Governor Rell has signed an Executive Order (read here as a PDF) which keeps the State running. Quoted in the Courant, Mrs. Rell said,
Rell said Tuesday that while the negotiations continue, “first and foremost, people should rest assured that state government will continue to operate — services will be delivered; we will care for the vulnerable and the sick; public safety and public health will be protected.”
“I remain hopeful that we will resolve the budget issues that divide us and bring an affordable, responsible budget proposal to the General Assembly for a vote in the very near future,” Rell said. “In the interim, I am taking all of the steps necessary to ensure that state government functions smoothly.”
Budget woes continue elsewhere. In East Haven, teachers are being laid off. Positions are being trimmed in Torrington. We’re sure more examples could be put forward. Please keep on praying for our State!
Tags: budget, connecticut, economy, esat haven, politics, rell, torrington
I can’t figure out why it’s considered news in a couple of different Connecticut news outlets that a church is going to rent space in the local high school in West Hartford. Time was when these kinds of arrangements were common. In the current environment, even a town as relatively well-heeled as West Hartford should appreciate picking up $900 a week.
On the other hand, I’ve heard of some municipalities being hostile to the idea on ideological grounds. You know, it would be unconstitutional to rent vacant property on a weekend to a church. Or something like that. When that happens (and it does) it usually doesn’t make news because the folks running the church usually go quietly away so as to maintain friendly relations with the town fathers and the rest of their neighbors.
In any case, I’m glad that there are growing churches in the Capital area. More here.
Tags: christian, connecticut, west hartford
Two important questions for the future in today’s Christian Post. Chuck Colson asks about the limits of obedience to the government… are State-run churches coming to America under the guise of preventing hate crimes and the like?
According to the Daily Telegraph, starting next year, the British government is going to begin forcing churches and other religious institutions to hire open, practicing homosexuals. It will happen under the provisions of the so-called Equity Bill, which forbids discrimination against homosexuals or transsexuals.
The law would “cover almost all church employees,” according to Deputy Equities Minster Maria Eagle. “The circumstances in which religious institutions can practice anything less than full equality are few and far between,” Eagle said. Church groups, she said, “cannot claim that everything they run is outside the scope of anti-discrimination law.”
A related question is what on earth are we doing to stem the loss of youth from churches in the U.S.? Aren’t all the social problems we face (such as one just referenced) due to our failure to evangelize and bring the culture of the Kingdom to the last several generations of youth in the Western world?
A new survey shows that
…95 percent of 20- to 29-year-old evangelicals attended church regularly during their elementary and middle school years. Only 55 percent went to church during high school. And by college, only 11 percent were still attending church.
If we can’t retain 90 of the kids we have, how are we going to reach the ones that aren’t even coming?
Tags: america, britain, christian, church, colson, evangelical, gay agenda, youth
More meetings to come on Monday, and the current fiscal year ends Tuesday. Remember to pray for the State budget and deficit. More here from WCBS radio:
No Deal after Three Hour Meeting on Connecticut Budget.
Tags: budget, connecticut, economy, rell
Israel needs to find a new ally for its own good.
So says Dutch writer Leon de Winter in the Jerusalem Post. Has Mr. Obama’s Cairo speech forced the Israelis to rethink their relationship with America? While the President’s speech was lauded by many, Israelis who listened closely might have felt a chill wind coming out of Washington.
Within this historic speech, Obama couldn’t find words to describe the attack by various Arab armies on Israel the day it was created. He couldn’t describe the terrorist attacks that followed the 1949 armistice. He omitted the growing anti-Semitism in the Arab media, the Arab schoolbooks, Arab radio and TV, in the preaching in the mosques. Twice Obama mentioned the anti-Semitic and anti-Christian Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas: “Hamas does have support among some Palestinians, but they also have responsibilities. To play a role in fulfilling Palestinian aspirations, and to unify the Palestinian people, Hamas must put an end to violence, recognize past agreements, and recognize Israel’s right to exist.”
Obama didn’t mention the core message of Hamas: the worldwide destruction of the Jews. Ayatollah Khomeini, the instigator of the present Islamist revolution, defined world history, the course of human events, as follows: “From the beginning, the Islamic movement has been obstructed by the Jews. They were the first who developed anti-Islamic propaganda and conspiracies. And this is still the case.”
In other words, opposing Israel, the nation of the Jews, is the driving force of the Islamist revolution, both Sunni and Shi’ite. It is its core. It cannot exist if it would give up its ambition to erase Israel. The destruction of Israel is its ultimate goal, its fuel, its body, its nature, its direction and its destination. Only through the destruction of the cunning, conspiring, obstructing Jews the Islamist revolution can reach its goal: the resurrection of the caliphate.
Mr. de Winter lays out uncomfortable realities which the media do not even mention – much less attempt to explain to an American audience. Who in America even knows, anymore, what the Calpihate was? Or the intention of those who may be working, openly or covertly, to resuscitate it? It is far easier, much less messy to pave over the words of the Islamists. Time, demography, and money are on their side anyway, so why not accomodate them? De Winter continues:
A SMALL NATION like Israel, a single and lonely modern democracy in a part of the world in which autocracies and tyrannies are the norm, cannot survive without a strategic partnership with a major international power that is forced, by the sheer size of its interests, to play the complex fields of the Middle East. It is too soon to create a lasting bond with India, a natural ally for Israel. India will emerge during this century as a major international power, both militarily as economically and scientifically, but it cannot give Israel yet the diplomatic and military backup it needs.
