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BREAKING NEWS: No stay in Hollywood Presbyterian Church situation
	A letter from the Presbytery Stated Clerk to the Chairperson of the Administrative Commission, posted on the Hollywood Presbyterian Church web site, states that the Stay of Enforcement request has no bearing on the work of the Administrative Commission, and that the presence of Revs. Meenan and Manock at the June 26 worship service was a violation of the leave imposed by the Commission. Related: Elder responds to Stated Clerk's letter

Hollywood pastors return to church after midnight runs By John H. Adams / The Layman Online
	Successfully following a Book of Order procedure and making some midnight runs in Los Angeles, Hollywood Presbyterian Church brought its two exiled ministers back to the church on Sunday. After weeks of declining attendance and giving at First Presbyterian since an administrative commission took over control of the church and ordered its pastors to go on indefinite administrative leave, the ministers were welcomed back with standing ovations that lasted several minutes. The Rev. Dr. Alan J. Meenan, the senior minister, and the Rev. Dr. David Manock, his top associate, spoke briefly at all four worship services, but they did not preempt Dr. Os Guinness, an internationally noted evangelical scholar who had previously been scheduled to preach. Many who attended the worship services were surprised to see Meenan and Manock because they did not know that their supporters had succeeded in securing an 11th-hour petition that would have failed if it had been a day later. Both ministers told the worshipers at four services that they were resuming their responsibilities and that they were committed to reconciliation in the 2,760-member evangelical congregation. The presbytery has 45 days to appeal the stay to the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of Southern California and Hawaii.

A second presbytery overtures GA to lift ban on ordination of practicing homosexuals – by Chris Jackson / MLP
	"Today [Saturday] at a Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of the Cascades in Milwaukie, Oregon, the Presbytery voted by paper ballot in favor of sending an overture to GA recommending the removal of "B" and the Authoritative Interpretation..."

Scripture lessons for today from the lectionary Today in the Yearbook for Mission and Study: Hungary
	"...There have been many small gatherings and summer camps for youth and college students in the years since the communist era ended, but the 2003 summer camp season in Hungary was the largest one to date. More than 1,200 people gathered..."


News of all churches, in the USA and worldwide, and their interaction with the world around them. Included: opinions, resources Voices from the entire spectrum

Breaching the wall at prayer – by Teresa Watanabe /LATimes Muslim women who enjoy equality outside the mosque are fighting the barriers inside that constrain them as worshipers and leaders.
	On a recent Friday, a veiled woman entered a crowded Los Angeles mosque and surveyed the scene. In the front, a few hundred men waited for the call to prayer. In the back, women and children sat in a separate area behind tinted glass. With barely a pause, Asra Nomani made her choice. Defying age-old Islamic traditions, she stepped over a low partition, sat with the men – and kicked off a furor...

Iran's "Second Islamic Revolution": Fulfilled by Election of Conservative President
	The victory of conservative president-elect Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad over rival candidate and past president 'Ali Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani in the second round of voting in Iran's presidential election took Iran, and the rest of the world, by surprise. With approximately 17 million votes, Ahmadi-Nejad garnered about 62% of the runoff vote, while Rafsanjani, with 10 million votes, took about 33%. In all, 27.5 million voters, or 60%, turned out for the election. With the results of this election, the "Second Islamic Revolution" of Iranian Leader 'Ali Khamenei and his conservative followers is complete... The conservatives now have total control of the centers of power at all levels; no reformists remain in any top posts.

Experts warn houses of worship at risk after Court ruling Eminent domain ruling could make churches, poor vulnerable. By Yogita Patel / Religion News Service
	Religious institutions may be more vulnerable to takeover through eminent domain after Thursday's (June 23) Supreme Court ruling that gives local governments greater power to seize properties for private economic development, according to some religious and civil rights advocacy groups. Churches, mosques, synagogues and other nonprofit religious entities are considered especially at threat because they generate no tax revenue for cities, while developments like hotels or shopping malls are seen to be economic boons for urban renewal projects.

Weblog by Rob Moll: Supreme Court muddles Ten Commandments debate "The decisions... solve nothing"
	"...it seems the Court is saying nothing about whether a Ten Commandments monument is set up in a courthouse or capitol grounds. Rather, it sounds like the Court is saying Ten Commandments monuments are okay if no one interprets the government's motivation as being religious, and if the monument has been around for a long time without people objecting... "...why do conservative groups continue to argue that the Ten Commandments should be displayed for solely historical reasons, then lament when the court interprets accordingly?..." Related: SCALIA's DISSENT (pdf) "...how can the Court possibly assert that "'the First Amendment mandates governmental neutrality between... religion and "nonreligion,'" ... and that .[m]anifesting a purpose to favor... adherence to religion generally,"... is unconstitutional? Who says so? Surely not the words of the Constitution. Surely not the history and traditions that reflect our society's constant understanding of those words. Surely not even the current sense of our society, recently reflected in an Act of Congress adopted unanimously by the Senate and with only 5 nays in the House of Representatives... criticizing a Court of Appeals opinion that had held "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional... Nothing stands behind the Court's assertion that governmental affirmation of the society's belief in God is unconstitutional except the Court's own say-so, citing as support only the unsubstantiated say-so of earlier Courts going back no farther than the mid-20th century..."

Orthodox prayer in public square – Column by Terry Mattingly
	When Father John Parker was asked to say the benediction at the graduation rite for the Medical School of South Carolina he did what any Eastern Orthodox priest would do. He went straight to "The Great Book of Needs," a four-volume set of prayers collected over two millennia for use during every imaginable kind of ritual... Then he received a letter from the president's office offering guidelines for prayers at this public school in Charleston, S.C... Parker decided that the policy was so inclusive that ancient Christian prayers would be excluded... "According to that memo, they wanted me to pray in somebody else's words and, if you stop and think about it, to pray to somebody else's God..."

