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sages—nearly twice the number of Roman Catholics (31 percent) or main- line Protestants (34 percent). Evangel- icals (53 percent) are also more than twice as likely to believe God punishes nations for the sins of some citizens.
10 years together May 1 marks 10 years of full com- munion between the ELCA and The Episcopal Church—and between the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada and the Anglican Church of Canada. On that day, ELCA Presiding Bishop Mark S. Hanson will preside and Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Canadian Anglican church, will preach at worship at Holy Trinity Lutheran, Buffalo, N.Y. Over the bor- der at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Fort Erie, Ontario, ELCIC National Bishop Susan Johnson will preside and Epis- copal Church Presiding Bishop Kath- arine Jefferts Schori will preach.
Hold the pizza Young adults who regularly attend religious activities are 50 percent more likely to become obese when they reach middle age than nonreli- gious peers, according to a study by Northwestern University’s medi- cal school. The study tracked 2,433 people for 18 years. CNN asked Erik Christensen, pastor of St. Luke Lutheran Church of Logan Square, Chicago, to comment on the study: “There’s certainly a church culture around eating. What I see among con- gregants in their 20s and 30s is they are very fit, and what I see among congregants in their 50s and 60s is disproportionate obesity.” Chris- tensen said the decision to attend church is sometimes made at the expense of being involved in athletic or recreational activities.
Nun leads churches
For the first time, a Roman Catho- lic was elected to lead the Christian
Council of Norway. Else-Britt Nilsen, 64, a Dominican nun, succeeds two Methodists, a Baptist and a Lutheran, all male, in a country where 78 per- cent are Lutheran. Nilsen told the Vaart Land newspaper that “Christian unity is growing in Norway.”
Small churches feel squeeze Smaller churches felt the squeeze, but larger ones fared relatively bet- ter in offerings in 2010 compared to 2009, says the State of the Plate sur- vey released in March. Only 12 per- cent of churches reported unchanged giving from 2009, while 43 percent of churches experienced a giving increase and 39 percent reported a decrease. About 40 percent of churches with fewer than 249 attend- ees experienced a drop in giving. Only
The Phelps family represent only themselves, but we do not have a copyright on the Baptist name, so they have the freedom to use and abuse that name. As a result, Baptists everywhere are defamed by them.
A. Roy Medley, general secretary of
American Baptist Churches, USA, speak- ing about Westboro Baptist Church, which recently won a Supreme Court free speech case. Medley was quoted by Associated Baptist Press.
29 percent of megachurches, with an average weekend attendance of more than 2,000, reported a decrease in giv- ing. State of the Plate is a joint proj- ect of Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Maximum Generosity and Christian- ity Today International.
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COURTESY OF TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY
Texan children get music instruction Daniel Martinez, 7, plays “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” while his mother,
Bernie, watches. Last year, Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, and the Mid- Texas Symphony Community Music Academy launched a Lindenbaum Suzuki Outreach Program. It offers music instruction and scholarships to children in schools with little or no arts funding. Music directors Douglas Boyer of TLU and Laurie Jenschke of the academy developed the program based on the wishes detailed in an endowment Arthur and Shirley Lindenbaum left to the TLU School of Music.
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