christian

Good Friday

Steve Carmody — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 17:48:51 +0000

Christians across Michigan are observing Good Friday.

Observances are taking place in many different places.

Beginning outside the state capitol building, a few hundred members of Lansing’s Christo Rey church followed a group of actors through the streets of the state capitol as they recreated the biblical story of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Holy week observances conclude on Easter Sunday.

In Holland, mixed response on protections for LGBT community

Lindsey Smith — Wed, 27 Jun 2012 06:23:12 +0000

Michigan’s Civil Rights Department heard more than two hours of testimony Tuesday night about whether the state should expand protections to gay, bisexual and transgender people. It’s a hot issue in Holland. More than 200 people packed Holland City Hall.

Reformed Church in America strikes policy allowing 'conscience' objection to female ministers

Lindsey Smith — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 15:57:10 +0000

The Reformed Church in America has been ordaining women for more than 30 years. But there have always been ways for people who conscientiously object to female ministers to remove themselves from the process. On Monday night, the church’s governing body voted 143 to 69 to strike those policies.

A survey of female ministers shows about one in four experiences setbacks because of inappropriate use of those rules.

Reverend Stacey Midge heads the RCA’s Commission for Women. She believes the changes could cause some upheaval in the short term.

"In the long run however, I believe that we have more integrity as a denomination if we just say ‘we ordain women.' And if you can’t live within a system that ordains women, then there are a lot of denominations, and perhaps this isn’t the one for you," Midge said.

Michigan clergy members discuss ways to reduce youth violence

Steve Carmody — Sat, 28 Apr 2012 20:15:01 +0000

A new group is trying to organize clergy members statewide to address the problem of youth violence in Michigan.

The group Prophetic Voices gathered a Christian, Muslim and other religious leaders to a meeting in Lansing this past week.

Reverend Ira Edwards is the spokesman for Prophetic Voices. He says youth violence is hurting more than just young people in Michigan.

City of Dearborn, Michigan pays $100,000 in lawsuit by evangelists

The Associated Press — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 16:20:49 +0000

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) - The city of Dearborn has paid $100,000 in legal fees to attorneys for a Christian evangelist whose free-speech rights were violated at a popular Arab-American street festival.

Dearborn has a large Muslim population and one of the nation's biggest concentrations of people with roots in the Arab world. (Photo above of the Islamic Center of America, the largest mosque in the U.S. by Flickr user ruffin_ready.)

City police in 2010 barred George Saieg and his allies from freely walking sidewalks with literature to convert Muslims to Christianity. Chief Ron Haddad says he was just controlling foot traffic, but a federal appeals court says the city violated the First Amendment.

The court says allowing the evangelists on the festival's perimeter wasn't good enough.

As the prevailing party, Saieg was entitled to legal fees and other costs from Dearborn. His lawyers say the money was paid last week.

Christian book publisher Zondervan downsizes in Grand Rapids

Lindsey Smith — Sat, 14 May 2011 16:33:00 +0000

75 workers will be laid off from Christian book publisher Zondervan’s distribution warehouse in July of 2012. Zondervan currently employs 325 people.

Scott Macdonald is president and CEO of the Grand Rapids-based company that publishes Bibles, children’s books, and Christian authors.

“We’re a family. We have a long history and heritage (in Grand Rapids). This is a significant impact on our family but it’s one that’s driven by a changing business climate and it’s the right decision for us at this time because of that.”

Michigan Christians and Lent, some lower calorie recipes

Michigan Radio Newsroom — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 13:54:28 +0000

For Michigan's Christian population (including around 2 million Catholics), today marks the beginning of Lent.

During Lent, many adherents give up meat and dairy products.

Over at the Detroit News, columnist Kate Lawson is serving up a scrumptious-looking lemony shrimp with asparagus, a seafood recipe for people looking for something tasty and healthy.

Lawson also notes there are very good non-religious reasons for wanting to increase the amount of fish in your diet.

"At my house, we follow the U.S. Department of Agriculture's recent release of Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and eat seafood at least twice each week for heart and brain benefits."

The reasons for eating seafood, and the advantages, are significant. Again, from Health.gov:

"Seafood contributes a range of nutrients, notably the omega-3 fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Moderate evidence shows that consumption of about 8 ounces per week of a variety of seafood, which provide an average consumption of 250 mg per day of EPA and DHA, is associated with reduced cardiac deaths among individuals with and without pre-existing cardiovascular disease."

But there are some concerns over which types of fish to eat, especially for women of child-bearing age and children. The concern is over mercury exposure and some fish can contain higher levels of mercury than others.

The Environmental Protection Agency has some guidelines to help you avoid mercury in fish in its "One Fish, Two Fish, Don't Fish, Do Fish" brochure.

Meanwhile, the New York Times is whipping up vegan recipes for the meat- and dairy-avoiding portion of their readership, including one for baked beans with mint and tomatoes, the kind of dish that goes perfectly with a stack of unleavened bread.

And, at 384 calories per serving, it's pretty healthy.

And, finally, here's chef Bobby Flay with one last seafood recipe for Lent:

Brian Short - Michigan Radio Newsroom