Canada’s Anglican Church begins layoffs
Faced with possible bankruptcy due to of major court costs and settlements with former students of the church’s residential schools, the Anglican Church of Canada is starting to cut costs. It’s starting by laying off a dozen of its 125 employees in the national office. Meanwhile, newly hired priests are being told not to count on a salary after next year.
Christians still like Christy
The show ran for only two seasons, and hasn’t had a new episode for half a decade, but 100 fans still showed up in Townsend, Tennessee, for a three-day Christy Fest. Meanwhile, PAX is making a two-hour Christy movie for Thanksgiving and a miniseries for February. Original producer Ken Wales isn’t involved, but he showed up at Christy Fest to ask for prayer. “Pray that the spirit of Christy can live forever, whatever form that is,” he said.
While we were out …
While ChristianityToday.com Weblog was in Amsterdam, Christianity.com launched. Mainly headed up by Pat Robertson and CBN, other “network partners” include creationist organization Answers in Genesis, Culture of Life, youth ministry association Challenge 2000, aid organization Feed the Children, Jews for Jesus, Charles Colson’s Prison Fellowship, and T.D. Jakes Ministries. Broad group? The site is even broader, divided into “Catholic Christianity,” “Messianic Christianity,” “Orthodox Christianity,” and “Protestant Christianity.” Which makes it kind of a mini- Beliefnet. Only the site is apparently also trying to become the next Gospelcom, wooing ministries to put their sites under the Christianity.com URL (See Christianity.com’s pitch at the National Religious Broadcasters convention here.). Former Pepperdine University president David Davenport is CEO of the site (P.S.: Word has it that Pat Robertson’s son bought a ton of shares in “competitor” site Crosswalk.com, but—rumor says—only because he thinks the stock, currently trading around $2/share, has nowhere to go but up.)
Godspell is back, minus the ’70s
The musical is back in Manhattan, but The New York Times is unimpressed. “To judge from the adults singing along at a recent performance in the company of their young children, the show’s allure remains strong among the converted,” writes critic Bruce Weber. “If, however, you are like me–that is, someone whose teeth are set on edge by the show’s most famous song, ‘Day by Day’–this revival may bring on the same feelings evoked when the Jehovah’s Witnesses ring the doorbell. There’s no reason to be mean about it, but it does try your patience.” No reason to be mean, but Weber’s not nice, either: “‘Godspell,’ with its energy and its jokey exhortations for people to behave well in the world, ends up creating an atmosphere that recalls nothing so much as ‘The Muppet Show.'”
See our past Weblogs: August 9 July 27 | 25 | 24 July 21 | 19 | 18 | 17 July 13 | 12 | 11 | 10 July 7 | 5 | 3 June 30 | 29 | 27 June 23 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 19
Copyright © 2000 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
