Boom in hedge fund and other investment jobs in State

They've tripled from 7,000 to 21,000 since 1990, says the AP (via The Courant):

Karan Sampson, director of hedge funds at Greenwich Associates in Greenwich, said the industry saw an increase in jobs immediately after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as New Yorkers moved to Fairfield County.

"When it came time to open their own businesses, they did it where they lived, not in New York City," she said.

David Saunders, managing director of K2 Advisors, a fund of hedge funds, said the firm quit New York for Stamford about four years ago in search of a backup office for disaster recovery following the Sept. 11 attacks, efficient public transportation and lower taxes.

"We're part of that wave that came up here," he said.

Among the job growth statistics in the investment industry in Connecticut is the eye-popping average annual salary of $310,734 in 2005.

"It makes you want to go back to school, doesn't it?" said Oley Carpp, managing director of the Office of Strategic Competitiveness at the Department of Economic and Community Development.

Well, no, but it is impressive. Let's pray that some of the wealth of the $1 trillion hedge fund industry flows to other areas of society.

Tags: Connecticut, economy, news, investment, financial, Stamford, Greenwich

Pray CT readers: promote your church!

Attention church-hoppers: ignore this post - it's not for you!

There are always people looking for a good church, and things being what they are in the Northeast, I've discovered that there are lots of good churches which somehow fly under people's radar. If you attend a really great Evangelical or Charismatic church, let us know:

1. Where is your church located?
2. What's your church's web address?
3. What are some of the key ministries and outreaches of your church?
4. Who would feel your church was a great fit? Singles, seniors, families with young children?
5. What makes your church a great church?

Write us at info@prayct.org and when you do, we may feature your entry in a future blog post, and even place your church on the very cool Connecticut Church Map. The info you supply could help somebody find a great church!

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, religion, Evangelical, Charismatic, God, Jesus, Bible

Teenage boys arrested in New Milford church vandalism cases

Following up on our earlier post about church vandalism in New Milford, check this out.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Religion, New Milford

Christian Events in Connecticut This Week

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

All Week, March 18-24:
Holy Spirit Meetings (Pine Meadow - New Life Christian Center)

Monday, March 19:
Regional Prayer Meeting (Torrington - Advent Christian Church)

Friday, March 23:
Martha Munizzi Benefit Concert (Plantsville - Aqua Turf Club)

Saturday, March 24:
Iron Sharpens Iron Conference (Bloomfield - First Cathedral)
Key of David Christian Coffeehouse (Ansonia- First Baptist Church)

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Religion, Evangelical, Pine Meadow, Plantsville, Torrington, Bloomfield, Ansonia

Christian cyclists hit the road in Eastern Connecticut

A new chapter of the Christian Motorcyclists Association opens in Plainfield:

Stan Winman, the group's president, organized Healing Light. Though he's a resident of Scituate, R.I., Winman works in Norwich and says he thought of starting the chapter in eastern Connecticut because he spends so much time in this part of the state.

“I felt there was a need for what we do here. There was no representation in this area,” said Winman, 48, who was a member of a Rhode Island CMA chapter called Romans 8 for a few years.

The purpose of Healing Light, which reflects the philosophy of the CMA, is primarily to support secular biker events such as charity rides, bike blessings, and fund-raisers for causes such as the March of Dimes and cancer benefits, Winman said.

Read more here, from The Day. More on Healing Light here.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, Plainfield

Call to prayer against terrorism directed at children

The AP came out with a truly frightening story yesterday, but what is perhaps equally alarming is the government's reaction. Witness this:

Suspected members of extremist groups have signed up as school bus drivers in the United States, counterterror officials said yesterday in a cautionary bulletin to police. An FBI spokesman said, "Parents and children have nothing to fear."

Asked about the alert notice, the FBI's Rich Kolko said, "There are no threats, no plots and no history leading us to believe there is any reason for concern," although U.S. law enforcement agencies were asked to watch out for kids' safety.

This is difficult to believe. How can it be that such people have signed up as school bus drivers and yet parents have "nothing to fear?"

It is highly likely that schools and public transportation are already being "cased" for a Beslan-style assault in the U. S.

Please remember to pray for America's schoolchildren and school and public transportation systems.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, terror, Islam, Russia, news

Prayer and Revival Events in Litchfield County

On this Sunday, March 18th at 6:00 PM a special service has been booked with Rev. Frank Mwebesa of Uganda, Africa at First Congregational Church in Torrington.

