Wonderful Our Daily Bread devotional, not to be missed illustration (heads up preachers, teachers, parents, coaches, motivators, etc.)

 

November 20, 2009

 

Help With A Home Run

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READ: 1 Peter 4:7-11

 

As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. —1 Peter 4:10

Sara Tucholsky, a softball player for Western Oregon University, hit the first home run of her life in a game against Central Washington. But she nearly didn’t get credit for it. As she rounded first base in excitement, she missed it! When she wheeled back to correct her mistake, she injured her knee. Crying, she crawled back to the base. By rule, she had to touch all four bases on her own for the home run to count. Her teammates could not assist her in any way.

Then Mallory Holtman, the first baseman for the opposing team, spoke up. “Would it be okay if we carried her around?” After conferring, the umpires agreed. So Mallory and another teammate made a chair of their hands and carted Sara around the bases. By the time they were through carrying her, many were crying at this selfless act of compassion, and Sara was awarded her home run.

The lesson for followers of Christ is clear. When fellow Christians stumble and fall, we need to follow the example of these ballplayers. Reach out. Lift them up and carry them along. It’s a wonderful opportunity to “minister . . . to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10).  — David C. Egner

When a fellow Christian stumbles
And he needs some help to stand;
Don’t ignore his circumstances—
Offer him your outstretched hand. —

No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. —Charles Dickens

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For similar resources, search these topics:

Basics Of Faith > Salvation > Grace
Christian Life > Attitudes > Compassion
Relationships > Relating to others > Love For

Bible in One Year: Ezekiel 14-15; James 2

Share this with a friend. Read more and follow through this link:

http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/our-daily-bread/2009/11/20/devotion.aspx

 

With God's Richest Blessings,
Eric Jonas Swensson
               
               †  

"Keep your eyes on the Cross"

http://card.ly/ejswensson

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Honest Liberals on Mob-O-Care

Honest Liberals on Mob-O-Care

Haldor Lillenas & "Wonderful Grace of Jesus."

On this day, November 19, 1885 Haldor Lillenas was born on the island Stord, near Bergen, Norway. Like most Scandinavians, he grew up in the Lutheran church. As a child, his parents brought him to the United States and he was confirmed at the age of fifteen.

Something was lacking in his spiritual life, however, and that something was not remedied until he was converted to personal faith in Jesus Christ at age 21. Almost immediately, the young man felt called to preach. He entered Deets Pacific Bible College in Los Angeles (later known as Pasadena College). Meanwhile, he began to acquire musical knowledge through self study and correspondence courses. It is as a hymnwriter that he is best remembered.

Haldor married Bertha Mae Wilson who was also a song writer. They traveled as evangelists for many years. Both became elders in the Church of the Nazarene. Together they furnished words and music for over 4,000 hymns and Gospel songs. Rich in spirit, they were poor in possessions. When they were finally able to afford a home, Haldor looked about for an instrument on which he could compose. A neighbor sold him an organ for just five dollars. It was on that organ that Haldor composed his best-known hymn: "Wonderful Grace of Jesus."

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,
Deeper than the mighty rolling sea;
Wonderful grace, all sufficient for me, for even me.
Broader than the scope of my transgressions,
Greater far than all my sin and shame,
O magnify the precious Name of Jesus.
Praise His Name!

Read the rest:

http://www.christianhistorytimeline.com/DAILYF/2002/11/daily-11-19-2002.shtml

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"My liberty ends where yours begins," is true, but that is not all the truth. No one ever has the right to commit an evil act... A.W. Tozer

November 19

Spiritual Warfare and Sin: No Private Sin

Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven
leavens the whole lump? Therefore purge out the old leaven, that
you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened....
--1 Corinthians 5:6-7

No sin is private. It may be secret but it is not private.

It is a great error to hold, as some do, that each man's conduct
is his own business unless his acts infringe on the rights of
others. "My liberty ends where yours begins," is true, but that
is not all the truth. No one ever has the right to commit an
evil act, no matter how secret. God wills that men should be
free, but not that they be free to commit sin....

Coming still closer, we Christians should know that our
unchristian conduct cannot be kept in our own back yard. The
evil birds of sin fly far and influence many to their
everlasting loss. The sin committed in the privacy of the home
will have its effect in the assembly of the saints. The
minister, the deacon, the teacher who yields to temptation in
secret becomes a carrier of moral disease whether he knows it or
not. The church will be worse because one member sins. The
polluted stream flows out and on, growing wider and darker as
it affects more and more persons day after day and year after
year.  The Size of the Soul, 74,77.

