When Pope Francis visits the Philippines in January, he may be glad to know the Catholic Church is heading the construction of at least 500 typhoon-resilient houses in areas hit last November by super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

The Palo (Leyte) Archdiocese is leading the effort as part of the Catholic Churchs rehabilitation program for Yolanda-hit areas, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines reported late Wednesday.

(W)e plan to build additional 500 houses in Palo. In the other nine dioceses CBCP-NASSA is serving, the construction of typhoon-resilient houses takes priority, Fr. Edu Gariguez, executive secretary of the CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action Justice and Peace (CBCP-NASSA) said on the CBCP news site.

The CBCP said an initial fund of 5.6 million euros will to fund relief operations for survivors of Yolanda, which left more than 6,000 dead.

Gariguez added the CBCP-NASSA has received donations amounting to 9.7 million euros (P600 million) from Caritas International. The amount may fund programs for Yolanda survivors for 2014.

He added these projects and programs for nine dioceses hit hard by Yolanda are included in CBCP-NASSAs second urgent appeal to Caritas International. Joel Locsin /LBG, GMA News

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Church building 500 typhoon-resilient houses in Yolanda-hit areas CBCP

Vintage Kingston: Richard Mayo Centre reached fundraising goal

Updated 4:59pm Sunday 3rd August 2014 in News

Construction began ten years ago on a now-familiar town-centre landmark.

The United Reformed Church reached its 427,000 fundraising goal for the Richard Mayo Centre after a two-year campaign.

Building work to install the new entrance foyer, lift, coffee bar and meeting rooms was set to begin in November 2004.

The centre would invite stressed-out shoppers to pop in for a moment's peace and a cup of coffee, while community groups could run training sessions.

Church elder Derek Winsor said the church had top designers advising colours and layout and the new centre would have the "wow factor".

He said: "I'm really looking forward to getting this sorted out because it will really free this building up for everybody.

"It's got so much potential and it needs to be opened up.

"When we began it was such a momentous total we didn't think we would ever get up to it but we've had so much support from the membership and friends of the church and people from outside."

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Vintage Kingston: Richard Mayo Centre reached fundraising goal

Growing up in Madison, Naomi Kroth attended a Christian church with her parents and loved it. Well, most of it.

As she matured into young adulthood, she encountered a hitch she couldnt ignore: She didnt believe in a higher power. She stopped attending services and now identifies as an atheist. Yet she still yearned for something more.

Ive always missed going to church the singing, the sermon, the volunteerism, the community, said Kroth, 30, of Madison, a project manager for a construction firm. But I couldnt reconcile that with my views on religion.

The solution came by way of an international movement to create church-like experiences for non-theists. The monthly gatherings, called Sunday Assemblies, adopt many aspects of religious worship services, just none of the God talk.

Kroth and a small group of others are now bringing the concept here. Sunday Assembly Madison is scheduled to hold its first service Sept. 28 in rented space at Prairie Unitarian Universalist Society, 2010 Whenona Drive, on the citys Southwest Side.

Well be a community of like-minded people coming together to support each other and learn from each other a godless congregation, said Eric Snyder, 61, of Sun Prairie, a retired computer programmer and another of the founders.

The movement has elicited skepticism and outright ridicule from some quarters, but it has momentum. The local gathering is one of many Sunday Assembly startups expected to launch that same day, bringing the total number of chapters across the globe to an anticipated 100 or so by the end of the year.

Its fellowship without the dogma, said Lavada Luening of West Allis, organizer of Sunday Assembly Milwaukee, which started in December. It has only a handful of core members, she said, but hasnt done much publicity and is still building its infrastructure. The Madison founders said they dont know how many participants to anticipate initially.

The first-ever Sunday Assembly was held about 18 months ago in London, launched by two British comedians, Sanderson Jones and Pippa Evans. In a guest column in the New York Times, the two said they started Sunday Assembly because the idea of meeting once a month to sing songs, hear great speakers and celebrate the incredible gift of life seems like a fun, and useful, thing to do.

