them at the district level," CHSAA Commissioner Bill Reader said. "It's difficult to reschedule at the regional level; it's impossible at the state level." In an afternoon news conference, state Senate President Peter Groff, D-Denver, called the association's refusal "despicable." The players, Groff said, "should be given the opportunity to win the championship they've worked for."
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Church killer's parents tell of their grief - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8385953...
A young man who killed four people at a Colorado Springs church and an Arvada missionary training center had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and harbored bitterness for being an outcast, his parents said in their first extended comments. Matthew Murray gave no indication that he was about to explode in violence, though, they said in an interview to be broadcast today and Friday on James Dobson's Focus on the Family radio program.
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February 27, 2008

Faith first : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/27/faith-first/...
The tall, lanky kids on the Herzl/Rocky Mountain Hebrew Academy basketball team have a lot of faith in one another and in their ability to play. That much was evident Tuesday night as the Tigers rolled over Belleview Christian School, 68-39, notching their 12th win of the season against two defeats. Yet with every point they pumped in, the Tigers came a bit closer to a premature end to their memorable season because of their faith. Their religious beliefs compel them not to play on the Jewish Sabbath between sundown Friday and sundown Saturday. If the Tigers win again in a semifinal game Thursday, they will play for their district championship Saturday night. But they will not be able to advance to the CHSAA regional finals because those games are played during the day on Saturday, March 8. The team learned earlier this month that its request for a schedule accommodation had been turned down by the board of the Colorado High School Activities Association.
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February 26, 2008

Americans restless in search for God - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8362744...
Americans are shopping for religion, and brand loyalty is in decline, according to a landmark survey released Monday. More than a quarter of adult Americans polled have left the faiths they were raised in to join another religion or to belong to no religion at all, according to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. Pew's latest survey, based on interviews with more than 35,000 adult Americans in May through August, shows a dynamic and diverse religious landscape, researchers said. The survey confirms trends such as the declining loyalty of people in traditional U.S. denominations, especially among mainline Protestants and Catholics. The country, long home to a strong Protestant majority, now stands at 51 percent Protestant and is on the verge of becoming home to a Protestant minority, according to the survey, which has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus less than 1 percentage point.
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February 25, 2008

Survey quantifies Denver Catholics - The Denver Post

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8347456...
A recent Catholic Archdiocese of Denver survey showed that 51 percent of Catholics living within its boundaries describe themselves as "fervent" or "faithful," the church reported this week. Of those surveyed, 29 percent described themselves as "detached doubters" or as disagreeing with some church teachings. And 20 percent said they are "uncomfortable with their personal spirituality" and "seeking something more." The archdiocese's 2008 directory indicates that 407,500 people were registered Catholic parishioners as of 2006.
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February 22, 2008

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Former pastor pleads guilty in child-porn case

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1203694502/18...
The former pastor of Church of God of Prophecy in Pueblo, Elie Quinonez, pleaded guilty Wednesday to having child pornography. His attorney, Janine Yunker, an assistant federal public defender, told a judge that Quinonez will not seek a sentence of fewer than five years in prison when he is sentenced. U.S. District Judge Walker Miller told Quinonez, 35, the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. The judge said under the circumstances of Quinonez's crime that sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence in a range of between 7 years and nine years.
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February 21, 2008

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Former pastor pleads guilty in child-porn case

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1203609413/21...
The former pastor of Church of God of Prophecy in Pueblo, Elie Quinonez, pleaded guilty Wednesday to having child pornography. His attorney, Assistant Federal Public Defender Janine Yunker, told a judge that Quinonez will not seek a sentence of fewer than five years in prison when he is sentenced later. U.S. District Judge Walker Miller told Quinonez, 35, the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. The judge said under the circumstances of Quinonez's crime that sentencing guidelines recommend a sentence in a range of between 7 years and nine years.
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February 20, 2008

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Catholic diocese to close two parishes in Pueblo

