Church Bodies

A new program called Scientists in Congregations, created by an Evangelical Lutheran pastor, is in full swing this year to help other pastors start conversations about science and religion.

The Rev. Greg Cootsona told The Christian Post that the project is “designed to catalyze the dialogue of science and theology in local congregations.” There are no set guidelines except to engage with the “highest level of science.”

The initiative is a grant program funded by the John Templeton Foundation and its mission calls for “sustained, creative collaboration between practitioners in the fields of science (scientists or science educators) and theology/faith practice (pastors) who are already engaged with one another through shared participation in the life of a congregation.” more >>

Minnesota's First United Methodist Church has taken a new approach to reconnecting congregants to their faith.

The church in St. Cloud is asking people who have averted from their faith to attend their services, which will be less "preachy."

Starting Saturday, First United Methodist will offer congregants who "aren't so sure about church" a service that consists mostly of just music and meditation, said the Rev. William Meier. more >>

NEW YORK – Dimas Salaberrios, pastor of Infinity Church that is being forced to leave the Bronx River Community Center next month, was arrested while rallying against the eviction at the New York Department of Law on Thursday.

Salaberrios, who is also fasting to counteract the eviction mandate, said he is willing to fight against city officials, who he feels are targeting churches.

“New York City law department is working on getting rid of churches from community centers. Now they're targeting us,” Salaberrios told The Christian Post the day before his arrest. “All together this will mean 17,000 people will be out of their church homes in less than a month in a half.” more >>

A Pentecostal fellowship ended up opening more churches in the United States of America in 2011 than there were days in the year.

According to its records, the Assemblies of God, a denomination with around 3 million members, opened up 368 new churches in 2011.

Pastoral training and funding for these endeavors came through the Assemblies of God’s “Church Multiplication Network,” which is a department in the organization’s National Leadership and Resource Center. more >>

Hollywood's Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton are helping to sing the praises of church choirs everywhere with this weekend's National Choir Appreciation Sunday.

The national campaign celebrates singers and musicians giving it their all for God every week. The first event of its kind, it attracted Parton and Latifah given the pair's participation in "Joyful Noise," a new movie out next Friday. In it, they portray two women competing over their choir's musical direction at a small Georgia church.

"You know, when I was a little girl, my favorite part of church service was hearing the choir sing," Parton told America's choirs in a video on ChurchAppreciationSunday.com. "Of course, they made it seem so easy. What I didn't know, until I was older, was just how much effort goes into making a song sound good. All the hours you volunteer to make that service uplifting are not lost on me." more >>

Two churches in Hawaii were denied a petition for a restraining order to block a new state law that would allow same-sex couples to enter into civil unions.

The Emmanuel Temple House of Praise and Lighthouse Outreach Center Assembly of God believe that the law, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2012, violates their civil rights and constitutional protections for religious freedom, the Court News Service reported.

Filing a federal lawsuit against the state, Gov. Neil Abercrombie and the Department of Health director Loretta Fuddy, the two churches hoped to receive an injunction that would help them “maintain their 1st, 5th and 14th Amendment rights.” more >>