But there is another strategic player in the field who would welcome a partnership with Israel, especially with its cutting-edge electronic industries. Of Israel’s 5.7 million Jews, more than 1 million have Russian roots. Despite the old anti-Semitism in Russia, there has been a strong melancholic bond between the two populations. In Russia, Jews have excelled in sciences and the arts.
Because of its continuous counterbalancing act with America, Russia has been maintaining ties to Iran and Syria, but it needs to diversify and update its economy and reduce its dependence on oil and natural gas income. It could use scientific and commercial ingenuity, qualities Iran and Syria are not able to deliver – Israel is. And Israel could use Russia’s vast resources and the determination of its leader Vladimir Putin, a smart and ruthless leader who understands the cruel rules of the international power game.
Obama’s loyalties, and those of the majority of liberal American Jewry, don’t lie with Israel. So Israel needs to shop for another ally. In his offices in the Kremlin, Putin will receive its leaders with open arms, dark bread, marinated herring and some bottles of Stoli.
Desperation may indeed drive the Israelis into embraces which they earlier might have shunned.
Let’s continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and that our leaders will follow the guidance of God.
Tags: america, antisemitism, islam, israel, obama, politics, russia
Not that we have too many of them in New England, but there’s an interesting survey out about the people who attend a megachurch, defined as a church with 2,000 members. From the Christian Post:
The report – “Not Who You Think They Are: The Real Story of People Who Attend America’s Megachurches” – is based on data from a national survey that drew 24,900 responses from 12 carefully selected megachurches across the country. It is claimed to be the largest national representative study of megachurch attendees conducted by any researchers to date….
Although megachurches have nearly twice as many new attendees, most of the new people are already Christians and came from another church. Seventy-seven percent said they have been long-time committed Christ followers for seven or more years and only 2 percent said they are not a follower. Also, 18 percent had not attended church for a while before coming to the megachurch and just 6 percent said they never went to church previously.
Most megachurch attendees (82 percent) come at the invitation of a friend, family member or co-worker, the study found. Only 19 percent said they saw the church or viewed media about it and came on their own.
Only 16 percent said they viewed the church’s website before attending.
Examining what attracts people to megachurches, the survey found that the worship style, senior pastor, and reputation of the church, respectively, were the strongest factors in initial attraction.
Those three items were also most influential in having people stay. The senior pastor, however, proved to be the strongest factor that kept people coming back.
The entire report can be read here at the website of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.
You can also read and download the report as a PDF document here: National Survey of Megachurch Attenders.
Tags: america, christianity, church, megachurch
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty
Power Line reports on the budget controversy in Minnesota, where the fur is flying.
Republicans are out of power in Washington and many other places around the country. They’re out of power here in Minnesota, too, except for Governor Tim Pawlenty. But in this case, one man has been enough–Pawlenty has faced down the Democrats and beaten them.
The Democrats tried to ramp up Minnesota’s already out of control spending and pay for it with a $1 billion tax increase. But Governor Pawlenty, who recognizes that Minnesota’s booming public sector can only come at the expense of private sector growth, vetoed the tax increase. His veto was upheld in the Minnesota House, with all Republicans and two Democrats voting to sustain it. The Democrats in the legislature then refused to pass a responsible, balanced budget as required by state law.
That left Pawlenty, like Horatius at the bridge, standing alone but victorious. He announced that he would use his power of “unallotment” to decide where the state’s revenues will be spent over the next two years.
Pawlenty will cut over $700 million, according to the Star Tribune. I don’t think Governor Rell has any such powers but our own battles proceed and it seems the knives are coming out of the drawers:
Eric Eitel will be speaking at the New England Prayer Center in Easton, CT on June 18th at 6:45 PM. Eric founded the World Vision Connecticut office in 1995 based in Greenwich, Connecticut. In six years, he built this satellite to be one of the top producing development regions in the country for that NGO. While serving World Vision, Eric traveled extensively to Africa, Eastern Europe and South America. In 2006, Eric was recruited to be the Executive Director of a private family foundation in Scarsdale, NY, which funds organizations serving the poor and underprivileged around the Tri-State area. He serves on the board of directors for the New England Prayer Center. For more information and directions, please visit the New England Prayer Center Website.
Tags: christian, connecticut, easton
The departure of people in the wake of the disputes over homosexuality in the Episcopal Church has forced the closing of a Watertown church.
The Rev. Stanley C. Kemmerer, priest-in-charge of Christ Church, said about 20 members who were at the meeting — of about 50 he said would consider themselves related to the church — immediately discussed their options….
Kemmerer said the church faced financial troubles even before most members split in January 2008 to create New Hope Anglican Church. which now meets at Swift Middle School. He said the congregation had dipped into the church’s endowment for years and by the time of the schism, most of the money had been depleted.
Kevin Kallsen, senior warden of New Hope, said he was not surprised the diocese chose to close the building because it costs $65,000 each year to maintain it, not including salaries and insurance.
“I don’t know if I’m sad as much as reminded that this is a reminder of the old church,” he said. “An old building on an old block. Emptied.”
Tags: anglican, christian, connecticut, episcopal, watertown
I have very little idea – and neither do you. What is certain is that there will be a lot more bloodletting before it’s over. Here’s an interesting map of the Governor’s proposed cuts (caveat: prepared by Senate Democrats). Hat tip: Connecticut Local Politics.
View Governor Rell’s Proposed Cuts in a larger map
Tags: budget, connecticut, economy, maps, politics, rell, taxes
