Christian Events in Connecticut this week (May 5 - 11)

For more complete information or to submit events, please visit the Connecticut Christian Events calendar.

Monday, May 5
Litchfield County Regional Prayer Meeting (Torrington)

Wednesday, May 7
Intercessory Prayer (Colchester)

Thursday, May 8
Regional Prayer Meeting (New Haven)

Friday, May 9
Holy Grounds Christian Coffeehouse (Berlin)
Men 4 Men Ministries Coffeehouse (Clinton)
Good Fridays Christian Coffeehouse (Naugatuck)

Saturday, May 10
Statewide Intercessors Gathering (Kensington)
Dave Pettigrew @ House of Grace Community Coffehouse (Milford)

Sunday, May 11
Global Day of Prayer (West Haven)

Milford will participate in "World Tai Chi Day." Why?

From the Connecticut Post:

Saturday, the 10th anniversary of the World Tai Chi and Qigong Day, will be marked here by a demonstration on the Green of the centuries-old techniques.

"It is the third time that Milford has participated in the event, which is called 'One World, One Breath,' " said organizer Lamont Thomas. "Beginning in New Zealand, people will be gathering in parks at 10 a.m. local time to do tai chi and qigong and to teach it.

"I've been a practitioner and a teacher for four years and I started as a way to reduce stress," Thomas said. "It is a healing modality and a martial art that stresses balance."

Bruce Walker, like Thomas a local teacher of the Chinese technique, said tai chi acts on the body's hormonal and immune systems. "You deliberately squeeze, stretch and pull your internal organs around with your core muscles and that gets the enzymes and hormones out of the organs and into the bloodstream."

What's wrong with this picture? This is an essentially religious practice, but advocates of Eastern religious and meditative practices have for many years been adept at recasting such things as exercise. Christians in the West typically do not understand the religious roots and scientific flimsiness - or even dangers - of many of these "imports."

What's the basis of Tai Chi? Dr. Stephen Barrett, M.D., writes at Quackwatch.com:

"Chinese medicine," often called "Oriental medicine" or "traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)," encompasses a vast array of folk medical practices based on mysticism. It holds that the body's vital energy (chi or qi) circulates through channels, called meridians, that have branches connected to bodily organs and functions. Illness is attributed to imbalance or interruption of chi.. Ancient practices such as acupuncture, Qigong, and the use of various herbs are claimed to restore balance....

In 1997, a Consensus Development Conference sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and several other agencies concluded that "there is sufficient evidence . . . of acupuncture's value to expand its use into conventional medicine and to encourage further studies of its physiology and clinical value." The panelists also suggested that the federal government and insurance companies expand coverage of acupuncture so more people can have access to it. These conclusions were not based on research done after NCAHF's position paper was published. Rather, they reflected the bias of the panelists who were selected by a planning committee dominated by acupuncture proponents. NCAHF board chairman Wallace Sampson, M.D., has described the conference "a consensus of proponents, not a consensus of valid scientific opinion."

Although the report described some serious problems, it failed to place them into proper perspective. The panel acknowledged that "the vast majority of papers studying acupuncture consist of case reports, case series, or intervention studies with designs inadequate to assess efficacy" and that "relatively few" high-quality controlled trials have been published about acupuncture's effects. But it reported that "the World Health Organization has listed more than 40 [conditions] for which [acupuncture] may be indicated." This sentence should have been followed by a statement that the list was not valid.

Far more serious, although the consensus report touched on Chinese acupuncture theory, it failed to point out the danger and economic waste involved in going to practitioners who can't make appropriate diagnoses. The report noted:

• The general theory of acupuncture is based on the premise that there are patterns of energy flow (Qi) through the body that are essential for health. Disruptions of this flow are believed to be responsible for disease. The acupuncturist can correct imbalances of flow at identifiable points close to the skin.
• Acupuncture focuses on a holistic, energy-based approach to the patient rather than a disease-oriented diagnostic and treatment model.
• Despite considerable efforts to understand the anatomy and physiology of the "acupuncture points," the definition and characterization of these points remains controversial. Even more elusive is the scientific basis of some of the key traditional Eastern medical concepts such as the circulation of Qi, the meridian system, and the five phases theory, which are difficult to reconcile with contemporary biomedical information but continue to play an important role in the evaluation of patients and the formulation of treatment in acupuncture.

