By Nicole Tuttle Voice Reporter

St. Peter Lutheran Church Build Out Committee Co-Chairman Kevin Zauel said that architects Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick submitted initial sketches to the churchs Build Out Committee for a preliminary review in February. The Build Out Committee approved the sketches and directed the architects to create design development drawings for the two rooms.

We reviewed them, then they presented the design development documents to the committee, Zauel said. We presented them to counsel and they were approved. That was Feb. 20.

On Jan. 26, the St. Peter Lutheran Church Voters Assembly approved hiring Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick as the architects to design two unfinished rooms of the Macomb Township church. The contract indicates that design cost is not to exceed $23,900, excluding the selection of a contractor, according to Zauel. The contract does include design, creation of construction documents, permit assistance and bidding phase assistance, as well as recommendation of a contractor, Zauel said.

Although Zauel is a member of Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick, he serves as a structural engineer with the firm and is not an architect.

In 2005 when St. Peter Lutheran Churchs sanctuary was completed, the two rooms in question were left in a rough state. The rooms were meant for a fellowship hall and ministry center/office space. According to Zauel, funding was not available at that time to build out the spaces, but the church recently was able to secure financing.

The Build Out Committee, which consists of between six and eight people, has been pursuing the process of getting the rooms completed since 2013. Although the two rooms were part of the original design when the sanctuary was designed, the Build Out Committee selected to seek input from several church groups on how to update the plans so that the completion of the spaces would meet current needs.

The design development drawings have a few changes from the original sketches from 2005 architectural plans, according to Zauel. A door into the fellowship hall kitchen was added, and more central partitions were selected as opposed to moveable partitions, Zauel said. The ministry center/office space will also have a different entrance, he noted.

We looked at the development sketches, the layout in terms of where the main entrance was for the office wing, and so those are different We had a meeting where they presented sketches, like concept A over concept B, Zauel said. Then we approved developing that one sketch. That became the design development plans. They took the approved layout and developed it further.

Immanuel Lutheran Church Rev. Ken Wagener also said that some of the changes from 2005 will improve the overall design. Continued...

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St. Peter Lutheran prepares for next build-out phase

Regional News of Saturday, 15 March 2014

Source: Graphic Online

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has cut the sod for the commencement of work on the construction of the first phase of a four-storey banking hall and office complex for the Kumasi Diocese of the Methodist Church at KO in Kumasi.

The GH6 million project being funded by the Kumasi Diocese of the church in partnership with some financial institutions in the region is aimed at redeveloping the KO lands to raise more revenue for the development of the church.

The other projects the church is undertaking include a hotel, a high-rise car park a shopping mall, a modern school complex and an apartment block for ministers.

Speaking at the sod-cutting ceremony, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, lauded the foresight of the church in the area of infrastructural development all over the country.

He said over the years, the Methodist Church of Ghana had been the development partners in the areas of healthcare delivery, quality education and other social amenities, apart from evangelism and spiritual development of its members.

The Asantehene said the good moral training of the youth in Methodist institutions had brought positive transformation to the society and called for more efforts to promote good moral training and spiritual development among the youth.

He said the church could not promote effective evangelism and other social needs of its members if it only depended on old traditions of revenue generation, and stressed the need for the church to find other avenues to generate income for the development of the church.

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Asantehene cuts sod for development projects

Visita Iglesia is a famous Roman Catholic lenten or Semana Santa tradition of visiting seven different churches while reciting the Stations of the Cross prayer in them. The Seven Churches Visitation is traditionally observed on Maundy Thursday however it is now commonly practiced during any day of the Holy Week.

Malate Church in Manila

Here is a list of 7 heritage churches in Manila to guide you in planning your Visita Iglesia itinerary in Manila.

Binondo Church Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz

Located in the Worlds Oldest Chinatown, Minor Basilica of St. Lorenzo Ruiz in Binondo is not hard to find. Also popularly known as Binondo Church, this heritage site is beautifully located in front of Plaza San Lorenzo Ruiz. In 1596, Dominican priests founded Binondo church to serve their Chinese converts to Christianity as well as to the native Filipinos living in the area. The original building was destroyed in 1762 by British bombardment. A new granite church was completed on the same site in 1852 however it was greatly damaged during the Second World War, with only the western facade and the octagonal bell tower surviving.

