Oolitic, Ind. (PRWEB) January 09, 2015

Exterior limestone quarried in Indiana imparts to the new All Saints Anglican Church in Springfield, Mo., beauty, visible permanence, and a connection with ecclesiastical architectural history. All these elements, essential considerations for both the congregation and the architects who designed the structure, guided the selection of stone from Indiana Limestone Co., Oolitic, Ind.

The church, designed by Marshall Waters Woody Architects and built by Brian Beckers Construction, both of Springfield, embodies traditional construction, both in its graceful presentation and in the use of real stone.

An ambitious project made possible by the contributions of generous donors, construction is being carried out in three main parts. Phase one was the erection of the actual church, parish hall and kitchen. An ongoing second and third phase is the construction of an educational wing and a columbarium. An integral part of the second phase is a colonnade connection between the school section and the church.

Bill Woody, principal at Marshall Waters Woody, said an early part of his firms work on the project was intensive research regarding the use of buttressing and arched windows. We sought to be as true to a period Anglican church as we could, Woody said.

The firms use of Indiana limestone was essential in the architects efforts to present a structure projecting spirituality and sacred contemplation. Natural stone brings a character not seen in other materials, Woody said. Stone is solidity, speaking to a strong structure with real peace of mind.

John Simmons, chair of the churchs building committee, said the project has been years in the making. We had rented space in a Lutheran church for five years, he said. When the growing congregation outpaced the room available for them there, they sought and found land for a church of their own in Springfield, purchasing first a 17-acre estate, then another five-acre parcel contiguous to the land theyd already bought.

Ground was broken for the structure in 2011. Phase 1, with more than 12,000 square feet under roof, embraces the sanctuary, with day chapel and narthex as well as a kitchen-equipped parish hall, administrative areas, sacristy and priests office. Phase 2, something less than half that size, includes the education section and an arched stone colonnade to the parking lot. Still to be completed are the columbarium and patio area off the parish hall, and an area with a gated portal reserved for personal contemplation and reflection.

In addition to the architectural firm, other companies from the Springfield area were chosen to handle essential phases of the project. Brian Beckers Construction was general contractor and John M. Gill Masonry Co. was the masonry contractor. Both Beckers and Gill lauded the ease with which the stone could be handled and applied. Earthworks of Perryville, Mo. fabricated and supplied the project stone.

As the original quarry provider of stone for the project, Indiana Limestone Co. offered valuable technical support throughout the design and construction phases so far, assisting all participants with information that has saved time, helped restrain costs and contributed to superlative results.

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Strong, Beautiful Indiana Limestone Invokes Historic Construction For All Saints Anglican Church in Springfield ...

PANAMA CITY A Panama City Beach man who gunned down his former landlord on church property accepted a plea deal Thursday to 25 years in prison after learning his taped confession would be played for jurors during his forthcoming trial.

Christopher Ray Hyler, 50, accepted the plea deal, reducing the first-degree murder charges he faced after being arrested in May 2013. Hyler was scheduled for trial next week for the shooting death of 43-year-old Robert S. Ellison in August 2010 on a Panama City Beach church construction site. However, after a circuit court judges decision to allow prospective jurors to view a taped confession made at the time of his arrest, Hyler pleaded no contest Thursday to charges of second-degree murder.

Judge Brantley Clark then sentenced Hyler to 25 years in prison.

Ellisons death lingered without an arrest for nearly three years before, in May 2013, authorities elicited a confession from Hyler during a taped interrogation.

Hyler was brought in after investigators began to look at previous tenants of properties owned by Ellison. After about an hour and a half of questioning, Hyler told investigators hed gone to the First Baptist Church in Panama City Beach construction site, at 204 Cobb Road, in search of work when Ellison aggressively approached him. Hyler pulled the 9mm Luger which hed brought to ask for a job and fired in self-defense, he told investigators.

The investigators then presented Hyler with the scenario that he confronted an abusive husband and pulled the gun out of self-defense. Hyler continued from there.

He told me that I needed to mind my business and came out from behind the desk. He looked pissed, Hyler told investigators. I pulled (the 9mm) in regards to thinking hed back up. He got his hand on it once.

At about 9 a.m. on Aug. 10, 2010, emergency crews discovered Ellison face down in the office with five gunshot wounds throughout his body.

Although no one distinctly saw Hyler leave the office, cellphone records would have been coupled with Hylers confession, court documents indicate.

Hyler attempted to have the video suppressed as the date of his trial neared. His legal counsel argued that after hours of intense questioning, he simply agreed to the facts presented by interrogators.

