RELIGION

Patty Griffin is a singer-songwriter whose latest recording, "Downtown Church," was done at the Downtown Presbyterian Church in Nashville. It includes some wonderful covers (beginning with Hank Williams' "House of Gold") and some of her fine tunes, too.

Click here for a piece from her Web site in which she talks about the recording and her own religious roots.

The release below gives details on a fast-approaching program at Southern Methodist University:

On Tuesday evening (Feb. 23) at 7 p.m. at SMU's Hughes-Trigg Theater in the Hughes-Trigg Student Center (http://smu.edu/maps/flash/) , the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance (www.dallasholocaustmuseum.org) is hosting a special program exploring the role of the newly-established Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission.

The program is free and open to the public, and complimentary valet parking is provided.

The Commission was established during the last session of the Legislature and signed into law last summer. State Sen. Florence Shapiro (R-Plano) and State Sen. Rodney Ellis (D-Houston) co-sponsored the bill creating the commission, which was passed unanimously.

Texas is the nation's 13th state to establish a commission or council devoted to Holocaust and genocide education. By law, the commission--considered the most important development in Holocaust education in Texas in years--is to help preserve information and experiences of the Holocaust and other genocide events. The commission will also work with organizations, agencies, museums, survivors and liberators to provide information and experiences and to coordinate memorial events in the state.

The SMU program will explore the commission's purpose in a Q&A format moderated by Texas Tribune Editor Evan Smith, formerly president and editor-in-chief of Texas Monthly. The panelists include Senator Shapiro; Peter Berkowitz, a Houston business executive who chairs the commission; Amy Fisher-Smith, an associate professor of psychology at University of Dallas, and a Holocaust educator; and Elliott Dlin, Museum Director of the Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance.

Texas is home to several hundred Holocaust survivors, and a few are expected to attend the event, co-sponsored by the Memnosyne Foundation (http://memnosynefoundation.org/) and the SMU Human Rights Program (http://smu.edu/humanrights/)

The American Psychiatric Association is proposing a new version of its manual that classifies various personality disorders. Quite a few disorders were reclassified. For example, the reviewers of the existing manual felt that too many children were being misdiagnosed with an early onset of bipolar disorder. So, they created a category called "temper dysregulation disorder with dysphoria."

We're not here to debate whether those categories are accurate or not, but the existence of so many disorders of the mind does raise a question with serious theological underpinnings:

The more we learn about the mind, the more it seems like it can predetermine our behaviors. Is that so? Or are we still primarily moral responsible for our actions, even with a genetic disorder?

Ray Suarez of PBS's The NewsHour will be among the Lenten speakers in a series organized by the Episcopal Diocese of Forth Worth - those local churches remaining a part of the Episcopal Church.

Details in the press release below:

Christian speaker and author Thelma Wells will speak to the DFW Christian Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday.

The event begins at 11 a.m., and will be at Calvary Church. 4401 N. Hwy 161 at Walnut Hill, in Irving. Catered lunch and trade show are part of the event. $17 members; $20 non-members and guests. Reservations are suggested.

www.DFWChristianchamber.com

info@dfwchristianchamber.com

The Rev. Wally Chappell is a longtime United Methodist pastor who served churches around the Dallas area. He's also a veteran teacher of the the Intensive Journal Workshop.

He'll be giving the course at Highland Park University. Details below:

The Intensive Journal Workshop
At Highland Park UMC
Led by Rev. Wally Chappell
Friday, March 12- 5:45-9:00 pm (dinner at 5:45)
Saturday, March 13- 8:30 am-1:00 pm
(continental breakfast at 8:30)
Sunday, March 14- 2:00-6:00 pm

Cost: $155
Contact:
214-523-2231 or 214-523-2296

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is strong on statistics, and doesn't shrink from sharing them, even when they show the denomination is graying rapidly.

Here's a report:

Dallas-based Women in Christian Media is honoring Terry Meeuwsen of the 700 Club.

Details in the press release below:

In a recent decision, the Supreme Court opened the door for corporations and labor unions to contribute directly in support of political candidates. Some conservative Christian political organizations have been critical of federal limitations affecting their ability to campaign for a candidate by advancing a particular message before an election. As expected, Focus on the Family Action spokesman Tim Goeglein said his group is happy with the court's ruling.

"Organizations like Focus on the Family Action, the family policy councils, all of our allies-- this (Supreme Court decision) will give us an incredible voice in the great issues of our time," he said. On the other hand, liberal Sojourners founder Jim Wallis warned the ruling will just make it easier for the wealthy to dominate the debate.

But is there another way to look at this? Might all religious groups - conservative or progressive - now be freed of past restrictions limiting advocacy on behalf of a candidate they like? Churches can't support candidates, but why not faith-based groups - whatever their ideological stripe?

Here's the question: Should religious organizations view this ruling as an opening as well to engage directly in financial support of, and advocacy for, specific candidates?

Our panel of experts weighs in:

The 4th Annual Faith Community Leadership Summit, sponsored by Texas Health Resources, will be held Feb. 16th, in Fort Worth. The theme is end-of-life care and ministry. For details, click here.
Details below:

Mary DeMuth of Rockwall is a veteran author of Christian books, and her latest is a memoir. She'll be at Legacy Books in Plano on Feb. 18th, at 7 p.m. to talk about that book, "Thin Places," and about the craft of memoir writing. Details below:

John L. Allen, Jr., writes for the National Catholic Reporter, and did a long, interesting story for that publication about the growth of Catholicism in Texas. Bishop Kevin Farrell of the Diocese of Dallas was part of that story.

