Alaska

WASILLA, Alaska (AP) - A little sermon about - and for - the messenger seemed to Pastor Larry Kroon an appropriate message on Sunday morning.

"It's been an interesting week," laughed Kroon, pastor at the Wasilla Bible Church, as he welcomed attendees. The nondenominational congregation where Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin and her family worship was carrying on services as usual this Sunday, but with a few extra guests.

In just more than a week since presidential candidate John McCain picked Alaska's governor to be his running mate, Palin's hometown of 9,000 has been inundated with journalists from around the world. For days now the media have delved into her terms as city council member and mayor here, and questioned residents and questioned them again for background on the state's most famous politician. more >>

Doug Watts, a painter from Phoenix, watched in spite of himself. There was Sarah Palin on television, and he found himself mesmerized.

"I was flipping channels and stuff and when she finally came on I'm like, 'I'm not going to watch this.' And then I sat there and 15 minutes go by and a little bit more," Watts said. "She seemed like she was sincere. She's the new face."

Just a week ago, Palin was little known outside Alaska. Now she finds herself the most debated and dissected person in the nation. After a dizzying crash course on her life and her family, the emerging picture is riveting to many Americans, perplexing to others. more >>

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Gov. Sarah Palin's church is promoting a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.

"You'll be encouraged by the power of God's love and His desire to transform the lives of those impacted by homosexuality," according to the insert in the bulletin of the Wasilla Bible Church, where Palin has prayed for about six years.

Palin's conservative Christian views have energized that part of the GOP electorate, which was lukewarm to John McCain's candidacy before he named her as his vice presidential choice. She is staunchly anti-abortion, opposing exceptions for rape and incest, and opposes gay marriage and spousal rights for gay couples. more >>

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — As a candidate for governor, Sarah Palin called for teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools. But after Alaska voters elected her, Palin, now Republican John McCain's presidential running mate, kept her campaign pledge to not push the idea in the schools.

As for her personal views on evolution, Palin has said, "I believe we have a creator." But she has not made clear whether her belief also allowed her to accept the theory of evolution as fact.

"I'm not going to pretend I know how all this came to be," she has been quoted as saying. more >>

John McCain's running mate was raised in a Pentecostal church, has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be" and already has energized conservative religious leaders who worried the Arizona senator would choose an abortion rights supporter.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is "straight out of veep central casting," said Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religion Liberties Commission. Land said he urged the McCain camp to consider the political unknown.

Gary Bauer, one of McCain's most enthusiastic evangelical supporters, called it a "grand slam home run" that is "guaranteed to energize values voters." more >>

Parents have been struggling with an ongoing debate with a school board in Juneau, Alaska, over whether or not they have the right to pull their children from sexual education classes.

At a recent school board meeting on Monday, school officials devised a proposal that would give parents more say, but would not completely limit the principal from rejecting opt-outs for Juneau students.

Residents of the state’s capital city were encouraged by the result and expressed that they should have a say over the moral issues that their children are faced with. more >>