There is now a nonprofit corporation in New Jersey called Sunday Assembly in America, which is providing support to existing U.S. assemblies and helping launch new ones. Its spokesman said it has filed paperwork with the IRS to become a tax-exempt public charity, although he said it has no intention of being defined as a religion. Kroth said Sunday Assembly Madison also hopes to become tax-exempt.

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A 'church' for atheists? Yes, one is coming to Madison, with monthly services

PAYSON -- As curious visitors have started lining up for the month-long open house at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Ogden Utah Temple, excitement on the other end of the Wasatch Front is escalating for the next Utah temple open house and dedication -- the Payson temple.

An official date is not yet set, but 2015 is expected to be a year of excitement for LDS members living in south Utah County. It is also anticipated the Provo City Center Temple could be completed by the end of next year.

In the meantime, assignments have been divvied up throughout the Payson and outlying LDS stakes as church members prepare for their open house and for the completion -- and handiwork the goes into the completion -- of the inside amenities of the temple. These opportunities help members feel more vested in the temple, in addition to the tithing donations of members that help pay for its construction.

Temple open houses, such as the one currently going on in Ogden, give members of the community and visitors -- LDS or otherwise -- the rare opportunity to walk through the temple and learn more about Latter-day Saint beliefs. Following an open house the temple is formally dedicated, and only temple-worthy members of the LDS Church may enter after that.

The Ogden temple has received such extensive renovations -- nearly to the main frame and studs of the building -- people are curious about the new look. What was once a round building, a sister temple to the Provo Temple, is now square with intricately chiseled and designed granite on the exterior, and exquisite interiors.

That beauty has Utah County folks excited to see just what the Payson temple will look like when it is completed.

A prepared statement from the LDS Church said, "For those who live near them, the Churchs completed temples are 'beautiful' structures, meant to last hundreds of years thanks to their high-quality materials and rigorous building standards."

It is interesting to note that while there is day-to-day care of the inside and outside of the facilities, from time to time temples will close for major cleaning, which is completely done by volunteer members of the church assigned to that temple district.

Plans to construct the Payson temple were announced Jan. 25, 2010. Church leaders broke ground Oct. 8, 2011.

The Payson Utah Temple is located on gently sloping ground at 930 W. 1550 South on the southwest side of Payson, a mile from the Interstate 15 interchange with 800 South. The property offers scenic views of the area as well as easy access to the freeway. The temple will serve Latter-day Saints from Spanish Fork to Nephi.

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Ogden provides temple prep template

Christ Church Construction Site - Walking on 2nd floor!
via YouTube Capture.

By: George Nuber

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Christ Church Construction Site - Walking on 2nd floor! - Video

Many charitable causes stand to benefit from a rummage sale to be hosted by the First United Methodist Church of Bradford next weekend.

The sale will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Aug. 9 at the church. It is the churchs third annual rummage sale.

Andie Swaney, global outreach coordinator for the church, talked about the efforts to help others outside of the churchs four walls.

The farthest from home is a church in Nicaragua, where we have a partnership with a Methodist church in Condega, she said, explaining, Were helping them build a parsonage right behind the church.

If enough interest is generated at the Bradford church, they may make a mission trip this December or January to Nicaragua; if not, a partnering church from Mississippi that is making the trip will use the funds for construction at the Condega church.

Last year, funds raised in Bradford helped the Mississippi church do work on the parsonage, such as putting up interior walls, installing electricity and water to the house and building a rudimentary bathroom.

This winter, the Mississippi mission plans to put stucco on the outside of the parsonage, install windows in the church, add tile to the bathroom floor of the parsonage and paint the outside of both buildings.

Also receiving support from the Bradford church are two workers for the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO).

One works with a group of students at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. The second, who is also Swaneys daughter and had been doing work for the CCO at Penn State, is now in Michigan organizing CCO trips, both to other states and to other countries.

The third program receiving support is the Ruth M. Smith Center in Sheffield, which is a nursing-home type facility that also houses a daycare center.

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Many beneficiaries in church rummage sale

File photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin has cultivated strong ties with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, adopting more conservative policies and prompting some critics to suggest the line separating state and church has become blurred.