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1203526028/3...
Two of the churches that constitute the three-parish complex known as the Historic Southside Community are scheduled to close shop after services on March 30, the Sunday following Easter. That means that approximately 226 households belonging to St. Patrick Church, 226 Michigan St., and about another 240 family units who pray at Our Lady of the Assumption Church, 900 E. Routt Ave., will have to worship at St. Mary Help of Christians Church, 307 E. Mesa Ave., or at other churches of their choosing. Members of the parishes were notified at Masses last weekend of the Pueblo diocese's decision to close the churches. A press release was e-mailed to The Pueblo Chieftain on Tuesday morning over the signature of Barbara Duff, who is in charge of the diocese's business and finance office.
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February 18, 2008

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Judge gives Marianists, diocese access to accusers' identities

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1203141600/9...
A Pueblo judge ruled Wednesday that a religious order and the Pueblo Catholic Diocese will be privy to the names of defendants who filed suits under John Doe pseudonyms alleging abuse by a teacher at a parochial school. Twenty-four men have filed suit in Pueblo district court against the diocese and the Society of Mary religious order, better known as the Marianists. The suits allege that former Marianist Brother William Mueller conducted bizarre experiments that involved knocking out the boys with ether and in many instances sexually molesting them. Mueller taught at Roncalli High School in Pueblo from the time it opened in 1966 until it closed in 1971. Each of his accusers in the Pueblo suits attended the all-boys school. In addition to the Pueblo plaintiffs, another 16 accusers in Missouri and Texas claim in either police reports or lawsuits that Mueller molested them.
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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Document found in church sex cases

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1203228000/4...
A 35-year-old insurance policy, highly important to lawsuits of former Roncalli High School students in Pueblo who claim a teacher abused them, recently was found in an Avondale church. The liability insurance policy, issued to the Pueblo Catholic Diocese, also is an issue in a coverage dispute between the diocese and the insurance company responsible for the policy. The diocese and the Marianists, a religious order that operated Roncalli for the diocese, contend the policy obligates North River Insurance Co. to cover the costs of the ex-students' lawsuits. Twenty-four students have alleged in lawsuits that the diocese was negligent regarding the former Marianist teacher, Brother William Mueller, and that they were victims of his abuse. A number of the plaintiffs-students have alleged that Mueller persuaded them to help him in phony graduate-level studies, then used ether to knock them out and committed sexual assaults that ranged from fondling to sodomy.
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February 15, 2008

Colorado Daily News - Imagine there's no heaven

http://coloradodaily.com/articles/2008/02/14/news/c_u_and_boulder/news3.txt...
After several others have failed to establish a permanent atheist group at CU, the CU Secular Alliance has made its entry. The Alliance, which was started in January, meets once a month to allow non-believing students to have a place to discuss certain philosophies along with other topics, such as film and politics. Though there are many faith-based organizations on campus, Allison Catalano, a sophomore at CU, started the Alliance after she felt like there was no place for student atheists to assemble and get to know each other. There is, however, an atheist group for the larger Boulder community.
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February 11, 2008

Aspen Times News - Grace Church case goes federal

http://aspentimes.com/article/20080211/NEWS/169248448...
With both God and the federal government on their side, members of the Grace Church of the Roaring Fork Valley hope to build a new church in Emma, but neighbors who have filed a recent lawsuit are bringing the fight. Pitkin County commissioners denied the 2005 application from Grace Church, a nondenominational congregation of more than 100 that currently meets in El Jebel. Church officials then filed a federal suit under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which forbids local governments from impeding anyone’s right to worship. Faced with a slew of precedents where churches won out over local governments, and fearing they would lose control of the project and see a megachurch on the 18-acre site along Highway 82 in Emma, downvalley from Basalt, county commissioners settled the case and granted Grace Church the right to build.
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February 7, 2008

