18-03-2012 20:23 A quick peek at the new LCBC church being constructed in Ephrata, PA, at Rtes 322 and 222. Also a few turns around the Bergstrasse Evangelical Lutheran church across the street.
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LCBC Church Construction in Ephrata, PA - Video
18-03-2012 12:58 3d graphic design of the church Narga Selassie is a church on the western shores of Dek Island, the largest island of Lake Tana in northern Ethiopia. The name signifies "Trinity of the Rest". "Rest" refers to the place and the shade thereabouts. The church was constructed by Empress Mentewab in the late 18th century, apparently using as construction material for doors and roof a gigantic sycamore fig tree that stood at the centre of a slight elevation, now the centre of the church. Narga Selassie is fully decorated in the local style. A relief on the main entry portrays the Scottish explorer James Bruce, who visited the capital, Gondar, in the late 19th century. Narga Selassie was constructed in the classic round architecture of the churches of Lake Tana, with the notable contamination of the use of stone both in the perinaeum around the church and in the compound walls. It is accessed from the lake through a port constructed in 1987, which is connected to Bahar Dar and Gorgora by a state-owned ferry service. The access is in itself a beauty spot with a huge sycamore with long aerial roots descending to the lake and a door tower which forms part of the original construction.
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NARGA SELASSE 3d - Video
BREMERTON The walls came down before. Members of a Bremerton church were looking to knock down some more Sunday.
Bishop Larry Robertson of Emmanuel Apostolic Church led a march around property anchored at Park Avenue and Eighth Street to ask God for help in raising money to build the Marvin Williams Recreation Center.
The walk is a re-creation of Joshua's escort of the Israelites around the walls of Jericho. The biblical account says the walls fell on the seventh go-round.
Church members made that first walk in about 2004 with hopes of buying the land for the center. It took five years and the specter of watching the city plan a municipal court building, but in 2009 the land became the church's.
This time, Robertson said, he thinks their Sunday march should yield results much faster. He's hoping for construction on the center to begin by the end of this year, ahead of the church's most recent goal of August 2014.
The recreation center is designed to satisfy a need apparent in West Bremerton. "We just felt there needs to be a gymnasium and there needs to be a facility that can facilitate the little educational and wellness appetites for the kids that are in this area," Robertson said.
The basketball connection fits well with the name on the building. Williams, a Bremerton High School graduate and NBA player with the Atlanta Hawks, was given that honor for his support of the church and the community center project.
Besides the basketball court and exercise equipment, the center will have meeting room space and dining facilities. "People in this area don't have a lot of money to put behind the health and wellness issues," Robertson said.
The pastor counts the YMCAs in Silverdale and Bremerton and the Youth Wellness Center planned for East Bremerton among "the beautiful things happening in Kitsap County." He said he doesn't want his church's center to duplicate anything but to be part of the community's improvement.
A second phase of the campus Emmanuel plans will have room for a retailer that Robertson said will be there to sell something that fits with the community and offers Bremerton youth an opportunity to learn how to be smart economically.
Havana retiree Maria Antonia confesses that she would be starving without the free lunches doled out by her neighborhood Catholic church.
The 69-year-old widow has a $12-a-month pension that barely covers six to eight days worth of food per month, and she has no relatives abroad who can send her a few extra dollars.
"A free lunch is a life-saver when a pound of pork costs more than $1," says Maria Antonia. "The Church to me is not just a temple or a Mass. It is a way of surviving."
As Cuban ruler Raul Castro cuts government subsidies on the food and health sectors in an attempt to boost the all-but-stalled economy, the Roman Catholic Church is trying to fill the growing gaps in the island's unraveling social welfare net.
With millions in aid from Catholic exiles and groups abroad, parishes are increasingly running soup kitchens and health and education programs, and working with troubled families and HIV-positive Cubans.
"The needs are growing, and the state has limited resources," said Maritza Sanchez, director of Caritas Cubana, the island's branch of the worldwide Catholic relief, development and social service organization.
The good relations between Castro and Cardinal Jaime Ortega also have cleared the way for improved cooperation on issues like humanitarian programs and human rights - like the release of about 125 political prisoners in 2010 and 2011.