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Lutheran CORE's major announcement...as a result of the ELCA's departure from Biblical teachings

"Hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" (Romans 5:5)

November 18, 2009

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The past couple months since the ELCA Churchwide Assembly and Lutheran CORE's Convocation have filled us with a strong sense of hope. The Spirit has stirred up a remarkable outpouring of activity by traditional Lutherans across the country. Congregations are entering into discernment processes to determine their own future courses. Congregations and individuals are refocusing their benevolence giving on faithful ministries. New local and regional renewal movements are being formed almost weekly. Just this past week, we welcomed six new regional affiliates of Lutheran CORE, from Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia and the Southeastern US, as well as the Union of Oromo Evangelical Churches and the Seven Marks group of pastors.

It is now clear that a very substantial portion of the ELCA cannot and will not accept the decisions of the Churchwide Assembly this past summer. Along with the WordAlone Network and our other renewal movement partners, we in Lutheran CORE are now hard at work planning pathways forward for faithful Lutherans, both for those who decide to stay in and those who decide to leave the ELCA. This letter describes some recent significant decisions about those future pathways.

The Lutheran CORE Convocation in Fishers, Indiana, voted to transform our ministry into a free-standing synod, operating apart from any Lutheran church body. This free-standing synod will serve as a coalition of those who choose to leave and those who choose to remain within the ELCA. It will include congregations, reform movements, individual pastors and laypersons, synods, and schools, from across the USA and hopefully Canada as well. It will carry out many synodical functions and will serve in partnership with other reform movements. In this manner, Lutheran CORE will continue to be a confessing and confessional movement that is open to all faithful Lutherans.

Many of our members and friends, both congregations and individuals, will stay in the ELCA, at least for the time being. For them, the free-standing synod will provide a fellowship or community of traditional Lutherans and an ongoing connection to orthodox Lutherans who leave the ELCA. It will also provide, as a service to its member congregations, faithful synodical functions such as missions and evangelism support, assistance in the call process, and resources for theological education, congregational teaching and worship.

It has also become clear over the past few months that many faithful congregations will certainly leave the ELCA as a result of the ELCA's departure from Biblical teachings. Some of those congregations will join Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC), an association of Lutheran congregations formed in 2001 which we view as a valued partner in mission. Other congregations, however, have come to us asking us to form a church body with a more traditional denomination structure and scope.

As a result of these conversations and requests, and after much prayer and deliberation, the Lutheran CORE Steering Committee has decided to explore the formation of a new Lutheran church body in North America. We do this in service to those congregations who wish to leave the ELCA, and perhaps also for congregations who might wish to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) as a result

of similar issues in that church body, and to advance the mission of Christ by planting new churches across North America.

This new church would have a confession of faith and a constitution. It would have the competence to examine and ordain clergy, and a discipline process for congregations and clergy. It would be capable of reaching church-to-church relationships. Its constitution would provide for the election of officers and it would be governed by a representative assembly of delegates. The new church would provide for dual membership for congregations and ordained ministers. It would invite other Lutheran churches and entities to participate in shared ministry. It would utilize resources for ministry from already-existing para-church movements and from the WordAlone Network, and would develop other resources as needed. We intend for this new church to be complementary to the ministry and mission of LCMC.

The new Lutheran church body and the free-standing Lutheran CORE synod would cooperate closely in ministry and mission. Special attention will be given to the calling and mobility process, resources for ministry, local and global missions, and strengthening a sense of community and witness to the Gospel. The new Lutheran church body and the free-standing synod will also seek to develop close relationships with other Lutheran churches and entities - particularly with LCMC, and also with others including the ELCA, the ELCIC, and the LCMS.

One thing we want to lift up clearly. We are seeking to do something that has proven difficult in other denominations: maintain tangible unity and organic relationships between those who leave and those who stay in the ELCA. For this reason we are forming both a new church body and a free-standing synod, and both are essential to our vision of continued fellowship and common ministry. Please join us in making a commitment to this important goal.