Changes urged in abuse-suit law : Colorado Government : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/07/changes-urged-in-abuse-suit-la...
People who said they were sexually abused as children urged state lawmakers Wednesday to change the law to allow victims to sue as adults. "Children cannot tell. We are ashamed. We are terrified," said Marilyn Van Derbur, who said her father began abusing her when she was 5. Van Derbur, a former Miss America, and others told the House Judiciary Committee that child-abuse victims are often in their 40s or older before they can come to terms with what happened. Currently, victims have until age 24 to sue an alleged molester and the institution he or she worked for. Proposed House Bill 1011 by Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, would get rid of that time limit in future cases. People who have cases that are now barred because of those limits would be given two years to bring a lawsuit.
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Haggard ends team's oversight of 'restoration' : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/07/haggard-ends-teams-oversight-o...
A team appointed to oversee Ted Haggard's "spiritual restoration" after scandal forced him to end his ministry at New Life Church has agreed to his request to end their oversight of his recovery program. New Life Church issued a statement Tuesday saying it believes that the termination of the relationship is premature, but would not say why. Earlier in the process, church leaders had said they assumed that Haggard's recovery could take several years. The Colorado Springs evangelical congregation that Haggard founded also said it remains convinced that he should not return to any church ministry. A year ago, Haggard voluntarily entered into an arrangement with a team of "overseers" to guide what it called his "spiritual restoration" after a scandal that rocked the 14,000-member church community over Haggard's admitted "sexual immorality." While Haggard never specified, a Denver man accused him of engaging in sex with him. Haggard is now living in Phoenix and will remain as a member of Phoenix First Assembly of God. There, Pastor Tommy Barnett will maintain what New Life called an "accountability relationship."
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The Denver Post - A wider window for sex-abuse suits

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8189691...
John Patrick Michael Murphy was 7 the first time he says a Catholic priest molested him, in a trailer at a church camp in Allenspark. It wasn't until Murphy was in his 40s that he could tell his parents about what he suffered. "The priest was all-powerful in my young life," Murphy, a retired Colorado Springs attorney who is now 62, said Wednesday in a House Judiciary Committee hearing. "Only the bishop could bring down a priest, not some young child." By the time Murphy had the courage to confront those ugly days in his life, the statute of limitations for pursuing a court case against the priest or the church officials Murphy believes protected the priest had passed. Now, a state representative is making another try to give victims of childhood sexual abuse more time to sue their abusers or the institutions that were complicit in the abuse. House Bill 1011, sponsored by Rep. Gwyn Green, D-Golden, would lift the statute of limitations for any new or recent sexual-abuse case. It would also create a two-year window so that victims whose statute of limitations has run out could still file a case.
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New Life duo going to D.C. prayer event : Local News : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/feb/07/new-life-duo-going-to-dc-praye...
Two pastors of New Life Church will be guests of Sen. Ken Salazar at the National Prayer Breakfast this morning in Washington, D.C., in part to highlight the resiliency of a faith community under challenge. On Dec. 9, gunman Matthew Murray entered the New Life campus in Colorado Springs and opened fire, killing two sisters and wounding others before he was shot by a security guard and then killed himself. A year ago, the church was caught up in a scandal involving founding pastor Ted Haggard, who acknowledged "sexual immorality" and resigned. Salazar, D-Colo., will introduce President Bush at the 56th annual prayer breakfast.
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February 6, 2008

Headlines: SUNRISE: Haggard exits restoration process early | haggard, life, new - Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/haggard_32813___article_pluck.html/life_new.html...
New Life Church said Tuesday that former pastor Ted Haggard has prematurely ended a "spiritual restoration" process begun when he was fired for sexual misconduct. Haggard was fired from New Life Church and resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals in November 2006 after a former male prostitute alleged they had a cash-for-sex relationship. The man also said he saw Haggard use methamphetamine. Haggard confessed to undisclosed "sexual immorality" and said he bought meth but didn't use it. New Life said in a written statement that "the process of restoring Ted Haggard is incomplete and (New Life) maintains its original stance that he should not return to vocational ministry." Haggard and his family moved to Phoenix last year. As part of a severance package that paid Haggard through 2007, he agreed to leave Colorado Springs and not talk about the scandal publicly. But Haggard made public an e-mail asking for financial support, drawing a rebuke from the restoration team. Haggard couldn't be reached.
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The Denver Post - New Life cuts last ties with Haggard

