You may have heard reporters refer to Episcopalian bishops and the Episcopal is an adjective (She is an Episcopal priest). Episcopalian is a noun referring to a member of the Episcopal Church (She is an Episcopalian).
An Episcopalian can be a minister, in the sense of ministering to others, and this can be either a lay or an ordained ministry.
Priests are usually referred to as the Reverend So-and-So, not Reverend So-and-So. (And they're generally addressed as Father So-and-So, not Reverend that's like addressing a judge as Honorable.)
Bishops are usually the Right Reverend So-and-So, and addressed as Bishop So-and-So.
Bishops can be identified because they wear purple. Bishops are important in the Episcopal Church.
There were more than 12,000 Catholic schools in the US during the 1960s, teaching about 5-and-a-quarter million students. The number of schools has dropped by nearly 5,000 since then - and there less than half as many students attending Catholic schools these days. Since 2000, enrollment is down about 14%. More than 12,000 have closed in the last 8 years. Source: National Catholic Education Association 
Drivers in Florida may soon have some new options for a personalized license plate: One that features the words I Believe set among a resplendent sunrise and the image of a cross in front of stained-glass window. Another would read In God We Trust. The bills are moving through the state House and Senate and would require organizers to submit a new petition for the plates before the state would start selling them. The tags would cost an extra $25. The extra money earned from the sale of the 'I Believe plate would go to an Orlando based nonprofit called Faith in Teaching.More than two-thirds of Evangelical leaders in the US say the New International Version is the of favorite translation of the Bible. Nearly half had no other favorite choice in a survey conducted by the National Association of Evangelicals. Other translations that got mentions: The New Living Translation, The Message, the New English Bible, the New Testament in Modern English and the King James Version.
In Wednesday's grand finale of American Idol Gives Back, the eight Idol finalists performed the worship song Shout to the Lord by Darlene Zschech of
Kenneth Copeland wants an IRS audit. The televangelist is asking for the examination because he claims an invetigation by Iowa Senator Charles Grassley is improper. Grassley is looking into several Christian organizations for alleged lavish spending and Copeland has resisted provided information to Grassley's Senate committee. Copeland's attorneys say lawmakers can get their info from the IRS after the agency audits his ministry.
An unsealed court document explaining why Texas rangers raided a polygamist compound says a 16-year-old accuses her husband of sexually assaulting and beating her after she was forced into marriage. Authorities believe she may be among the more than 400 children removed from the church grounds. She may be afraid to come forward and identify herself. A former member of the Yearning For Zion Ranch says gave Texas Rangers details of the sect's practice of marrying teen girls to older men, revealing the group kept a bed inside their temple used by adult men to have sex with underage girls after wedding ceremonies.
A researcher who tracks population by religion is questioning Vatican claims that the number of Muslims has just passed the number of Catholics in the world. Todd Johnson is director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He says the Muslims to outnumbered Catholics more than 20 years ago. Johnson says there were 962 million Muslims by 1990 and about 32 million fewer Roman Catholics. In fact, he claims that Sunni Muslims outnumbered Roman Catholics by 2007.
An antiabortion Christian group in the UK is suing Google. The Christian Institute wants to put up ads about abortion. But the search engine company says its policy doesn't allow the advertisement of websites about abortion or religion. The refused ad would have read,
"UK abortion law: news and views on abortion from the Christian Institute. http://www.christian.org.uk".
The Christian Institute complains there are groups that advocate abortion rights groups who allowed to advertise - such as Marie Stopes International.
What's your Favorite Book? The answer is clear for Americans. The Bible is the number one choice among all groups listed below. But the question of which book is number two gets a different answer depending on who you ask.
By Gender
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien (men)
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell (women)
By Age
The Harry Potter series - J.K. Rowling (age 18-31)
The Stand - Stephen King, Angels and Demons - Dan Brown (age 32-43)
By Region
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell (Southern and Midwestern states)
The Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien (Eastern States)
The Stand - Stephen King (Western states)
By Race
Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell (Whites, Hispanics)
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown (Blacks)
Other top favorites:
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Atlas Shrugged - Ayn Rand
Catcher in the
Source: Harris Poll
Pope Benedict XVI will visit New York City and Washington, DC from April 18-20 following his 81st birthday (April 16). He'll make 13 public appearances including stops at the United Nations, the White House and a Synagogue. It will be the first time a pope has visited a synagogue in the US and only the third such papal visit to any synagogue. He was invited by Holocaust survivor Rabbi Athur Schneier. ▪ The first major Western book printed from movable type.
▪ Printed in Mainz, Germany in the 1450's.
▪ The letters opening each book of each copy illuminated differently.
▪ 200 originally produced.
▪ 48 copies exist today.
The five hotels in the Portland-based Provenance chain are offering more than Gideon Bibles to visitors. Guests can pick from a spiritual menu including the Quran, the Bhagavad Gita and other versions of the Bible. The Provenance owns hotels in
A A new polls shows how many voters mistakenly think Barak Obama is Muslim.
14% Republicans
10% Democrats
8% Independents
Source:
The highest court in the Presbyterian Church,
John Hagee announced at a rally for Israel in Jerusalem today that he is giving $6 million to 16 Israeli causes. The TV preachers has been in the political spotlight after John McCain distanced himself from Hagee's endorsement over his criticism of the the Roman Catholic Church. Hagee says he's not anti-Catholic. Hagee's group Christians United for Israel supports 
A documentary called The Pussycat Preacher is stirring controversy. The 75 minute film tells the story of one-time stripper Heather Veitch who found Jesus and started a project with some housewives from Veitch's web site is called JC's Girls – JC stands for Jesus Christ. She’s now working with Central Christian Church in
The Kinetic Church of Concord, North Carolina has put up billboards that say things like Stealing from God… Ballsy and Church trailer thief along with the church's web site. The congregation meets in a movie theater and stores it's equipment in a couple of trailers. They were both stolen a few weeks ago. Members hope the message will help locate the thieves. It was donated by someone upset about the burglary. The pastor has posted a video about it.
