There will be an Encounter Youth Missions Concert with Bobby Bishop, Craig Amaker & Torndown on Saturday June 13, 2009 at 6:30PM.
The Vineyard of New Haven is sponsoring this concert featuring major label recording artist Bobby Bishop, Craig Amaker, and Torndown in order to raise the awareness and encourage Christian youth in the area churches to get involved in foreign missions.
Venue: Vineyard Christian Fellowship of West Haven, 870 First Ave., West Haven, CT.
Graham Jones will be ministering at Harvest Time Church, 1338 King Street, Greenwich, CT on Sunday, June 14th, at a special 7:00 pm evening service. Graham ministers in many different countries every year and the Lord uses him particularly in the area of physical healing.
More information on Graham’s ministry is available at www.gjmi.org.
There will be a gospel concert to benefit “New Lifestyles Transitional House for Women” on Saturday, June 13th from 5:30PM – 9:30PM at the Immanuel Missionary Baptist Church, 1324 Chapel Street, New Haven, CT. Some of the featured performers include Christian Love Center’s Men’s Choir, Mrs. Lovester Hunt, Doreen Head, Louise Murray and Karen Wagner. Food and beverages are available at the event. For further information please call (203) 691-9806.
There will be a School of Power Evangelism featuring Dan Mohler, Todd White, Bob Hazlett and Tom Ruotolo at Wellspring Church in Kensington, July 15-18.
Sponsoring churches and organizations include: Wellspring Church (Kensington); Gateway Christian Fellowship (West Haven); River of Life Christian Fellowship (Tolland); Living Rock Church (Killingworth); Calvary Christian Center (New Britain); Fountain of Life-Stanley Memorial Church (New Britain); Lighthouse Family Worship Center (New Britain); and The Connecticut House of Prayer (Hartford).
For complete information and registration information, please visit the Power and Love Ministries website.
Joining the House, the Connecticut State Senate apologized for slavery on Wednesday. The following is a final copy of the Joint Resolution, as near as I can determine:
RESOLUTION EXPRESSING THE PROFOUND REGRET OF THE CONNECTICUT GENERAL ASSEMBLY FOR THE HISTORY OF WRONGS INFLICTED UPON BLACK CITIZENS BY MEANS OF SLAVERY, EXPLOITATION AND LEGALIZED RACIAL SEGREGATION, AND CALLING ON ALL CITIZENS TO TAKE PART IN ACTS OF RACIAL RECONCILIATION.
Resolved by this Assembly:
WHEREAS, involuntary servitude, as practiced within the borders of Connecticut in the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries violated the precept that all persons are created equal and denied thousands of people liberty, the pursuit of happiness, the ability to benefit from their own work, and, in many cases, life itself; and
WHEREAS, in 1723, the Connecticut colony passed an act to prevent the “Disorder of Negro and Indian Servants and Slaves in the Night Season” that established a nine o’clock p.m. curfew, the violation of which was punishable with a whipping for the servant and a fine for the master; and
WHEREAS, Connecticut’s wealth increased as its merchants and businessmen participated in the Triangle Trade which carried slaves, cash crops and manufactured goods between West Africa, the Caribbean and America and such merchants and businessmen profited from supplying food and livestock to slaves in the West Indies who labored on sugar cane plantations; and
WHEREAS, by the mid 1770′s there were approximately five thousand one hundred slaves in the Connecticut colony, comprising three per cent of the population, and slave ownership was not limited to the wealthy; and
WHEREAS, the practice of slavery was embedded in constitutional provisions and laws enacted by predecessors to this General Assembly and other civil authorities of Connecticut; and
WHEREAS, emancipation bills were rejected by the Connecticut Legislature in 1777, 1779 and 1780; and
WHEREAS, the Connecticut Legislature did enact the Nonimportation Act of 1774, the 1784 Gradual Abolition Act and the 1788 Act to Prevent the Slave Trade; and
WHEREAS, in 1818 Connecticut’s new constitution specifically denied the right of the African American population to vote; and
WHEREAS, Connecticut played a significant role in abolition efforts which culminated in the outlawing of slavery in 1848; and
WHEREAS, a significant number of nations, states and corporations have come forward to offer apologies for the roles they played in promoting or supporting slavery.
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Connecticut General Assembly issues its apology for the practices of slavery in Connecticut and expresses its profound contrition for the official acts that sanctioned and perpetuated the denial of basic human rights and dignity to fellow humans and vows to work for the elimination of residual structures of racism that continue to exist in our state; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the General Assembly urges schools, colleges, universities, religious and civic institutions, businesses and professional associations to do all within their respective powers to acknowledge the transgressions of Connecticut’s journey from a colony to a leading state in the abolition efforts and to learn the lessons of history in order to avoid repeating mistakes of the past and to promote racial equality and reconciliation; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the General Assembly calls on all Connecticut residents to recommit their state, their communities and themselves to the proclamation of their nation’s Declaration of Independence that “all persons are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights” and to work daily to treat all persons with abiding respect for their humanity and to eliminate racial prejudices, injustices and discrimination from our society.
We applaud this and pray that God will see and have mercy on us as a people.
No swearing, no violence… and a church-approved happy ending!
ABC News takes an interesting and fair look at Christian film-making. Fireproof, Gavin MacLeod and more, including a film exec who knows that there’s an underserved audience out there. Watch it here.
