Church Bodies

A Michigan appeals court heard arguments Thursday on a case questioning whether a member of the clergy could testify in court about what he learned through a confession.

Current state law says members of the clergy violate priest-penitent privilege if they disclose in court what they learn through confessions.

Pastor John Vaprezsan is the clergy member at the center of the case. Vaprezsan testified last March against Samuel Bragg, who is accused of raping a 9-year-old girl, in a preliminary examination. According to Vaprezsan, Bragg and his mother came to Metro Baptist Church late at night in 2009, and the then 17-year-old confessed that when he was 15, he raped the 9-year-old girl, reported the Detroit Free Press. more >>

More than 500 churches in ten different countries have agreed to consider this weekend whether Darwinism is compatible with Christianity, as a result of the prompting of The Clergy Letter Project, a group promoting Darwinism as sound science.

Officials from the project say churches all across the United States will be celebrating "Evolution Weekend." But the event has troubled some who note that one of the intentions of the event is to advance the idea that Darwin's theory of evolution is sound.

Michael Zimmerman, founder and executive director of the Project, told The Christian Post that the purpose of "Evolution Weekend" is for the sake of interfaith dialogue regarding religion and science and that deeply religious individuals can also believe that Darwin's theory is true. more >>

Hispanic congregations in Alabama are reporting declining numbers of worshippers under the enactment of the state's controversial immigration law, one of the strictest in the nation.

Pastor Gomez of First Baptist Church of Center Point said that many of his congregants left because of the law.

"I called them back and some of them returned. But I know of another ministry that is close to me here in town that had around 120, and now it has about 40," said Gomez to Baptist Press. more >>

The New York Senate passed a bill Monday to reverse the New York City school district's ban on worship services at its schools. Sponsored by Sen. Martin J. Golden, (R-Brooklyn), it passed 54-7.

During the voting process, Golden said that the bill was about equal access. "What this bill does is for the churches that are in school buildings to remain in those school buildings and to do their services in those buildings."

But the fight isn't over yet, as the bill still has to pass in the House where its future is less certain and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has added his own complications to the issue. He refused to hear the Senate bill on Monday, saying he was going to work on his own version. more >>

While many people opened up their houses and apartments to friends and family to watch Super Bowl XLVI, one Washington state church decided to invite the homeless.

First Covenant Church of Spokane held a Super Bowl watch party where over 130 homeless people came for a good meal, dessert, and of course, to cheer on either the Patriots or the Giants.

Rob Bryceson, pastor at First Covenant, told CP that this was part of the church's weekly effort that began in 2009 to care for people from an impoverished surrounding neighborhood. more >>

As some churches call for less hierarchy in their denominations, one mainline church will consider reducing their structure by eliminating the synod system.

On Thursday, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s General Assembly Mid-Council Commission approved recommendations first proposed last year for removing synods as part of the governing system of the denomination.

The Rev. Tod Bolsinger, chairman of the Commission, told The Christian Post that the commission investigated certain questions regarding the effectiveness of synods. more >>