We have asked our Vision and Planning Working Group to develop narrative designs for the new Lutheran church and for the continuation of Lutheran CORE's ministry as a free-standing synod. Those designs will be published for review and comment in February 2010. After that, constitution task forces will prepare a constitution for the new church, as well as constitutional amendments necessary to implement the free-standing synod, for adoption at the 2010 Convocation of Lutheran CORE on August 26-27 in Columbus, OH.

In all that we do, we remain in prayer and seek to discern the will of God. Likewise please keep us and the members of the Vision and Planning team in your prayers. That team includes retired Bishops Paull Spring and Ron Warren, Pastors David Glesne, Dan Selbo, Michael Tavella and Cathi Braasch, Mrs. Carolyn Nestingen and Mr. Ryan Schwarz. Please feel free to reach out to any of them, or any of us, with your thoughts and suggestions. Contact information is available on our website, www.lutherancore.org.

We grieve that it has become necessary for so many to leave the ELCA and for so many others to alter their relationship with the ELCA, but we are heartened by the clear sense of mission and ministry that is motivating these changes. As we move forward, let us walk humbly as we seek to follow the path that God has in store for us.

In His service,

The Lutheran CORE Steering Committee

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We are Thankful for: Amber Waves. Read a poem?

 

Library of Poetic Expression A Gallery of Poems

Amber Waves  ~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~ Bell pepper red, burnt orange, brown mustard yellow, cucumber green, clove brown, I'm sitting here soaking in all the colors of Autumn: So many leaves falling to the ground, picking every shape and color I can, seeing precious leaves made from the Father's hand, The wind blowing colorful leaves from one land to another reminding me the Holy Spirit is God's guiding hand, Thanking the Lord for such beauty this time of year even when the air is cool and crisp, feeling His gentle touch upon my face from His amber waves across this land. O Lord, please heal our land. Thank You, Lord, for our freedom during this moment in time. Thank You, Lord, for the Prince of Peace and for Your forever love. May Your amber waves of love fill all the earth. ~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~:*:~~~   Dina DeRosa Foster City , CA  United States of America http://www.christianpoets.com/

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A Simple Appeal 4 U 2 Consider from a Missionary Friend

Matt Tallman

Many of you may have already received this information through our newsletter or our e-mail list, so please forgive the redundancy, but some of you may not know that Cheryl and I are spending the next year in East Africa helping AIDS orphans and starting a school for these orphans on behalf of Open Arms International. Feel free to check out our blog at www.mattandcherylinafrica.blogspot.com or check out the Open Arms web site at www.openarmsinternational.com to get more info about what we are doing here. We are also making a goal of raising $50,000 on behalf of Open Arms for four different causes that we thought might interest you.

Before you just blow off our Christmas wish as just another spam appeal, consider these three facts. Number one, 99.9% of you who have received this e-mail know us personally. Second, when you consider the budgets of the average university or even the average public grade school, consider the valued investment of each of these causes, i.e., starting a school for AIDS orphans for $3000. Third, as you are ordering another pumpkin spiced latte at Starbucks this week, consider that one of our appeals to feed homeless street children in Eldoret, Kenya is also being supported by one of our local Kenyan Open Arms staff members, Morris Mordecai, who has never even been to Starbucks, probably could never afford it, and yet still manages to give the equivalent of hundreds of dollars of his own money from his own $2000 annual salary to help feed these same street children.

Anyway, if you are interested in supporting this cause, or even spreading the word about what we are doing and why we are doing it, feel fee to continue reading the following newsletter whcih explains our Christmas wish in a bit more detail, and the response form if you decide to give towards this cause.

Open Arms International
November 2009
Matt and Cheryl Tallman – Missionaries to Africa

We are so Thankful
As we prepare to sit down with various missionaries and expatriates in Eldoret, Kenya to celebrate Thanksgiving, we will have a very different holiday celebration than we are normally acquainted with. We will be sharing our Thanksgiving meal with a large gathering of new friends in a new country, and with an old bird (or no bird at all…I don’t think they have turkeys here in Kenya). Most, if not all of our previous Thanksgivings, have been spent with old friends and family in a familiar place with a fresh bird, but this one is beginning to sound a lot more like the very first Thanksgiving, minus the pilgrim outfits.
Nevertheless, we have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We are grateful that we arrived safely in Kenya, that we have a roof over our heads, that we are well fed, and healthy. We are also so very thankful to the dozens of you who have helped make it possible for us to be here through your sacrificial gifts on our behalf.
The hundreds of street children and orphans we have met in Eldoret live in stark contrast to what we normally take for granted. Without the assistance of Open Arms International, they would be without food, clothing, and education, and many would have already died during the short two months we have already been here due to disease and starvation. It is because of them, we are acutely aware of our own circumstances and especially grateful for what we have.

