The Oregon Faith Report - Faith News from Oregon

From Open Arms International,

I hope you will take a minute to read this article from a recent Sunday Oregonian column by Margie Boule.  It’s a great story about Michele Nielson, one of our faithful supporters, and the birthday party she hosts every year to benefit Open Arms International.  As the article explains, this annual event started in response to a difficult period of struggle in Michele’s life that gave her a desire to give back to others.  Without the efforts of Michele and so many others, we would not be able to provide the services we do to the children in Kenya.

Medical Teams International (Tigard, Ore. — June 3, 2009) – Medical Teams International airlifted enough emergency medicines and medical supplies today to care for 10,000 Pakistani people during the next three months.The medicines will help people survive in northern Pakistan who have lost their homes in recent civil and military fighting.  The supplies are valued at $421,045 and will be distributed to Hope International, a Medical Teams International partner.

MEDIA ADVISORY, June 16 /Christian Newswire/ — Designer Calvin Klein has placed what is being called a “racy” new advertisement on a huge five-story-high billboard on a Manhattan building in New York City. It shows half-naked teenagers lying on top of each other in sexually explicit positions.TV co-host and author Ray Comfort says, “Sex not only sells jeans, it gets massive free publicity on CBS primetime. CBS “The Early Show” (June 15th) more than willingly scrolled over and zoomed into the lusty billboard an amazing sixteen times, as the show’s host interviewed an expert on why she thought it was wrong to show such images in public. The usual reasons were given: it wasn’t good for children to see such pictures, etc.

By National Religious Campaign Against Torture,

WASHINGTON, DC – Following a meeting between 33 senior religious leaders and senior Obama administration officials, Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture issued the following statement:

“We were pleased to have the opportunity today to meet with Obama administration officials to discuss our strong support for the establishment of an independent, non-partisan Commission of Inquiry to investigate the development and implementation of a program of torture by the United States in the years after 9/11.  Unfortunately, as is known publicly, President Obama does not currently support the establishment of an investigative Commission.  However, the officials with whom we met heard our concerns and welcomed our input.  This is not the end of this process; it is merely the beginning.  As events continue to unfold, we will advocate for a Commission of Inquiry that can uncover all of the facts.  We cannot simply bury our past for as the Bible says, ‘the truth shall make us free.’”

Luis Palau Minsitries,

(Portland, Oregon, USA) – Evangelist Luis Palau’s Season of Service (SOS) is singled out in the July issue of Reader’s Digest as the “Best Group Service Project” in America. In a cover story entitled “Best of America,” the monthly magazine celebrates 75 reasons Americans should love their country. The article praises SOS for mobilizing throughout the greater Portland/Vancouver area some 550 churches, 68 nonprofit organizations and local businesses, and 27,000 volunteers to tackle 300 community service projects in 2008. The second SOS in Greater Portland is now in full swing, running May 1 through October 31.

By Randy Alcorn
Eternal Perspectives Ministries, Sandy Oregon
Author of Bestselling book, Heaven

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of answering some questions about giving on the Revive Our Hearts website. I have the greatest appreciation for Nancy Leigh DeMoss and Revive Our Hearts. If you’re not familiar with their ministry, I’d encourage you to check out their website. (Or if you’re a guy, encourage the women in your life.) I’m going to begin setting aside Wednesday blogs for questions and answers, so for the next few Wednesdays I’ll be posting more of the answers I wrote
in response to these questions.

One commenter asked: “The question I have is that we are reaping consequences from bad choices. My husband and I have a young family and are still paying down $100,000 of student loans from both of us going to a private university.”

FAITH NEWS BIT OF THE WEEK: From ABC News: “A pastor in Kentucky is redefining the tradition of wearing your Sunday best to services by encouraging his congregation to strap on holsters and bring their weapons to church. Pastor Ken Pagano invites gun owners to church for July 4th holiday.  Pastor Ken Pagano of New Bethel Church in Louisville, Ky., says that he organized an “Open Carry Celebration” to promote responsible gun ownership. “As a Christian pastor I believe that without a deep-seeded belief in God and firearms that this country would not be here,” Pagano told ABCNews.com. “I’m not ashamed of that fact. I’m proud of it.”  – Continue reading story

Catholic Movie Review.org: Brisk but gritty thriller that pits a New York subway dispatcher (Denzel Washington) against a psychopath (John Travolta) whose small gang (including Luis Guzman) has hijacked the titular train, taking its passengers hostage. Performances by the leads and supporting cast—James Gandolfini as the mayor and John Turturro as a police negotiator among them—are assured, but director Tony Scott’s adaptation of John Godey’s bestseller, previously filmed in 1974, treats its villain’s Catholic upbringing ambiguously and has interludes of gory violence and relentlessly coarse language throughout. Brief but intense violence, pervasive rough and crude language, occasional use of profanity. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is L—limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling.

By Adelle M. Banks
Religion News Service

Decades of painful conservative-moderate fights. Stagnant baptism rates. Membership malaise. Surveying the state of the Southern Baptist Convention, seminary president Danny Akin can sum it all up in just six words.  “Business as usual,” he said, “is not working.”

Seeking to turn things around for the nation’s largest Protestant body, Akin has teamed up with SBC President Johnny Hunt to draft a “Great Commission Resurgence” declaration that will be presented to the Baptists’ annual meeting on June 23-24 in Louisville, Ky.