Pastor Mwebesa is founder of Intercity Prayer Altars Network and he along with a team from Uganda have come to the U. S., and specifically New England, to pray for revival. This evening service will be a precious time to hear, share, and fellowship with the greater church body.

On Monday, March 19th at 6:30 PM there will be a Regional Prayer Meeting at Advent Church, 217 New Harwinton Road, Torrington. Guest prayer partner will be Pastor Frank. Pastors, please invite your church folk as this group specifically prays for revival in Litchfield County.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, prayer, evangelical, Torrington

Worship Artist Martha Munizzi to perform benefit concert in Connecticut

Turning Point Christian Center will present Grammy and Dove Award nominee Martha Munizzi as the featured artist at its 7th annual banquet, next Friday, March 23rd at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT.

Martha is a renowned singer, songwriter and worship leader whose songs include "Because of Who You Are." Proceeds from the event will benefit Turning Point Christian Center and its ministry to persons with drug and alcohol addictions.

For Tickets Call:
860.314.1101
203.272.1701

Source: www.tpccntl.org

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, evangelical, charismatic, music, Plantsville

The state of the Capital

In the face of more shooting comes an upbeat State of the City report from Mayor Perez highlighting crime reduction, jobs growth and increased tourism. If 2006 was really one of the safest years in Hartford in 25 years, then much of the thanks goes to the Lord, working through the prayers and toil of area churches. Please continue praying for the entire capital region.

Arrests in church vandalism cases may be near

Detectives are said to be close to making arrests in the vandalism of two New Milford churches. (Fuller story several days old can still be read here.) The offending artwork includes "666" and an upside-down cross, and, surprisingly, is being admitted by the press to be Satanic in nature.

Although this doesn't get much play anywhere, it's just one of a series of incidents of this type directed at churches in Connecticut over the past year or so.

Tags: Christian, Christianity, Connecticut, New Milford, church, religion, spirituality

Church blesses another church with a unique gift

Faith Lutheran Church in East Hartford, CT shares a wonderful gift with another congregation:

Ever since the day church members were told they needed new windows, and made a decision to replace the leaky plain panes with stained glass scenes from the Bible of their own design and making, visitors have marveled at the result. Charles Kuralt stopped by to have a look for himself. The glass has been written up in magazines as far away as Moscow.

The inside of the Silver Lane church now tells a big story, a story of Biblical proportions which has been the reason behind stained glass since the Middle Ages.

But the 'Windows of Faith', all 56 of them, also fuse together many other human, personal stories of the people who made them - friendships, community, beliefs.

The congregation is now blessing another East Hartford church, Crossroads Community Cathedral, with a gift of a stained glass windows, unsolicited. The East Hartford Gazette says:

"They approached us," said [one of Cathedral's pastors, Sean Wiles]. Late last year he went to visit Faith Lutheran for the first time just down Silver Lane. "I was absolutely blown away. The evolution of how they have changed things over time in each window. How they have grown in what they are doing...at the 900-seat sanctuary "they were going to put in a normal window. But they came to us with this design. They had to build a box to protect it from rain. They have done unbelievable work, and it's going to be back-lit with special lights. Even the builders were impressed."

The stained glass gift leaves him somewhat at a loss for the right words to describe it. Churches of a different faith do not normally reach out, unsolicited, to help one another build a building.

"We haven't even presented it to the congregation," said Pastor Wiles. "It's a humbling thing. I would hope that all churches would be working together and supporting one another."

Read it all here.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, church, God, religion, spirituality, East Hartford

Connecticut Attorney-General seeks controls on MySpace

The Courant tells us that Attorney-General is working to establish tighter controls on MySpace and similar sites, compelling them to do more to verify that minors have parental permission to participate in the site.

Connecticut officials unveiled legislation Wednesday that would require MySpace.com and other social networking web sites to verify users' ages and obtain parental consent before minors post profiles online.

The bill comes a day after a man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for using MySpace.com to set up a sexual encounter with an 11-year-old Connecticut girl. It was one of the first federal sex cases involving the popular networking site.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who met with other attorneys general on Tuesday, said 10 to 20 other states are considering similar legislation.

