Attorney Admits Guilt in Church Pornography Case

Back in February we blogged about the case of Attorney Phil Russell, who was accused of obstructing justice by destroying a church computer containing child pornography. Yesterday, Russell pled guilty in a case that lawyers think will hinder their ability to represent people effectively. From the Courant:

After signaling for months that he intended to fight the charges, lawyer Philip Russell disclosed in federal court that he had reached a negotiated settlement with prosecutors. He then pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misprision of a felony, which means he was aware that a felony had been committed, but did not report the crime to authorities.

Russell had been charged with obstruction of justice and destruction of evidence. He was accused of destroying a laptop computer after his clients, officials of Christ Church in Greenwich, found the computer and determined that it contained pornographic images of children. The computer was the property of Robert Tate, the church's former longtime choirmaster.

The problem here for lawyers:

The Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association argued that Russell learned of the computer's contents in a confidential conversation with his client, the church. To turn the computer over to authorities would violate that confidence [creating potential problems for Russell with the Bar]; to retain it would violate federal child pornography laws.

(Read the full story here.)

Not a good choice - ruin your career or be be prosecuted for violating child pornography laws! In any case let's continue to pray for Christ Church in Greenwich and all the persons involved.

Episcopal bishops continue to defy the worldwide Anglican Communion

If nothing else the current crisis in the Anglican Church has showed us that some Christians, mostly concentrated off our shores, are still ready to uphold the historic faith. They are doing so reasonably and graciously, to be sure, but uphold it they will, in the face of all the weasel words and agitprop the American Left can muster. From the BBC:

The head of Kenya's Anglican Church has rejected a compromise over gay bishops by US Episcopal Church leaders.

They have said they will halt the ordination of gay bishops and public blessings of same-sex relationships to prevent a split in the Anglican Church.

"That word 'halt' is not enough," said Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi....

Last month, Archbishop Nzimbi presided over the consecration of two US bishops, Bill Murdoch and Bill Atwood, who left the US branch of the Anglican Church - the Episcopal Church - after it consecrated an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, in 2003.

The Kenyan archbishop said the US church leaders' comments did not go far enough.

"What we expected to come from them is to repent - that this is a sin in the eyes of the Lord and repentance is what me, in particular, and others expected to hear coming from this church," he said.

My goodness, he used the R word - repent! How backwards. Archbishop Akinola of Nigeria explains it for us (thanks to TitusOneNine):

Instead of the change of heart (repentance) that we sought what we have been offered is merely a temporary adjustment in an unrelenting determination to “bring the rest of the Communion along” as stated by a bishop at one of the press conferences. We also note that while we have repeatedly asked for a moratorium on same-sex blessings –across the Episcopal Church the clergy have continued with these blessings with the full knowledge and support of the Diocesan bishops even if not technically authorized.

So I ask: without this repentance, in what sense can the Episcopal Church be called a Christian body?

The rise of the nonbelievers

People continue to fall away from the faith once delivered to the saints:

The majority of nonbelievers say they are speaking out only because of religious fanatics. But some atheists are also extreme and want, for example, people to blot out the words “In God We Trust” from every dollar bill they carry.

Gaining political clout and access to television and radio airtime is the goal of many of these groups. With a higher profile, they say, they can, for instance, lobby for all religious rooms in public hospitals to be closed, as a response to Muslims demanding prayer rooms because Christians have chapels.

Associations of nonbelievers are also moving to address the growing demand in Britain, Spain, Italy and other European countries for nonreligious weddings, funerals and celebrations for new babies. They are helping arrange ceremonies that steer clear of talk of God, heaven and miracles and celebrate, as they say, “this one life we know.”

Click here for more from The Day.

Ballet Magnificat to perform "The Hiding Place," Saturday, September 29

This Saturday, Ballet Magnificat will perform an adaptation of Corrie ten Boom's classic true story, "The Hiding Place." Enjoy this marvelous retelling of a Christian family's struggle to survive under Nazi occupation and the price they were willing to pay to safeguard the Jews of Holland. Performance will be held at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

Tickets are available at the Box Office, (203) 837-8499, or at www.wcsu.edu/tickets. Regular Seating is $28.

Faith and Science at Yale

An interesting look from the Yale Daily News at creation, evolution and intelligent design. (Note the term "worship team" in quotes. A good reminder to Christians that people really don't know us.)

A “worship team” sang praises of the Lord, while professor Fred Sigworth prepared do his best to reconcile the demands of faith and the demands of science.

“God of wonders beyond our galaxy / You are holy, holy / The universe declares your majesty / You are holy, holy,” the crowd intoned.

After the introduction by the Yale Christian Fellowship’s worship team on Friday, Sigworth launched into a lecture that stressed the compatibility of science and faith by focusing on the idea of the “unexpected vista,” the discovery or witnessing of a unique occurrence, a phenomenon which he said was common to science and religion.

Sigworth’s talk spanned the foundations of modern science and the debate over evolution and intelligent design, with ample reference to philosophy and the Bible.

“Being a Christian is good preparation for work as a scientist, and science can help prepare you for being a Christian,” he said.

Click here to read the rest.

The Fulton Street Revival: 150 Years

This month marks the 150th Anniversary of the Fulton Street Revival, a work of prayer that reshaped American society in the 19th century and beyond.

To commemorate the event and to pray for an awakening in the New York City region, New York Concerts of Prayer is promoting a conference from September 21- 23 featuring tours and numerous prayer events with well-known Christian leaders such as Jack Hayford and Henry Blackaby.

If you can't attend, please take some time to pray for New York that weekend. No other city has such an impact on our nation and certainly the one-fourth of our State who lives in Fairfield County is heavily affected by what happens in the Big Apple.

