By Greg Warner If the Baptist World Alliance, which lost its largest member and funder earlier this year, hoped to recoup some of that funding from state Baptist conventions, the organization got little encouragement during the recent round of convention…
Reaching the goal: Virginia Baptists surpass 2004 budget
Virginia Baptist leaders praised the generosity of the Baptist General Association of Virginia's churches last week as they announced it has surpassed its 2004 missions and ministry budget for only the second time in almost a quarter of a century….
Messenger study provides snapshot of BGAV meeting
If every church eligible to send a messenger to the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia had sent its maximum number to the meeting in Roanoke last month, attendance would have soared to 10,668. That bit of…
ABP launches weekly summary of news for churches, others
Associated Baptist Press, an independent news agency based in Jacksonville, Fla., has begun publishing a free weekly news summary for use by churches and other organizations. ABP Headlines includes abbreviated versions of the organization's latest news stories, along with occasional…
New homes: Salvation Army finds spots for holiday kettles
By G. Jeffrey MacDonald For more than a century, the Salvation Army has been helping the needy during the holidays. But now the red-clad bell ringers are getting some extra help to make sure their familiar kettles and donations of…
Church & People News for Dec. 9, 2004
C H R I S T M A S • M U S I C Abingdon Church, Abingdon; “Messiah,” Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. Amherst Church, Amherst; “One of Us,” Dec. 12 at 11 a.m. Antioch Church, Sandston; “Emmanuel: Celebrating…
Aiming at Southwest Virginia
Ministers and laity in the southwestern part of Virginia will benefit from a new theological training center approved last week by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, as part of an agreement with Averett University. By Robert Dilday A proposal by…
Networks reject UCC ads, citing gay controversies
Two major television networks have rejected advertisements that stress a Protestant denomination's inclusiveness. The United Church of Christ announced Nov. 30 that negotiations with NBC and CBS officials over the TV spots had broken down. NBC executives told church leaders…
First U.S. Muslim cable network debuts
With American Muslims an untapped television market and heightened interest in Islam among non-Muslims, the first-ever American Muslim television network has begun broadcasting nationwide. Many American Muslims have anxiously awaited the debut as a signal that Muslims are gaining recognition…
Americans divided over how world was created
A Gallup Poll suggests that Americans are divided over how the world was created, but most appear skeptical that it happened exactly as described in the book of Genesis. The poll found that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution remains controversial…
Supreme Court declines to intervene in gay case
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a request to review a Massachusetts court's decision that legalized gay marriage in that state. The justices declined Nov. 29 without comment a request from a group of Massachusetts legislators to review a decision…
Crisis care training to be offered in January
Training for crisis care chaplains will be offered conjunction with disaster relief efforts Jan. 14-15 at the Virginia Baptist Resource Center in Richmond. In responding to destruction caused by hurricanes in Florida and the Caribbean this fall, Virginia Baptist realized…