Santa Cruz Parish Church in Manila

Located in front of Carriedo Fountain in Ongpin, Sta Cruz Parish Church was originally built by Jesuits before a new church construction was finished on June 20, 1619. In 1643, The Jesuits enshrined the image of the Our Lady of The Pillar to serve the pre-dominantly Chinese residents in the area. The image drew a lot of devotees and a popular followers grew around it.

Quiapo Church Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene

The Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene also known as Saint John the Baptist Parish or Quiapo Church is a famous Roman Catholic Church located in the District of Quiapo. The basilica is the famous home of the miraculous Black Nazarene image where thousands of devotees flock each year for the annual religious procession. In this church, daily hourly masses are celebrated and devotees come from all walks of life.

San Sebastian Church

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Visita Iglesia Itinerary in Manila

Published: Saturday, 3/15/2014 - Updated: 7 hours ago RELIGION

BY TK BARGER BLADE RELIGION EDITOR

It's in the planning every year at Bethlehem Baptist Church. The congregation wants the pastor to know that he's appreciated. This year, the Rev. Derek A. Arnold I is celebrating his 20th year as pastor of Bethlehem. There might be some irony in the fact that Bethlehem honors its preacher by asking others to stand in his pulpit, but the church members are not saying they don't want to hear Pastor Arnold. I haven't received those kinds of messages in my 20 years thus far, knock on wood, Pastor Arnold said.

The planners in the almost 300-member congregation lined up guest preachers for services the next three Sundays at 4 p.m. The Rev. Talmadge J. Thomas I of City of Zion, the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Toledo leads off this Sunday. On March 23 the Rev. T. Scott Swan I of Mt. Zion Baptist ChurchWoodlawn (a Cincinnati suburb) has the honors, and on March 30 the Rev. Floyd Smith Jr. of Toledo's Calvary Baptist Church has his turn.

On April 4Rev. Arnold's actual pastoral anniversary datefrom 7 to 11 p.m., an evening gala will take place at the church's New Life Center, next door to the sanctuary building. A $40 admission includes dinner and musical entertainment; contact the church office at 419-241- 9360 for tickets and other information. Then at Bethlehem's regular 9 a.m. worship service April 6, the Rev. Greggory R. Maddox of Faith Baptist Church in Baltimore will preach.

When the appreciations are being planned, Pastor Arnold said, I kind of take a backseat and see what the people want to do, and if I think it's too much, I'll say something. I kind of just let the people be led in terms of how they want to show their appreciation. There was one year in my 20 years that I canceled my appreciation, and it didn't sit well with a lot of people, but I did it because we were in need of some funds to complete the kitchen.... When you have two different financial projects, one for the church and one for the pastor, the preacher's the one going to lose out on that. So I decided that it was more important that we forge ahead to complete the project on the kitchen.

A kitchen is important to this church.During Pastor Arnold's time here, community outreach came into focus with House of Bread Ministries and the construction of the New Life Center, dedicated in 2002 on Pastor Arnold's eighth anniversary at Bethlehem.

Bethlehem means house of bread in Greek and Hebrew, Pastor Arnold said, so what we try to do is meet the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the community, giving bread. They have a community dinner on the third Sundays in the afternoon where they invite the community to come in, and we've done clothing giveaways, we've done healthcare, legal; currently we're doing GED [education and assistance].(Plans for the future are to replace the existing sanctuary building with a new, accessible one, and use the New Life Center's gym as the worship space during that time.)

Preaching also gets great attention. Pastor Arnold enrolled in Chicago Theological School for a doctor of ministry program before the New Life Center broke ground and he completed his degree in preaching soon after its dedication. Preaching was part of the vision for this church, he said. My thesis was that preaching the Gospel has the ability and the power to inform a people about their faith and about their mission and about their vision to a point where they will rise up and fulfill that reality.

