From her home, Samia Ramsis holds a key chain bearing the face of the Virgin Mary as visitors outside come to look upon the spot where Egypt’s Coptic Christians believe Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus found refuge after fleeing Bethlehem.

Once crowded with Christians, Cairo’s Coptic quarter where she lives with her husband, Mounir, and two children is now home to fewer than 50 Christian families.

“We know many Christians have left,” said Mounir Ramsis, speaking not only about this quarter but about all of Egypt. “But we love this country and will stay until death.”

The Arab Spring uprisings that toppled secular dictatorships have unleashed long-suppressed freedoms that have allowed Islamic parties to gain a share of political power they have been denied for decades. Their rise is creating near-panic among ancient Christian communities that dot the Muslim world and predate Islam by centuries.

In Libya, Christians are uneasy as the powerful head of the Tripoli Military Council, Abdul Hakim Belhaj, who once led an Islamic militia with links to al-Qaida, has said he plans to run for office in elections scheduled for April.

In Afghanistan, no new building permits have been issued for churches, and the last church open to the public was demolished over the summer. In Iraq, the Christian community has decreased by two-thirds since 2003 amid bombings of churches and assassinations of priests.

And Christians in Syria, where Muslims have risen up against President Bashar Assad, have been subjected to murder, rape and kidnappings in Damascus and rebellious towns, according to Christian rights groups, including Open Doors, which helps Christians facing persecution.

Many had hoped for better in an Arab movement that proponents said was about replacing tyrannies with democracies.

“The outlook is grim,” said John Eibner, CEO of the California-based human rights group Christian Solidarity International.

“If the current trajectory continues, it’s reasonable to think that within a generation these (Christian) communities will not look like functioning communities,” Eibner said. “They’ll look more like the once-flourishing Jewish communities” across the Arab world that are all but gone.

Nowhere is the irony more profound than in Egypt, where an estimated 8 million Christians live with more than 70 million Muslims.

Christians demonstrated alongside Muslims early last year to oust Hosni Mubarak. Before Mubarak’s overthrow, Christians had suffered from years of church burnings and murders at the hands of radical Muslims who want an Islamic state free of religious minorities. After the ouster, the military regime that has been running the country has refused to make any arrests in attacks on Christians.

Mina Bouls, 25, a Copt who fled to Philadelphia, recalls cowering with his mother in 1997 as a mob stoned the family home and chanted anti-Christian slogans. But the difference then was that Mubarak ordered the military to protect Christian communities and jailed extremists, Bouls said.

In October, Copts organized a protest in downtown Cairo over the authorities’ failure to investigate attacks, including the bombing of a church in Alexandria on New Year’s Day 2011 that killed 20 people. The military attacked the demonstrators and 17 Christians were run down and killed by military vehicles, according to Human Rights Watch.

Bouls wants to bring his family to the U.S. because he says he is petrified by the new society forming in Egypt. The first free elections in decades held in the past two months handed power not to moderates but to members of the Muslim Brotherhood and radical Salafi candidates, who combined took nearly 70 percent of seats.

“If people try to rule the country with the Quran, with Shariah law, that means they look to us as second-class people,” Bouls said.

Christianity has existed in Egypt since the second century. The Muslim Brotherhood, a political movement that seeks a nation run according to Quranic law, has said Egypt would respect the rights of religious minorities.

The Salafis, Muslim fundamentalists who want a complete application of Shariah law that generally denies equal rights to women and religious minorities, also say Copts are safe in Egypt.

“Even if there are Salafi leaders who proclaim Copts to be heretics, this does not mean that (the Copts) must be subjected to any religious or (legal) sanctions,” said Emad Abdel-Ghafour, head of the al-Nour party that won 25 percent so far in parliamentary elections.

Abanob Magdi lives near Egypt’s largest pyramid and says he is not optimistic about what lies ahead.

“I saw on TV the other day a Salafi saying that if they get in power, beaches will be divided for men and women and women will have to be veiled,” Magdi said as he walked through Coptic Cairo with friends.

Christians account for 4 percent of the people of the Middle East and North Africa. Despite being the birthplace of Christianity, the region now has the fewest number of Christians (13 million) and the smallest share of its population that is Christian of any other major geographic region, according to the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.

