A Dunedin structural engineer and church leader has questioned why international seismologists and engineers are analysing up to 29 Dunedin churches to gauge their seismic fitness in the event of an earthquake.

The two-year project, funded by the Earthquake Commission, will involve scientists from New Zealand, Italy and Portugal developing a seismic vulnerability index for unreinforced masonry churches and historic buildings to help with decisions on retro-fitting to prevent damage in future earthquakes.

However, St Paul's Anglican Cathedral vestry and works committee, and Opus Dunedin earthquake risk management and strengthening consultant Thomas Moore had several concerns about the research.

While he welcomed the funding of the international study to explore rationally the seismic vulnerabilities of Dunedin's heritage churches, he asked the research group to focus closely on the practical issues of seismic upgrading by presenting a library of construction details acceptable to the New Zealand Historic Places Trust, rather than merely running a scoring system.

Dr Moore said the New Zealand Society of Earthquake Engineers (NZSEE) recently upgraded the initial evaluation procedure (IEP) to give substantial credit for previous strengthening work, such as that performed at St Paul's in 1968 when a new apse was constructed, enlarging the cathedral substantially, with new reinforced structural elements.

Under the IEP scoring system adopted in 2014, the work improved the seismic capacity of the cathedral significantly, he said.

''We would like to know if the new study will replace the 2014 scoring system.

''St Paul's is required to present an engineering evaluation of the cathedral by July 31, 2014.

''It is unlikely that the new scoring system will be in place by this date.

''Perhaps the real challenge is to design affordable strengthening measures or stiffening measures that limit building displacements, instead of focusing on another scoring system,'' he said.

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Seismic vulnerability church study queried

02/21/2014 09:20 INDONESIA South Sumatra, hundreds of Islamists block the construction of a Protestant church by Mathias Hariyadi An armed mob has occupied a plot of land owned by the Christian community Huria Kristen Batak Protestan. Raid motivated by lack of building permit. The leadership of the Hkbp lodges IMB application in 2011, to no avail . The Minister for Religious Affairs orders the termination of the project.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Late yesterday afternoon, hundreds of armed men, led by local Muslim leaders, stormed and forcibly occupied a plot of land owned by the Indonesian Christian community Huria Kristen Batak Protestan (HKBP). The incident occurred in the village of Talang Kelapa , located in the sub-district of Alang -alang Lebar in the regency of Palembang, South Sumatra province. The raid was motivated by an attempt to build a place of worship. In fact, on February 17 the ceremony of laying the first stone was held, amid protests from local residents. A decision that has created discontent among Muslims, who organized a task force to occupy the land - two acres in all - and to send a strong message to HKBP leaders: churches are not allowed in the area.

The process for building a church in Indonesia - Catholic or Protestant - is quite complicated and may take five to ten years to obtain all permits required by law. The procedure is governed by the Izin Mendirikan Bangunan (IMB), a species of written protocol that allows for construction to commence and is issued by local authorities.The story gets more complicated if it is a place of Christian worship: permission must be obtained from a number of residents in the area where the building is to be constructed and the local Group for Interfaith Dialogue. And even if the permission is granted "unspecified reasons" can come into play that will lead officials to block the projects. Often, this occurs after pressure from the Muslim community or radical Islamic movements.

Since 2011, the Christian community has initiated procedures to obtain the necessary permits, without any concrete results. Moreover, the lack IMB provides a legal foothold to the Muslim majority, who can enforce breaches and irregularities in the procedures to stop the building and forcibly occupy land. Junaidi Alhafidz, a local Muslim leader who headed the mob in fact declared the raid was motivated by "the Hkbp's lack of IMB permit" reflecting the fact that "the authorities in Palembang have not yet authorized the building". He also reiterated opposition "to the construction of a church".

