Bibles In Hotels

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) - Leave your Bhagavad-Gita at home while traveling out of town?

If you're staying at the Hotel Preston, you can get a copy of the ancient Hindu text for your room from a "spiritual menu" that includes the Quran, the Bible and other religious texts.Provenance Hotels, which owns Nashville's Hotel Preston and four other boutique hotels, is part of a new The trend in the hospitality industry: appealing to visitors from a wide variety of cultural and religious backgrounds by going beyond tucking a Gideon Bible in guestroom nightstands.

"One of the emerging things we started to hear on a regular basis from guests was a need for spiritual offerings other than just the Bible," said Howard Jacobs, chief operating officer for Provenance Hotels based in Oregon. "In all of our cities there's a growing international draw. Within the U.S., there's so many people from other countries coming to work here or for leisure travel."

The overwhelming majority of hotels offer religious materials in their guestrooms, according to a 2008 survey by the American Hotel & Lodging Association. Researchers didn't ask what texts were provided, but the best known is the Gideon Bible.

The Gideons International, a nondenominational evangelical ministry run by businessmen, began the practice of leaving Bibles in hotel rooms a century ago.

Its early founders and members were traveling salesmen who "wanted spiritual nurture themselves and to help others who desired the same," said Mark Noll, an expert in religious history at the University of Notre Dame.

"They were aware of temptations to immoral behavior on the road and they thought the Bible would be a good counterweight to that," Noll said.

But since the Gideons began, the religious landscape of the U.S. has transformed, mainly due to a 1965 change in immigration rules that had previously favored northern Europeans.

The U.S. population today remains overwhelmingly Christian, many other faiths, including Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism, have a significant presence in the country. And a fast-globalizing economy has created new American links with the international community.

Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J., which opened in 2003, offers the Bible and several other religious works in its lobby.

Niki Leondakis, chief operating officer with Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants based in San Francisco, said the chain's 42 boutique hotels began to offer a range of spiritual texts in addition to the Bible nearly a year ago. Every hotel has at least four spiritual texts: the Old and New Testaments, the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Mormon, and Buddhist text. Many other hotels in the chain offer close to a dozen options.

Leondakis said the hotels have received only a few requests for the books so far. Still, she said that, "offering a menu that includes as many philosophies and beliefs and spiritual perspectives was much more in keeping with the culture of our company."

At Hotel Preston, among the other books offered are the Book of Mormon, Buddhist texts, the Chinese Tao Te Ching and the Hebrew Bible. Guests can choose from the works on a laminated "menu" in their rooms and then call the front desk to request a copy.

The concept of diversity is not entirely new. The Marriott hotel chain, which was founded by Mormon businessmen, many years ago began offering the Book of Mormon in addition to the Gideon Bible. However, few other hotel chains offered any broader choices in the U.S. before now.

The Gideons, who rarely speak to reporters about their work, did not respond to a request for comment. Noll said that the trend of offering more religious texts in hotels "sounds to me like a tribute to the Gideons."

The Gideon Bible still has a place of prominence in at least one of Provenance's hotels - Hotel Preston in Nashville, the home of Gideons International, and offices of several major Christian groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist Church.

"It was important here ... to have that offering in every room, but we also offer the spiritual menu," Jacobs said. "Gideon still is really the anchor text across all hotels."

Author says Many Christians Stop Going to Church Because of Meaningless Worship

The Washington Times religion editor Julia Duin says many Christians have stopped going to church because they are not getting meaningful worship, teaching, or fellowship.

In her new book, Quitting Church, Duin contends church dropouts often feel like they have heard all the sermons and served their congregations for years, but have simply burned out. As a result, she notes many faithful Christians have replaced Sunday worship with private devotions or informal home groups.

Duin adds that churches tend to be family-focused -- not always with positive results.

"I think a lot of church planters have given up on the baby boomers entirely. They're just like, 'they don't exist' -- which is crazy because they have all the money; they have all the leisure time," Duin explains. "No, churches concentrate on young families. There's [sic] 86 million singles, and no one really cares about them. They're just chased out of church or barely tolerated."

Duin says pastors need to be aware of the problem, and to ask why people are leaving.

