Kansas City Star: Faith

Let us spray, said the gardner: 11-16-09

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:15 CST

As my old eighth-grade English teacher, Ruth Wilson, used to say when she got exasperated, "People, people." People, people, we've been serious too long. We need a laugh break. Or at least a smirk break. So here for your alleged...

Patel's interfaith visions: 11-14/15-09

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:15 CST

After the visit to Kansas City on Tuesday of Eboo Patel, founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, I am more convinced than ever that one of the great tasks of Americans in this century is to be...

Fixing bad funerals: 11-13-09

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:15 CST

A few weeks ago in this blog book column I wrote a little about Thomas G. Long's excellent new book, Accompany Them With Singing: The Christian Funeral. In it, Long argues that Christians have caved into our death-denying culture and...

An old charge refuted: 11-12-09

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:15 CST

In recent days various commenters here have been talking about the Christian sacrament of Holy Communion and raising the question of whether this amounts to cannibalism. It's an ancient and ridiculous charge, but perhaps it's not surprising that early critics...

A time for requiems: 11-11-09

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:15 CST

For this Veterans Day, colored by the sadness of yesterday's services at Fort Hood, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you a bit of music I recorded the other evening at the "Requiem and Remembrance 2009" event...

For 10 years, Christian Youth Theater has taught acting and kind actions

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

When the young teenager first came to Christian Youth Theater he couldn’t sing a note — at least not on key. For five years he worked hard, attended classes, blended into the choruses and improved with each show. Then his big chance came: the demanding lead in “Les Miserables.”

Catholic youth gathering will draw 20,000

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Tree houses in a simulated rain forest are just one of the fun features that await thousands of Catholic youth attending a national conference next week in Kansas City. After three years of planning, the two local dioceses are ready to welcome more than 20,000 youths and chaperones to the National Catholic Youth Conference Thursday through next Saturday.

Tell us about your sacred escapes

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Where do you go to experience awe, peace and the sacred? Perhaps it’s a way to escape the stress and clatter of the world or a means to be in touch with the divine. It may be a special event or activity.

Faith Calendar | Nov. 14

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Music, drama, film

Billy Graham | Put Christ at center of holiday season

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

DEAR BILLY GRAHAM: I know Christmas is still some weeks away, but I'm already getting uptight about it. It's always such a hectic time and we always end up spending far more than we planned to.

Vern Barnet | ‘Interfaith' doesn't mean we should ignore our differences

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

The third annual Kansas City Festival of Faiths is in full swing. Eboo Patel, the founder of the Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, was scheduled to be Tuesday night’s keynote speaker, and Thursday is the Interfaith Council’s annual Table of Faiths luncheon. You can find a full schedule of events for the 23-day festival by visiting www.festivaloffaithskc.org.

The Holy Spirit is a gift and an inheritance

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

As a child growing up in Kansas City, my parents would send me to Jackson, Miss., to spend time with relatives. I would always stay with my maternal grandparents. Every morning, I would awaken to the sound of my grandmother praying over me. I would feel her wet palm on my forehead as she anointed my head with oil that had been blessed. At first the praying made me uncomfortable, and I would squirm under her hand. After a while, though, I stopped and let her pray for God’s grace and safety over my life. Both of my grandmothers were, as they say, saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit. So are my mother and my sister. But for many years I felt I didn’t have “it.” The gift. I didn’t feel a desire to visit hospitals or nursing homes like the women in my life often did. I did not feel compelled to pray over strangers and anoint them with oil.

Should antiquated scriptural injunctions be changed to suit modern society?

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 22:15 CST

Qur’an constant Syed E. Hasan, Ph.D., Islamic Research Foundation International: The critical word here is “antiquated.” Revision may be in order for scriptures where the original words have been altered by human beings to suit a particular social set-up. If so, certainly many of the so-called injunctions would not be tenable and may need a revision. On the other hand, if we consider a scripture where the original divine words and injunctions have remained intact, the need to make any change does not arise, because man-made rules are subject to change, but God’s are not — they are eternal and transcend the bounds of time and space.