The Islamic leader points to the fact that the signatures of 60 residents of the area are missing, as well as the minimal number of faithful (90) necessary to get the go- ahead for the construction of the building. This is confirmed by the head of sub-district Sulaiman Amien, who states that the local Protestant community "has not yet received the permits". The Ministry for Religious Affairs of Palembang has also weighed in ordering the HKBP to "halt" the project until all legal procedures are completed.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has seen a rise in the number of attacks or acts of intolerance against minorities, including Christians, Ahmadi Muslims and others. In the province of Aceh - the only in the Archipelago to apply Islamic law ( Sharia ) - following a peace agreement between the central government and the Free Aceh Movement ( GAM ) , the application of a radical form of Islam among citizens is becoming more extreme. In addition, certain rules such as the building permit - the infamous IMB - are exploited to prevent the building or close down places of worship, as was the case in West Java against Yasmin Church. The constitution provides for freedom of religion, but the community is the victim of incidents of violence and abuse. Local sources report that in December alone , at least five Christian places of worship have had to close their doors due to pressure from Islamists.

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INDONESIA South Sumatra, hundreds of Islamists block the construction of a Protestant church - Asia News

A mission trip to Mexico gave Tim Howard a chance to see how a local church is making a difference.

While in Mexico, Howard met a family who shared their story: The couple had marriage problems and one of their sons was getting beat up daily in the public school. The family was on the verge of imploding.

Life began to change, however, through the dads interaction with Fremonter Darrol Prusia, who began working in Puebla, Mexico, as a missionary for Camino Global in 2010.

Within a short time, the Mexican man and his wife became Christians. Their marriage began to heal. The son transferred to a Christian school, where hes making academic progress.

Its really cool, Howard said. You see the real-life impact of what the Prusias are doing down there you see the real human face of what our missions are accomplishing.

Howard was just one of seven members of Fremont Alliance Church who recently went to Mexico, where they did various jobs from assembling and distributing wheelchairs to working on church buildings. Yet more than working on structures, team members were building and strengthening relationships with the people they helped, and each other.

The group spent time in two different cities visiting and helping missionaries who call Fremont Alliance their home church: Tina Barham and the Prusia family.

Deb Mellema, FACs adult ministry assistant, organized the wintertime trip. Church members making the journey were Randy Brand, Ken Meier, Tim Howard, Willie Jamison and Jo Preitauer of Fremont and Dan Ruwe and James Newkirk of Arlington.

Ruwe had long wanted to make such a trip.

Darrol Prusia is my friend and we were in a small group together for quite a while and he always said, When are you coming down for a mission trip?

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Church members make memories on mission trip

IF YOU GO

What: Aztec Presbyterian Church 125th Anniversary

When: 11 a.m. Sunday

Where: Aztec Presbyterian Church, 205 North Church Ave.

More info: aztec-presbyterian.org

AZTEC In 1888, 10 people got together in Aztec to form a church. They met in a little schoolhouse where the American Hotel now stands on South Main Street.

These 10 people came from as far away as London, England, and were from a variety of denominations including Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian. They are now considered the charter members of the Aztec Presbyterian Church.

A year later, the Aztec Presbyterian Church expanded to its own building on North Church Avenue in Aztec, where it still stands.

They built the church out of adobe and used rocks from the Animas River for the foundation.

Mrs. Austin, one of Aztec Presbyterian Church's charter members, is seen in this undated courtesy photo. Mrs. Austin and her husband, John Hovey Austin, were from Canon City, Colo. (Courtesy of Aztec Presbyterian Church)

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Aztec Presbyterian Church celebrates 125 years

The Michiana Meltdownhas givenone South Bend Church abig problem - a $100,000 dollar problem to be more precise.

Lead Pastor Andy Lauer says The First Church of the Nazarene saw a tiny bit of water coming from the ceiling last week. Now, there's water everywhere, and part of the ceiling is coming down.

"Once it started melting this week, all the ice damming on the roof, and with the rain today... it's just been more than we can handle," says Lauer.

Not only is the water a lot to handle, so is the price tag. Lauer says, "Over $100,000 in damage. If we have to do some roof work and all that... it could be that much." The last 48 hours, Pastor Lauer has traded in his snow boots for rain boots, which he says is a bit ironic, saying, "Funny enough, this past Sunday I actually preached on Noah and the flood."

The congregation is made up of 175 people, and about a third of those people been flowing in to help. One of those volunteers is Jay Thornburg who says, "It's my church. It's my family. I'm between jobs in construction right now with the weather and what it is, so I feel like I should help now while I can give the time."

