Military Wives and the Bible; Marine Base Crosses; Pastor Shot, - KiiiTV3.com South Texas, Corpus Christi, Coastal Bend

MILITARY WIVES WORSHIP GROUP

Military wives turn to Bible for marriage advice

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Some young spouses of soldiers based

at Fort Campbell, Ky., have spent much of their marriages alone

during long deployments.

Now a growing number of independent prayer groups is helping

them through it with an emphasis on faith and fellowship.

The groups aren't sponsored by any church or the military.

Spouses meet weekly in small informal groups of eight to twelve at

their homes to study the Bible's teachings and how to apply them to

today's military marriage.

Twenty-seven-year-old Army veteran Mya Parker says

she's experienced the strain from both sides after four years in

active duty, and now as a military wife. She helped start The

Lantern near Fort Campbell for wives and girlfriends of soldiers.

Parker says the Bible assures them that God loves their husbands

and boyfriends and is watching over them.

 

 

 

 

MARINE BASE CROSSES

Decision on Camp Pendleton crosses due in new year

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (AP) - A Marine Corps ruling on the

future of a pair of crosses at Camp Pendleton in California isn't

expected until next year. An atheist group wants the crosses to

come down. Many Marines and their families want the crosses to stay

in honor of comrades killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Base officials have sent a recommendation to Washington, but

won't say what it is.

Jason Torpy of the Association of Atheists and Freethinkers told

the North County Times he has been bombarded with hate mail,

threats and phone calls from people angry at his group for

demanding removal of the crosses.

The first 13-foot cross was placed high above the camp in August

2003 by a group of Marines, including several who were later killed

in fighting in Iraq. The cross was destroyed by fire in 2007. A new

cross was erected in 2008, about 60 feet from the original.

 

PASTOR SHOT

Gunmen fire bullets into home, injuring pastor

MIAMI (AP) - The pastor of a Miami church is hospitalized after

authorities say gunmen fired into her home.

The Miami Herald reports the Rev. Annie Wimberly was taken to a

trauma center early Tuesday in critical condition. The 69-year-old

Wimberly is a pastor at the Friendly Temple Holiness Church.

Miami-Dade Det. Roy Rutland says investigators do not believe

Wimberly was the intended target. Police say an unknown number of

assailants sprayed Wimberly's home with bullets at about 4 a.m. A

neighbor reported hearing 25 to 30 shots fired.

Five other adults and three children were also inside the home

but were not injured.

It's the second time the home has been shot at in the last three

months.

 

OBIT-PEGGY RAILEY

Acquitted pastor's ex-wife dies years after attack

TYLER, Texas (AP) - Peggy Railey, the former wife of a Dallas

minister who was acquitted of trying to kill her, has died nearly

25 years after the attack left her incapacitated. She was 63.

Ron Gamel of the Tyler Memorial Funeral Home confirmed the death

but declined to release details, citing a family request for

privacy.

Railey never recovered from the savage choking assault at her

Dallas-area home in April 1987 and remained in what doctors called

a vegetative state.

Walker Railey, her husband at the time of the attack, was once a

rising star at Dallas' First United Methodist Church. He was

acquitted in 1993 of trying to strangle his wife, although he

acknowledged lying about his whereabouts to hide an affair.

 

GAY MARRIAGE-BAPTIST LEADER

NC Baptist leader wants civil debate on marriage

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The newly-elected president of North

Carolina's largest religious denomination says he's hoping for a

civil debate over a proposal to ban same-sex marriage in the state

constitution.

The Rev. Mark Harris, president of the Baptist State Convention

of North Carolina, told The Charlotte Observer that it's an

emotional issue, but he thinks both sides can respectfully argue

their cases.

The convention represents roughly 4,300 churches and some 1.3

million members in North Carolina.

Voters will decide in May whether the state constitution should

be amended to ban same-sex marriage.

