Scrolling around...September 5th, 2012

New Evangelization and the Wesley Brothers
...So what did the Wesley brothers do in their setting of indifference and perceived divisions? Did they tone down their sacramental devotion to appeal to the “rational” sensibilities of the age? Or scrap the Book of Common Prayer’s disciplines of daily liturgical prayer as obsolete? Did they insist that a particular “right” way of worship would solve all problems? Did they ignore suffering and injustice in England and focus only on an otherworldly, eternal salvation? None of the above. Instead, Charles and John Wesley set out for the mines, meadows, prisons, and town squares of England with an urgent Gospel message, a message meant to be lived.
Charles and John Wesley recognized that for Christians to authentically join in an eternal liturgy of praise and thanksgiving, their participation must be situated in the context of the Christian life. Christians not interested in the Eucharist? Take to open air preaching to tell of the person of Jesus Christ. Followers not finding a connection between human experience and the Paschal mystery? Organize the masses into groups for study, prayer, and lay preaching. Not reaching urban workers who viewed the Church of England as staid and stuffy? Witness to God’s love by doing Christ’s works of mercy and making prophetic stands—with all of these leading towards and flowing from the sacramental life of the Church of England... image

The United States nears deal for $1 billion in Egyptian debt relief
A team of U.S. State Department economic officials is nearing an agreement on $1 billion in debt relief to Egypt, and plans for increased U.S. investments. The United States has traditionally given Egypt $1.3 billion a year in military assistance, as the country has remained a strong U.S. ally in the region, particularly in its commitment to a peace treaty signed with Israel in 1979. However, the aid package was delayed for nearly 16 months by political turmoil and the change of the administration after last year's revolution...


How 'Pro-Choice' are Democrats?

Michelle Obama: My Husband Stands for Promoting Abortion

The Hope: An Overview of the Bible in 80 Minutes
The Hope is one of the most ambitious evangelism projects ever undertaken. Mars Hill Productions produced a video to provide an overview of the Bible in 80 minutes. Storytellers describe 36 events from scripture starting with Creation, the first sin in the Garden of Eden, God's promise of redemption, Moses receiving the Ten Commandments, as well as Jesus' birth, death and resurrection...

Milwaukee Archdiocese to close 103 parishes
The Milwaukee archdiocese will close or consolidate 103 of its 203 parishes through 2020.
Church officials pointed to three principal factors during the next decade:
•The number of priest retirements will exceed ordinations, resulting in a projected 40 percent reduction in the number of priests serving in parish ministry.
•The costs of operating parishes and funding ministries are escalating rapidly and parishes can gain economies of scale by collaborating with other parishes.
•The mission of the church can be carried out more effectively by combining efforts and sharing resources.

Democratic Platform “Opposes Any Effort” to Limit Abortions
Democrats at the 2012 Democratic National Convention are set to approve a platform today that is unambiguously pro-abortion and opposes any effort whatsoever to stop any abortions. The platform also calls on forcing Americans to pay for abortions at taxpayer expense.
The platform Democrats will approve rejects efforts to stop forcing taxpayers to fund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion business and supports the Obama HHS mandate that forces religious groups to pay for and refer women for abortion-causing drugs under Obamacare...



DNC video: “Government is the only thing that we all belong to”; Update: Not our video, says Obama campaign
...Even if Democrats had chosen a phrase that didn’t connote ownership, like “participate in” (Obama’s preferred turn of phrase when pushing this idea is “doing things together”), this is still a creepy, spurious justification for expanding government...

Companies Pay $20 Million to Fund Democratic Convention
Companies including Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) have contributed $20 million toward the cost of the Democratic National Convention, helping fund an event that Democrats initially said wouldn’t accept corporate money, according to two people familiar with the matter...
...After saying in February 2011 they wouldn’t take corporate money, Democratic Party leaders and convention organizers have grappled with how to cover the estimated $52 million cost of the event, which will culminate Sept. 6 in President Barack Obama’s renomination acceptance speech...