Author: Mark Barna
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Summit Ministries’ founder retiring after nearly 50 years
You may not recognize his name or face, but David Noebel’s influence in conservative Christian circles has been huge. Decades before there was a Christian right, Noebel, 75, proclaimed many of its ideas in books, broadcasts and lectures. In 1962 in Manitou Springs, Noebel founded Summit Ministries, which teaches young people how to view the…
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UPDATE: Springs couple suing cantaloupe grower, Wal-Mart
A Colorado Springs man has been hospitalized since Sept. 1 after eating cantaloupe his wife says they purchased at the Wal-Mart on Razorback Road. They believe the cantaloupe made him sick, and on Thursday the couple filed a lawsuit in El Paso County district court against Jensen Farms Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc.Charles Palmer, 71,…
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Citizen Link sends plea for $2.3 million to stay afloat
The email doesn’t have the drama of the late evangelist Oral Roberts’ announcement in 1986 that God would call him home if he didn’t raise $8 million by a certain date. But the message from CitizenLink, the lobbying arm of Focus on the Family, was nevertheless clear: Act now or there could be consequences.CitizenLink this…
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Temple Shalom’s 40 years of reconciliation
For much of its 40-year history, Temple Shalom has taken a difficult middle road. It’s not Reform. It’s not Conservative. It’s both. Imagine a Protestant church that decided to specifically serve Lutherans and Presbyterians. Temple Shalom rabbi Mel Glazer is proud of the synagogue’s seemingly split congregation, saying it represents the new American Judaism. “We…
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Gay advocate: Diocese’s 12-step program ‘snake-oil therapy’
A gay advocacy group on Wednesday denounced the Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs for starting a 12-step support program for homosexuals that it labeled “snake-oil therapy.” Michael Cole-Schwartz, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy organization in Washington, D.C., said the program, Twelve Steps of Courage, has the potential to damage lives. “When…
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Springs diocese starts 12-step program for gays
The Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs is borrowing a page from Alcoholics Anonymous by launching a 12-step program that offers pastoral care and support for homosexuals. “It’s not about therapy and not about activism,” said the Rev. Larry Brennan, diocese director of priest formation. “It’s about support.” The Catholic Church views homosexual relations as a…
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Ice chips fly at Old Colorado City event
A powder of ice sprayed from Bill Sundiski’s buzz saw Saturday in Old Colorado City as he cut into a bluish block of ice.Ten minutes later, Sundiski had turned the rectangular block into a Roman-style pillar to use as a leg for an ice table.“The pillar was in there,” Sundiski said of the transformation. “You’ve…
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Aftershocks: Haitian orphans putting down roots in Springs
The lives now of Aliyah and Christela Karr could not be more different than they were at the time of the Haiti earthquake. When she was 8 months old,, Christela, 3, was found abandoned and malnourished in a Haiti junk yard and taken to an orphanage with few modern conveniences. She lived there with some…
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PULPIT: Focus has restraint, why not politicians?
Questions remain about the motives of Arizona shooter Jared Loughner, who allegedly killed six people Jan. 8 at a Democratic rally and wounded 13 others, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. Some on the right point to Loughner’s reported familiarity with Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” to show he’s a liberal. Some on the left point to the…
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Black abortion opponents latest to lay claim to King legacy
Monday’s holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., has never been just about the civil rights icon. Established in 1983, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was born in a cauldron of accusations by Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina that King had associated with communists, committed adultery and was undeserving of the recognition. Helms’…