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Killer sentenced to 25 years

The Harris County Sheriffs Office is investigating an armed robbery which occurred at a church under construction in Atascocita.

Around 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, Jan. 7, a worker was reportedly shot in the arm as two armed robbery suspects entered the construction site of a ministry center in the 100 block of Atascocita Road.

According to HCSO, one of the suspects, dressed in dark clothing and armed with a gun and a small knife, fired several shots.

A deputy told to the Sheriffs office that one of the suspects began yelling, Give me everything you have, before the shooting, Tebben Lewis, spokesperson for HCSO, said.

Before leaving, they stole two cell phones and an undisclosed amount of cash from the workers, but nothing from the site itself.

HCSO reported that both suspects hopped a fence and escaped to a nearby apartment complex. They are still at large.

The victim was transported to Northwest Houston Hospital, and his condition is unconfirmed. Authorities are asking citizens with information about the suspects to contact Crime Stoppers at 712-222-TIPS.

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Construction worker reportedly shot in attempted robbery on Atascocita Road

LAKEWOOD RANCH- Barely a decade old, Peace Presbyterian Church of Lakewood Ranch expects to have many growing years still ahead.

A public notice at the entrance of Peace Presbyterian Church at Lakewood Ranch informs passersby of a Manatee County Commission meeting about the church's expansion plans. (Staff photo/Dale White)

To prepare for that growth, the church will present expansion plans Thursday to the Manatee County Commission calling for a new sanctuary and fellowship center at its current location, 12705 State Road 64 E.

The Rev. Elizabeth Deibert, who moved from North Carolina to become the churchs pastor, believes those expansion plans are warranted. Neighborhoods are springing up all over, she said of East Manatee.

Having also started a church in Alabama, Deibert gladly became a Floridian when she accepted the position 10 years ago.

I found starting a new church in Alabama to be a very meaningful experience. Its a challenge and an awesome responsibility to establish the DNA of a church.

Peace Presbyterians brief history is one of rapid growth and change, much like that of Lakewood Ranch and other East Manatee communities.

In 2003, Gary and Junie Miller and other potential parishioners started talking around kitchen tables about a new church in the Lakewood Ranch area in the Presbyterian USA denomination.

The Rev. Elizabeth Deibert on a lakefront portion of property owned by Peace Presbyterian Church of Lakewood Ranch that will be used for a new sanctuary and fellowship center. (Staff photo/Dale White)

The Presbytery for this region approved their efforts, as did our sister churches in the Sarasota-Manatee area, Deibert said.

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Lakewood Ranch church seeks to expand

PANAMA CITY A Bay County circuit judge will allow jurors to view a taped murder confession in connection with an August 2010 fatal shooting at a Panama City Beach church construction site, according to court records.

The trial of Christopher Ray Hyler, 50, for the shooting death of his former landlord, 43-year-old Robert S. Ellison, is scheduled to begin Monday. As the trial looms, Hylers attorney requested the judge not allow a taped confession from his arrest to be admitted as evidence, arguing police coerced his testimony after only briefly reviewing his Miranda rights. However, Circuit Court Judge Brantley Clark denied the defenses motion to suppress the video, and jurors will have the opportunity to weigh it among other evidence, Clark wrote in his ruling Tuesday.

Hyler validly waived his Miranda rights, and, based on the totality of the circumstances, (Hyler) appears to have voluntarily issued his confession, Clark said.

Ellisons death lingered without an arrest for nearly three years, and, in May 2013, authorities received a confession from Hyler during a taped interrogation. But his legal counsel argued that after two hours of intense questioning, he simply agreed to the facts presented by interrogators.

Hyler had used methamphetamine heavily prior to his arrest by law enforcement and was still under the influence of the drug during the interrogation, defense attorney Henry Sims wrote in his motion to the court.

Sims said Hylers intoxication, coupled with a reasonable self-defense scenario presented by law enforcement to escape the pressure being asserted on him, amounted to coercion.

Sims also argued Hyler did not have privileged knowledge of the crime, and parts of the confession did not jive with the physical evidence or the sparse witness accounts from around the time of the shooting.

He did not provide any details of the crime nor did he divulge facts only the perpetrator would know, Sims wrote.

Investigators confronted Hyler with a variety of scenarios until more than an hour into questioning, when he finally nodded in agreement. Police presented Hyler with the scenario that he confronted an abusive husband and pulled the gun out of self-defense. Hyler continued from there.