The future of minorities in the emerging democracies of the Middle East “is a huge issue most vividly seen in Egypt and the Copts,” said California Rep. Howard Berman, ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. “It’s on our agenda as we figure out how to help these countries,” and their treatment of Christians and other minorities is a “red line” that will affect future aid.

(Oren Dorell and Sarah Lynch write for USA Today.)

The number of Christians in Uzbekistan continues to increase, despite another government crackdown that was launched recently on evangelical churches.

In the last few years there has been a rise in the incidence of raids upon churches and apartments of Christians. Oftentimes, Christian leaders are imposed impossible fines, Christians are attacked and beaten, and materials and cash are confiscated.

A report by the World Evangelical Alliance said that a Christian woman was fined some $1,500 for giving a Bible to a child. Another woman was beaten until she had a concussion.

WEA also said in its report that a Christian man was threatened by a policeman who warned him of an axe attack, and another Christian man was attacked by police.

Impossible fines

The Slavic Gospel Association has asked for prayers for churches and religious organizations. It is also seeking prayer intercession for Konstantin Malchikovsky, a Baptist pastor who was charged with “not paying in monies from church offerings and book sales,” according to ASSIST News.

Malchikovsky is pastor of Hamza District Baptist Church, which is registered in Tashkent, Uzbek. Last year his church was raided. Authorities confiscated printing equipment, Christian books and cash.

Malchikovsky and three others in his church were fined up to 100 times a minimum monthly salary. With the present charges, he may face jail if convicted.

“During last years, we have big problems with our Christian freedom in Uzbekistan,” Baptist pastor Ivan Bickkov told Christian World News. “Every time government tries to push under pressure Christian churches and Christian leaders. And each year, it’s become more strong and heavy.”

Bickkov, who was falsely accused of terrorist activities, was a former Church planter and minister to children. He was expelled from Uzbekistan and sent to Russia.

An anonymous source told CWN, “If you have more than one Bible in your home, you are in big trouble. They go to your work and ask the leaders of your office to stop your Christian activities. It’s getting worse.”

Christians also face great difficulty getting churches registered, with only three Christian churches registered in the last eight years, compared to 2,500 mosques that were registered.

A source told CWN, “If don’t have a license as a church you cannot pray. You cannot preach, you cannot sing. More than three people together, even if it’s a family, parents, children, all churches who don’t have a license, it’s against the law.”

The crackdown is largely on evangelicals because they preach to Muslims, who comprise 98 percent of the country’s population. A source told CWN, “The gospel came to Uzbekistan mainly after the Soviet Union collapsed. There has been a powerful evangelization of the country, and many people from a Muslim background became believers. The government is afraid this could bring inter-religious strife.”

Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked Central Asian nation that was formerly part of the Soviet Union until the latter dissolved in 1991.

The tomb of one of the original apostles of Jesus Christ was discovered recently in a southwestern province in Turkey.

The tomb of St. Philip the apostle, who is mentioned as one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, was found by a team of archaeologists led by Francesco D’Andria, an Italian professor and archaeologist.

D’Andria and his team were unearthing the ruins of a newly-discovered church in Hieropolis, in the province Denizli, when they came across the tomb.

D’Andria said experts confirmed the tomb belonged to St. Philip as indicated by its structure and writings on it. He said they had been trying to locate the tomb for years.

St.Philip the apostle is considered a martyr in the Christian faith, having been killed by the Romans some 2000 years ago. He traveled to Hierapolis to spread the gospel.

According to ancient tradition, he died in 80 A.D. He had preached in Phrygia, Syria and Greece before he was martyred. Legend states that he was either crucified upside down, or beheaded. After his death, an octagonal shaped tomb, named The Martryium, was built for him on the spot where he died.

D’Andria had been the head of excavations in the area for some 32 years.

He told Dogan News Agency, “Until recently, we thought the grave of St. Philip was on Martyrs’ Hill, but we discovered no traces of him in the geophysical research conducted in that area. A month ago, we discovered the remnants of an unknown church, 40 meters away from the St. Philip Church on Martyrs’ Hill. And in that church we discovered the grave of St. Philip.”

So far, the grave has not been opened, but the team plans to do so in due time.