Simply stated, this means that if you go to a practitioner who practices traditional Chinese medicine, you are unlikely to be properly diagnosed. Very few publications have mentioned this, which strikes me as very strange. Even Consumer Reports magazine has advised readers who want acupuncture treatment to consult a practitioner who is NCCAOM-certified. I advise people to avoid "certified" practitioners. Because the training needed for certification is based on nonsensical TCM theories, the safest way to obtain acupuncture is from a medical doctor who does research at a university-based medical school and does not expouse such theories. [Footnotes omitted.]

We owe it to ourselves to be better informed, not only for our health's sake but for our spiritual health's sake, too.

Dave Pettigrew coming to House of Grace Coffee House

Christian recording artist Dave Pettigrew

The "House of Grace" Community Coffee House will be hosting Dave Pettigrew for an uplifting program of Christian music. This concert event will be held on May 10, 2008 at Grace Baptist Church, 400 Burnt Plains Road, Milford, CT. Join us for food & fellowship at 6:00 PM, with music following afterwards at 7:00 PM.

For more information call (203) 874-8928 or visit www.houseofgracecc.com. Free admission, food & drink.

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week (August 6 - 12)

Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church

The following events are taking place in Connecticut this week. For more information, or to add an event to our Connecticut Christian Events Calendar, please visit our website here.

(Ed. note: sorry this information is being released late this week!)

Monday, August 6:
Litchfield County Regional Prayer Meeting (Torrington)

Wednesday, August 8:
Intercessory Prayer (Colchester)
Fairfield County Pastors' Fellowship Lunch (TBD)

Thurdsay, August 9 - Saturday, August 11:
Willow Creek Leadership Summit (via satellite in Bloomfield, Greenwich)

Thursday, August 9:
Prayer in the Park (Hartford)
Regional Prayer Meeting (New Haven)

Friday, August 10:
Men 4 Men Ministries Coffeehouse (Clinton)
"The View From The Top" Youth Leadership Development Summit (New Haven)

Saturday, August 11:
Statewide Intercessors Gathering (Kensington)
House of Grace Community Coffeehouse (Milford)

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week (July 9 -15, 2007)

Renowned worship leader and recording artist Kent Henry comes to Manchester this weekend.

The following events are taking place in Connecticut this week. For more information or to add an event to our Connecticut Christian Events Calendar, please visit our website here.

Wednesday, July 11:
Intercessory Prayer (Colchester)
Fairfield County Pastors' Fellowship Lunch (TBD)

Thursday, July 12:
Regional Prayer Meeting (New Haven)
Prayer in the Park (Hartford)

Friday, July 13:
Men 4 Men Ministries Coffeehouse (Clinton)
Kent Henry (Manchester)

Saturday, July 14:
Gospelation 2007 (New Jersey)
Statewide Intercessors Gathering (Kensington)
Grace Community Coffee House (Milford)

Sunday, July 15:
Kent Henry (Manchester)

New Churches Added to the Connecticut Church Map

We're happy to announce that the following churches have been added to the Connecticut Church Map:

Milford: Grace Baptist Church

North Haven: Evangelical Baptist Church

If you'd like to add a church, please write us at info@prayct.org!

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week

The following events are coming up this week... for more details please visit the Connecticut Christian Events Calendar!

Wednesday, May 9:
Intercessory Prayer (Colchester)
Fairfield County Pastors' Luncheon (TBD)

Thursday, May 10:
Regional Prayer Meeting (New Haven)
Living Free in Christ Seminar with Neil Anderson (West Haven)

Friday, May 11:
Living Free in Christ Seminar with Neil Anderson (West Haven)

Saturday, May 12:
Living Free in Christ Seminar with Neil Anderson (West Haven)
Statewide Intercessors Gathering (Kensington)
David Midwood (Torrington)
House of Grace Community Coffeehouse (Milford)

Connecticut Christian radio station profiled

If you live in the Milford area, you probably already know about it, but the Connecticut Post has a nice piece on WFIF (1500 AM). The joke is that it stands for "We fade in Fairfield," but WFIF has faithfully served the Bridgeport - New Haven coast and northwards with a great mix of Christian programming for many years.

Christian Events in Connecticut this Week

The following events are coming up this week... for more details please visit the Connecticut Christian Events Calendar!

Wednesday, April 11:
School of the Spirit with Pastor Jan Nel (Darien - St. Paul's Church)

Thursday, April 12:
Regional Prayer Meeting (New Haven)

Friday, April 13:
NCS Men's Breakfast with Guest Speaker, Allan Houston (Stamford)
Sozo Cafe Friday Night Jam (Hamden)

Saturday, April 14:
Statewide Intercessors Gathering (Kensington - Wellspring Church)
House of Grace Community Coffee House (Milford)