The Red Door - a ministry led by Kathy Price of Wisconsin - meets every Sunday at the Willowdale Saloon in Janesville, WI. The full story about The Red Door can be found here at the Beloit Daily News website.

According to the story,

In an effort to minister to those turned off by traditional religion, Price
holds services at the bar at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday. A social beer and
cigarette is allowed as well as chicken wings, coffee and donuts.

Price continues,

I want the people who don’t want to go to church, those who are wounded and broken, especially from religion…I want to reach out to the person who believes a beer separates them from God.

Many people are hesitant to attend church, Price said, because they feel they
aren’t good enough, or are too sinful. For example, some feel they can’t live
with their boyfriends or girlfriends, must cease swearing, or driving and
talking on the…

James Nichols, 31, is a convicted sex offender who can’t understand why he is isn’t allowed in church.

According to this story by the Associated Press, Nichols was arrested after attending a church in North

Convicted Sex Offender James Nichols praying at the cross. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

Carolina that also contains a daycare center. North Carolina law states that sex offenders can not come within 300 feet of “any place intended primarily for the use, care or supervision of minors.”

(For an overview of Missouri sex offender legislation, you can check out the Missouri State Highway Patrol Sex Offender Registry Fact Sheet.)

Nichols is now challenging that law as it relates to churches, claiming that his ability to practice his faith is critical to his rehabilitation:

I believe wholeheartedly if it wasn’t for God, I don’t know where I’d be today. God’s blessed me with learning how to live a better life

North Carolina Sen. David Hoyle…

Rev. Dr. Ronald L. Bobo, Sr. - Candidate for NBCUSA, Inc. President

The Rev. Dr. Ronald Bobo, Sr., pastor of West Side Missionary Baptist Church of North St. Louis and Florissant, recently declared his candidacy and began a campaign to become President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Incorporated.  This religious organization has the distinction of being the largest body of African American Christians in the world.  As a matter of fact, with an estimated 7.5 million members, it is the largest collection of African Americans on the globe.  The group has been led by The Rev. Dr. William Shaw of Philadelphia, PA since 1999.

“Change” for Bobo is a call to return to the Convention’s 1886 founding purpose, focusing on collective Missions and Education.  This fits well into his own ministry focus and service, which includes terms as Chair of the Foreign Mission Board for the Missionary Baptist Convention of Missouri and the Evangelism and Education…

Kevin Grady at October parent forum at Normandy High. Photo by John L. White of Post-Dispatch

On Monday, November 17th from 6:30-8:00pm, Faith Communities United will convene a community forum to discuss issues related to the recent HIV/AIDS issues at Normandy High.  The event will be hosted by Normandy United Methodist church, located at 8000 Natural Bridge Road.  All are welcome and encouraged to enter into the dialogue from a perspective of faith.

Panelists include: Dr. Delores Gunn (St. Louis County Health Department), Dr. Denise Hooks Anderson (President, Mound City Medical Forum), Lawrence Lewis (Program Manager, In the Spot), Nancy Hatman (Board member, Normandy School District), Gloria Farr (Ministry Director, Normandy UMC), and L.D. McGee (Concerned Parent of a Normandy Student).  Clergy members from Faith Communities United will lead the program.

Faith Communities United, Inc. is a non-profit coalition and partnership formed by clergy, faith organizations, health professionals and advocates to raise awareness and work toward prevention of HIV/AIDS in communities…

With all that’s going on in the world, it sounds strange to say. But I’ve been preoccupied with technology lately.

Mainly because Concordia Seminary just hosted its annual symposium, “Lutheran Ecclesiology for the Third Millenium: Beyond Walther.” I can unpack that title a bit later. But what was truly astonishing were the vast technologies that the symposium employed:

• One of the keynote speakers spoke live from Europe via Skype, then later took part in a panel discussion through the same hook-up.
• Participants asked questions of speakers and sectional presenters through the symposium Web site and via computer kiosks set up throughout campus.
• A remote site for the symposium was piloted simultaneously on a college campus in Bronxville, NY, outside New York City. We’re looking at additional sites for the future.
• Participants prepared for the symposium with print and Internet resources through the Seminary’s Concordia Journal, ConcordiaTheology.org, and iTunes U site. (And videos of many presentations are already online on…

So, a few nights ago I did something I had never done before. I watched a full episode of Desperate Housewives from start to finish.

The re-run hooked me in because one of its central plot-lines concerned faith and religion (”Sunday” was the title). After enduring several traumas in her life, Lynette (Felicity Huffman) decides to coerce her family into joining Bree (Marcia Cross) at church. And in the process, the episode took up a fundamental question: What is church for?

The crux of the drama was whether church was for “questions” or “answers.” Ultimately, of course, church is all about both. But in trying to answer the question, Housewives touched on many of the reasons many of us religious types find ourselves – in more ways than one – within religious communities.

Tradition and community. Forgiveness and reconciliation. Friendship and meaning. And a source for trust. This last value is particularly important for those who…