D’Andria told Dogan News Agency, “St. Philip is considered a martyr. In fact, the church built in his name on the Martyrs’ Hill is, for this reason, also called Martyrion, despite the fact there were no traces of the grave of St. Philip. As we were cleaning out the new church we discovered a month ago, we finally found the grave. With close examination, we determined that the grave had been removed from its previous location in the St. Philip Church to this new church in the fifth century, during the Byzantine era. We are extremely happy and proud to have discovered the grave of a saint whose name appears in the Bible-this surely is an important discovery for religious tourism, archaeology and Christendom.”

With the discovery it is expected that Hierapolis, which means “sacred city,” may become a Christian pilgrimage place and tourist destination. It is located beside Pamukkale, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

The city is also renowned for its hot springs which had served, since the second century, as a spa.

Ali Mohamud Rage, spokesman of Al Shabaab, an al Qaeda-linked militant group, announced that it will continue to ban foreign aid in parts of the country that remain under its control, and denied that tens of thousands are on the threshold of starvation.

Rage said the U.N. claim of famine is without basis, and told Al Jazeera there was just a “shortage of rain,” adding, “The declaration of famine is political and is a lie with hidden agendas.”

Dialogue with Al Shabaab

Rage made the statement after the U.N. World Food Program told CNN of dialogue with Al Shabaab about bringing aid to famine-afflicted areas. WFP said the talks were not negotiations. However, it wanted a guarantee that its staff will be safe, and that there will be no interference by Al Shabaab in its operations.

“We are absolutely prepared to go into southern Somalia and are awaiting guarantees on security … ground rules that would allow us to access, deliver and monitor the huge amounts of food that are needed,” David Orr, WFP spokesman, told CNN.

USAID head Rajiv Shah told CNN, “President Obama and Secretary (of State Hillary) Clinton have asked us to test Al Shabaab, if they’re going to provide humanitarian access. We’re going to stand with the United Nations and other partners to make sure that humanitarian organizations can get in and can reach the most affected people.”

1,500 refugees daily

Despite the claim of Al Shabaab that there is no famine, some 1,500 Somali refugees have been arriving daily in a refugee camp in Dadaab, in northern Kenya.

“Most of the people arriving are dehydrated and very hungry. Many lack clothing and are barefoot,” Lennart Hernander of the Lutheran World Federation told Anglican Journal.

The camp, which is being managed by the LWF, presently has 360,000 refugees.

They are being given shelter, living materials, food and water, including nine tons of a flour mixture for the elderly and little children who lack the strength to eat dry food.

“People … left because they did not have enough to eat,” Sarah Wilson of Christian Aid said, according to Anglican Journal. “They had to sell off their cattle one by one until they had none left…they realized they would not survive and …went to the camp.”

In some cases, whole communities left together. Moses Mukwana of LWF told Anglican Journal, “When the people started arriving, the camp was already full at 90,000. We are now talking about 360,000. This is more than the camp can easily cope with.”

A second camp has been built with new lavatories, water tanks and health care facilities.

Nick Guttmann of Christian Aid said they had urged the Kenya government to open this camp up for refugees as soon as possible.

“It is essential that the new camp is opened up … as part of the urgent humanitarian response to the worsening situation affecting both those arriving in camps and communities across the region,” Guttman said, according to Anglican Journal.

In 2009 Al Shabaab banned a number of foreign aid organizations in Southern Somalia, calling them Christian crusaders and spies. The following year, the U.N. World Food Program withdrew its workers amid threats and harassment.

The lawyer of a group of Christian students in New Mexico is asking for a summary judgment against the local school district, which punished the students after they gave donuts to teachers with Bible verses.

The Liberty Counsel, in a legal brief, expressed concern that the students would denied their First Amendment rights when school begins in the fall.

The legal pleading said, “The case challenges defendants’ denial of plaintiffs’ attempts to distribute various items and religious literature to their friends and classmates during non-instructional time at the two high schools in Roswell.”

The Liberty Counsel legal brief said, “Plaintiffs seek to have their constitutional rights restored before the beginning of the next school year, so they may disseminate their messages to fellow classmates in accordance with their First Amendment rights.”

The brief stated, “Plaintiffs request that this court grant this motion for summary judgment so that the unconstitutional suppression of free speech will end.”

Krispy Kreme donuts

The trouble began when students of the Christian group, Relentless in Roswell, decided to express appreciation for their teachers by gifting them with Krispy Kreme donuts which included Bible verses attached.

A school principle responded by suspending three of the students. One student was sent home, and two others served four hours detention. The principle also demanded an end to the group’s Christian activities.