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8179778...
The relationship between Ted Haggard the Colorado Springs mega-church he founded is over, according to a statement from New Life Church this evening. Haggard was fired from the church in November 2006 after he admitted to "sexual immorality," presumably the allegations made by a gay Denver escort who said Haggard paid him for sex over a three-years. The statement notes that Haggard agreed to "a process of spiritual restoration" in January 2007, but now has asked to end his relationship with the church. Haggard could not be reached for comment. "Ted Haggard's leadership of New Life Church for many years was extraordinary and the depth of spiritual maturity that is found today in the church is in large part attributed to his leadership as the founding senior pastor," the statement said, adding that the church's "overseers" and "restorers" would not make further comment about Haggard's "spiritual restoration." New Life added that Haggard has joined another mega-church, Phoenix First Assembly of God, and that its founding pastor, Tommy Barnett, is overseeing an "accountability relationship" with the disgraced Colorado pastor.Barnett could not be reached Tuesday night. New Life has been at odds with its former pastor since he left.
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February 4, 2008

The Denver Post - 2 missionaries killed in C-470 accident

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8159707...
Two missionaries from Colorado Springs on their way to a church in the foothills west of Denver were killed Sunday morning when the driver of a sport utility vehicle apparently had a medical emergency and his SUV collided with the minivan they were riding in. Two women — among six people in the minivan — were killed when it rolled several times off C-470 near Santa Fe Drive about 10:15 a.m. after it was hit by a Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to Littleton police. The van's occupants were connected to Mission Training International, a Palmer Lake center that prepares missionaries for overseas duty, the organization confirmed Sunday night.
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February 1, 2008

The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Judge upholds Marianists' suit against insurer

http://pueblochieftain.com/metro/1201878789/6...
A judge Thursday refused to throw out most of the lawsuit against an insurance company by a religious order that staffed the former Roncalli High School in Pueblo. U.S. District Judge Walker Miller denied the request of the company to dismiss all of the lawsuit filed by the Marianist order, known as the Society of Mary. The Marianists and the Pueblo Catholic Diocese contend in the lawsuit that North River Insurance Co. is obligated under insurance policies to cover the lawsuits of about 25 former Roncalli students. Many of the lawsuits allege the students were sexually abused by a former Marianist teacher, Brother William Mueller. The Marianist sued in October because a year earlier North River sued, seeking a judge's declaration that the company is not obligated under insurance policies issued in the 1960s and 1970s. That is the period when the former students claim Mueller's abuse occurred.
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Aspen Times News - Emma Caucus sues county, Grace Church

http://aspentimes.com/article/20080201/NEWS/503453791...
A bitter battle is shaping up over a proposed church in Emma. In the wake of a recent county settlement approving a 15,000-square-foot facility along Highway 82 in Emma, local caucus members filed a lawsuit Thursday against the Pitkin Board of County Commissioners and Grace Church of the Roaring Fork Valley Inc. In 2005, the county board denied an application for a new Grace Church in Emma. (The parish currently rents space in El Jebel.) Church officials then filed a federal lawsuit claiming the board violated their civil rights under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUPA), which protects religious institutions. Fearing a big loss in federal courts, the county board agreed to a settlement on Jan. 9 that overturns the 2005 denial and allows approximately 15,000 square feet of new buildings and 197 parking spaces on the 18-acre site. Emma is downvalley from Basalt. “This property is really not the right place for an institution this size,” said Emma Caucus chairman George Newman.
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January 31, 2008