At a meeting on Thursday with Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin and top administrators of the Kremlin site, Putin said his plan would involve tearing down a building used for administrative purposes to restore the site's "historic appearance".

Putin gave no indication of the costs of construction. Russia's economy is teetering on the brink of recession and faces reduced access to foreign capital after the West imposed sanctions overMoscow's policies in Ukraine.

The Kremlin, a fortified landmark sprawling across 28 hectares in central Moscow and home to the president's office and his administration, has seen many attacks in its six-century history and has come to symbolise Russia's enduring power.

"Here is the idea ... to restore the historic appearance of the place with two monasteries and a church, but giving them, considering today's realities, an exclusively cultural character," the Kremlin's website quoted Putin as saying.

UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE

Putin said the plan hinged on winning the support of the Russian public and UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency. The Kremlin, built between the 14th and 17th centuries, is a listed UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The monasteries and the church were torn down in 1929-1930, a time of religious persecution under the rule of Communist dictator Josef Stalin, to make space for the administrative building that has been undergoing refurbishment since 2011.

"I do not insist on anything, it's an idea, a proposal," said Putin, who enjoys popularity ratings of more than 80 percent since Russia annexed Ukraine's Crimea. "If the public deems it appropriate then all needs to be worked out calmly."

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Vladimir Putin Wants Monasteries, Church Rebuilt Inside Kremlin

Christ Church Construction July 29th 2014!
via YouTube Capture.

By: George Nuber

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Christ Church Construction July 29th 2014! - Video

Body found in Lake County Forest Preserve

Lake County Forest Preserve police discovered a woman dead yesterday just after noon at Lyons Woods in Waukegan. Police were unable to release any details about the nature of her death. An autopsy is planned for today. Full story.

While vacationing in Rome last week, Colin Collette, the music director at Holy Family Catholic Community in Inverness, got engaged to his longtime partner. Shortly after returning home, he got fired. Full story.

Vandals spray-painted graffiti on an empty house in Rolling Meadows where neighbors last weekend protested the removal of several historic trees to make way for development. Full story.

A construction worker was injured yesterday afternoon when a large chunk of concrete fell on him in a construction zone on I-90 near Rosemont. The worker was taken to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, state police said. Full story.

A Round Lake gang member convicted in May of being responsible for the death of a Zion teen outside a minimart was sentenced yesterday to 38 years in prison. A Lake County judge determined Jose Rebollar, 26, will not be eligible for parole until he serves 100 percent of his sentence. Full story.

An Aurora man convicted of sexually assaulting a child he knew was sentenced yesterday by a Kane County Judge to 15 years in prison. Brandon M. Niford, 30, will serve 85 percent of that sentence. His victim was under the age of 13. Full story.

Elena Delle Donne, fan favorite and leading scorer for the Chicago Sky, finally could be back for tonight's game against the New York Liberty at the Allstate Arena. Delle Donne is fighting a frustrating and unpredictable battle with Lyme disease. Full story.

It's back to summer today with temperatures reaching a high of 81 degrees. it will be 64 degrees as you head out the door. Temperatures tonight should be around 66 degrees. Full weather.

Bartlett Road is closed between Shoe Factory Road and Higgins Road near Hoffman Estates due to construction. People should seek an alternate route through the area. Full story.

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Dawn Patrol: Body found in woods; same-sex engagement leads to firing

ADA, OHIO - It's been nearly 2.5 years since Ada's First United Methodist Church went up in flames, resulting in the building being torn down.Construction is now in full-swing on the new church. Stone is being laid and work is being done on the roof, with a church like figure now visible. Watching the construction is exciting for many, as Building Committee members calling it an "event."

The new church will have a fellowship hall, a large kitchen, an elevator and more. On the other hand, the sanctuary will be smaller. The sanctuary is designed to be smaller than the original, but more space has been designated to educational space, the fellowship hall, and children's wing.

Construction crews are on schedule for a February completion date, with worship in the new structure to begin in March.

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Devastation to Excitement with Ada's First United Methodist Church