Allen spoke earlier this week at the University of Dallas, a Catholic school known for its conservativism. Now Allen has blogged about the experience of visiting UD, and in his post comments on the school, on Farrell's challenge to it in a commencement address, and on tensions more broadly among Catholics. Allen also reports that he got some heat at UD for using the phrase "Taliban Catholicism." Click here for Allen's report.

The Rev. Drake Torp-Pedersen of Terrell Bible Church brought to my attention the death of Bible scholar Donald Wiseman, a key figure with Tyndale House, a biblical research center in England. A UK blog site reports the death, quoting a statement from Tyndale.

Below is a remembrance:

Louis Moore covered religion for the Houston Chronicle for many years, then moved into book writing and publishing. He does a blog, and his latest entry draws on his reporting experience to note that the trouble the Southern Baptists are in in Haiti is not without precedent. Very interest tale, so keep reading:

Sally Reilly began teaching at St. Monica Catholic School in Dallas in 1960. She's still at it, and has no plans to retire.

A special Mass honoring her will be said tomorrow at 8 a.m. It will be at St. Monica Catholic Church, 9933 Midway Road.

Details in the press release below:

Former HUD secretary Henry Cisneros will address the housing crisis when he gives the Rabbi David Lefkowitz Memorial Lecture at Dallas' Temple Emanu-El.

The Feb. 23 event begins at 7:30 p.m. It's at the temple, 8500 Hillcrest Road. The public is welcome, and there's no admission charge.

A press release is below:

The Rev. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, has gotten national circulation for an essay decrying the Air Force Academy's decision to establish an outdoor place of worship for pagans, Wiccans, Druids and others. Click here. . And click here for a wire story.

Partners for Sacred Spaces, which has a Fort Worth office, sends along this press release about how it partnered with some local churches to get furniture and other equipment to Galveston congregations still trying to make a comeback from Hurricane Ike.

Here's the release:

Partners for Sacred Places, a national, non-sectarian nonprofit based in Philadelphia with offices in Chicago and Fort Worth provides funding, training, and technical assistance to congregations in historic buildings. Partners for Sacred Places works with congregations to care for their buildings and strengthen their capacity to serve and transform their community.

The Fort Worth based, Texas Office began working with ten congregations in Galveston in January 2009. The office has provided significant support, including damage reports, comprehensive architectural assessments, coaching, and training.

In addition, the Texas Office through several partnerships was able to provide furniture and equipment for the congregations on January 25, 2010. Through the generous donation of the Village Church of Dallas, several congregations in Galveston were able to receive items for their facilities, including nursery furniture, desks, and tables. The Office of Community Development of the Baptist General Convention of Texas provided the 26 ft. U-Haul to transport the furniture. Cornerstone Baptist Church in Dallas assisted with the coordination and the driver.

"This donation demonstrates the commitment Partners for Sacred Places has to the ten congregations we are assisting since January 2009 that were impacted by Hurricane Ike. We are elated about this opportunity to provide much needed furniture and equipment." says Froswa' Booker-Drew, Director of the Texas Office of Partners for Sacred Places.

For more information on how you can support the efforts or become involved in the work of Partners for Sacred Places, please visit their website at www.sacredplaces.org.

University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, a Heisman winner, has prepared an ad that CBS has said it will run during the Super Bowl. Supported by groups like Focus on the Family, Tebow's ad will tell the story of how his mother decided to give birth to him despite medical complications that were severe enough that doctors recommended against it. Serving as a missionary abroad at the time, she returned home and went ahead and gave birth to him.

Some organizations, including the National Organization for Women, want CBS to pull the ad. They claim introducing the subject of abortion is political advocacy and doesn't belong in a Super Bowl telecast.

Here is the question for the week:

Should CBS pull the ad? Or keep it? Please explain your position.

Philip Gulley would certainly be competitive for having the most provocative Christian book title of 2010. His latest book, just out from HarperOne, is called "If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus."

The use of the subjunctive makes clear that he has some tough love to offer organized Christianity.

Gulley is a Quaker pastor who made a name as author of the popular Harmony series of novels, which explored the foibles of church life, and caused a bigger stir with a book he did with James Mulholland, arguing for a universalist (as in all get to heaven) interpretation of Christian faith.

Blurbs for his new book come from Diana Butler Bass, Richard Rohr, Barbara Brown Taylor, Marcus Borg, and Shane Claiborne.

Gulley notes in the first pages that he's had to fend off those who would have his credentials as a Quaker pastor taken away.

Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Carrollton is having a Haiti benefit concert Saturday.

The church's band, MorningSong, will perform beginning at 7:00 p.m.

The band has been working up some Beatles tunes, other classic rock, as well as bluegrass and country numbers, and more.

An offering will be taken for the Haiti Emergency Fund of the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR).

The church is at 3926 Old Denton Road in Carrollton.

President Obama goes up to Capitol Hill Wednesday night to deliver his State of the Union address. Of course, he does so having just suffered a serious setback in Massachusetts. He described the anger that fueled Scott Brown's victory as akin to the revolt that elected him president.

Whether he's right or not, we certainly are seeing swings back and forth in our political system. We're going through rapid movements between left and right, right and left. And that leads to this week's question:

Is there a defect in our social and political fabric that religion or religious leaders can speak to so that we can find more stability in our politics? If so, what are the defects and what message or messages can religious leaders deliver?

The Rev. James Denison, former pastor of Park Cities Baptist Church and currently president of the The Center for Informed Faith, regularly writes short, provocative commenatries on faith. Here's his latest, which speaks to me, a birder:

The Dallas Jewish school is offering a "tuition incentive" for next year. Details in the press release below:

The Sunday program begins at 5 p.m., at the Center for Spiritual Living, 4801 Spring Valley road, Dallas, Tx 75244.

For details, click here.