Portland Archdiocese — The annual Peter’s Pence Collection will be taken in the parishes of the Archdiocese on Sunday, June 28. The theme for this year’s collection is “Cast the Light of Christ upon the World.” The theme recalls the Holy Father’s statement at New York’s St. Patrick’s Cathedral in April 2008, “In the finest traditions of the Church in this country, may you also be the first friend of the poor, the homeless, the stranger, the sick and all who suffer. Act as beacons of hope, casting the light of Christ upon the world.”

By Traci Scott, Faith Reporter

A cross that was first erected in 1934 in the Mojave Desert Preserve by a group of veterans to commemorate fallen veterans is now being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).  Veterans say the white cross is meant to represent the Fallen Soldier Battle Cross, which consists of a rifle and bayonet that are a symbol intended to replicate the cross on the battlefield to honor those who died in battle.  In 2002, Congress designated the cross as a “national memorial commemorating United States participation in World War I and honoring American veterans of that war.”

LOS ANGELES, June 5  — A professor at the government-funded University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) has prohibited a graduating student from saying “I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” in her own graduation speech.  Christina Popa just posted the proof emails on her facebook page, showing how other students are permitted to have their speeches read aloud at a pre-graduation ceremony, and Christina would also be allowed, but only if she didn’t mention Jesus.

By Luis Palau Minisitries,

INVERNESS, Scotland, June 3 /Christian Newswire/ — In an otherwise declining spiritual climate, an excitement is burning today in Scotland. More than 100 churches have come together to partner with world evangelist Luis Palau for a far-reaching campaign with the goal of winning Scotland back to Jesus Christ.”I have a tremendous love for Scotland,” said Palau. “My family in Argentina became Christians back in the 1940s through the witness of missionaries from this area. Today, it is an honor for me to partner with the churches and believers there.”

By Daniel Burke
Religion News Service

(RNS) The election of an Episcopal bishop in Michigan who has practiced Buddhist meditation and changed traditional church prayers appears headed for defeat, according to an unofficial tally kept by a newspaper reporter.The Rev. Kevin Thew Forrester was elected bishop of the sparsely populated Diocese of Northern Michigan in February. Under Episcopal Church rules, a majority of bishops and 111 regional standing committees must vote to ratify his election before it is valid.

By Jane Kirkpatrick,
Eastern Oregon author

Based on historical characters and events, A Gathering of Finches tells the story of a turn-of-the-century Oregon coastal couple and the consequences of their choices, as seen through the eyes of the wife, her sister, and her Indian maid. Along the way, the reader will discover reasons to trust that money and possessions can’t buy happiness or forgiveness, nor permit us to escape the consequences of our choices. The story emphasizes the message that real meaning is found in the relationships we nurture and in living our lives in obedience to God.

Dr. Paul Louis Metzger,
Professor Multnomah University,
New Wine, New Wineskins Ministries

Recent articles have been published in Newsweek, Time, and the Christian Science Monitor regarding the speculated collapse of the evangelical church. We can either fear the collapse and retreat inside our church walls, or break down those walls and make an even greater gospel impact. Evangelicals have a rich heritage of outreach to hurting people around the world, and we are reaching out compassionately in increasing measure in our surrounding communities. On the evening of June 15th, New Wine, New A Word from the Director by Paul Louis Metzger

Christian Newswire/ — In What Bothers Me Most About Christianity (Howard Books/Simon & Schuster), Pastor Ed Gungor owns up to the valid criticism that affronts Christianity. Gungor is the author of the New York Times bestseller There Is More to the Secret and is recognized as an expert on issues of faith and popular culture.  With his trademark wit and refreshing honesty, Gungor explores the aspects of Christianity that trouble not only the opponents of faith but dedicated believers as well.

Catholic Movie Reviews.org — The innocent, mildly cheesy Saturday morning TV show from the 1970s has morphed into an overblown, special-effects-laden, but plot-thin star vehicle for comedian Will Farrell, a washed-up scientist who claims that his invention, the “tachyon amplifier,” is a time machine. With a beautiful academic (Anna Friel) and a sleazy sideshow operator (Danny McBride) at his side, he opens a “space time vortex” and lands in a prehistoric world filled with menacing creatures, reptilian aliens and furry Cro-Magnon natives. What ensues is a “Wizard of Oz” adventure as the trio seeks a way home. Unfortunately, what is being marketed as this summer’s “family” film is far from one.

Text of historic U.S. President Barack Obama outreach speech to Muslims
Cairo, Egypt, 6/4/09

I am honored to be in the timeless city of Cairo, and to be hosted by two remarkable institutions. For over a thousand years, Al-Azhar has stood as a beacon of Islamic learning, and for over a century, Cairo University has been a source of Egypt’s advancement. Together, you represent the harmony between tradition and progress. I am grateful for your hospitality, and the hospitality of the people of Egypt. I am also proud to carry with me the goodwill of the American people, and a greeting of peace from Muslim communities in my country: assalaamu alaykum.

By Beaver Believer, Portland

Pixar’s movie, Up, scored $68 million opening weekend helping to make a record 10 out of 10 number one opening weekend hit movies. Family friendly films do succeed.

The coveted Memorial weekend saw the battle of two debut titan films, Night at the Smithsonian (very family friendly) versus Terminator 4. The Night at the Smithsonian sailed past Terminator 4 $70 million to Terminator’s $51 million. Interestingly, Terminator 4 was rated PG-13 compared to the first thee Terminators which were all rated R.