Q&A with Archbishop Chaput on proposed bill : Colorado Government : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/30/q-archbishop-chaput-proposed-b...
Archbishop Charles Chaput called House Bill 1080 an "attack on religious identity" in his weekly column appearing in last week's Denver Catholic Register. He subsequently answered questions about the bill in an e-mail exchange with the Rocky Mountain News:
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Faith groups oppose crackdown on religion-based hiring : Colorado Government : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/31/faith-groups-oppose-bill/...
Ten faith-based organizations joined forces at the state Capitol Wednesday to blast an employment discrimination bill as the death knell for traditional social missions and "a drastic departure from Colorado state law." The eclectic group included the Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, Protestant-evangelical Focus on the Family, and Avista Adventist Hospital, run by the Seventh-day Adventists. Under House Bill 1080, faith-based organizations that run programs using public money couldn't hire using their own religious standards. Instead, they would have to abide by state law, which last year added sexual orientation and religion to the list of categories that can't be used to discriminate in hiring. The bill's sponsor has said she's willing to work with nonprofits to ease their concerns. Nonetheless, the groups fear the measure can't be fixed. Under the bill, for example, the Denver Rescue Mission, whose slogan is "changing lives in the name of Christ," could no longer require employees to affirm they are Christian, spokeswoman Greta Walker said.
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The Denver Post - Bill rankles religious groups

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8123493...
Representatives of a dozen religious organizations gathered Wednesday at the Capitol to protest a bill they say would take away their right to make faith-based hires in social ministries using tax dollars to help the poor and needy. Officials from Catholic Charities of Denver, Focus on the Family, Denver Rescue Mission, Colorado Christian University and others said that if House Bill 1080 passes, they might close their doors rather than abandon their religious identities. "Faith-based nonprofits are spurred to social action by their deeply held religious beliefs," said Jim Pfaff, president of Colorado Family Action. "Asking them to compromise their convictions not only breaches their religious liberties, but it is asking them to deny the very tenets that compel them to social action," he said. The draft bill says that religious organizations cannot hire using a religious preference "any person whose position is funded from such government funds."
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The Steamboat Pilot & Today: Steamboat religious leaders meet tonight to discuss salvation

http://steamboatpilot.com/news/2008/jan/31/steamboat_religious_leaders_meet_toni...
Respectful religious dialogue may not be common in a world strewn with religious divisions and war, but tonight’s “Exploring the Sacred” discussion of salvation aims to continue Steamboat Springs’ courteous exchange of ideas. “We bring religious leaders of various faiths together because they are the moral compasses for our community,” said Marchele McCarthy, who hosts the periodic discussions with her husband, Tim McCarthy. “They may disagree on the issues, but it’s a respectful dialogue, and if you can’t do this on the local level, then there is no hope.” Representatives from the Buddhist, Baptist, Methodist, Jewish, Mormon, Baha’i and Catholic faiths meet tonight in Olympian Hall at Howelsen Lodge to express their religion’s doctrine on what is salvation. The event begins at 6:30 p.m.
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January 30, 2008

The Denver Post - Religious groups feel bullied by proposal

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8113391...
State Rep. Alice Madden said a flawed draft of a bill, meant to repair a 2007 statute dealing with employment discrimination, has given her a little taste of hellfire. The Catholic Archdiocese of Denver and Focus on the Family have attacked Madden's draft, which would prevent faith-based organizations that accept government funds from hiring people of a particular religion to carry out their charitable missions. Archbishop Charles Chaput said the bill appeared to be an attempt "to bully religious groups out of the public square." Madden, a Boulder Democrat, said she is still working on the draft and is willing to discuss it with faith-based groups. "This is not meant to change real-world behavior one iota," Madden said. "We are trying to make it clear that employers generally should not discriminate on the basis of religion. Clearly, there could be exceptions." The legislation, House Bill 1080, with backing from the Mountain States Regional Anti-Defamation League, attempts to restore "a cornerstone of the separation of church and state," said the league's director, Bruce DeBoskey.
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The Denver Post - Senate's day dawns with Hindu chaplain's prayer

