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The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld references to God on United States currency and in the Pledge of Allegiance, despite arguments that the two phrases in question violate the separation of church and state.See the full story here.

FAIRFAX — The congregations of John XXIII in Cedar Rapids and St. Patrick’s in Fairfax will merge into one new parish, Blessed John XXIII, later this year, according to officials with the Archdiocese of Dubuque.Msgr. Russell Bleich, episcopal vicar for the Cedar Rapids region of the archdiocese, said a declining number of priests and nuns and an increasing number of deacons and lay leaders has made it necessary to combine the two parishes to decrease the amount of duplicity occurring ... continue reading

Glenn Beck is urging Christians to leave churches that preach social justice and want to address poverty and human rights. He even goes so far as to say that the term "social justice" is code for "Communism" and "Nazism."See the story here.

The Denver Archdiocese has denied enrollment of a preschooler to Sacred Heart of Jesus School because the child's parents are lesbians.A statement released by the Archdiocese says students in Catholic schools are expected to have parents who abide by policies of the school and church.See the story here.

For veterans and active soldiers returning from war, the reintegration into a “normal life” is often much more difficult than friends and family realize, according to the chaplain for the Iowa Army National Guard.“There’s a road to war,” Maj. Gary Selof said by telephone this week from his office at Camp Dodge in Johnston. “When you’re going to war you’re going from a citizen to a soldier, from comfort to discomfort. We have all those things that we deal with ... continue reading

When a campaigning Sarah Palin first came to Cedar Rapids, she made headlines by greeting "Grand Rapids" at a stop. Now in her book, "Going Rogue," the former Alaska-governor-turned-vice-presidential-candidate makes yet another Cedar Rapids gaffe. An excerpt from the book:  “… Jason, Jeannie and Bexie were there at one of our first campaign stops after the convention, a stop I’ll never forget. It was at a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The town was a slice of Americana, with its quaint town ... continue reading

Rabbi Joshua B. Gordon, executive director of Chabad of the Valley in the San Fernando Valley of California, is putting his Torah teachings online.After 40 years of leading Torah education, Gordon delivers his classes online. Read more about it here.

Tiger Woods' very public apology is just the first step in what could be a long atonement process if he truly does want to return to his Buddhist faith.Sexual misconduct - particularly that which causes pain to others - is specifically banned in all Buddhist traditions. It's one of the five precepts, or commandment-like values, that all Buddhists share, along with those against killing, lying, stealing and becoming intoxicated."Those five precepts are really big for all of us," said Zuiko Redding, a Buddhist ... continue reading

After two stories on the possible significance of Peoples Church Unitarian Universalist being on the National Register of Historic Places, I received an e-mail from congregation member David Benn, pointing out the true history of the building and the Church. This is the body of his e-mail, printed here with his permission:Last year I was on the Next Step committee at Peoples, which was working through what to do with the church, and I obtained the National Register forms from ... continue reading

Lent starts this week -- for those in the Eastern Orthodox Church, it begins today, for other Christians it starts with Ash Wednesday -- and follows the 44 days until Easter. Denominations observe the season differently, from all-day fasts to abstaining from meat on Fridays to giving something up in the name of self-denial.The purpose of Lent, according to the Web site www.churchyear.net, is "to be a season of fasting, self-denial, Christian growth, penitence, conversion, and simplicity."Lent was always something we observed in ... continue reading

Sixty-five years ago today, the Red Army pushed through the Auschwitz concentration camp, liberating thousands of Jewish prisoners barely alive and in horrific conditions.In the last four years I've been able to speak with a handful of Holocaust survivors who have shared harrowing stories of the horrible things they saw, endured and lived through.Stronger yet were their post-Holocaust stories - coming to the United States and not just surviving but thriving. Creating wonderful, successful families and enjoying, for the most ... continue reading

When tragedies like the recent earthquake that devastated Haiti hits, we can find ourselves questioning the providence of God. Most are familiar with the problem that if God is All-Powerful, All-Good, and All-Knowing, then why does evil exist in the world? If God is All-Powerful and there is evil in the world, then God is not All-Good; if God is All-Good and there is evil in the world, then God is not All-Powerful. This is a question that has plagued ... continue reading

All it took was the threat of hate-monger Fred Phelps to come to Cedar Rapids to bring an unlikely crew together for a common purpose.Phelps, pastor of the Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, had announced earlier this week that his band of haters would be in Cedar Rapids tonight to protest the opening of Theatre Cedar Rapids' "The Laramie Project." Phelps and his followers are known for protesting soldiers' funerals and other events.Upon hearing of the planned protest, counter-protesters started ... continue reading

The Rev. Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, is sending a legion of followers to Cedar Rapids this week to picket the opening night of "The Laramie Project."I've contemplated writing anything on this all day. My general thoughts when it comes to those who spew hate are to ignore them and not give them the ink they so badly desire.Then I thought that by sitting idle and not saying anything at all, I'm offering up ... continue reading