Our Vision for 2010
Our ordinary living expenses in Kenya will be covered for the foreseeable future due to the generosity of those of you who have faithfully committed to regularly supporting our work here in Eldoret for the next year. However, in order to complete our mission here over the next ten months, we feel there are four things we would like to accomplish for which we need to ask your additional assistance.
• First, our regular expenses have been taken care of, but we will be facing some travel expenses in February, March, June, and July when we need to do some travelling in and outside of Kenya to assist some short term teams and temporarily leave Kenya for reasons related to visa restrictions – approximate need = $8,000.
• Second, to help start a school in January at the Open Arms village (our primary assignment), we need to remodel some existing buildings into classrooms. In the short term this will enable us to educate up to 80 orphans by the end of this coming summer – approximate need = $3,000.
• Third, Open Arms regularly feeds and meets with nearly 200 street children in Eldoret. Through this interaction, many of these street children have been able to get off the streets, go back to school, and some have become a part of the Open Arms village. Because of a lack of funding, this program has been reduced to only feeding the children twice a week. However, we want to get this program fully funded for the next year – approximate need = $4,000.
• Fourth, Open Arms just completed their first permanent home housing sixteen AIDS orphans and abandoned street children. The next three homes will be completed by the end of December or early January, housing an additional 48 orphans. However, the fifth home is only half done due to a lack of funding. Help us finish this home and house a full complement of 80 children who would have no place to live without your help – approximate need = $35,000.
Would you please prayerfully consider helping us with our goal of raising $50,000 to complete our mission in Kenya in 2010. We know this is an ambitious goal, but if every one who reads this letter can respond in some way, we can meet this goal. If you are interested in supporting any one or all of the initiatives we have mentioned, please write out a check to “Open Arms International”, fill out the enclosed response form, place both items in the enclosed reply envelope and mail it to Open Arms International, PO Box 343, Portland OR 97207.

Prayer Requests
- Thanks for answered prayer. Johnny at the Open Arms village is recovering nicely from his surgery to remove his tonsils and his adenoids.
- Pray for the remaining orphanage homes to be built well and on time. In addition pray for electricity to be hooked up to the village.
- Thanks for answered prayer. The well at the Open Arms village is operating properly thanks to a lot of hard work and the financial assistance of Athey Creek Christian Fellowship in helping us purchase a new pump for the well (thank you Athey Creek!!).
- Pray for our plans to start a school at the village in January. We have gained proper approval to start the school but pray for us to hire the right teachers.
Matt and Cheryl Tallman PO Box 2694-30100 Eldoret, Kenya
E-mail: matt@openarmsinternational.com or Cheryl@openarmsinternational.com
Support: Open Arms International, P.O. Box 343, Portland OR 97207, Account #1000

Yes, I would like to support Open Arms International this Christmas!
___ I would like to give a special gift of $ __________ to help feed homeless street children.
___ I would like to give a special gift of $__________ to help start a school in Kenya.
___ I would like to give a special gift of $__________ to help finish an orphanage home.
___ I would like to give a special gift of $__________ to help Matt and Cheryl in Kenya.
Help us reach our goal of raising $50,000 to complete our mission in Africa

Name:____________________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________________
City/State/Zip:______________________________________________
Phone:__________________________Cell:______________________
E-mail:____________________________________________________
Enclosed is a check payable to “Open Arms International” (remember – for gifts to Matt and Cheryl, do not put our names on the check).
For other giving options, including online banking, credit cards, and monthly automatic withdrawals, please contact Nancy at the Open Arms office at 503-296-9989 ext. 15.
Contributions to Open Arms International are made with the understanding, according to IRS guidelines, that Open Arms has complete control and administration over the use of donated funds.

Open Arms international
PO Box 343
Portland Oregon 97207

We wish we could see you in person this Thanksgiving and Christmas, but while we are in Kenya, we want to extend our warmest holiday greetings to you and wish you an exciting and adventurous New Year.