Even after Fidel Castro declared the government atheist, seized Church properties and expelled hundreds of priests and nuns in the early 1960s, he allowed some Catholic religious orders to run several hospitals and nursing homes.
Among them are a psychiatric hospital and the Santovenia and Golden Age homes for the elderly in Havana, plus the San Juan de Dios hospital and the Padre Olallo nursing home in eastern Camaguey. Nuns also staff the San Lazaro Hospital for lepers in Havana, although the government owns it.
Church-run nursing homes are so well regarded that they have unofficial waiting lists for admissions, said one parish volunteer. Some elderly seeking quick admission have even offered to turn over their homes to the Church or lay nurses.
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Cuba's Catholic Church tries to fill gaps in social safety net
16-03-2012 09:10 East Leesville Student Building "Phase 1"
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ACC EAST LEESVILLE - Video
16-03-2012 15:04 East Leesville Baptist Church Phase 2 New Worship Facility
HOOVER, Alabama -- A contractor has agreed to pay $76,500 to settle a federal lawsuit filed by a Hoover couple whose lake was damaged by mud flowing from an expansion project at Riverchase United Methodist Church.
U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre this week approved a consent decree between Randy and Mary Raines Harper and C.E. Huffstutler Contracting LLC., a Blount County company originally hired as the contractor for the church's expansion project.
The consent decree settles the lawsuit filed April 28 by the Harpers. In the suit, the couple contended storm water carried sediment-laden mud from the construction site through two culverts underneath Carl Raines Lake Road onto their property and into their 4-acre lake. The suit said the mud then flowed into an unnamed creek and ultimately deposited into the Cahaba River.
Randy Harper reported the mud flow into his lake to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, which halted construction March 2011. The order was later lifted.
The church filed its own negligence lawsuit in May in Shelby County Circuit Court against Huffstutler after the church's expansion project experienced problems controlling mud flowing off the site.
Heavy rains apparently overwhelmed the temporary erosion control measures on the site when trees and vegetation were stripped from a 7-acre hillside. That case is still pending.
The church hired a new contractor and the project continues to proceed.
Under terms of the federal court decree, Huffstutler agreed to pay $75,000 to the Harpers for settlement of all claims. The company also will pay the couple $1,500 to cover mediation expenses. The consent decree said the settlement money to be paid by Huffstutler has been pledged through a liability insurance policy.
The U.S. Department of Justice did not object to the federal settlement.
Huffstutler, which has no resources to pay fines or penalties and has stopped all operations except minor tasks necessary to shut the company down, admitted no wrongdoing in settling the claims, according to the court filing. The settlement agreement blocks Huffstutler from engaging in any land-clearing activities at Riverchase United and from discharging any pollutants into any waterways at the church site.
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Contractor settles federal lawsuit over mud runoff from Riverchase United Methodist Church construction site
George Frey / Bloomberg
The City Creek Center, being built across the street from the Mormon Church headquarters in Salt Lake City, features a retractable roof overhead and a 1,200-foot-long man-made creek.
Mall construction has screeched to a near-halt across the country, with stores such as San Francisco's Gap shuttering hundreds of locations.
But in Salt Lake City the future of retail is bright: On Thursday, a 700,000-square-foot mega-mall will open in the city's heart. Construction was funded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
City Creek Center is the nation's only regional mega-mall slated to open this year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers, and more than 90 stores and restaurants are moving in. One-third of the retailers are new to Salt Lake City, including Tiffany and Coach. Nordstrom and Macy's are also on board.
Designed by the church's real estate arm, City Creek Center is replete with a retractable sunroof, an artificial creek and fountains that spew fire and water. Apart from elaborate design features, the redevelopment project - estimated by the Mormon-run Deseret News to have cost roughly $1 billion - includes offices, condos, apartments and 5,000 underground parking spots. The mixed-use project is owned and run by mall operator Taubman Centers, which has a long-term lease and revenue-sharing agreement with the LDS Church. Stores will be closed Sundays.
This kind of project isn't new to the Mormon Church; the institution owns many commercial enterprises, including hunting grounds, radio stations, newspapers and insurance companies - not to mention a $1 billion, for-profit cattle-and-citrus ranch in Florida and a Polynesian Cultural Center in Hawaii. Its newest investment will sit directly across the street from the church's monumental Temple and Tabernacle.
