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Young Asian churches are booming in America
In the northwest, where Asian populations are growing quickly, The Seattle Times noticed that a lot of young Asian-Americans have formed their own churches. "Although experts don't have exact numbers, they say that in this region, and nationwide, more pan-Asian-American Christian churches are being established, mainly by those in their 20s to 40s," reports Janet I. Tiu. (Actually, Weblog would wager that someone out there has more exact numbers.) "Some are not just pan-Asian but intentionally multiracial. … The new congregations typically prefer casual worship styles. Denominational affiliations don't particularly matter to them, but an egalitarian sense of brotherhood and sisterhood does. They are community- and social-justice-oriented, although not necessarily political, and they are open to diversity while retaining a thread of common experience."

Sex & marriage:

• Openly gay rector first in Atlanta's Episcopal Diocese | St. Bartholomew's has had openly gay priests before, but not a rector (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
  
  
• Ruling dismays lesbian couple | Sheriff grants parental rights to the gay man who was sperm donor for their child (BBC)
  
  
• Government axes funds for pro-marriage groups | Funding for National Marriage Week has been cut off by the Government as part of a shift towards supporting non-marital relationships, including homosexual ones. (The Daily Telegraph)
  
  
• Church ousts Boy Scout troop | United Church of Christ at Dartmouth College upset because the national organization won't admit homosexuals (Associated Press)
  
  
• Ties to Scouts stains group's teachings | Learning for Life, part of Boy Scouts of America, shouldn't be allowed in schools (Rob Perez, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin)
  
  

Missions & ministry:

• TV station ministers to Arab Christians | SAT-7 seeks to "put an Arabic face on Christianity" (The Washington Times)
  
  
• Church using matchbooks to heat up attendance | From matchbooks to movie previews to urinal screens, churches are aggressively reaching out to tap into a specific demographic group: men ages 18 to 34 (Daily Press, Hampton Roads, Virginia)
  
  
• Following a famous father's footsteps | Billy Graham's daughter prepares for Sept. revival at Pepsi Center (The Denver Post)
  
  
• Hospital pastors facing the chop | Government does not regard chaplains' services as a public health priority (The New Zealand Herald)
  
  
• Vatican seeks to curb Mexico's Indian deacons | The special brand of evangelism of Mexico's Indian deacons has not escaped the notice of Rome. (The New York Times)
  
  
• 'Buying and selling' | Preacher calls adoption fees discriminatory against white babies (ABCNews.com)
  
  

Interfaith relations:

• Orthodox Patriarch: Most Muslims want peace | Bartholomew says he sees signs of increased openness toward religious tolerance in the Muslim world. (The Boston Globe)
  
  
• Michiana mosque educating Christians | Many students attend, not so much to worship God, or Allah, but to understand the Islam religion (South Bend [Ind.] Tribune)
  
  

Religious freedom:

• Court overturns ban on giving wine to inmates at Communion | Prohibition may violate the inmates' constitutional rights, says U.S. Court of Appeals (The Washington Post)
  
  
• Fired bus driver who prayed with students sues Carroll school board | Officials maintain firing not related to prayer issue (Associated Press)
  
  
• Freedom of religion likened to garden | Constitutional scholar Stephen L. Carter says government's role is to protect the right to worship, not regulate it. (The Tucson Citizen)
  
  

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March (Web-only) 2002, Vol. 46