Switchfoot in concert at Stamford, May 2

Top Christian band Switchfoot returns to Connecticut on Friday, May 2 with a concert in Stamford's Palace Theatre.

For tickets and more details, please visit www.RockTheSound.com.

Regional Prayer Conference with Jackson Senyonga, October 25-26

Jackson Senyonga, Pastor of Christian Life Church in Kampala, Uganda is coming to Connecticut for 2 days of transforming prayer and impartation.

Meetings will be held at The Westin Hotel, 1 Stamford Place, in Stamford, CT, each night at 7:00 pm.

Pastor Senyonga is the leader of the Ugandan prayer movement featured on the widely acclaimed Transformation 2 Video produced by the Sentinel Group.

Christian Life Church in Kampala has a membership of more than 40,000 people, with an average Sunday attendance of 22,000. The Church has also planted more than 600 new churches and is building homes for widows and orphans.

More information about Jackson Senyonga is available at www.christianlifeministries.org.

The Contradictions of Connecticut - The Pocket State

For cities its size, Stamford is a very safe place. How safe? Safe enough to be the 9th safest city in the country. And, what's more:

Stamford was the second safest among 26 cities in the Northeast with populations of at least 100,000, trailing only the town of Amherst, N.Y. Bridgeport ranked 25th and Hartford ranked 26th among Northeast cities in that category.

But all is not rosy even in Stamford:

Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy said he was pleased with the ranking but said the police department faces a new challenge in keeping Stamford among the elite during a budget crisis.

"How do you continue to do that in light of the resources?" Malloy said. "We're all scratching our heads over that question."

The department has cut overtime spending, taken officers out of the detective bureau and reduced the number of on-duty patrol officers to cope with budget cuts slated for 2007-08.

The city's violent crime rate has climbed five years in a row, including double-digit percentage increases in 2005 and 2006, city records show.

Police responded to 393 violent crimes last year, up from 353 in 2005 and 305 in 2004 - a 29 percent increase over two years.

The increase outpaced the nationwide jump in violent crime over the last two years. Violent crime in the United States increased by 2.3 percent in 2005 and 1.3 percent last year after declining consistently for nearly a decade.

Experts have blamed the trend on declining federal aid to police departments and rising youth violence.

Well, there are problems - and then there are problems. Would Mayor Malloy swap his problems for Hartford's? Or Bridgeport's?

Stamford was the second safest among 26 cities in the Northeast with populations of at least 100,000, trailing only the town of Amherst, N.Y. Bridgeport ranked 25th and Hartford ranked 26th among Northeast cities in that category.

In case you're wondering, New Haven typically doesn't report numbers to the FBI. They are perhaps too busy at the moment subverting Federal law by legitimizing illegal immigration. Whatever your views on that, what does this teach the next generation about lawlessness? I frankly find it disturbing. And, to even ask the question about how many crimes are being committed by illegal immigrants is to invite accusations of racism and xenophobia.

More to the point, what does it say about us as a people that Connecticut is the Pocket State - a pocket of money here, a pocket of poverty there, a pocket of safety here, and pocket of real danger there? How long can this be a viable model?

I could have linked to stories about the crime in Hartford (four killings in one weekend) but I don't know which one to pick.

Connecticut's economy taking more hits

The Workforce Alliance claims that we're losing our status as the richest and best-educated State:

Between 1999 and 2005, the median household income statewide fell from $69,750 to $67,165 a year.

Between 1989 and 2004, the number of jobs nationwide increased 24 percent, but Connecticut lost 2 percent of its jobs over the same period. Connecticut ranked dead last among the 50 states in both population and job growth between 2000 and 2005.

Also this week came the news that Proctor & Gamble will close its Stamford office by 2010, with a loss of hundreds of jobs to the local economy.

Please pray for our economy and our business and governmental leaders.

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week

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

Monday, May 21
Litchfield County Regional Prayer Meeting (Torrington)

Wednesday, May 23
Intercessory Prayer (Colchester)

Thursday, May 24
Prayer in the Park (Hartford)

Saturday, May 26
Solid Rock Cafe Christian Coffeehouse (North Haven)

Sunday, May 27 - The Global Day of Prayer
The 1000 Lives Tour (Stamford)

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week

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

Monday, April 16:
Litchfield County Regional Prayer Meeting (Torrington - Advent Christian Church)

Wednesday, April 18:
School of the Spirit with Pastor Jan Nel (Darien - St. Paul's Church)

Friday, April 20:
NCS Men's Breakfast with Guest Speaker, Jerry Root (Stamford)

Saturday, April 21:
Reclaiming Our Spiritual Heritage Tour (Torrington)
Christian Coffeehouse (Danbury)

Sunday, April 22:
Unity Service with Pastor Jan Nel (Greenwich - Presbyterian Church of Old Greenwich)

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)