He told me that I needed to mind my business and came out from behind the desk. He looked pissed, Hyler told investigators. I pulled (the 9mm), thinking hed back up. He got his hand on it once.

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Judge denies accused killers request

I was recently struck by a highly creative project at Chicago's nondenominational LaSalle Street Church, where the church's pastoral leadership entrusted $500 to each of its 320 members and asked them to use the money for some good cause.

Pastor Laura Truax and church elders decided on a "reverse tithe" after receiving an unexpected windfall of $1.6 million from the sale of a 1970s-era, racially integrated, low-income housing development, Atrium Village, which the church had established in partnership with three other Protestant churches. The partnership had a 15 percent share in the property, a 35-year agreement that a percentage of units would be set aside for disadvantaged populations, and final say in any decision to sell the property. When the 35-year agreement expired, the property had greatly appreciated in value and there was a great deal of pressure to sell it. The church partnership finally agreed, but with the stipulation that a percentage of units in any new construction would be set aside for low-income people.

"It's not really our money," Truax said in a telephone interview. "The way we look at it is that God wants it back in circulation."

When she distributed the checks, Truax preached on the parable of the talents, encouraging everyone to reflect about where he or she could best invest in the socially progressive legacy of LaSalle Street Church. The faith community is well known for its commitment to the poor, whether it be feeding homeless families in the neighborhood or donating an ambulance for a medical clinic in Niger.

Church members were dumbfounded by the unexpected gift but quickly rose to the challenge.

Kristin Hu planned to give her $500 to help "dreamer" children of immigrant families. Jonas Ganz, an avid skateboarder who grew up in Amman, Jordan, donated his share toward a new skate park in his hometown. Other church members put their money toward a no-kill animal shelter, food pantries, an eyeglass ministry, and purchasing winter clothing for disadvantaged college students.

The diversity of needs churchgoers chose to support is impressive. Even more impressive is the creative pastoral leadership that trusts the leading of the Spirit in each believer.

Truax wrote about this on her blog:

How do we know it won't be "squandered"? We don't. But we know this: that every day we wake to gifts we never sought, expected or earned. ... This is the essence of faith I think. Not just that we believe in God but that God believes in us. And trusts us to do great things with his gifts.

The biggest challenge is still to come as the congregation decides what to do with the rest of the money. The unprecedented "reverse-tithing" project, you see, addressed an array of pastoral concerns. This is the most innovative aspect of the whole endeavor.

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It's time for our bishops to think outside the box about effective pastoral leadership

January 6, 2015|1:41 pm

Stained Glass of Jesus and Fishermen, Mary Star of the Sea Church

Churches fitted with ornate stained glass windows may not become a thing of the archaic past just yet, noted one church construction company.

Although presently the stained glass industry has been experiencing a decline in business, research among younger Americans indicates that stained glass could experience a comeback.

Derek DeGroot, architect with the Aspen Group, a company that specializes in building churches, explained to The Christian Post on Monday the current trend.

"Although certain denominations still use stained glass traditionally, many mainline protestant denominations that we designed & built for have seen an apparent decline in the use of stained glass in the recent past," said DeGroot.

"However, there are new discussions that stained glass is seen more favorably by younger generations."

DeGroot cited recent research conducted by the Barna Group, which found that Millennials preferred more traditional looking sanctuaries instead of so-called trendy buildings.

"It seems the Hollywood depiction of the church has remained traditional (think cathedral), and the unchurched not familiar with the 'megachurch' of the '90s and 2000s sees an alarming disconnect with today's buildings and traditional church architecture," said DeGroot. "The ambiguous designs are confusing a new generation that is begging for more visual clarity with regards to the built environment and the faith of those inside."

Last August, surveys administered onlineto 843 young adults ages 18 to 29 by Barna and Cornerstone Knowledge Network, the market research organization created by church design firms Aspen Group and Cogun, found 67 percent chose the word "classic" to describe their ideal church. Only 33 percent preferred a trendy church as their ideal.

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Stained Glass Windows for Churches May Make Comeback With Younger Generations

Pics: Umesh Marapalli

Daijiworld Media Network- Udupi(HB)

Udupi, Jan 6: Thousands of devotees witnessed the grand inauguration and blessing of the newly built Mount Rosary church at Santhekatte (Kallianpur) here on Tuesday January 6.

Jerry Vincent Dias,vice president of parish pastoral council and president of builders association with and Molly Dias inaugurated the stage programme symbolically by releasing balloons.

