The latest news on megachurches, health care, abortion, unemployment, census, climate change, Iran, Iraq, and select opinion articles

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Quote of the day. "We have something to say in this world of art, no matter how small. The instrument is strength. It's power. It's the freedom of my soul. When I play here I feel proud of all the women here. Only women play. We show that we can stand on our own feet." Helen Parchami, a violinist in her 20s, part of a women’s group in Iran being tutored in music by Ali Jafarian, a blind musician. (Los Angeles Times)

FAITH IN THE NEWS

UMC Megachurch Pastor Makes Case for His Christmas Gift to Jesus “For the past six Christmas seasons, [Mike Slaughter, lead pastor of Ginghamsburg United Methodist Church in Tipp City, Ohio,] has been encouraging members of his church to spend only half as much as they would normally spend on their own family’s Christmas and to bring the rest in for a Christmas Miracle Offering to serve the needs of people in Sudan’s Darfur region,”

Willow Creek Church Encourages a 'Just' Christmas “Willow Creek Community Church is asking Christ followers to make some new Christmas traditions this year. Beyond gift exchanges, family portraits and Christmas carols, the South Barrington, Ill., megachurch proposes serving the impoverished, visiting the lonely, and caring for the stranger to make it a more "just" Christmas.”

Charitable organization not needed for this outreach “Three years ago, Mendez heard a speech by Bono describing how God's presence can be found in pockets of poverty. It followed a moving sermon by his church's youth pastor, who urged the congregation to go out and do good.”

NEWS AT HOME

Health care. Health-care bill clears crucial vote in Senate, 60 to 40 “Senate Democrats won a milestone victory early Monday in the health-care debate, approving a procedural motion to move the reform legislation to final passage later this week, and without a single vote to spare.” Health Bill Passes Key Test in the Senate With 60 Votes “After a long day of acid, partisan debate, Senate Democrats held ranks early Monday in a dead-of-night procedural vote that proved they had locked in the decisive margin needed to pass a far-reaching overhaul of the nation’s health care system.” Senate Democrats get 60 votes to move healthcare bill along “The Senate took a giant step toward passing its sweeping healthcare bill early today, uniting fractious Democrats after months of debate over President Obama's promise to reduce the ranks of the uninsured.” Senate Debate on Health Care Exacerbates Partisanship “In the heart of the holiday season, Senate Republicans and Democrats are at one another’s throats as the health care overhaul reaches its climactic votes. A year that began with hopes of new post-partisanship has indeed produced change: Things have gotten worse.”

Health care & abortion. To sway Nelson, a hard-won compromise on abortion issue “The deal faced an immediate assault from both ends of the abortion spectrum Saturday morning. The National Organization of Women dubbed it "cruelly over-compromised legislation" and the antiabortion Family Research Council dismissed it as a "phony compromise.” Abortion Compromise Draws Fire From Both Sides “Senator Ben Nelson, the Nebraska Democrat, had been holding up the Senate health care bill until he was satisfied with new anti-abortion language, which was made public on Saturday by the majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada.”

Unemployment. Labor Data Show Surge in Hiring of Temp Workers “The hiring of temporary workers has surged, suggesting that the nation’s employers might soon take the next step, bringing on permanent workers, if they can just convince themselves that the upturn in the economy will be sustained.” Productivity rises as workers do more with less “Employee output per hour jumped 8.1% in the third quarter this year, the largest gain since the third quarter of 2003. But these bustling laborers are also a big reason why companies won't be rushing to hire new staffers any time soon.”

Census. Economists See a Lift in 2010 Census “Next year’s census will not only count people, it will also put money in millions of pockets and potentially create a well-timed economic spark.”

NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

Climate change. A Grudging Accord in Climate Talks “After two weeks of delays, theatrics and last-minute deal-making, the United Nation climate change talks concluded here early Saturday morning with a grudging agreement by the participants to “take note” of a pact shaped by five major nations.” Obama hails Copenhagen deal as 'unprecedented breakthrough' “Leaders of the world's largest economies agreed late Friday to an accord on steps to curb greenhouse gas emissions, a deal hailed by President Obama as an "unprecedented breakthrough" in international negotiations but denounced by critics as too weak to avert the harshest effects of global warming.” Copenhagen climate deal meets qualified UN welcome “UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has welcomed a US-backed climate deal in Copenhagen as an "essential beginning". But he said the accord, reached with key nations including China and Brazil, must be made legally binding next year.”

Iran. 'Clashes' as Iran cleric buried “Iranian reformists have clashed with police after the funeral of a dissident cleric, opposition websites say.” Iran on alert after cleric's funeral “Defying a heavy presence of security forces, the funeral became a rallying point for further protests against the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.” Huge Turnout Reported for Iranian Cleric’s Funeral “Tens of thousands of people converged Monday on the funeral of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, the plain-spoken senior Shiite cleric and founding father of the Islamic revolution who became a fierce critic of the country’s hard-line rulers.” Opposition cleric mourned as Iran tightens censors “The religious leader of Iran's opposition movement, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, died on Sunday at his home in the Shiite Muslim holy city of Qom, dealing a blow to human rights and democracy advocates who considered him their spiritual guide.”

Iraq. Iraq lawmakers approve election law “The law paves the way for national elections to be held most likely by the end of February, according to U.N. officials and Iraqi lawmakers. The vote is considered a test of Iraq's democratic ambitions as American combat troops here are scheduled to start their withdrawal this spring.” Iraqi election workers targets for insurgents “Insurgents have begun targeting Iraqi election workers in an apparent attempt to derail the March parliamentary vote, Iraqi officials said, prompting electoral authorities to restrict the movement of their employees and shelter some at a hotel in the Green Zone.”

OPINION

The moment Ted Kennedy would not want to lose (Victoria Reggie Kennedy, Washington Post) “Ted knew that accomplishing reform would be difficult. If it were easy, he told me, it would have been done a long time ago. He predicted that as the Senate got closer to a vote, compromises would be necessary, coalitions would falter and many ardent supporters of reform would want to walk away. He hoped that they wouldn't do so.”

Democrats: Stop screaming and pass health reform (E.J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post) “For progressives, the question on the health-care battle going forward is not whether they have a right to be angry but whether they can direct their fury toward constructive ends. The alternative is to pursue a temporarily satisfying and ultimately self-defeating politics of protest.”

A Dangerous Dysfunction (Paul Krugman, New York Times) “Democrats won big last year, running on a platform that put health reform front and center. In any other advanced democracy this would have given them the mandate and the ability to make major changes. But the need for 60 votes to cut off Senate debate and end a filibuster — a requirement that appears nowhere in the Constitution, but is simply a self-imposed rule — turned what should have been a straightforward piece of legislating into a nail-biter.”

Sojourners' Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.

Sojourners' Daily Digest is a compilation of the top news related to our commitments of life and peace, economic and racial justice, and care of creation, with a special focus on news of the engagement of faith in public life.