However, the law suit noted that the gesture was not meant to be antagonizing. In fact, the students decided to purchase Krispy Kreme donuts because they are not easily available in their area.

Liberty Counsel said in its legal brief, “Since the closest Krispy Kreme shop was in Texas, some of the group drove almost six hours round trip, stayed overnight, got up at 3:00 a.m., filled their car’s back seat with fresh doughnuts and got back to school on time to deliver the doughnuts.”

“Our motives were not rebellious,” Pastor Troy Smothermon of Church on the Move told WorldNetDaily. “If they were, we would have just bought a box of doughnuts down the street. The whole purpose was to encourage those in the school.”

“Some teachers are worried about their students giving them bullets, and this school suspends students over a Bible verse,” Mathew Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, said. “It is outrageous that the Roswell school officials are mean to these students solely because they are hostile to their Christian faith.”

In the past, the Christian students handed out hot chocolate, candy canes and sandwiches. They also helped in cleaning up the school and handed out rocks with the slogans “U are wonderful,” and “Psalm 139.”

The brief also noted that the students distributed abstinence wristbands and the plastic models of babies 12 weeks in utero. In the latter case, it led to a woman changing her mind to commit suicide.

The Liberty Counsel brief said, “That morning, one student had decided to take her own life because of her past decision to abort. When she received a model baby with the Scripture, ‘you are fearfully and wonderfully made,’ she cried and prayed with the students and her life was saved, both physically and spiritually with the forgiveness of God.”

A Christian aid group will not be deterred from its work despite the recent massacre of nine of its members and one nonreligious sympathizer on a mountain in northern Afghanistan.

Dirk Frans, executive director of International Assistance Mission said the murders of six Americans, one nonreligious Briton, one German and two Afghans were “devastating.”

Still, after 44 years of working openly as a Christian aid group in this traditionalist Muslim nation they will not be daunted by the tragic deaths, The Washington Post said.

Among the deceased were team leader Tom Little, a New York optometrist who had been in Afghanistan for decades, and Karen Woo, a nonreligious British surgeon who only joined the group last year and planned to leave within two weeks to get married, The Washington Post said.

Woo, a humanist, went with the group because she had a personal desire to “make a difference.” Her close friend, BBC World Service journalist Firuz Rahimi said she felt confident because she was going with an experienced group, The Guardian said.

Rahimi said on the night Woo was going on the trip she expressed more concern about the physical challenge of travelling through the mountains, but was confident because they were taking a safe route, The Guardian said.

The lone survivor of the attack was the group’s Afghan driver Saifullah who is currently with the Interior Ministry for questioning, The Washington Post said.

The Taliban, who has claimed responsibility for the murders, said the aid workers did not obey an order to stop, and they were shot while attempting to flee. They claimed that the group’s belongings revealed a bible in Dari (the local language) and maps that pinpointed Taliban hideouts indicating they were spies who planned to convert Muslims, The Guardian said.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said, “We are heartbroken by the loss of these heroic, generous people. We condemn in the strongest possible terms this senseless act. We also condemn the Taliban’s transparent attempt to justify the unjustifiable by making false accusations about their activities in Afghanistan,” The Washington Post said.

Frans denied the medical team was proselytizing. A press release on the IAM website addressed these claims:

“IAM is a Christian organization – we have never hidden this.  Indeed, we are registered as such with the Afghan government. Our faith motivates and inspires us – but we do not proselytize.  We abide by the laws of Afghanistan.  We are signatures of the Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs Disaster Response Programmes, in other words, that, “aid will not be used to further a particular political or religious standpoint.”

“But more than that, our record speaks for itself.  IAM would not be invited back to villages if we were using aid as a cover for preaching.  And in particular, this specific camp led by Tom Little, a man with four decades experience in Afghanistan, has led eye camps for many years to Nuristan – and was welcomed back every time.”

Frans said the group chose the safest route and had been to the area six times before. They also had documents from Nurestan’s health directorate endorsing the group’s visit. Two members among the deceased had worked in the country for decades.

IAM has 50 foreign volunteers and 500 Afghan staff. The group’s members work in seven provinces in the country. They have a mental health education program, an English school and minor hydroelectric projects in depressed rural areas, The Washington Post said.

The organization’s main focus of work is its National Organization for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation project which last year treated some 180,000 patients in blindness prevention, no small feat in a country where one is considered blind if one has only a single cataract.