Even though he's a well-credentialed preacher, all who cross Bethlehem's threshold are not informed and fulfilling the reality he proclaims. The downside is that I have witnessed that at least 800 people have come through this church, but they all went through the back door, the proverbial back door, Pastor Arnold said. I think that's where discipleship comes in. When you understand what it means to be a disciple of Christ and you have the knowledge and the desire to follow, then you make that connection. So I'm still working on closing the back door.... That back door is still open, so some have returned.

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Flock has 20/20 vision

A South Florida church is providing instant salvation for busy motorists with a drive-thru prayer service that provides on-the-spot spiritual guidance.

Estero United Methodist Church, at 8088 Lord's Way, has recently rekindled its drive-thru prayer service, after dust and debris from a nearby construction site halted the project nearly three years ago when members initially brainstormed the idea.

Drivers racing down the highway Wednesday nights between 5 and 6:30 simply pull into an area outside the church in Estero, Fla., to receive redemption on their way home, drive-thru prayer service leader Pam Sebby said.

"It's been a godsend," she said. "After we pray over them and bless them, they leave."

The Prayer Warriors, as they call themselves, are a team of eight or nine church members who hold large signs directing traffic off Route 41 highway into the church parking lot.

After the cars pull in - usually five to six 6 a night, Sebby said - the team, clad in fluorescent orange vests, gathers around the vehicle and joins the motorist in prayer. Not surprisingly, they attract a lot of attention from passing motorists who honk and shout at them.

"We pray for them, too," Sebby said.

Despite the popularity of the service, Sebby said, it hasn't necessarily increased the congregation numbers, which peak at around 1,100 in winter. But that's not the motivation, she explained, saying that the church is simply providing a service to reach out to members of the community.

Across the country, other offbeat drive-thru services also provide speedy services for those a little overwhelmed by the fast pace of modern life.

In California, one funeral home set up a drive-thru to allow people to mourn without leaving their cars, while Illinois boasts a giant drive-thru department store where customers can preorder items on the Internet and then drive by to pick them up.

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Drive-Thru Prayer Delivers God to Go

Sharon Carlson appreciates the faith-based exchange between Salem Lutheran Church in Fremont and a congregation in Costa Rica.

Since that exchange began 10 years ago, members from Salem have visited Costa Rica.

And people from the Central American church have visited Fremont.

The result has been a faith-growing experience for Salem members and their sister congregation at Sola Fe Lutheran Church.

Now, members of Salem are planning another trip in 2015 with hopes of bringing students from Costa Rica to Nebraska in 2016.

The goal is to help Sola Fe in its mission to reach out to young people with the life-changing Gospel and help give them tools to carve out a better future for themselves.

Sola Fe Lutheran is in a barrio in San Sebastian. Most residents of this barrio are Nicaraguans who left their country to escape the Sandinista government and poverty.

Theyve come to Costa Rica in hopes of a better life.

Salem has sought to help in various ways.

Our purpose is to help spread the word of God among persons in the barrio and to provide mentorship to them in leadership for worship, the finances of a church and the conducting of Sunday schools and youth groups, Carlson said. Salems goal is to help them develop a church that can become a greater influence in this area due to the availability of drugs and other negative influences on the children and youth of Sola Fe.

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Local church helps youth in Costa Rica

Pakistan: Church destroyed; 5,000 Christian families faces eviction Posted: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 8:35 pm Email Print

A large group of Muslim extremists has destroyed a church that was under construction in Okara, Punjab Pakistan. The walls of the church had been completed, on land donated by a local Christian resident, Akber Masih. When a cross was placed in front of the main gate of the small construction yard a mob arrived with bulldozers and demolished the building.

The faithful filed a complaint to the police, but the NGO 'Sharing Life Ministries Pakistan', said the perpetrators have not been arrested - thanks to the political influence they have. Christians in the neighbourhood who have asked for protection to civil authorities, on the other hand, have received threats and have now abandoned the idea of building a church.