Governor Rell, as promised, has vetoed legislation that would eliminate the death penalty in Connecticut. And, as Channel 3 reports:
Its supporters in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly have said they do not have the necessary two-thirds majority of votes to override her veto. The bill, which would have replaced capital punishment with life in prison, passed 19-17 in the Senate and 90-56 in the House last month.
The Governor’s letter to Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz reads as follows:
Dear Madame Secretary:
I am hereby returning without my signature HB 6578, An Act Concerning the Penalty for a Capital Felony. This bill eliminates the death penalty as a sentencing option for crimes committed on or after the bill’s effective date.
There is no doubt that this issue evokes the deeply held passions of individuals on both sides of the issue. I sincerely respect the beliefs of those who support this bill and the passion with which they have presented their case. I cannot, however, sign this bill into law.
As I have stated previously, I understand and sympathize with the anguish and pain of those families who have lost a loved one due to a cruel and heinous crime. These are the crimes forever embedded in our minds, haunting us long after they have been committed. They cause us to lose our innocence relative to the world around us. The death penalty is, and ought to be, reserved for those who have committed crimes that are revolting to our humanity and civilized society.
The death penalty sends a clear message to those who may contemplate such cold, calculated crimes. We will not tolerate those who have murdered in the most vile, dehumanizing fashion. We should not, will not, abide those who have killed for the sake of killing; to those who have taken a precious life and shattered the lives of many more. Dr. William Petit recently quoted Lord Justice Denning, Master of the Rolls of the Court of Appeals in the United Kingdom, who said:
Punishment is the way in which society expresses its denunciation of wrong doing: and, in order to maintain respect for law, it is essential that the punishment inflicted for grave crimes should adequately reflect the revulsion felt by the great majority of citizens for them. It is a mistake to consider the objects of punishment as being deterrent or reformative or preventive and nothing else. . . . The truth is that some crimes are so outrageous that society insists on adequate punishment, because the wrong-doer deserves it, irrespective of whether it is a deterrent or not.
There is no doubt that the death penalty is a deterrent to those who contemplate such monstrous acts. The statistics supporting this fact, however, are not easily tabulated. How do we count the person who considered the consequences of the crime and walked away? We cannot, but we know that this occurs. We have a responsibility to act to prevent these heinous crimes and to ensure that criminals will not harm again.
I also take note of the concerns expressed by some regarding the tremendous financial cost to the state, the perception that the death penalty is inconsistently sought for certain crimes, the lengthy appellate process that is involved and the roles that race, gender and economics play when seeking the death penalty.
These very questions, and more, were the basis of a death penalty study commissioned by P.A. 01-151 and analyzed in a comprehensive report submitted to the Legislature on January 8, 2003. The report made significant and thoughtful recommendations that have been largely ignored by the Legislature, including training for public defenders and prosecutors. The goal of the report is to ensure that each decision to seek the death penalty is based upon the facts and law applicable to the case and is set within a framework of consistent and even-handed application of the sentencing laws, with no consideration of arbitrary or impermissible factors such as the defendant’s race, ethnicity or religion.
The co-chairmen of the legislature’s Judiciary Committee have asked that I submit a proposal for “fixing” the death penalty statute. I believe that the current law is workable and effective and I would propose that it not be changed. If the co-chairmen are seeking suggestions, however, I would urge them to review the above-referenced report, which has been largely ignored since its issuance.
In the meantime, for the reasons cited above, I must return House Bill 6578, An Act Concerning the Penalty for a Capital Felony without my signature.
Very truly yours,
M. Jodi Rell
Governor
If we have learned anything about our legislators in recent years, it’s that they can be persistent. We can expect to see this come up on an annual basis.
Chuck Colson talks about the latest trend among the apostate, or wanna-be apostates out there: getting a certificate of “de-baptism.”
There’s a bizarre trend going on in Great Britain. Former church members are getting “de-baptized.” As Time magazine reports, “More than 100,000 former Christians have downloaded ‘certificates of de-baptism’ in a bid to publicly renounce the faith.”
Now, there have always been people who have walked away from their faith. But what’s behind this public display? And why are so many downloading an apostasy certificate?
John Piper can never be accused of not being thoughtful, so it’s interesting to hear why he’s tweeting.
Dangers, dangers everywhere. Yes. But it seems to us that aggressive efforts to saturate a media with the supremacy of God, the truth of Scripture, the glory of Christ, the joy of the gospel, the insanity of sin, and the radical nature of Christian living is a good choice for some Christians. Not all. Everyone should abstain from some of these media. For example, we don’t have a television.
Oh, and follow him here.
FIC Executive Director Peter Wolfgang will be on the Dan Lovallo radio program today at 4:05 pm to discuss the murder of the abortionist George Tiller. Go to www.talkofconnecticut.com to find the station near you.
Concerning Tiller, Professor Robert George of Princeton says,
Whoever murdered George Tiller has done a gravely wicked thing. The evil of this action is in no way diminished by the blood George Tiller had on his own hands. No private individual had the right to execute judgment against him. We are a nation of laws. Lawless violence breeds only more lawless violence. Rightly or wrongly, George Tilller was acquitted by a jury of his peers. “Vengeance is mine, says the Lord.” For the sake of justice and right, the perpetrator of this evil deed must be prosecuted, convicted, and punished. By word and deed, let us teach that violence against abortionists is not the answer to the violence of abortion. Every human life is precious. George Tiller’s life was precious. We do not teach the wrongness of taking human life by wrongfully taking a human life. Let our “weapons” in the fight to defend the lives of abortion’s tiny victims, be chaste weapons of the spirit.
To which we say: Amen.