The Oregon Faith Report - Faith News from Oregon

Pope Benedict XVI Completes Historic Holy Land Pilgrimage

NEW YORK, May 29 /Christian Newswire/ — On May 15, Pope Benedict XVI completed his first papal pilgrimage to the Holy Land, visiting and praying at holy sites and making a concerted effort to build bridges of peace between Judaism and Christianity.”I come, like so many others before me, to pray at the holy places, to pray especially for peace — peace here in the Holy Land, and peace throughout the world,” Pope Benedict said upon arriving on May 11 for his five-day pilgrimage.

Catholic Movie Reviews.org — Off we go into the wild blue yonder—literally—with this instant classic, the story of Carl Frederickson (voice of Ed Asner), a grumpy septuagenarian who decides to get away from it all by relocating his home to South America with the help of thousands of colorful balloons. Joined by an earnest 8-year-old stowaway named Russell (Jordan Nagai), a gigantic squawking bird, and a “talking” dog, Carl finds the adventure of a lifetime as the ragtag group battles evil in the Venezuelan jungle. This touching fable from director/co-writer Pete Docter (“Monsters, Inc.”) offers lessons for young and old on love and loss, marriage, friendship, and perseverance in a gorgeously rendered, very amusing and highly entertaining film. Some serious thematic material and a few scenes of intense peril may disturb small children. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-I—general patronage. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG—parental guidance suggested.

Kigali Festival with Andrew Palau will culminate a Season of Service
By Andrew Palau,
Beaverton

KIGALI, Rwanda May 27 /Christian Newswire/ — Rwanda President Paul Kagame met with international evangelist Andrew Palau in April to pledge his support for Palau’s upcoming Kigali Festival. As part of the festival in July, a preceding Season of Service was launched in tandem with the country’s 100-day commemoration of the fastest-killing genocide in human history.  Still recovering from the 1994 genocide that killed an estimated 1 million people in 100 days, more than 350 churches in Rwanda’s capital city invited Andrew Palau to bring his message of hope and Good News where the need is great. The festival is fully supported by the Kigali mayor, vice mayor, and city council.

Former NBC show Three Wishes hosted by Amy Grant is returning to TV on the GMC channel.

ATLANTA, May 28 /Christian Newswire/ — Gospel Music Channel (www.gospelmusicchannel.com) has acquired the television rights to the off-net series “Amy Grant’s Three Wishes” and “Clash of The Choirs” and will air the shows together on Wednesday nights this summer beginning June 3.

Michael Paulson of The Boston Globe said the Obama nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor; “[S]he will be the sixth Catholic on the nine-member court. That is a remarkable accomplishment for American Catholics, who make up 23 percent of the nation’s population, and will now potentially hold 67 percent of the high court’s seats. Two of the justices are Jewish; the resignation of Justice David Souter, who is an Episcopalian, will leave, amazingly given the history of this nation, just one Protestant on the Supreme Court, 89-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens.”

Want to learn the secrets of the universe and discover the true nature of reality?  Do you have at least $100 and a half day to spend attending a workshop?  If so, that’s enough to get you started on the path toward enlightenment.  For an additional $299 and two ongoing daily meditations sessions, you can learn additional secrets via CDs and DVDs.  And, you don’t even need to shave your head, wear new age robes or perform sacrificial rituals to participate.  Sound too good to be true?  Apparently not to the thousands of people around the world who have followed Eric Pepin, a 42-year-old self-described world psychic from Beaverton, often paying up to $800 to meet with him one-on-one and some even willing to pay $1,000 or more for the chance to attend retreats with Pepin in locations such as Hawaii and Mexico.

By Bill Graves
Religion News Service

A Coquille Indian Tribe law allowing same-sex marriage took effect this week, and two women married Sunday (May 24) on the tribe’s reservation in Coos Bay, Ore.  Kitzen Branting, 26, and her partner, Jeni Branting, 28, who now live in Edmonds, Wash., became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in Oregon, though their marriage will be recognized only by the tribe. Kitzen Branting is a member of the Coquille tribe.

California Family Council,

SACRAMENTO, May 26 /Christian Newswire/ — Today the California Supreme Court rendered its opinion regarding Proposition 8, upholding the traditional definition of marriage in the state Constitution. By a vote of the people in the November, 2008 general election, Prop 8 has been in place in the Constitution as Article 1, Section 7.5, stating Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Below is a video of Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish at a City Council meeting confessing his initial skepticism of Luis Palau’s Season of Service and his current praise for the outreach which has brought  thousands fo volunteers to help the needy Portland.