Elsewhere, in the capital, Islamabad, more than 5,000 Christian families who have lived for years in overcrowded slum conditions, with no piped water or sanitation now face homelessness, as a High Court judge has ordered the demolition of ten settlements.Christian leaders are asking the municipality to think about some form of accommodation for them.

Source: Fides

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Pakistan: Church destroyed; 5,000 Christian families faces eviction

Offers of help for Cathedral restoration 'resented' PHILIP BURDON

Joseph Johnson/Fairfax NZ

ICONIC HERITAGE: The Anglican Cathedral is the oldest in NZ and has the highest heritage listing possible.

Nothing would symbolise survival, rebirth and memorial so dramatically as the restoration of the Christ Church Cathedral, writes Philip Burdon

The legacy of the earthquake is a devastated and broken city that has shown a brave and determined ambition to recover and rebuild.

The Arts Centre, the Canterbury Museum and the very badly damaged Provincial Council Chambers have all committed to a restoration programme that has the support and endorsement of their governing bodies.

Of the iconic symbols of the history and heritage of the city, only the cathedral remains an issue of bitter contention and debate.

The cathedral was, and remains, the physical symbol of the deeply religious convictions and beliefs of the founding fathers of the Canterbury Settlement.

Its 40-year construction remains a permanent monument to the tenacity of the Anglican Church and the commitment of the broader community to dignify the city of Christchurch with an appropriate physical presence.

The cathedral was the first Anglican cathedral in New Zealand to be completed and it remains the oldest Anglican Cathedral in the country. In architectural terms it is distinguished as the only building in Australasia designed by Sir George Scott, the pre-eminent Victorian church architect.

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Bishop's attitude to Cathedral 'bizarre'

Extremists Demolish Church Building, Local Government Takes No Action Islamabad, March 13, 2014 (Zenit.org) | 141 hits

Pakistani Christians in Islamabad are reporting abuses against them for their faith.

According to Fides News Agency, Islamic extremists prevented the construction of a Church on land donated by a local Christian.

After the walls of the Church were completed, a cross was place on the main gate of the building. Upon seeing the Christian symbol, extremists bulldozed the construction site and demolished the building. Although a complaint was filed with the police, no arrests were made in connection to the demolition.

Several Christians have also asked for protection from authorities after receiving threats for Church project.

Christian minorities living in the poorest neighbourhoods in Pakistan are facing eviction from the local government. An estimated 5,000 Christians live in the settlements, which a High Court judge in Islamabad deemed inhospitable and abusive. The settlements lack water pipes and sewer systems.

Christian leaders have asked the municipality to help arrange accommodation for the families who have lived for years in Islamabad.

(March 13, 2014) Innovative Media Inc.

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Christians in Pakistan Continue to Be Threatened

March 12, 2014 - 11:18 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Once an Armenian church, a historical construction in the eastern province of Van had been converted into a hayloft after serving as a school for some time, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Nevertheless, the residents of Korlu village (30 kilometers from Van), who fill the facility with hay, grass, cowpat and wood, have personally appealed to authorities to renovate it.

Considering the villagers request, Van Culture and Tourism Provincial Director Muzaffer Aktu said the renovation could be started soon.

The historical church had served as a primary school for five years when there was no school in the area 30 years ago. Thirty-five students were taught at the school, before it was abandoned and converted into a hayloft by villagers.

Villagers have attached a wooden door to the church, some parts of which are about to collapse, and tried to restore to prevent it from collapsing.

Tourists had come to the village to look at the church, but it was mostly neglected.

For us, the church has a particular value because we graduated from here when we did not have a school. Now it is used as a hayloft. We want officials to restore the church and use it for tourism, said villager Selim Gurban.

Aktu said he would give instructions to the Van Museum Directorate to learn about the churchs situation and whether it was suitable for restoration.

Work will start according to the report after it is made by museum officials. We will discuss the report with the Van Monuments Directorate and we will renovate it if that is ultimately decided [by the directorate], Aktu said.

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Once turned into hayloft, Armenian church to be renovated in Turkey