Sunday’s New York Times takes a look at the Fort Worth based “prosperity gospel” and its preachers Kenneth and Gloria Copeland who delight ”the crowd with anecdotes about the luxurious lives they had attained by following the Word of God.”
Private airplanes and boats. A motorcycle sent by an anonymous supporter. Vacations in Hawaii and cruises in Alaska. [...]

USA Today is not exactly being transparent when it reports churches are pushing for a hike to the federal minimum wage. Though its headline blares “Churches push for $10 minimum wage by 2010,” a simple check of the website of the group advocating a $10 federal minimum wage — the Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign [...]

The Wall Street Journal examines the economic crisis’ dichotomous impact on houses of worship: fewer dollars coming in, while  more being asked of them. This impossible situation reflecting individual family budgets.
Across the country, congregations of all sizes and denominations are struggling with issues of faith and finance as the recession grinds on. Churches are scouring [...]

The New York Times takes a look at former bad boy skateboarders who’ve now found faith, and its impact on their careers.

Swine flu fears have spurred the Church of England to revive a rule drawn up during the bubonic plague more than 450 years ago, says the Financial Times. Amid rising concern about the spread of swine flu, some Anglican churches are allowing “intinction” or dipping bread in communion wine rather than sharing the chalice, while others [...]

Pope Benedict offers a 79-point list of problems and recommendations on the economic crisis, drawing from previous popes and the Bible.  Philly Inquirer seeks financial book author comments.

An interesting twist to church-state separation occurred July 20, 1969 when  Buzz Aldrin, an astronaut but also an elder in the Presbyterian Church, served himself communion in space. But NASA asked him not to broadcast the service, due to an atheist lawsuit “after Apollo 8 astronauts read from Genesis while orbiting the moon at Christmas.” [...]

CNS News notes President Obama has chosen a golf course numerous Sundays but has yet to settle on a DC  church.

Reuters treks out to Mount Gerizim in Samaria in the West Bank to visit with the “guardians of an ancient faith with a cameo role in the Bible.” The Samaritans have 750 surviving followers who employ ”surprisingly modern methods to keep their tiny community alive.”
Internet acquaintances, mail-order brides and pre-nuptial genetic tests have all become familiar to Samaritans trying to [...]

From The Washington Times: mainline Protestant denominations adopt Madison Avenue techniques in effort to stem decades of membership losses and stay afloat.
The United Methodist Church recently released a $20 million rebranding effort aimed at attracting younger members to the large but diminishing Protestant sect. The new ads will appear over the next four years as part of the denomination’s “Rethink [...]