Dr Gerald Issac Lobo, Bishop of Udupi diocese blessed the gathering. He said that the church does not belong only to christian community but also to all the people of other religions.

Dr Aloysius P DSouza, bishop of Mangaluru, offered the first Eucharistic service in the new church in the presence of hundreds of priests, nuns and thousands of christians as well as non-christians.

After the service he said We have to keep our soul clean first, external beauty is not important. While entering the church the designs look attractive, but our prayers to seek the blessings of God are much more important."

Oscar Fernandes speaking on the occasion said This is my birth place and I always used to go to church for prayer here. It reminds me of my childhood days. We have to indulge in welfare programmes and think on development, only then can we achieve our goals."

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Udupi: Mount Rosary church at Santhekatte inaugurated

For the first time in nearly a century, the Turkish government has approved the construction of a church, Agence France-Presse reports. The decision comes more than a month after Pope Francis visited Turkey, where he discussed the Islamic State group and its persecution of Christians and other religious minorities.

The church will be built in Yesilkoy, a suburb of Istanbul, and will belong to the Syriac Orthodox Church, a Christian denomination with about 25,000 followers in Turkey. The area already houses Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic churches, all of which were built before the end of the Ottoman Empire in 1923.

It is the first since the creation of the republic, a government source told AFP Saturday. Churches have been renovated and reopened, but none have been built from scratch. Many existing churches have been converted into mosques.

Plans to build the $1.5 million church, to be called the Virgin Mary Syriac Church, were made during a luncheon between Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and minority leaders on Friday at Dolmabahce Palace in Istanbul, Daily Sabah reports. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has allocated land on a Catholic cemetery for the churchs construction. It will have three subterranean floors, two of which will be for parking. Three floors will be located above ground.

Turkey, which became a constitutionally secular republic in 1923, is a predominantly Muslim country. Its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, was initially seen as an Islamic leader with democratic ideals who was making strides to join the European Union when he was elected in 2003. Now, he is being criticized for introducing religion into the public realm: He has moved to restrict alcohol sales and rescinded a ban on head scarves in public institutions, the New York Times reports. In public schools, Ottoman Turkishlanguage classes are mandatory. Classes known as religious values are also taught.

Meanwhile, religious minorities say they face discrimination. Their officials are banned from teaching at minority schools. Others have complained they face passport problems and their travel documents are valid for just six months.

Still, freedom of religion remains on the books. Greek Orthodox Christians, Armenian Apostolic Christians and Jews remain the three largest religious denominations in Turkey after its 99.8 percent Sunni Muslim population.

"There is no problem in terms of practicing their religion, but there is historical baggage by which some religious activity is perceived to be suspicious," Ilter Turan, emeritus professor of international relations at Bilgi University in Istanbul, told the BBCreferring to religious minorities. It's only recently that the native Christian populations have begun once again to aspire to holding public office. At the late stages of the Ottoman Empire, that was normal and that only began to change after the First World War. So it seems that we are back to a period of restoration."

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First Church To Be Built In Turkey In Nearly A Century

January 4, 2015|11:02 am

The imposing structure of Hagia Sophia, located in Istanbul, Turkey. The building began as an Orthodox Christian cathedral, was converted to a mosque in the 15th century, and was then made into a museum in the 1930s.

The Islamic government of Turkey has authorized the construction of a new church, for the country's tiny Syriac community, for the first time since the establishment of the modern republic in 1923.

The Syrian Christian church will be built on state-owned land not far from Greek Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic churches in the Istanbul suburb of Yesilkoy on the shores of the Sea of Marmara, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said at a meeting of religious representatives in Istanbul, according to Agence France Presse.

Of the 80 million people in Turkey, mostly Muslim, about 100,000 are Christian. While Turkey was the birthplace of numerous Christian Apostles and Saints, the country's government had thus far allowed only renovations of existing churches.

"It is the first since the creation of the republic," the newswire quoted a government as saying. "Churches have been restored and reopened to the public, but no new church has been built until now."

The move could be aimed at pacifying the European Union.

The country was recently criticized for making efforts to erase its Christian past, as was reflected in the conversion of an ancient Byzantine church into a mosque.

The Hagia Sophia Museum, a former Greek Orthodox church in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, was used in July 2013 for the first Friday prayers of Ramadan.

The mufti of Trabzon was joined by local Muslim residents for the Islamic prayers in the 13th century church building. The Christian murals were covered with curtains, and the bell dome was used as a minaret.

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Turkey Allows New Church for First Time Since Ottoman Empire's End in 1923