Please continue to pray for our State's youth.

Tags: Connecticut, law, society, internet

New Christian search page making the Web useful again

Ever searched for a Bible term, name, or place only to be swamped by information overload? I searched "King David" this morning on Google as a test and came up with 1,370,000 results!

Here's a new site which is giving you back the power of the Web: Kingdom Engine.

Kingdom Engine uses Google technology to feed you better results, offering you specialized search engines on a variety of topics. Kingdom Engine avoids the problem of burying you under a million results by searching just a few specially chosen sites instead of the whole Web. The result: information that's more relevant and useful to you.

The site currently offers four unique engines:

• The Bible Search Engine - good for searching the Bible, commentaries and word studies
  

• The Apologetics Search Engine - good for research about religious movements and practices
  

• The Creeds & Confessions Search Engine, and
  

• The Worship Search Engine, which allows you to "search lyrics, titles and composers in hymns and contemporary praise and worship."

Each one of these searches can be added to a Google homepage, or even to your own blog or website. For example, in our right-hand column we currently are hosting The Bible Search Engine. Take advantage of these tools!

Tags: Christianity, Christian, Evangelical, God, religion, Jesus, Bible, apologetics, theology, worship, music, search, web2.0, Google, search engines, web, internet

Same-Sex "Marriage" Legislation resurfaces in Legislature

The Orange Bulletin is running a piece today on the upcoming same-sex marriage battle, complete with quotes from legislators, some of whom still seem to be testing the wind...

State Rep. Themis Klarides, R-114, voted in favor of civil unions. But she would not commit to voting for same -sex marriage. "I don't know what I am going to do. I have always been a supporter of equal rights. I need to hear testimony and there are lots of legal issues to consider," Klarides said.

State Rep. Art Feltman, D-6, indicated he would support such legislation.
"We need to acknowledge the value of all stable relationships in all families not just those that fit traditions," Feltman said.

State Sen. Joseph Crisco, D-17, said his mind was not made up on the issue.
"I am going to keep an open mind until I hear all the arguments," Crisco said.

Please pray and also work to help legislators make good decisions!

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, marriage, family, Hartford, government, law, news, society

New - The Connecticut Search Engine!

We're pleased to announce the creation and launch of a special new custom search engine just for Connecticut - the Connecticut Search Engine!

Powered by Google, this search engine is more powerful and useful for you because it's limited to searching just Connecticut news and government sites. Beside the main State websites, all major State newspapers and dozens of smaller papers are included. Major Connecticut political blogs are also searched.

How to search? If you know how to use Google, you already know how to use this custom search engine. There are two ways to access it:

1. Use the handy search box right here on our blog.

2. Visit and bookmark the Connecticut Search Engine at www.ctsearchpage.com.

We think this will be a great resource for anyone interested in Connecticut and tracking what's happening here. Enjoy!

Tags: Connecticut, search, web, web2.0, search engines, internet, Google

More on yesterday's Rally For Marriage

More on yesterday's Rally For Marriage at the State Capitol:

The Family Institute of Connecticut reports:

Thanks so much to all of you who came out to the Rally for Marriage. We had our largest turnout ever for a weekday event! There were over 200 people that attended, which was more than double the crowd of our opponents. More importantly, many of our supporters personally lobbied their legislators for the first time. Thanks also to State Senate Minority Leader Lou DeLuca (R-Woodbury), State Rep. T.R. Rowe (R-Trumbull), State Rep. Anthony D'Amelio (R-Waterbury), State Rep. David Alderando (D-Waterbury), and State Rep. Al Adinolfi (R-Cheshire). We had a great show of legislative support and truly appreciate these leaders for standing strong for marriage.

The Waterbury Republican-American quoted pro-family forces:

Senate Minority Leader Louis C. DeLuca, R-Woodbury, accused supporters of gay marriage of religious intolerance.

"We are under attack. They want to have a secular society that says there is no right and wrong," DeLuca said. "We know better."

More to come as it develops... obviously a long-term story.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, Catholic, Marriage, Family, News, Society, Politics

Media Updates on the Protect Marriage Rally

More media coverage of today's Protect Marriage Rally in Hartford today and related news. We'll try to update these links as best we can.





More human interest from the New Haven Independent.