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8113394...
"OM." For the first time since the Colorado Senate first convened in 1861, legislators began their day with heads bowed for prayer in Sanskrit. It began with "OM," the mystical syllable containing the universe, according to Hindu belief. Hindu chaplain Rajan Zed, in a loose peach tunic and saffron shawl, softly recited the Gayatri Mantra from Rig-Veda, a 500-year-old prayer from the world's oldest religion that asks: "Lead me from the unreal to the Real." The Hindu prayer in the Colorado legislature is one of a long string of "firsts" for Zed. U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., invited Zed, who lives in Reno, to offer the first Hindu prayer in the Senate in July. Since then, Zed has initiated Hindu prayers in the California and New Mexico senates, and he is slated to say prayers for lawmakers in Utah, Washington and Arizona. "I feel very humble. My community feels very proud," Zed said.
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January 29, 2008

Grand Junction Sentinel - Late leader of Mormons took church 'mainstream'

http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/news/stories/2008/01/28/012908_1a_LDS.htm...
The contributions of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints leader Gordon B. Hinckley “will be known for centuries,” said a Grand Valley church leader. Hinckley did things no one had ever done to spread the LDS faith, said Kelly Summers, president of the Grand Junction West stake. Among them was agreeing to a televised interview on “60 Minutes,” Summers said. That appearance, as well as appearances on “Larry King Live,” said Rick Landes, president of the Grand Junction stake, “let other people know the church really is mainstream.”
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The Longmont Times-Call - Local Mormon church responds to leader’s death

http://www.timescall.com/News_Story.asp?id=6190...
The fireside gathering at the Longmont Colorado Stake on Sunday night was a joyful event, full of singing and dancing by performers of “Living Legends” from Brigham Young University. During the reception, stake President Roy Kamigaki received news that silenced the crowd of 200 guests. Gordon B. Hinckley, the 15th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died Sunday of complications arising from old age, church spokesman Mike Otterson told the Associated Press. Hinckley was 97. Hinckley, a grandson of Mormon pioneers, was president for nearly 13 years. He took over as president and prophet on March 12, 1995, and oversaw one of the greatest periods of expansion in church history.
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January 28, 2008

Top Stories: Charities wary of Colorado bill that would forbid hiring based on religion | catholic, bill, religious - Gazette.com

http://www.gazette.com/articles/catholic_32448___article.html/bill_religious.htm...
Some services for the needy from Catholic Charities and other religious organizations could end if the General Assembly passes a bill that would forbid hiring based on religious preference, organization leaders warn. HB1080 applies to religious groups that receive federal or state money to run parts of their organizations. Catholic Charities, for example, gets grants for its soup kitchen. The measure would prohibit discriminatory employment in those areas that benefit from government funding. The prohibition would extend not just to applicants’ religion but to other protected traits, such as age, gender and sexual orientation. The bill is a follow-up to a controversial 2007 law that bans hiring, firing, promotion and demotion based on sexual orientation and religion. It included an exemption for religious organizations, but House Majority Leader Alice Madden, who sponsored that law as well as the new bill, said she was questioned about why groups that get government funding should not play by the same rules as everyone else. Madden, D-Boulder, pulled the bill from the House calendar temporarily while she works on its language. She wants to find a way to exempt employees who may work for, say, a federally funded part of a religious organization but also work in other areas. “This is about the types of jobs a religious group is using taxpayer money for,” Madden said. “We’re not trying to cause a great deal of problems, but when someone is funded by the government, we think they should follow the law.” But religious leaders argue that the bill would cause problems.
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The Coloradoan - Vandals attempt to torch Loveland's Vineyard Church

http://coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080128/NEWS01/801280335/1002/...
Vandals late Saturday or early Sunday broke into the Loveland branch of the Vineyard Church and set a handful of small fires, which church leaders believe was meant to destroy the building. "There were five separate fires set; it was clear they were trying to burn the building down," said Hans Breuer, executive pastor at Vineyard of the Rockies, a network of churches in Northern Colorado.
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The Denver Post - Arson suspected at Loveland church

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8095139...
Authorities believe a fire that broke out at the Vineyard Church was the result of arson and burglary. No injuries were reported. A church official told Channel 7 KMGH that the perpetrators had spray painted "Satan" on the church walls and that several small fires were set inside the building. Firefighters responded about 4:45 a.m. Sunday, to the church at 900 Josephine Court and found smoke. The extent of the damage had not been calculated. Authorities ask anyone with information about the crime to call 970-962-2248 or 970-962-2534.
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January 25, 2008