The church is doing all it can to keep the water out. They've set up a sump pump outside the walls where the most of the water is seeping through, placed buckets underneath wet ceiling tiles, and Thornburg says he's done more vacuuming in the past 24-hours than he has in his entire lifetime.

Lauer says although this is devastating to the church, they're determined to remain upbeat and keep in good faith. "We talked about having a walk through baptismal where people could walk underneath the drips and be baptized that way," he said."We've had some fun with it so it's not all negative. People have a good spirit about it."

The Church says they're looking for more volunteers to help keep the water out. By the way, the church isn't canceling any worship services.

For more information on The First Church of Nazarene, click here.

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Church stays positive after flooding damages cost $100,000

Guanaja, Honduras 2012 - Armadores church construction project
Description: Mission trip to Guanaja, Honduras 2012 to finish the Armadores church construction started during the previous 2011 missionary trip. Organized b...

By: Steve Bland

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Guanaja, Honduras 2012 - Armadores church construction project - Video

Published on February 19, 2014 Church members to teach English, take part in church services during nine-day visit

TRURO - Scrap metal houses cobbled with tin roofs and dirt floors crafted the grimy streets. Chickens roamed the ground, invading outdoor kitchens and outhouses of the village of San Juan del Sur in Nicaragua.

Baillie Saunders - Special to the Truro Daily News

Chantal Melanson, left, April Banks and Ken Banks of the Central Nova Wesleyan Church in Truro, reveal three suitcases filled with Spanish/English Bibles they took with them as part of a humanitarian mission trip in Nicaragua.

To many Nicaraguans, this was home. To Ken Banks, it was a trip that would change his life forever.

"I didn't know what to expect," said Banks, a pastor at the Central Nova Wesleyan Church in Truro, who along with local church members, visited the country on a humanitarian mission trip in 2011.

"Being exposed to people who have nothing makes you realize how blessed we are, not because of anything we were doing, we just happened to be born here (in Canada)."

Their group's first project was to help build a church, which was a frail shell, when they arrived.

"When we went to the church it was a tin roof stuck up with poles, that's what they were using, it was open air," he said.

"What we did was dig trenches, build a foundation, mix cement by hand, a lot of old-school construction. We also helped fund a well," Banks said.

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Truro team off to Nicaragua for mission trip

Annual Collection Brought $6.6M in '13 Washington, D.C., February 19, 2014 (Zenit.org) | 37 hits

The annual Collection to Aid the Church in Central and Eastern Europe will be held in most U.S. parishes on March 5, Ash Wednesday. The collection supports pastoral, educational and construction projects in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia which were formerly under Soviet control.

The theme for this years collection is Restore the Church, Build the Future. The collection will focus on repairing and restoring Church buildings, strengthening Catholic education and intellectual life, and the development of new Church leadership. In 2013, the collection awarded $6.6 million in grants to 24 of the 27 countries it serves.

While many people in the U.S. are familiar with the challenges faced by the Church in Central and Eastern Europe, it is important to remind everyone of the harsh legacy of 50 years of communist rule said Bishop Blase Cupich of Spokane, Washington, chairman of the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The Church faces both physical poverty in countries that have still not become self-sustaining following communism and moral poverty, due to the growth of secularism.

We are able to distribute significant grants because of the commitment of the lay faithful to this collection, Bishop Cupich said. By showing solidarity with our struggling brothers and sisters in faith, each person who gives to the collection truly helps to restore the Church and build the future.

One funded project is located in Bucharest, Romania. The Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart run the New Home Centre, which provides a place for abandoned children. Through providing nursery care and preschool education, the sisters give the children a stable, safe environment and adequately prepare them to start primary school. Due to lack of funds, their building had become overcrowded and was not compliant with existing safety codes. The Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe funded a repair of the New Home Centre, as well as an expansion to provide living quarters for children and a separate kindergarten. These changes will ensure that the children continue to live in a safe, welcoming environment.

The bishops of the Subcommittee on Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe oversee the Collection for the Church in Central and Eastern Europe as part of the USCCB Committee on National Collections. More information on the Collection and the projects it funds can be found online:www.usccb.org/catholic-giving/opportunities-for-giving/central-and-eastern-europe/

(February 19, 2014) Innovative Media Inc.