Not all Christian leaders are in favor of the idea. About 250

clergy have signed a statement denouncing the proposal.

 

CAMPUS ANTI-SEMITISM

Anti-Semitism claims against UC Berkeley dismissed

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit

accusing the University of California, Berkeley of fostering an

atmosphere of anti-Semitism by failing to curb alleged harassment

during pro-Palestinian protests that included mock checkpoints.

Plaintiff Jessica Felber, who is Jewish, claimed in the lawsuit

that a leader of a campus pro-Palestinian group rammed her with a

shopping cart as she staged a counter-protest to "Apartheid

Week," an annual event that compares Israel's policies to the

institutionalized racism of South Africa's former white government.

Felber, who graduated last year, and another Jewish student sued

in March to demand the university enact rules to curb what they

called ongoing harassment that they said amounted to a violation of

their First Amendment rights to freedom of religion and speech.

But federal Judge Richard Seeborg ruled that much of the alleged

harassment, even if true, constituted protected political speech.

Joel Siegal, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, told the San Francisco

Chronicle that his clients were reviewing their options.

 

ISRAEL-GENDER SEGREGATION

Israelis protest against religious coercion

BEIT SHEMESH, Israel (AP) - Thousands of Israelis have gathered

in a city outside Jerusalem to demonstrate against a radical Jewish

sect that is trying to impose its strict lifestyle on others.

The city of Beit Shemesh has been the center of a national

uproar since an 8-year-old schoolgirl told a local TV station last

week that she's scared to go to school because members of the

ultra-Orthodox sect spit at her and curse her. They claim the girl,

herself an Orthodox Jew, was not dressed properly.

Religious coercion has become a big issue in Israel, and

President Shimon Peres urged the public to attend Tuesday's

protest.

Protesters held signs reading "Free Israel from religious

coercion," and "Stop Israel from becoming Iran."

Members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect were nowhere in sight

during the protest.

 

 

 

ISLAMIC SCHOOL-BIAS

US reviewing anti-Muslim school bias complaint

PITTSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - The U.S. Attorney's Office in

Detroit is reviewing a religious discrimination complaint against a

community for denying a zoning change request to allow construction

of a Muslim school.

The Michigan Islamic Academy wants to build at a 26-acre site in

Pittsfield Township. School officials say the 200-student school

has outgrown its current location in nearby Ann Arbor.

On Oct. 26, the township board rejected the request, following

an earlier rejection by the township planning commission.

Township Supervisor Mandy Grewal said the decision wasn't based

on religion.

Following a complaint by the Council on American-Islamic

Relations, Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith Levy told The Detroit

News, "We are reviewing the matter and whether to proceed with a

formal investigation."

 

RUSSIA-BHAGAVAD GITA

Russian court may ban Hare Krishna text

MOSCOW (AP) - A Russian court is to decide today whether a

religious text central to the global Hare Krishna movement is

"extremist' and should be banned.

It's a case that has angered Hindus around the world and

highlights the continuing challenges for minority religions in

Russia.

Prosecutors in the Siberian city of Tomsk have argued that the

Russian translation of "Bhagavad Gita As It Is" promotes "social

discord" and hatred toward nonbelievers.

The text is a combination of the Bhagavad Gita, one of

Hinduism's holiest scriptures, and commentary by the founder of the

International Society for Krishna Consciousness that is often

called the Hare Krishna movement.

The prosecutors are asking the court to include the book on the

Federal List of Extremist Materials, which bans more than 1,000

texts including Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" and books distributed

by the Jehovah's Witness and Scientology movements.

Yuri Pleshkov, a spokesman for the group in Russia, said the

book in question has existed in Russia for 25 years and has never

inspired violence or extremist activity.

Officials in Tomsk agreed to hear further testimony from experts

and the Russian ombudsman for human rights and postponed the court

decision until today.

Indian officials last week appealed to high-level Russian

authorities to intervene.

 

 

 

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 

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