Saifullah said they were attacked by 10 bearded gunmen who covered the relief worker’s faces and who communicated only with hand gestures. The gunmen lined the team up and executed the members of the group as they pleaded for mercy, The Washington Post said.

Saifullah survived because he recited a verse from the Koran, “There is no god but god and Muhammad is the messenger of god,” and said he was Muslim, according to The Washington Post.

As the gunmen led him uphill he continued to recite from the Koran and swore he was a devout Muslim, The Guardian reported.

Saifullah said he was beaten and kept overnight and that the men spoke in code or languages that he did not understand. He was set free the following day.

More information about those murdered:

Mahram Ali, 50, Afghanistan
Mahram Ali worked as a watchman at NOOR’s maintenance workshop since the end of 2007. He stayed guarding the vehicles in Nawa when the rest of the team walked over the pass into Nuristan. He leaves behind a wife and three children, at secondary school age and below.

Cheryl Beckett, 32, U.S.
Cheryl Beckett was working as an aid worker in Afghanistan since 2005 and had been involved in community development with a focus on nutritional gardening and mother-child health. She had been asked to assist the IAM medical team as a translator for women patients. Cheryl was a Pashto speaker who worked in a clinic in Pul-e Charkhi on the outskirts of Kabul. She is survived by her parents and 3 siblings.

Daniela Beyer, 35, Germany
Daniela was a linguist and a translator in German, English, and Russian. She also spoke Dari and was learning Pashto. She worked for IAM from 2007-2009 doing linguistic research and joined the eye camp so that she could translate for women patients. She is survived by her parents and 3 siblings.

Brian Carderelli, 25, Pennsylvania
Brian Carderelli was a professional freelance videographer.  Brian served a number of other organizations in Afghanistan active in development and humanitarian efforts throughout the nation.  Brian quickly fell in love with the Afghan people and culture and hoped to stay within the country for another year.

Jawed, 24, Afghanistan
Jawed was employed as cook at the Ministry of Public Health’s Eye Hospital in Kabul and had been released from there in order to attend the Eye Camp. He leaves behind a wife and three children below school age. Besides being the team’s cook, he also assisted with the dispensing of eyeglasses. Jawed had been on several eye camps into Nuristan in the past, and was well loved for his sense of humor.

Dr. Tom Grams, U.S.
Dr. Tom Grams was a dentist and personal friend of Dr. Tom Little and had come to Afghanistan specifically for this trip to Nuristan.

Glen Lapp, 40, U.S.
Glen trained as an intensive-care nurse and worked in Lancaster, New York City and Supai, Arizona, and had previously worked in the responses to hurricanes Katrina and Rita. He came to Kabul in 2008, and initially worked in the IAM HQ. Then after five months of Dari language training he began his work with NOOR, he was responsible for organizing the mobile eye camps that reached the remote areas of Afghanistan.

Dr. Tom Little, 61, U.S.
Tom was affectionately known as “Mister Tom” amongst the many staff at the National Organization for Ophthalmic Rehabilitation (NOOR). He arrived in 1976, with his family, and worked as an Optometrist and Manager at NOOR, setting up clinics and ophthalmic workshops. He was much loved by both foreigners and Afghans, and was the inspiration for other IAM team members coming to Afghanistan. Tom leaves behind his wife and three daughters.

Dan Terry, 63, U.S.
Dan came to Afghanistan in 1971; he had a heart for the rural areas of Afghanistan and worked for many years in Lal-wa Sarjangal. Dan specialized in relating to local communities and liaising with aid organizations and the government to improve services in remote areas. Dan is survived by his wife, three daughters, and one granddaughter.

Dr. Karen Woo, U.K.
Karen was a General Surgeon who came on the Nuristan Eye Camp to be the team doctor and to bring maternal health care to the communities in Nuristan.

For the first time, both the Sistine Chapel tapestries by Raphael and the artist’s cartoons (designs upon which the tapestries were based) will be on exhibition side by side at London’s Victorian and Albert Museum on September.

The tapestries, which were commissioned by Pope Leo X, are 500 years old. They depict scenes from the book of Acts in the lives of Peter and Paul, and are Vatican properties which are displayed at the Arazzi Gallery, the Catholic Herald said.