God bless you,

Matt and Cheryl Tallman

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The word of God has been so thoroughly tamed that as peddled in the churches there is nothing ... It is easier to join a Christian church than it is to join Rotary.

The word of God has been so thoroughly tamed that as peddled in the churches there is nothing scandalous, strenuous, or revolutionary about it. It is not even difficult. It is easier to join a Christian church than it is to join Rotary. Whereas in some eras of its history, Christianity was threatened by persecution, in our own American culture, it faces an opposite threat which lies in its very success. Christianity is dying, not of persecution or neglect, but of respectability.

... W. Waldo Beach (1916-2000), The Christian Life, Richmond, Va.: CLC Press, 1966, p. 11 (see the book; see also Ps. 85:4; more at Church, Persecution, Success, Neglect, Culture)

 
Compilation Copyright, 1996-2009, by Robert McAnally Adams,
        Curator, Christian Quotation of the Day.

 

http://www.cqod.com/index-11-16-09.html

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But this tension is not something which concerns the Church & the world [is not 1] which we can consider & observe & discuss& have theories about...

This coherence of the Bible itself, and of the Bible and the Church, is a coherence and a unity set in opposition to the world existing beyond its borders, and outside its influence, so that there comes into being a tension between the world as it actually is and the Church, in so far as the Church rests upon the Biblical revelation of God.

But this tension is not something which concerns the Church and the world as though they are things which exist outside us and apart from us, which we can consider and observe and discuss and have theories about. The tension between the Church and the world exists within us and is the very fibre of our being, and neither the one nor the other is superficial or trivial. For we are, all of us, of the earth, earthy, and we are also baptized members of Christ and His Church. It is precisely because we belong to two worlds that our lives consist in insecurity—that we are, in fact, a drama, the final act of which, the judgment of reward or punishment, heaven or hell, is hidden from us.

... Sir Edwyn C. Hoskyns (1884-1937), We are the Pharisees, London: SPCK, 1960, p. 96-97 (see the book; see also John 15:19; Acts 10:39-41; Gal. 4:3; more at Bible, Unity,Church, Revelation, Earth, Judgment, Baptism)

http://www.cqod.com/index-11-15-09.html

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On this day in 1263, Alexander Nevsky Carried into Heaven!

Metropolitan Cyril, leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, was serving the Divine Liturgy in the city of Vladimir on this day, November 14, 1263. Suddenly he saw a picture in his mind that caused him to vary from the traditional ceremony. According to Russian tradition he said, "Brethren, know that the sun of the Russian Land has now set." He had just witnessed Alexander Nevsky's soul being carried into heaven.

Nevsky, exhausted as he returned from a laborious trip east to his overlord, the great Khan of the Mongols, had rested at a monastery in Gorodetz. There he died on this day, November 14, 1263, dressed in a monk's clothes. He was only forty-three years old, but in that short life became one of the greatest Christian and military leaders that Russia ever produced. Even the atheistic Soviet regime honored him.

Born into a princely family in northeast Russia, Alexander was thrust as a teenager into difficult leadership roles. He had to try to hold together many quarrelsome and independent rulers. That he was able to do so most of the time was owing to his personal charm and his deep spirituality. His devout parents had raised him in the Orthodox faith, teaching him to honor God. As a boy, he spent much time reading the Bible.

The name Nevsky was given to him for a youthful exploit. The Catholic Swedes invaded Orthodox Russia with whom they had military and religious disputes. Alexander foresaw the invasion and planted sentries at strategic spots. Warned by them when the invasion came, he did not dither, but marched his troops rapidly to the Neva river where the Swedes were disembarking. To get there, he had to overcome the marshes that spread out between the two armies. But Alexander was inspired to heroics because he feared that defeat at the hands of Sweden would mean the end of Russian Orthodoxy, which he saw as the soul of his nation. On paper, his army did not stand a chance. The Mongol invasions had weakened Russia. Yet Alexander told his men, "God is not on the side of force, but of the just case, the truth." 
 

Read the rest at http://www.christianhistorytimeline.com/DAILYF/2002/11/daily-11-14-2002.shtml

 

 

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Sin is never a thing to be proud of. No act is wise that ignores...

November's theme: Spiritual Warfare and Sin

To be entirely safe from the devil's snares the man of God must be
completely obedient to the Word of the Lord. The driver on the
highway is safe, not when he reads the signs but when he obeys them.

