Missionaries Die in Accident

Several parishioners from a Michigan church were killed during a missionary trip to Haiti. Father John Vallier says all three were members of the Parish of the Holy Spirit in Grand Rapids. They were in Haiti as part of a medical team traveling in five vehicles to a villiage south of Port-Au-Prince when their SUV slide down a steep hill after the brakes failed. The driver was killed as well.

Pastor Drops out of Obama inauguration over Gay comments

The pastor picked to give the inauguration benediction is out. Louis Giglio withdrew when some comments he made some 20 years ago were posted on ThinkProgess - a politically liberal website. The pastor of Atlanta's Passion City Church said gay relationships are sinful, an abomination and he warned his congregation about the “aggressive agenda” for acceptance of the “homosexual lifestyle.” The Presidential Inaugural Committee picked Giglio for his efforts related to human trafficking, but withdrew its support of him over the remarks and gay advocacy groups urged the committee to pick someone else. Read Giglio's comments about why he pulled out here.

Gays in America’s Christian churches

The Washington Post offers a slideshow of how different churches are responding to gay members here.

Colorado Christian U.’s lawsuit over contraceptive coverage Dismissed

Colorado Christian University legal challenge to new health-care rules requiring employers to offer insurance covering contraception has lost in court. A federal judge has dismissed the school's lawsuit. There are about half a dozen Christian colleges and universities challenging the Obama administration, which claims the suit came too soon because the administration is promising to issue new regulations to accommodate religious objections. A similar suit by Wheaton College lawsuit was dismissed in August for the same reason.