Specter of 'bigotry' in nonprofits bill debate : Colorado Government : The Rocky Mountain News

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jan/25/specter-of-bigotry-in-nonprofi...
A bill that addresses employment discrimination has set loose the B word - bigotry - in a clash this week between Archbishop Charles Chaput and Bruce DeBoskey, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League. In his newspaper column published Wednesday, Chaput urges Catholic voters to protest HB 1080 as an attack on religious freedom - one that could even lead to the shutting down of Catholic Charities, "the largest, non-government human services provider in the Rocky Mountain West." The bill would remove an exemption allowing nonprofits that accept public money to continue to set hiring restrictions based on religious teachings. "I've heard from quite a few Catholics over the past week, Catholics who find HB 1080 offensive, implicitly bigoted and designed to bully religious groups out of the public square," Chaput wrote in the Denver Catholic Register. DeBoskey said that the ADL helped draft the bill. He fired off a letter to the Register Thursday, protesting the "implied criticism that ADL supports this bill because of some anti-Catholic or anti-religious bigotry."
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The Denver Post - Pastor's vision building on faith

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8070972...
It's a five-minute walk — but a journey of a lifetime — every time Pastor Michael Walker crosses from the converted Safeway building on Josephine Street at East Colfax Avenue, home of Church in the City, to the 110-year-old derelict synagogue at East 16th Avenue and Gaylord Street. Walker slips a padlock from a synagogue door, dons a respiratory mask and dips his loafers into protective vinyl booties so he can wade across asbestos-laden floor tiles covered in pigeon droppings and strewn with dead birds. "Isn't it beautiful," said Walker, a 62-year-old Messianic Jew. He can easily look beyond the startled pigeons flying out through broken windows and the spray-painted graffiti bleeding down the walls. Walker intends to make the abandoned synagogue the future home of his Church in the City, whose Christian congregation of about 800 just might be one of the most diverse, ethnically and financially, in Colorado.
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January 24, 2008

The Denver Post - Psalm 1040: Prof urges a fairer tax

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8059497...
How would Jesus tax? It wouldn't be the way Colorado, the 49 other states and the federal government do it, says Susan Pace Hamill, a University of Alabama law professor with credentials in taxes and theology. Despite Scripture principles, state and federal tax systems burden the poor and relieve the rich, she says. Jesus paid taxes, told followers to give the government its due, broke bread with tax collectors and chose one, Matthew, to be an apostle, according to the New Testament. Judeo-Christian ethics, which more than 75 percent of Americans claim as their moral compass, "impose greater moral obligations on those enjoying higher levels of wealth," Hamill said. Nevertheless, state and federal taxes don't do that, she said. Colorado is middle-of-the-pack unjust, Hamill said. It isn't one of her "Sinful Six" or even one of the "Dreadful Dozen." Those 18 states require the poor to pay a much larger share of income than the rich, while offering relatively little aid to the poor in terms of social services.
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The Denver Post - Weld towns take look at spurned church project

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8062649...
A huge church-sponsored retail and housing development once headed for Longmont is being courted by a neighboring community for its potential as a revenue generator. Firestone Mayor Mike Simone said he wants officials in the southwestern Weld County town to consider annexing the 340-acre LifeBridge Christian Church's Union project. The town of Mead also is looking at the Union proposal. The development drew fire in Longmont, including from those who questioned its tax-exempt status as a religious institution. The church has since dropped its bid to be annexed into Longmont, saying the issue had become too divisive. Simone said he does not believe church developers will have the same problem in Firestone. "Some in Longmont didn't want the town involved with a religious development, and some of that is just being anti-religious," Simone said. "Well, we ought to look to see if it will benefit Firestone." But Jen Gartner, who led a successful petition drive to have the Union annexation into Longmont put to public vote, said religion did not factor into criticism of the Union proposal. "In fact, if LifeBridge just wanted to build a church to accommodate its growing congregation, there would be no problem," Gartner said. "But there was a number of unanswered questions about how much of a strain this development would put on Longmont services."
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The Denver Post - New Life first-responders honored