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US Bishops Plan Aid for Eastern Europe

Site may be for 'education'

The 150-year-old United Methodist Community Church on North Road reportedly owes thousands of dollars in past-due heating bills.JOHN DeSANTO/Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 02/19/14 Last updated: 11:42 AM - 02/19/14

BLOOMINGBURG The builder of the controversial 396-home Hasidic development may soon be adding a venerable old church to the many buildings he owns in this eastern Sullivan county village. Shalom Lamm has offered $330,000 for the white-shingled, Mountainview United Methodist Church, which is more 150 years old.

"The church has been for sale for a long time as it continues to consolidate its finances," said Lamm. "We feel proud and privileged to help a faith community."

Lamm says he isn't sure what he will do with the church. He already owns at least a dozen homes, apartment complexes, storefronts and other buildings in this village of some 400 residents.

A state Appellate Court judge on Tuesday allowed work to continue on 12 buildings of the controversial 396-home Hasidic development in Bloomingburg.

Judge Leslie Stein issued a stay of the stop-work order granted earlier this month by Sullivan County Supreme Court Judge Stephan Schick. So until an Appellate Court hearing March 10, work will resume on the 12 buildings already under construction at the Villages at Chestnut Ridge.

"One hundred twelve people can now go back to work," said developer Shalom Lamm, whose lawyers appealed Schick's decision.

Schick had seemed to agree with the lawyers for the Rural Community Coalition and the Town of Mamakating, who argued that the land on which the development is being built was annexed illegally, since the residents of that land didn't vote on the annexation, as required by the state Constitution.

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Developer Shalom Lamm offers $330,000 to buy church in Bloomingburg

Galveston, Aspen or Cancun are destinations that might come to mind for a Spring Break trip, but a group of 20 from the Kingwood area are embarking on a less typical journey.

Kingwood Christian Church is sponsoring its second bi-annual mission trip to Grenada. Known as the Island of Spice because of its production of nutmeg, Grenada is an island country consisting of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique in the southeastern Caribbean Sea.

While there, the group will partner with St. Patricks Parish of the Anglican Church to support its church and school in improvement projects and participate in cultural programs.

Participants from Kingwood Christian Church include teen-agers and adults, with the youngest being 13.

Our mission trip to Grenada two years ago was a wonderful and enlightening time for my family, said Dave Wallis, an IT professional who is going on the trip again in 2014. We had the opportunity to build a computer lab for a school, do some construction and cleaning in some local churches, and start a womens support group. Most importantly, we had a chance to interact with some very warm and gracious people, many of whom have now become our good friends. The experience expanded our vision and our hearts beyond what we see in our daily lives.

This year, the groups focus includes constructing new pews and storage areas for the church, improving its electrical system, and upgrading the schools computer lab by networking computers and printers and loading updated software. The group also will share members musical talents by performing at a school assembly and in a Gospel Concert. They also will participate in opening ceremonies for the St. Patricks Day Festival. The trip is March 7- 17.

Members of the Grenadian church will host activities for the visiting Texans, including a barbecue on Bathway Beach featuring the national dish of Oil-down. Oil-down is a stew of breadfruit, salted meat or chicken, coconut milk and spices. Real FM Grenada (a local radio station) is sponsoring the barbecue and in 2012 even broadcast a church service from Kingwood Christian Church to the entire nation of Grenada.

The partnership between Kingwood Christian and St. Patricks Parish exists because in 1991, Kingwood High School and TCU graduate Lindy Nelson was assigned to teach at the school in the city of Sauteurs, while serving in the Peace Corps. She met and married another teacher, Ryan Paryag. As a family, the Nelson-Paryags have made their home in Kingwood since 1994.

Meeting new people and learning new things is exciting and builds enthusiasm for all congregations.

We were able to awaken the gifts that existed in that church, Ryan Nelson-Paryag said. We saw that it doesnt take a huge amount of resources to really make a difference in others lives. As a result of us going there, the womans group in particular has been energized again.

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Kingwood Christian Church group traveling to Grenada for memorable Spring Break