The cartoons by Raphael are the property of the Queen and have been displayed at the Victorian and Albert Museum since 1865. However for the first time in September, both will be displayed together, which is something the artist himself had never seen, the Catholic Herald said.

The exhibition, slated to run Sept 8 to Oct. 17, will coincide with Pope Benedict XVI’s state visit to the UK. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster, who initiated the plans for the exhibition, will perform its inauguration on September 6, the Catholic Herald said.

The tapestries were woven in Brussels before they were sent to Rome. During the Sack of Rome they were sold for one year when the Vatican needed to raise money. They have been brought to different countries and because they contain gold and silver within them, some had tried to extract the metals through burning, the Catholic Herald said.

Six scenes in the life of Paul are illustrated in the tapestries, namely the stoning to death of Stephen (which Paul had ordered), Paul’s conversion, the blinding of Elymas the Sorcerer, sacrifices in Lystra, Paul’s time in prison and his preaching in Athens, the Catholic Herald said.

Four scenes from Peter’s life which are depicted are the handing of the keys to heaven, the draught of fish, healing of the lame man, and the death of Ananias, the Catholic Herald said.

An exhibition like this ordinarily takes two to three years to put together, however this one will be completed within six months. Its potential for bringing together people of varied backgrounds, whether Catholic or not, cannot be overlooked, the Catholic Herald said.

When the tapestries had a one day exhibition at the Sistine Chapel, (they were placed in the parts of the Chapel where they were believed to have been originally situated), one of the visitors was Professor Elizabeth Lev, who teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University, the Catholic Herald said.

Of the exhibit Duquesne said, “Again, art shows itself to be a bridge between people. If we can’t dialogue nicely about Church and state and life issues, let’s start with something we can dialogue about properly: art and beauty – we all love this. For one night we can all have something in common – we can come together and it’s totally non-confrontational,” the Catholic Herald said.

The entrance to the September exhibition at the Victorian and Albert Museum is free, but interested parties are advised to book in advance, the Catholic Herald said.

In 2003 Don Miller, then a freelance writer, published his first book, “Blue Like Jazz”—and became an instant celebrity. Now a movie is being made based on his biographical essays.

The bestseller has led some to dub Miller “The voice of a new generation of evangelicals.” Brian McLaren, who wrote A New Kind of Christian said evangelicals have a “profound starvation for honesty,” and Miller responds to that, CNN said.

Miller co-wrote the screenplay with Taylor and Ben Pearson, the movie’s website says.

It is being directed by Steve Taylor, whose also helmed the  film, The Second Chance, starring Michael W. Smith, Christianity Today said.

Blue Like Jazz, the movie, will not be a  strict representation of the book, but will convey the author’s experience and retain the book’s feel. The story is about a young man from Houston who is raised as a Christian, but begins to feel disillusioned. When he goes to college he tries to become the opposite of everything that he had left behind, Christianity Today says.

It is a common Christian dilemma, but the forthright quality of the author is what spells the difference. In his book Miller talks about his experience as a bed wetting ten year old, adolescent angst, dating, shoplifting, and breaking into homes. As he grew older Miller developed a keen dislike for authority and believed only “the intellectually naive” became Christians, CNN said.

But Miller is equally forthright about his Christianity. A popular speaker in the Christian church and conference circuit, he is still unconventional. When a fan asks what inspired Miller to write the book he says, “I needed to pay the rent,” CNN said.

Miller also created “The Mentoring Project,” for children who are growing up without fathers. CNN said, “The Mentoring Project has attracted so much attention that Miller was asked by the White House to join a presidential task force on fatherhood.”

But the verbal gems are what make Miller inspiring to so many young people. He says, “Some people associate Sunday morning with God. One of the things I associate with God is a sunrise. How many sunrises have you missed over the years, and God created that?” CNN said.

Miller places higher priority on devotion to Jesus than adhering to dogma. His church, Journey IFC (Imperfect Faith Community) is a cozy place where people sit on sofas instead of pews, and where the mission statement is the golden rule, CNN said.

It’s not the YMCA any more, it’s just the Y.

And from Texas to Tennessee, people have something to say about it.

Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association said to the Star-Telegram, “The YMCA was founded because the founder, George Williams, realized boys need Christ to become grown men. By removing Christ or Christianity from their title, they’re just taking another step away from their original mission.”

