Pennsylvania

Before the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh discusses changes toward a formal split from the denomination at an annual meeting later this year, some members of the diocese have planned a gathering to talk about "an alternative solution."

Parishes, clergy and laypeople who do not agree with disaffiliating with The Episcopal Church are holding a Sept. 13 event called "A Hopeful Future for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh: An Alternative Solution," with the intent of promoting unity and staying in the U.S. denomination. Organizers do not believe a withdrawal from the national church is a "helpful response to the current controversies within the Episcopal Church."

"This diocesan-wide gathering will explore why we believe that staying in The Episcopal Church is the right thing to do," according to the event description. "In addition we will lay out what an ongoing Episcopal presence in Southwestern Pennsylvania will look like should the vote for realignment pass." more >>

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - This city best known to tourists for its historical sites and museums has a surprise new high-tech hit that is developing into a must-see attraction: a huge atrium wall in Philadelphia's newest and tallest skyscraper where a cast of dancers and acrobats seem to come to life.

"At first it looks like a mural," said Marilyn Overton, who traveled with her husband from the suburbs just to see the wall. "And then all of a sudden it's moving."

It's a 25-foot-tall, 2,000-square-foot high-definition LED screen which at times mimics the wood-paneled wall of the main lobby of the Comcast Center, which opened in June. more >>

SHANKSVILLE, Pa. - As hundreds of firefighters bowed their heads in prayer, a cross made out of steel from the World Trade Center was dedicated Sunday near where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed into the ground on Sept. 11.

The 2-ton, 14-foot high cross sits on a concrete base shaped like the Pentagon at the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Co., just a few miles from where the plane crashed into a field. The cross made a 311-mile journey from Brooklyn on Saturday, accompanied by hundreds of motorcyclists, many of them current or retired New York firefighters.

"We wanted to find a home for this steel," said Paddy Concannon, a retired lieutenant from the Fire Department of New York. "This is an effort on our part to tie the three events together: the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Shanksville." more >>

A Presbyterian minister who officiated the union of a lesbian couple will face a regional church court on two charges later this year.

The Rev. Janet Edwards will go before the Permanent Judicial Commission of Pittsburgh Presbytery on Oct. 1, facing charges of knowingly acting in defiance of her ordination vows and of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Constitution when she performed the same-sex ceremony, according to the Presbyterian News Service.

Edwards conducted the ceremony for Nancy McConn and Brenda Cole in June 2005, saying the PC(USA) does not forbid same-sex "marriage." more >>

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Wednesday tossed out language that expanded the state's hate crime law to include "sexual orientation" and "gender identity."

The top state court upheld a November 2007 ruling by the Commonwealth Court, which had struck down the 2002 amendment as unconstitutional because it "did not retain its original purpose as it moved through the enactment process." The Commonwealth Court ruled that the statute violated the state Constitution because it was added to a bill that originally dealt with agricultural crimes.

Eleven members of a Christian evangelist group called Repent America were arrested and charged under the expanded "ethnic intimidation" law in 2004 for picketing at a Philadelphia event for homosexuals. more >>

The 30th Creation Festival, dubbed a “Christian Woodstock,” kicked off Wednesday with music, teaching and activities scheduled to jam pack the four-day event.

Thousands of believers, mainly young people, are flocking to the campgrounds of Agape Farm in Mount Union, Pa., for the major annual music festival where alcoholic beverages and drugs are not allowed and the dress code is “modesty.”

Several stages at the festival are featuring popular Christian music artists, including Newsboys, Switchfoot, TobyMac, Hawk Nelson and Chris Tomlin, just to name a few. But Creation ’08 is about more than music, organizers say. more >>