Members of three Orthodox Christian churches in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City will gather at the Iowa River on Saturday to perform a ceremonial blessing of the water in observance of Epiphany.The congregations of St. Raphael Orthodox Mission of Iowa City and St. George Orthodox and St. John the Baptist Orthodox churches in Cedar Rapids will meet on the pedestrian bridge near the Iowa Power Restaurant in Coralville at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 9January 6 is the celebration of Epiphany, ... continue reading

In a special service Sunday morning, the congregations at First Lutheran Church (ELCA) and St. Paul's United Methodist Church, both of Cedar Rapids, will worship and celebrate communion together.Though similar services have taken place across the country, it's the first time such a service has been offered in Cedar Rapids sinced the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America approved the resolution at its churchwide assembly in August. The United Methodist Conference approved the resolution in 2008.According to the ELCA, full communion ... continue reading

From a press release issued Dec. 29:FORT LAUDERDALE, FL (December 29, 2009) –The Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the world’s largest Christian television network, recently informed Coral Ridge Ministries that after airing its Coral Ridge Hour television program for nearly 30 years, it will no longer carry the weekly program on its flagship TBN Channel. TBN’s decision, for which it gave no reason, is effective January 1, 2010. “While we regret TBN’s decision very much, we are pleased that Trinity will continue to ... continue reading

I was struck by just how little we all know about each other while shopping in a Marion, Iowa, grocery store.As I was navigating my cart down the aisle, avoiding the stacks of holiday baking supplies on one side and stockers kneeling to fill shelves on the other, I heard one of the boys questioning the other about his family's non-celebration of Christmas."What do you mean, you don't celebrate Christmas?""We just don't. Not everyone does, you know."It was apparent to ... continue reading

I have no doubts that Iowans are generous by nature. Sometimes, however, I'm still caught off-guard by just how generous you are.Tuesday's edition of The Gazette carried a column by our food writer, Angie Holmes, profiling a Cedar Rapids woman who was concerned about her holiday meals because she lost all of her cookbooks - 79 years' worth - in the Flood of 2008.When Angie came to work that morning, the message light on her phone was blinking and her ... continue reading

The folks at Peoples Church Unitarian Universalist in Cedar Rapids are offering three different interpretations of the Christmas story during their Christmas Eve services Thursday.Unitarian Universalists, while a Protestant denomination, do not believe in the miraculous birth of Jesus, but believe the birth of any child "and certainly the birth of someone who becomes a holy person, like Jesus became, becomes a sign of hope," said the Rev. Tom Capo, pastor at Peoples Church, 600 Third Ave. SE.The congregation's Christmas ... continue reading

Note: The following list includes only items submitted by the churches for publication. It is not a list of all area churches. Dates are as of Dec. 18. Cedar RapidsAfrican Methodist EpiscopalMount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, 1220 Second Ave. SE – Today: Happy Birthday Jesus Program, 6 p.m., combined service with Bethel A.M.E. Church.BaptistCalvary Baptist Church, 5338 Johnson Ave. SW, Cedar Rapids. Sunday: “A Candlelight Christmas Celebration,” 6 p.m. Christmas Eve: 5 p.m. worship.Good News Baptist Church, 1203 Third Ave. SW ... continue reading

A 45-year-old veteran who has been homeless in Cedar Rapids for two years may finally have a home in time for Christmas.Pat Kane, director of CrossRoads Mission in Cedar Rapids, has been working with the man to get an apartment at the mission ready this month. The city will inspect it on Tuesday and, if all goes well, the man will be able to move in next week.Unfortunately, there's little for him to move into. The apartment has appliances, a ... continue reading

From Religion Newswriters Association:Journalists vote Obama’s Cairo speech No. 1 Religion Story of 2009COLUMBIA, MO.—For the second year in a row, activities of Barack Obama topped the list of religion stories for 2009, according to a survey of more than 100 religion journalists.The president’s June speech—in which he pledged a new beginning in Muslim-U.S. relations during a visit to Cairo—was voted the No. 1 religion story of the year.The speech at Cairo University last spring was widely viewed as a contrast ... continue reading

A few years ago I wrote a story about how we as Americans aren't as neighborly as we once were. I remember growing up and accompanying my mother to the neighbor's house while they sat and drank iced tea and talked. The people on my grandmother's block exchanged holiday treats each December, and when my brother and I would go visit cousins the yard was always filled with the neighborhood kids.Now we commute more and talk less. We don't know ... continue reading

In what's believed to be the first move of its kind in the United States, the synod council of the Northeastern Iowa Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America last month approved a resolution that would, in essence, keep coupled homosexuals out of the pulpit.The resolution, introduced by the Rev. Marshall Hahn, is an effort to keep existing language that allows gay and lesbian pastors to serve so long as they remain celibate . It would bypass new language set by ... continue reading