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8055202...
Five first-responders to the New Life Church shootings in Colorado Springs were awarded medals of valor last night for "their courage in an extremely dangerous situation." The five answered a call to the church where Matthew Murray opened fire on parishioners Dec. 9 hours after he killed two people at Youth with a Mission in Arvada. The first-responders from the Wescott Fire Department treated the Works family, including sisters Stephanie and Rachel Works, who were fatally injured and their father, David Works, 51, who was shot but survived. Assistant Wescott Fire Chief Vinny Burns said today that the Wescott Fire Department, which serves northern El Paso County, regularly receives calls on Sunday to the New Life Church because of the thousands of people that attend services there.
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The Denver Post - Moderate Muslim view outshouted by Islamists

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8059536...
M. Zuhdi Jasser said he is tired of being asked how American Muslims will vote this presidential election. The Phoenix-based founder of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy said he doesn't believe there is such a thing as a Muslim voting bloc, or anything monolithic about Muslims in America. Furthermore, Jasser said, almost seven years after the 9/11 attacks, Americans still don't understand they are not fighting a war on terrorism. "Terrorism is a tactic. To call this a war against terrorism doesn't make sense," Jasser said Wednesday. "Muslim terrorists have a goal, and that is Islamic theocracy. " It should be seen as a war against theocracy, Jasser said. Seeking support for his foundation, Jasser spoke Wednesday night in Colorado Springs to The Winter Night Club, a 105-year-old group of about 500 members who meet to discuss provocative subjects. Jasser also spoke with The Denver Post. Jasser is a physician, former U.S. Navy lieutenant commander, devout Muslim and the voice of moderate Islam for a slew of media outlets, including CNN and PBS.
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January 23, 2008

The Longmont Times-Call - LifeBridge courting communities?

http://www.timescall.com/News_Story.asp?id=6031...
LifeBridge Christian Church is shopping its Union project to Longmont’s neighbors. Firestone, Frederick and Mead leaders confirmed Tuesday that Union backers approached them about possibly annexing the 348-acre development into their towns. Frederick already turned away the project, but Firestone and Mead officials are exploring the possibility. Union developers, however, say other municipalities are courting them. LifeBridge’s business organization, Corporation for Community Christian Connections, or 4C, withdrew its application last month to annex the church’s land into Longmont. Firestone, Frederick and Mead officials all said Union discussions began in recent weeks. Firestone town administrator Cheri Andersen said 4C has not applied to annex into Firestone, but “the church did ask Firestone about the potential for annexation.” Andersen added, “It’s my understanding that they’ve asked quite a few of the surrounding communities.
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The Denver Post - Autopsies released on New Life victims

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_8045150...
One of two sisters killed at New Life Church in Colorado Springs last month was shot in the back, and the other was shot in the chest, according to autopsy reports released today. Stephanie Works, 18, and Rachel, Works, 16, were gunned down by Matthew Murray, 24, in a Dec. 9 rampage. Murray had posted hate-filled messages on a number of anti-religious websites where he ranted about being rejected, abused and suffocated by Christianity. Hours before arriving at New Life, he killed two others at a missionary center in Arvada.
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January 17, 2008

The Denver Post - Church shooter left letter "To God" in car

http://www.denverpost.com/newsheadlines/ci_7991187...
A killer who gunned down four people last month at a church in Colorado Springs and a youth mission in Arvada wrote a letter addressed "To God" that was recovered along with other items from his car. The letter was listed in an evidence and property invoice of items that Colorado Springs police recovered from a 1992 Toyota Camry belonging to Matthew Murray. The documents were obtained by Newsradio 850 KOA. Murray, 24, shot himself in the head with a 9mm pistol at New Life Church in Colorado Springs on Dec. 9 after a volunteer church security officer shot him three times.
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