CHURCH NEWS

The First Congregational United Church of Christ kicks off its 2007 weekly forums with a presentation at 11:15 a.m. Sunday by member Kaylo Brooks on the local Interfaith Hospitality Network that will provide housing, meals and transportation for people in need by several congregations of various denominations.

Faith in the Workplace series continues

BAXTER - Lord of Life's Faith in the Workplace series continues on Sunday. Stay-at-home Moms (and Dads) will be lifted up and blessed during the worship services. Each month a different vocational field is honored. Anyone who has chosen to be a stay-at-home parent, now or in the past, is welcome to attend. An adult forum will also be held at 10:30 a.m. It will feature a panel discussion of stay-at-home parents discussing how their faith helps them meet the challenges of their calling and how this calling impacts their faith.

Father/son banquet planned at Our Savior's

PEQUOT LAKES - The Father/Son banquet will be 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Our Savior's Lutheran Church. Costs are $7 for adults; children 12 and under are $3.

Kris Kristufek, Breezy Point, will be the speaker. He spent 32 years working in the marketing department of Amoco Corp., traveling throughout the upper Midwest. Since retiring, he has now taken the position of volunteer medical courier for the National Marrow Donor program. He has made 14 international trips and visited six of the world's largest churches.

St. Francis Guild meetings scheduled

St. Barbara and St. Lucy will meet at noon Thursday at Rafferty's; St. Francis Cabrini will meet at noon Thursday at Buffalo Creek; St. Joan of Arc will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday at Ruth Laughlin's; and St. Mary Margaret will meet at noon Thursday at Front Street Cafe.

Religious leaders meet with Rice over Mideast peacemaking

WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders held a private meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rick to press for a greater U.S. role in ending Mideast violence.

Roman Catholic Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, retired archbishop of Washington, said the religious leaders asked for high-level engagement with both the Israelis and the Palestinians "that holds both sides accountable in a step-by-step peace process."

The group also promised to "say tough things to our communities here and in the region" about what must be done to bring about peace.

Parents of convicted arsonist visit burned church in Alabama

PANOLA, Ala. (AP) - The parents of a former Birmingham-Southern College student who pleaded guilty in a series of rural church arsons visited with the congregation of one burned church, asking for forgiveness and expressing remorse.

"My son wants you to know how sorry he is," Mike Cloyd told members of Galilee Baptist Church on Jan. 28.

Methodists turn their Web site into social networking center

WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - Methodists have a new way to connect.

United Methodist Communications on Monday unveiled the church's redesigned Web page that is meant to function as a social-networking site, similar to MySpace or Facebook.

The church spent more than two years developing the new umc.org, to allow visitors to set up personal profiles, upload photos, create a blog and establish a network of friends.

The online community has filters that edit out offensive language, among other safety tools, that allow users to flag inappropriate posts for review by an administrator.

"It's about relationships and bringing people of faith together in innovative new ways," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications.

Other site features include resources for church leaders, a "people" section that includes inspirational stories.