Why the big investment in retail?
"These are the two major city blocks that sit across from the headquarters of the Mormon Church and they were poorly designed," says Bill Taubman, chief operating officer of Taubman Centers, who says City Creek has replaced two failing fortress-like shopping centers. "The church ... decided that a major mixed-use project with retail as a centerpiece would be the best way to rejuvenate and stabilize downtown."
In some ways, the Mormon mega-mall investment isn't surprising. The religion's history with department stores dates back to 1868, when Brigham Young, the church's second president, founded Zions Cooperative Mercantile Institution. ZCMI, sometimes referred to as "America's First Department Store," was sold to the May Department Stores Co. (now Macy's) in 1999.
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Mormon Church building mega-mall in Salt Lake City
Alberta Baptist Church, shown Thursday, is expected to be demolished starting this week. The building was one of 22 churches in Tuscaloosa County damaged or destroyed by the April 27 tornado.
TUSCALOOSA | Demolition is expected to begin this week on what remains of Alberta Baptist Church.
The building on University Boulevard was one of 22 churches damaged or destroyed by the April 27 tornado and one of the first to begin working with city planning officials to discuss reconstruction based on new building regulations and zoning requirements.
Church members said there were questions about whether to rebuild at all, relocate or even merge with another congregation. The church has been at 1761 University Blvd. E., a gateway to the Alberta community, for more than 90 years. Prayers and contemplation led to the congregation's decision to stay there.
It became obvious that we needed to be back in Alberta and Alberta needed us to be there, said John Matthews, who heads the church's long-range planning committee. This has been a disaster in every sense of the word, but it is an opportunity for a fresh start.
Although the building was destroyed, the church and its congregation are still strong, said building and grounds committee chairman Dan Turner.
In the days after the tornado, church members helped residents in Alberta find food, clothing and family members. Since then, church members have continued to provide assistance to the community from a trailer and tent in the church parking lot.
The congregation has been meeting at Open Door Baptist on McFarland Boulevard on Sundays.
We've had a wonderful ministry, Turner said. It's been a spiritual blessing to us.
The city's plans to improve the nearby Jaycee Park with an upgraded facility for the Boys and Girls Clubs of West Alabama, a BMX bicycle track, a playground, a baseball diamond and a three-court basketball gym will give the church an opportunity to be involved in those community activities, Matthews said.
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Building demolition will give Alberta church a fresh start
An engineer hired by a New Holland-area mega church distilled a 643-page traffic study in 45 minutes on March 13 at an East Earl Township supervisors meeting.
"We're not here for any approvals," said Bob Murphy, senior project manager for Larson Design Group, on behalf of Petra Christian Fellowship, which plans to expand its campus in four phases over the next 15 years at 565 Airport Road.
Murphy said PCF is preparing a secondary submission of preliminary plans. The original plan was proposed to the East Earl planning commission in March 2010.
PCF will submit the plan to the Earl and East Earl township planning commissions, who will make a recommendation to their respective township supervisors as to whether the conditional preliminary plans will move into final design.
"(PCF) anticipates submitting a final phase 2 plan in a few months," stated Murphy in an email. "Construction will hopefully begin by late 2012 or early 2013."
The first phase of the expansion was completed in 2011. The second phase is in its planning stage. Projected completion dates of the third and fourth phase projected completion dates are 2017 and 2027, respectively.
In the first phase, the church added 92 parking spaces to the original 448. Construction began in April 2011 and was completed in September of the same year.
In the plan's second phase, 55,739 square feet will be added to the original 61,400 square-foot facility. The church would add another 340 parking spaces, build a new classroom and subdivide 10 acres into six lots along Ranck Road to help pay for expansion costs.
The plan's third phase, Murphy said, would add an additional 36,689 square feet to the facility by constructing a gymnasium. Possible road work may be required to Airport Road as well.
In the plan's final phase, the church would add an additional 40,781 square feet to the facility by building a new chapel and narthex, doubling its seating capacity to 3,600, and expanding the church's sanctuary.
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New Holland church shares plans for expansion