European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 13, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 14 the stars and stripes religion saturday August 13,1994 top muslims Vatican assail population study by the Washington Post. Cairo Egypt islamic leaders have begun Toline up with the Vatican in condemning a landmark . Document on population and development say ing the paper condones extramarital sex homosexual Ity abortion and possibly prostitution. Ai Azhar University the world s most prestigious Center of islamic learning said in a statement Here thursday that parts of the document offend slam. It called on muslims to press for its amendment during a major . Conference on population issues in Cairo next month. Iran s Muslim led government also has raised objections to the draft. The . Document and the Cairo conference is essentially aimed at pushing countries to View population issues with new urgency. The draft exam Ines strategies for stabilizing the world s population expected to grow by 3 billion people by 2030. Two billion of those people will be born in the world s poorest countries Many of whose populations Are mostly Muslim. The document s supporters including the Clinton administration fear that such opposition by leaders of the world s two most populous religions could prevent consensus at the conference. Greg Laurie spreads his High Energy word to a crowd of 16,000 recently in a stadium in san Diego. Jesus rocks for baby Boomers of California pastor s crusades by Amanda Covarrubias the associated press san Diego it s christianity leavened with pop culture. Jeans wearing personal computer toting evangelist Greg Laurie is just As Apt to talk about Madonna As heis about god. Sprinkling i High Energy sermons with sound bites from prime time television Laurie s annual Harvest crusade now draws thousands of devoted baby Boom ers and generation hers across Southern California and the West. The crusade came to san Diego s Jack Murphy stadium in late july during a three month tour that ends in october in Albuquerque . You can feel god Here said Cathy futz of Lemon Grove who attended the crusade with her husband Roger and their 5-year-old son Daniel. The crusades part Rock concert and part old fashioned tent revivalism have attracted thousands of peo ple in California Hawaii and new Mexico since they began in 1990. Church members Hawk Harvest crusade to shirts and videos outside the stadium. The program is heavy on music provided by Christian pop bands a full gospel choir and Star singers such As Deniece Williams. Between sets pastors from local churches Lead Pray ers and talk about Jesus Christ. Then Laurie takes the podium. At the end he invites people to walk onto the Field and publicly commit to Christ. There s no pressure said Chad Griffith 34, of Poway. There s no dress code. You Don t have to give Money. No one s forcing you to do to dispel criticism that Laurie preaches to the Al ready converted participants Are encouraged to bring a Friend who might Benefit from the experience. Laurie said he does not consciously target any partic ular demographic group. I am a baby Boomer so it makes sense i would attract baby a self described troubled youth who took Ltd and smoked pot Laurie found Christ at 17 at the Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa in Orange county during the so called Jesus movement of the 1970s. At a time when books on Angels and spiritual renew Al top Best seller lists and new age gurus draw stand ing room Only crowds Laurie s Success is easy to understand. There s a real spiritual thirst in the. Lives of Many people he said. Sort of leading the charge on this Are baby Boomers. They be reached their goals and. They re saying is this All there is " Laurie reads newsmagazine and watches television shows in his quest for words of inspiration that will connect with a contemporary audience. He logs the Best quotes and anecdotes into his Laptop computer which he carries along with his Bible. Besides his summer Harvest crusades Laurie is Pas Tor of one of the 10 largest protestant congregations in the United states. The Church Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside has an estimated 12,000 Mem Bers. Laurie s television program which he describes As a Bible study on to airs on the Trinity broadcast net work a string of Christian stations based in Southern California. He also has a radio ministry. Black . Congregation Marks 244th anniversary from staff and wire reports Beech Island a Black Baptist congregation celebrated its 244th birthday Las weekend with a three hour prayer service. Silver Bluff Baptist Church was founded in 1750by a White missionary pita Cher the Rev. Jessie Golphin. Slaves brought onto the Church property to clean up and farm the land were allowed to become 1773, slaves outnumbered White members. The Church was turned Over to the have been a whole lot of and Downs said the Rev. . Hatney pastor of Good hop Baptist Church i nearby Augusta ga., a visiting members have worshipped in three locations Over the years. The present property in 1873. Various renovation projects followed including a Complete rebuilding in 1948.Church officials say the first Black preacher in America the Rev. George Liele once preached a Silver Bluff. Prayer Law under review Jackson miss. A Federal judge has temporarily struck Down Mississippi s school prayer Law until he can decide whether it is Law that took effect july 1 lets pupils Pray at school As Long As they initiate it. It also allow voluntary nonsectarian and no proselytizing benedictions and a ruling released late thursday . District judge Henry Wingate wrote that the Law is vague.1 As it reads now any person including school administrators teachers or members of the clergy seemingly would be permitted under the statute to deliver invocations and benedictions at a wide rang of school related functions Wingate wrote. The . Supreme court in 1963 declared prayer in Public schools unconstitutional. But a 1992 5th circuit court of appeals decision said that voluntary Pupil led and Pupil initiated prayers Are constitutional. The Mississippi Law was challenged last month bythe state chapter of the american civil liberties Union and people for the american Way on behalf of 14 parents and pupils. They contend the Law violates the constitutional separation betwee Church and state. Unitarians set Retreat the european unitarian universalist will hold Retreat oct. 14-16 in Dourdan France Southwest of Paris. The Rev. John Buehrens president of the american unitarian universalist association will speak on the human need for a sense of Community activities will include workshops on meditation metaphysics and euthanasia As Well As historical Tours of Rambouillet and Chartres. Child care will be provided. Visitors Are Welcome. Unitarian universalism Isan alternative to traditional religion. It relies on human reason rather than supernatural intervention. It encourages human achievement social Reform and concern for the Well being of others. Registration for the Retreat must be made by sept. 6. The Price is 800 French francs for adults about $150 with reduced rates for information Contact Jackie Rodrigues 5 Rue Auguste Perret 92500 Ruel Malraison France or Mary Goodwin 208 Rue de Crenelle 75007 Paris France. Information also is available by calling the Paris unitarian Fellowship at 33-1-42-779677. No Penny Ante project Baltimore parishioners at St. Ann s roman Catholic Church Are hoping pennies from heaven will provide the $500,000 needed to make repairs to the 121-year-old Church. Parishioners have opened a drive to raise at least $500,000 much of it in pennies for desperately needed repairs. They Hope such a sum will convince the archdiocese of Baltimore that their 300-member Church should be taken off the endangered list of 16 churches targeted for reorganization or closure. It would sure give us a better position of negotiating from said Erich , Campaign chairman ". He said the Church chose pennies because it s a cultural phenomenon people Hoard Are asking neighbourhood stores to set up Penny collection jars
