May
2014
Court
Allows NYC to Ban Worship Services in School Buildings
Many
congregations across the country meet in school buildings – often when
they are just beginning to form, have outgrown their old facilities or have
suffered flood or fire. But a recent ruling by a federal appeals panel may
make that more difficult. The ruling allows New York City to ban religious
groups from holding worship services in public school buildings. (read the NAE press release)
Clergy
Housing Allowance on Trial
In
November 2013, a federal trial judge in Wisconsin ruled that the longstanding
law that provides an income tax exemption for clergy housing expenses is
unconstitutional. The Justice Department is appealing the ruling to the Seventh
Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. The NAE joined an amici brief urging
reversal. (read more)
Smarter
Sentencing Act
The
Smarter Sentencing Act, a bill being sponsored by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and
Richard Durbin (D-IL), would reduce harsh mandatory minimum sentences for low
level drug offenders and is an important step in the reform of our broken
criminal justice system. NAE Vice President of Government Relations Galen Carey
sent a letter to all U.S. Senators calling for their support. (read the letter)
Supporting
State Traditional Marriage Laws
A
coalition of religious groups, including the NAE, Southern Baptist Convention,
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and Church
of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, filed joint amici briefs in state
marriage cases in Utah, Oklahoma and Virginia, supporting the states' rights to
preserve the traditional definition of marriage.
(read more)
Time.com:
What Americans Don't Know About the Central African Republic
By
Leith Anderson, NAE President
Most
Americans know nothing about the Central African Republic. They guess that it
must be in the middle of Africa, but that’s about it. When told where it is and
the societal chaos and slaughter in CAR, they always ask why it’s not more in
the news. Although I've traveled to much of the world including Africa, I had
never been there until this month. (read more)
Add
Pakistan to Countries of Particular Concern List
NAE
President Leith Anderson wrote President Obama urging his administration to
designate Pakistan as a Country of Particular Concern in the State Department's
religious freedom report. The designation shines a spotlight on
particularly severe religious freedom violators, and brings international
pressure to bear on those countries to make needed changes. (read the letter)
Church
Connection Tour
In
June, the Coalition for Immigrant Legal Ministries, which the NAE helped
convene, is hosting regional one-day events that will help pastors, church
planters and mission leaders explore approaches, resources and partnerships for
developing church-based ministry to immigrants, refugees and international
students. (find an event near you)
Member
Spotlight: Kingdom
Church
Founded
in 2005, Kingdom Church is a nondenominational, multi-site church in New Jersey
that serves more than 3,000 members weekly. Founder and Pastor Dharius Daniels,
who also serves on the NAE board, was recently profiled on Princeton Theological
Seminary's website. (learn more)
Article
Spotlight: One
More Time, Evangelicals Head to Hill on Immigration Reform
Religion
News Service –
Trying yet again with new voices, more than 250 evangelical pastors came to
Capitol Hill on Tuesday (April 29) to push for immigration reform. “I
didn’t want people to think this was only a Hispanic issue,” said Eugene Cho,
pastor of Quest Church in Seattle, at a news conference before meeting with
dozens of mostly Republican members of Congress. “This is impacting a lot of
people, including Asian-Americans.” (read more)
Event
Spotlight: Irreplaceable Movie Premiere
Irreplaceable , a
documentary-styled movie by Focus on the Family, will premiere in a one-night
event on May 6. It surveys modern trends in the areas of sexuality, marriage,
family and parenting, and shows winsomely that the family unit is
irreplaceable. Some churches are sponsoring screenings and encouraging their
members to attend the theater showings on May 6. Other churches plan to
use the small group video curriculum for more in-depth study. (learn more)
For
more events, go to www.evangelicalevents.com.
Follow
the NAE on Facebook.
Sign
up for monthly email updates.
Feedback? Drop us a line.
No comments:
Post a Comment