For more information, visit New York Concerts of Prayer here.

Series of Prayer Meetings in Litchfield County this month

From Connecticut House of Prayer:

WHAT IS GOING ON IN LITCHFIELD COUNTY?

A coalition of pastors called When Greater Litchfield County Prays is organizing a series of open-air prayer meetings taking place on their town greens, starting on Saturday, September 15. Following is a listing of the prayer meetings. Please uphold these pastors as they pour out their hearts in intercession for their towns. If you’re able, plan to attend some of these marvelous prayer meetings to show your support!

Vision: Pray for “repentance, reawakening & release of God’s grace and power in Greater Litchfield County.

Prayer Sites: The Town Green.

Region:

I. MA: Ashley Falls, CT: North Canaan, Canaan, Norfolk / Salisbury, Sharon, Cornwall, Goshen.
Date/Time: Saturday, September 15th / 22nd - 9:00AM
Contacts: Pastor Ed Eastman - 413-229-8560
- Pastor Ron Boratko - 860-496-1580

II. Colebrook, Winchester, Barkhamsted / New Hartford, Canton, Harwinton.
Date/Time: Saturday, September 22nd / 29th - 10:00AM
Contacts: Pastor Jim Wheeler - 860-693-6333
- Pastors: Jeff/Lynda Brewer - 860-738-8675

III. Plymouth, Thomaston, Litchfield / Watertown, Woodbury, Bethlehem, Morris,
Date/Time: Saturday, September 22nd / 29th - 8:30AM
Contacts: Pastor Tim Olsen - 860-286-9146
- Pastor Ron Boratko - 860-496-01580

IV. New Milford, Bridgewater, Roxbury / Kent, Warren, Washington.
Date/Time: Saturday, September 15th / 29th - 9:00AM
Contacts: Pastor Chris Sakis - 860-335-3719
- Pastor Ron Boratko - 860-496-01580

V. Torrington/County Wide Prayer - Coe Park Torrington.
Date/Time: Sunday, September 30th - 4:00-6:00PM
Guest Facilitator: Pastor Frank Mwebasa - Uganda, Africa

Writer Madeleine L'Engle dies

A favorite of many schoolkids back in the day, including yours truly, Madeleine L'Engle passed away in a Litchfield nursing home yesterday. Wonder if they still read her?

The Newbery Medal winner wrote more than 60 books, including fantasies, poetry and memoirs, often highlighting spiritual themes and her Christian faith.

For many years, she was the writer in residence and librarian at the Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Although L'Engle was often labeled a children's author, she disliked that classification. In a 1993 Associated Press interview, she said she did not write down to children.

"In my dreams, I never have an age," she said. "I never write for any age group in mind. ... When you underestimate your audience, you're cutting yourself off from your best work."

"A Wrinkle in Time" - which L'Engle said was rejected repeatedly before it found a publisher in 1962 - won the American Library Association's 1963 Newbery Medal for best American children's book. Her "A Ring of Endless Light" was a Newbery Honor Book, or medal runner-up, in 1981.

In 2004, President Bush awarded her a National Humanities Medal.

More here.

Music festival this Saturday in Middletown

Siloam

Eternal Perks Coffee House is hosting an outdoor Music Festival with food, crafters, exhibits, and playground on their 14-acre property. Bring your lawn chairs, blankets, picnic and coolers for a fantastic day. The following New England artists will be featured:

Raging Grace – Blues Rock (www.raginggrace.com)
Undue Favor – Pop (www.unduefavor.com)
Siloam Band – Pop Rock (www.siloamband.com)
White Stone – Contemporary (www.whitestonemm.com)
2 Plus Change – Folk (www.myspace.com/2pluschange)
Grace Worship Band – Eclectic

Tickets are $8.00 in advance and $10.00 day of festival. Children under 12 are free.

Advance tickets can be ordered by check from Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church, Attn: Festival Committee, 1055 Randolph Road, Middletown, CT 06457. For more information call 860-346-2641 or visit www.GraceMiddletown.org

Directions from Route 9: Exit 11 Randolph Road/Route 155. Turn left at end of exit ramp onto Randolph Road/Route 155. Drive 1.8 miles. Free parking is on the right. Festival is on the left behind Grace Lutheran Church.

Pastoral counseling classes available

Christian Community Outreach Ministries in Danbury is announcing that it will be the site of a Pastoral Counseling Training Class beginning this month in Danbury. This is an excellent course and opportunity for evangelists, missionaries, lay ministers, pastors, or others interested in ministry.

The Pastoral Counseling Training Basic Class will begin September 11th through October 9th from 6 p.m. till 8 p.m. The Advanced Pastoral Training Class is for the Graduates of the Basic Class and will start October 16th.

For more information, visit www.pastoralcounselingtraining.com.

Dr. D. James Kennedy, RIP

Headlines are reading today that a "megachurch pastor" has died. In the current climate that tells most people all they need to know, I suppose, but it's hard to overemphasize the impact of the ministry of Dr. Kennedy over the last several decades. An unfriendly-to-Christians article in Rolling Stone a couple of years ago called him "the most influential evangelical you've never heard of."

That pretty well sums it up. The scourge of leftists and squishy Christians, Dr. Kennedy upheld without fear or compromise a Christian vision of America at a time when it was vanishing from memory. In this regard he held the fort for the next generation of believers, which seems to be less ashamed of what made America great and will certainly advance that vision.

New Church Added to Connecticut Church Map

We're happy to announce that we've added New Life Christian Center in New Hartford to the Connecticut Church Map.

Know a good church that should be on the map? Write us at info@prayct.org!