“Christians are under attack today,” said Senate GOP leader Louis DeLuca of Woodbury, standing on the Capitol steps before a throng of gay marriage opponents, many with ashes on their foreheads for ash [sic] Wednesday.

Earlier links:



WTNH report with video link, includes quote from Brian Brown. WTNH reports the crowd in favor of traditional morality in the hundreds.



From the New Haven Independent: State Rep. and head of the Judiciary Committee Mike Lawlor says gay marriage is "inevitable."



Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Hartford, Marriage, family, news, society, evangelical, law

Media Updates on the Protect Marriage Rally

Here's media coverage as it starts to come in on the Protect Marriage Rally taking place in Hartford today and related news. We'll try to update these links as best we can.

WTNH report with video link, includes quote from Brian Brown.

From the New Haven Independent: State Rep. and head of the Judiciary Committee Mike Lawlor says gay marriage is "inevitable."

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Hartford, Marriage, family, news, society, evangelical, law

Ugandan Prayer Leader Jackson Senyonga Ministering in Connecticut, March 11-13

Pastor and Prayer Leader Jackson Senyonga

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

Pastor Senyonga is the leader of the Ugandan prayer movement featured on the widely acclaimed Transformations 2 video produced by the Sentinel Group. Since its beginnings in the 1990’s the prayer movement has brought unprecedented revival and change to the nation of Uganda. On New Year’s Eve 2000, the Ugandan President attended a stadium prayer event where he repented for his nation’s sins of witchcraft and idolatry and placed the national flag into the hands of the Church leaders.

Today, Uganda is unique among all African nations. The HIV/AIDS rate is dramatically declining, the economy is soaring, and the President has recruited an agency of Christians to stomp out government corruption.

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.


Christian Life Church gathering at Nembole Stadium in Uganda, 2004

Jackson Senyonga’s schedule in Connecticut will be:

Sunday, March 11, 8:30 & 11:00 am
Preaching at: Harvest Time Church International
1338 King Street, Greenwich, CT

Sunday-Tuesday, March 11, 12 & 13, 7:00 pm
Regional Transforming Prayer and Impartation Services
Location: Harvest Time Church International
1338 King Street, Greenwich, CT

Monday, March 12, 12:00 noon
Marketplace Ministry Leaders Luncheon
Location: TBA

Tuesday, March 13, 12:00 noon
Pastors’ Luncheon
Location: Harvest Time Church International
1338 King Street, Greenwich, CT

For more Christian events in Connecticut, visit the Connecticut Christian Events Calendar, powered by Google.TM

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Evangelical, Charismatic, Pentecostal, Greenwich, Uganda, prayer, God, Bible, Jesus, religion

FIC "Protect Marriage and Lobby Day" Tomorrow

From the Family Institute of Connecticut comes this notice:

Anti-family activists have begun their push to pass a same-sex "marriage" law during the state legislature's 2007 session. We have already responded to their initial moves. But we could lose this battle unless a significant number of pro-family state voters make themselves physically present at the state capitol.

On Wednesday, February 21st at 10:00 a.m. the Family Institute of Connecticut Action will hold a Protect Marriage Rally and Lobby Day on the steps of the state capitol in Hartford. We need as many pro-family state residents as possible to attend our rally and then meet with their own legislators afterwards to ask them to vote to protect marriage.

In 2004, and again in 2005, FIC Action organized weekend rallies that brought thousands of pro-family voters to Hartford. That is why previous efforts to pass full same-sex "marriage" failed.

But we have entered a new phase in the battle to protect the one man-one woman definition of marriage. The most effective approach at this point is to bring hundreds to Hartford on a weekday to meet directly with their state representative and state senator.

I know that it is a sacrifice to take a day off from work and I appreciate what so many of you are willing to do to help protect society's most precious institution. But our opposition regularly appears at the state capitol in the hundreds. Having legislators see with their own eyes that the pro-family side enjoys greater public support is the only way to reverse the anti-family stranglehold over our state capitol.

And FIC Action will be there on February 21st to help guide you. Following our 10 a.m. rally we will march together into the Legislative Office Building where our volunteers will help direct you to where you need to go to meet with your own state representative and state senator. We will also provide brief talking points on why marriage should be protected and not redefined.

For more info, visit the FIC Website.

Tags: Connecticut, Christian, Christianity, Marriage, Hartford, News, Politics, Society