A more perfect society – Why I wouldn't want to live there. By Angela Beise / CT
	"...My children are among the most unselfish people I have ever known. Brian, 19, Melissa, 17, and Rachel, 13, have made sacrifices, too many and too big to count, for their disabled sibling. One would think that this would have made them bitter and discontented. Amazingly, it has done exactly the opposite. They are thankful, giving, and tolerant to difficult and unlovely people... "What would a society look like if everyone were "normal," if we never had to make provisions and exceptions for people who are deaf, blind, mute, or lame?... "How would love and compassion develop among people who were only surrounded by the lovely and intelligent?..."

AAC leader Anderson is dead wrong and should apologize for his racist remarks – by David W. Virtue
	"The President of the American Anglican Council David C. Anderson has blasted an interview that I, David W. Virtue conducted with the Archbishop of Central Africa Bernard Malango... "Anderson's attack on the gentle archbishop is pure unadulterated racism and Anderson should publicly apologize to Archbishop Malango... "The AAC should fold its tent, it is propaganda machine turning out press releases that affect nobody and nothing. The revisionists ignore them, as they ignore Anderson because they know he is powerless to stop ANYTHING that is going on or will go on in the ECUSA. He can rant and rage all he wants but he is powerless to stop the inevitable. They lost the battle a long time ago... "Furthermore the Global South does not need Anderson's permission to make their own moves. They are quite capable of making them themselves, they don't need to be told by Anderson what they should or shouldn't do or say. Anderson is a nobody, Akinola is the biggest player with 18 million evangelical Anglicans and his province will soon have 36 million. The AAC is a pimple on the backside of ECUSA..."

Church aims to ‘be there for the community’ via expansion project
	A Tennessee church believes its $16 million expansion will help form a greater sense of community and grow the ministry from the outside in. Last fall, Christ Church in Nashville unveiled a 104,000-square-foot addition that includes a new gymnasium, workout room, game room, indoor playground, classrooms, fellowship areas and 128-foot prayer tower made of glass. Church leaders say half of the 1,600 health club members had not attended the church before beginning to exercise there. Christ Church pastor Lawson Hardwick Jr., 73, who founded the church nearly 55 years ago with his wife, Montelle, 74, said he wanted the 3,500-member congregation to become a community center where neighbors connected with one another.

Farewell, Larry Norman – by David Sanford / CT The man known as the Father of Christian Rock, whose health has been failing in recent years, played his last U.S. concert Friday night.
	In what he called his last U.S. concert, 58-year-old Larry Norman came out of retirement Friday at the historic Elsinore Theatre and wowed a sold-out audience that included fans from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and Australia. Since suffering head injuries in an airplane accident 27 years ago and severe heart problems 14 years ago, Norman has been unable to tour regularly. He officially retired in 2001, the same year he underwent quadruple bypass surgery and was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

Oil in Israel - Does the Bible foretell its discovery? / CBN
	It stands nearly 15 stories tall - the biggest oil rig in Israel. Located in northern Israel and near the biblical valley of Armageddon, this complex of technology and machinery could change the future of the Middle East. If Israel became energy-independent, it could change the geo-dynamics of the region. John Brown is the founder of Zion Oil and Gas, a company dedicated to discovering oil in Israel. He founded the company on what he says is a God-given mission – now almost 25 years old – to discover a major oil deposit in Israel. The company expects to drill down to 5,000 meters. With less than 1,000 meters to go, they say they might hit a major deposit in a little as a few weeks.

Before starting engines, drivers pray NASCAR racers face danger with ministries' support By Vanessa Hua / San Francisco Chronicle
	Moments before NASCAR driver Joe Nemechek began to rocket around Infineon Raceway Sunday, chaplain Tim Griffin leaned on his car door and prayed for his safety. Other drivers stood outside their cars, heads bowed and caps off, to receive blessings from Griffin and another chaplain. With the morning's overcast worn off and introductions to the crowd complete, the 43 drivers were preparing for the Nextel Cup Dodge/SaveMart 350

Gallup: American public opinion about retirement
	• One in five Americans (21%) say they are retired. • 54 percent of retirees are women • 39% of retirees say they are Democrats, while 34% are Republicans and 27% independents. • Slightly less than half of retirees (47%) live in households earning less than $30,000 per year. • 16% retired at 65, 12% retired later than that. • 57%, say Social Security is a "major source" of household income.

George Barna Research: Religious books attract a diverse audience dominated by women and boomers
	Nearly half of all Americans have read at least one religious book, other than the Bible, from cover to cover in the past two years. However, the route to bestseller status among such books can take various paths, according to a new survey by The Barna Group. Studying the reader base for each of seven national bestsellers dealing with religious topics in recent years, the survey showed that different segments of the religious marketplace have turned books as diverse in style and content as The DaVinci Code, The Purpose Driven Life, The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Left Behind, The Prayer of Jabez , Tuesdays with Morrie and Your Best Life Now into nationwide favorites. Despite the onslaught of new technologies such as the Internet and DVDs, most Americans still read books. In the past two years, three out of four adults (73%) claim to have read at least one book from cover to cover. The people most likely to do so include women, college graduates and evangelicals. Related: STATE OF CHURCH: 2005 "This report describes the results of tracking surveys conducted by The Barna Group from 1991-2005 regarding America’s faith. The emphasis is on the findings from the January 2005 study. "The report is divided into four sections. In the first part you will read about the religious practices of Americans. The behaviors described include church attendance, Bible reading, prayer, Sunday school attendance, small group participation, church volunteerism, financial support, evangelism, use of the Christian media, the house church, and accountability relationships..."


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