That Incredible Christian, 51.

November 13

Spiritual Warfare and Sin: Wrong Judgment

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that
he will also reap.
--Galatians 6:7

Sin, I repeat, in addition to anything else it may be, is always an
act of wrong judgment. To commit a sin a man must for the moment
believe that things are different from what they really are; he must
confound values; he must see the moral universe out of focus; he
must accept a lie as truth and see truth as a lie; he must ignore
the signs on the highway and drive with his eyes shut; he must act
as if he had no soul, and was not accountable for his moral choices.

Sin is never a thing to be proud of. No act is wise that ignores
remote consequences, and sin always does. Sin sees only today, or at
most tomorrow; never the day after tomorrow, next month or next
year. Death and judgment are pushed aside as if they did not exist
and the sinner becomes for the time a practical atheist who by his
act denies not only the existence of God but the concept of life
after death....

The notion that the careless sinner is the smart fellow and the
serious-minded Christian, though well-intentioned, is a stupid dolt
altogether out of touch with life will not stand up under scrutiny.
Sin is basically an act of moral folly, and the greater the folly
the greater the fool.  Man: The Dwelling Place of God, 47-48.

"Keep me from sin today. To sin is indeed so foolish, and yet the
tendency is so strong! Deliver me from 'moral folly,' again in the
power of Your Holy Spirit. Amen."

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You often feel that your prayers scarcely reach the ceiling; but, oh, get into this humble spirit by considering how good the Lord is

Friday, November 13, 2009
Feast of Charles Simeon, Pastor, Teacher, 1836

By constantly meditating on the goodness of God and on our great deliverance from that punishment which our sins have deserved, we are brought to feel our vileness and utter unworthiness; and while we continue in this spirit of self-degradation, everything else will go on easily. We shall find ourselves advancing in our course; we shall feel the presence of God; we shall experience His love; we shall live in the enjoyment of His favour and in the hope of His glory... You often feel that your prayers scarcely reach the ceiling; but, oh, get into this humble spirit by considering how good the Lord is, and how evil you all are, and then prayer will mount on wings of faith to heaven. The sigh, the groan of a broken heart, will soon go through the ceiling up to heaven, aye, into the very bosom of God.

 

... Charles Simeon (1759-1836), Memoirs of the Life of the Rev. Charles Simeon, Pittsburgh: R. Carter, 1847, p. 382 (see the book; see also Rom. 8:26-28; more at Weakness, Meditation, Goodness, God, Presence of God, Love, Prayer, Humility, Evil, Sin)

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Greek Church acts on crucifix ban

By Malcolm Brabant  BBC News, Athens

The Strasbourg ruling caused outrage in the Italian media

The Greek Orthodox Church is urging Christians across Europe to unite in an appeal against a ban on crucifixes in classrooms in Italy.

The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled last week that the presence of crucifixes violated a child's right to freedom of religion.

Greece's Orthodox Church fears the Italian case will set a precedent.

It has called an emergency Holy Synod meeting for next week to devise an action plan.

Although the Greek Orthodox Church has been at odds with Roman Catholicism for 1,000 years, the judicial threat to Christian symbols has acted as a unifying force.

The European Court of Human Rights found that the compulsory display of crucifixes violated parents' rights to educate their children as they saw fit and restricted the right of children to believe or not to believe.

'Worthy symbols'

The head of the Greek Church, Archbishop Ieronymos, shares Catholic complaints that the court is ignoring the role of Christianity in forming Europe's identity.

It is not only minorities that have rights but majorities as well, said the archbishop.

One of his subordinates, Bishop Nicholas from central Greece, lamented that at this rate youngsters will not have any worthy symbols at all to inspire and protect them.

The mayor of one Italian town displayed a 2m high crucifix in protest

Football and pop idols are very poor substitutes, he said.

The Greek Church has ostensibly intervened in this case in response to an appeal by a Greek mother whose son is studying in Italy.

But without doubt it is concerned that its omnipotence in Greece is under threat.

A human rights group called Helsinki Monitor is seeking to use the Italian case as a precedent.

It has demanded that Greek courts remove icons of Jesus Christ from above the judge's bench and that the gospel no longer be used for swearing oaths in the witness box.

Read it all here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8358027.stm

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