Wall Street workers seek spiritual guidance. As the market mayhem rocks Wall Street, dazed employees in the financial sector who have lost their faith in the economy are turning to religious leaders for guidance. Houses of worship in New York City are providing programs to help employees manage the stress of the market meltdown, including immediate counseling, job training and long-term direction for those who still have jobs but aren't sure for how long.
Let there be light — except in England. Reversing an eight-year campaign to brighten up the evenings, the Church of England has developed new guidelines backed by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams urging parishes to cut back on the use of floodlights, in the interest of reducing their carbon footprints. The move marks a sharp switch in Anglican enthusiasm that received a major boost for exterior lighting eight years ago, when Britain's Millennium Commission awarded about $4.4 million to install floodlights at 400 places of worship. Now, the church's new guidelines suggest all this lighting up at night has gone a bit too far in these days of global concern over carbon emissions. The new guide advises that nightly lighting be reserved for special occasions, such as celebrations of an anniversary.
Church of England apologizes to Darwin. The Church of England has gone into 21st-century cyberspace to issue an official apology to naturalist Charles Darwin for its own 19th-century “misunderstanding” over his theory of evolution. Darwin's thesis that all life evolved over millions of years was published in 1859 in his book, On The Origin of Species, and almost instantly triggered controversy that still continues. His antagonists, including the Church of England, vilified him for questioning convictions that the universe and all its parts were solely the work of God perhaps around 6,000 B.C. and certainly no earlier than 10,000 years ago. But Malcolm Brown, director of missions and public affairs for the Church of England, addressed Darwin on the church's website and conceded that the church “owes you an apology for misunderstanding you, by getting our first reaction wrong.” In his online apology, Brown likened the Darwin controversy to the Vatican's trial in 1633 of Galileo, the Italian astronomer who angered the Roman Catholic Church by asserting the Earth revolved around the sun.
Founder returns to Promise Keepers. Promise Keepers co-founder Bill McCartney, former University of Colorado football coach, has returned to his position as chairman and CEO of the Christian men's ministry. Raleigh Washington, a former executive of the Denver-based ministry and current board member, will return as president. McCartney, 68, resigned in 2003 to care for his ill wife. Lyndi McCartney is “still ailing but in complete accord” with McCartney's decision to return, general counsel Ed O'Brien told the Rocky Mountain News. Tom Fortson left as president and CEO during the first weekend of September. His resignation was voluntary, O'Brien reported.
Compiled from Religion News Service