Jeannie St. John Taylor,
Oregon Author, Culture Proof Kids

I want to use Memorial Day to honor my nephew a member of the US Air Force and a local hero for saving another person’s life.  Watch his amazing story on the video below and read the further story about his plans to run for Congress.

Archbishop to ordain seven priests
and two others to be ordained in Argentina
By Portland Archdiocese,

Archbishop John G. Vlazny will ordain seven men as priests for the Archdiocese of Portland on Saturday, June 13 at St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. The Mass of Ordination will begin at 11:00 a.m. This will be the largest ordination class for the Archdiocese since the early 1970’s.

The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life held a conference call with journalists to discuss the release of a new Pew Forum survey that documents the fluidity of religious affiliation in the U.S. and describes the patterns and major reasons for change.

“Faith in Flux: Changes in Religious Affiliation in the U.S.” is a follow-up study to the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey, conducted by the Pew Forum in 2007 and released in 2008, which found that a remarkably high number of people have changed their religious affiliation since childhood. The new poll offers insight into how often people change religion and the main reasons they give for changing – or leaving religion altogether.

New Tenth Avenue North Music Video Highlights Work of Billy Graham Rapid Response Team. Video for GMA Dove Award-Winning Band’s Hit Song “By Your Side” Complements New TV Special on Chaplain Ministry

Portland Archdiocese,

The parish of St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and the Archdiocese of Portland’s Department of Evangelization announce the second “Blessing of the Bikes,” on Sunday, June 7, 2009 at 2 PM in the courtyard of the Cathedral.  The parish is located at the corner of NW 18th and Couch Street in the heart of Northwest Portland, and is bordered by the Everett Street bike lane.  The parish values and raises up the contribution that cyclists make to the community and for the environment. Portland biking is the platinum standard, and the cyclists bring a special life to our neighborhood and city whether they ride for recreation, commuting or competition.

By Traci Scott,

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral of Portland recently hosted a series of faith and ethics forums that pertain to immigration reform.  Topics included the following; Immigration, Humanity and the Church, Labor and Community, Economics of Immigration Reform and Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  Led by parishioner Jeff Stone, Oregon Association of Nurseries, guest speakers discussed the theological, legal, labor, economic and human dimensions of immigration.

Nationally, faith leaders have come together to make an important and unified call to fix our nation’s broken immigration system.

By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service

Will President Obama’s plea for “common ground” on abortion during his much-anticipated speech at the University of Notre Dame on Sunday (May 17) persuade ardent abortion opponents to work with the new president? At first glance, it doesn’t seem likely. “Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction,” he said to a mostly receptive audience at the nation’s flagship Catholic university. “But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.”

Faith Report,

According to the 2008 American Religious Identification Survey that was released earlier this year, Vermont has overtaken Oregon as the country’s most “unchurched” state, with 34 percent  reporting no religious affiliation.  Oregon’s figure is 24 percent, up from 21 percent in 2001, currently placing it fifth behind Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and Wyoming.  Nationally, 15 percent of the population is considered “unchurched”.

Entertainment News,

ST. LOUIS, Mo., May 12 /Christian Newswire/ — Burns Family Studios has launched its first motion picture in DVD, an epic action feature set in ancient England, called “Pendragon: Sword of His Father.”  The two-hour motion picture, distributed through retail stores, has been supported by Family Christian Stores, the nation’s largest Christian bookstore chain, and TBN, the world’s largest Christian television network. TBN will broadcast the film later this year.

By Traci Scott,

This is a story about two West Coast single parents and their recent faith challenges.   One day Washington single mother Lynita Regis was struggling to pay her bills and was facing eviction.  The next day she had over $270,000 in her checking account.  The answer to her prayers? Not exactly.  Regis realized a banking error must have occurred, but temptation set in, and she started spending the money in her mind. Although she could have definitely used the money, Regis’ conscience and faith won out. “It’s a struggle, we’re human but a child of God and gotta do the right thing even though I have nothing,” Regis said.

Comprehensive Sex Ed Doesn’t do Better than Abstinence Ed When Measured by Same Standards, Institute Says

WASHINGTON, May 13 /Christian Newswire/ — A sex education researcher reported in a Congressional briefing on April 29th that when measured by the same standards of effectiveness, comprehensive sex education programs in America’s classrooms do not show more evidence of success than abstinence education programs. This conclusion contradicts recent claims made by journalists and Congressional representatives that abstinence education is a proven failure.