Others expressed a similar concern that the name change would imply a lessening of the Christian aspect of the organization.

James Reed, a 24-year member from Tennessee said, “Is this a way of becoming more politically correct?” Volunteer TV reported.

Molly Clark, a member of five years said, “Why would they do that? Because this organization was founded on Christianity. Its goal is to minister. The fact that they may take that name out makes me think maybe it’s becoming more secular,” Volunteer TV reported.

Since many people know the YMCA as the Y, a volunteer coach at a Texas Y is indifferent about the new name. More important to him is the foundation, the mission statement, and how the Y carries out its task to communicate with the public, Star-Telegram said.

Despite the differences of opinion about the name change, the YMCA said its name change was one way of revitalizing its image and promoting understanding of the operation’s main mission: improving the mind, spirits and bodies of young people.

To reflect the name change, the organization’s logo has morphed as well. The new logo is svelter, more modern and colorful, and it also, according to the YMCA Group, is more vibrant and expresses the diversity of the people to whom the organization caters.

New logo notwithstanding, the organization will still be legally called the YMCA and will form a part of The Heritage YMCA Group title, the Naperville Sun said.

ACLU attorneys in Florida have been naughty. They’ve been endlessly pursuing the defendants in a Santa Rosa School District freedom of speech case without having any plaintiffs to represent.

This is a fact the courts should have been made aware of – because it would make the ACLU’s position moot and could have changed the outcome of the case.

But I’m still waiting for the ACLU to have their hand slapped.

The Santa Rosa School District had entered into a “Consent Decree” that demanded an end to the freedom of speech for Christian students and teachers. This resulted after the ACLU had approached the School District on behalf of two atheist students who alleged that Christian teachers were forcefully witnessing during class time and within class lessons. “Evidence” of this was subjective and sorely lacking.

The atheists further demanded that the Christian school personnel should not even be able to pray at off-campus, privately sponsored events. More information about the initial case can be seen in previous Underground articles here and here .

School personnel were forced to sign the Consent Decree to cease and desist any Christian free speech on school grounds, and the case could have ended there.

But soon, two school administrators found themselves facing a lawsuit for praying at an off-campus privately sponsored event. They were criminally charged for being “in violation” of the decree.

A school district employee who asked her husband to pray at an event, because she wasn’t allowed, was still included in the suit because – after all – he was her husband.

All were eventually cleared of those initial  charges.

However, as time went by, it turned out the unlawful ordinance was still being enforced – because it’s so worded that the ACLU and the School District are constantly trying to find charges against Christian teachers, other school personnel, students, volunteers and even outside associates for not following demands like these:

• The school board could dictate to local pastors how to seat their audiences for private religious services held at their houses of worship, if the events involve school faculty or students.
• Students could no longer say “God Bless” in any situation – they were told to say “Good Luck.”
• School personnel could not be seen praying, even to themselves – anywhere in public.
• Teachers could not answer parents’ e-mails if anything about God was in the parents’ text; nor could parents and teachers conduct God-led conversations.
• School volunteers could not answer any questions regarding religion.
• Christian groups weren’t allowed to rent school facilities for private religious functions if it involves benefiting the students in any way.
  

A snag in the case for the ACLU:
By this point in time, the ACLU had no clients! The atheist students had graduated, and therefore no longer had legal standing as plaintiffs the last time the case was in court. Without clients, by law, the ACLU should have been barred from continuing litigation. But the ACLU never informed court officials.

Thankfully, Liberty Counsel (legal firm for the defendants) found out about this and brought it to the attention of the District Court. In March, 2010 the Court began demanding an explanation from the ACLU about why they continued to pursue the enforcement of the Decree.

Furthermore, the defendants now have a case against the Santa Rosa School District for the illegalities in the Consent Decree and violations against the students’ and teachers’ First Amendment rights to freedom of religious expression.

Mathew Staver of Liberty Counsel states on the law firm’s latest press release that the constitutional violations in the ACLU’s court order have been outrageous; that it directly conflicts with previous United States Supreme Court opinions, and that schools are not religious-free zones.

An injunction against the further persistence and enforcement of the Consent Decree has now been requested.

As these types of things happen more and more around the country, we as Christians can stand firm and pray. While peacefully exerting the avenues we have to petition the government with our grievances (another First Amendment right), we can know that God is with us.

“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say” (Luke 12:11-12, NIV).