"The folks that I've interviewed who had left church were all surprised that no one ever came after them. No one asked why they were gone," Duin points out. "Businesses find out why no one wants their product anymore. Why can't churches do a little bit of asking the hard questions?"

Source: OneNewsNow

Bishop Weeks, III Apologizes to Juanita for his book.

1 Dead, Eight Injured in Tennessee Church Shooting (VIDEO)

1 Dead, Eight Injured in Tennessee Church Shooting

A man wielding a shotgun entered a church and opened fire as congregants watched a youth performance Sunday, killing one person and injuring eight others, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen said. Police said the gunman was taken into custody. They didn't immediately release his name. No children were injured. A hospital spokeswoman said five of the wounded were in critical condition.


Owen said the man killed was Greg McKendry, 60, a longtime church member and usher at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.

"It appears Mr. McKendry was the first person he (the gunman) encountered when he walked into the sanctuary," Owen said. "It's going to be a while before all the facts are cleared up."
A church member who arrived moments after the shooting said the gunman fired three times and was tackled. Officials wouldn't say exactly how many people subdued the gunman.

"It was a large group and we are thankful for them for without it, this situation could have been even worse," Mayor Bill Haslam said.

There were about 200 people in the church at the time of the shooting watching a youth performance being put on by 25 children.

Police had cordoned off the church with yellow and red tape, and were taking statements and collecting video cameras from church members who were taping the performance.

The church's minister was on vacation in western North Carolina at the time of the shooting but returned Sunday afternoon.

"We've been touched by a horrible act of violence. We are in a process of healing and we ask everyone for your prayers," the Rev. Chris Buice said in a statement outside the church.

The Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church is a community that meets to worship and work together for social change, according to the church's Web site. Since the 1950's, the congregation has worked for desegregation, racial harmony, fair wages, women's rights and gay rights, according to the Web site. The congregation also has provided sanctuary for political refugees, fed the homeless and founded a chapter of the ACLU. (AP)

Pastor and Gospel Singer, Timothy Wright still in Critical Condition--Was told of Wife's Death on Monday

Family members say the Rev. Timothy Wright is conscious and alert but still on a respirator at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. Relatives say they told the 61-year-old clergyman about his wife's death on Monday. They hope to move him to a rehabilitation facility next week.
A Grammy-nominated gospel singer from New York City remains in critical condition three weeks after a car crash that killed his wife and grandson.


Family members say the Rev. Timothy Wright is conscious and alert but still on a respirator at the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa.

Relatives say they told the 61-year-old clergyman about his wife's death on Monday. They hope to move him to a rehabilitation facility next week. (AP)

Active Prayers – Garments of Praise Launched May 30, 2008!

H-Corporation will launch Active Prayers its inspiring factory-direct garments of praise, designed for drama, worship and praise dance via their e-commerce site www.activeprayers.com on May 30, 2008. Active Prayers e-commerce site will be open to individuals, praise teams, dance ministries and worship teams, allowing them to shop factory-direct, saving them both time and treasure.

Active Prayers draws its design inspiration from the music and choreography of praise to create comfortable garments for men, women and children. “Our garments of praise are designed for the spiritual side of dance, drama and worship using a unique MicroMatique material customers love,” touts Nan Hurlburt Owner and Head Designer of H-Corporation. ”Our amazing fabric is lightweight, durable, and fade resistant. The MicroMatique fabric will not fray if a customer is inspired to cut the fabric to bring about his or her own look. Dancers will also love that the fabric breathes so they won’t get hot like they do with traditional polyester garments.”

Pastor Lynn Hayden with Dancing for Him Ministries says, “I wholeheartedly endorse Active Prayers garments. They feel luxurious and move beautifully in worship. I love that dance ministries have the opportunity to adapt the garments in color and pattern to suit their needs and customize their unique look. My workshop participants will definitely see me dancing in Active Prayers garments.”

Active Prayers knows all dancers’ bodies are different so they will offer garments in sizes from Child S through Adult 4X. Active Prayers will offer customers the option of altering patterns and fabrics to make designs unique, including embroidery and heat-seals along with their Active Prayers Custom Shop where customers can customize their look from scratch.

Active Prayers believes in passing factory-direct pricing to their customers so they can go about the ministry of dance. Active Prayers believes those in ministry should have the finest garments at the best prices to save God’s treasure for what really matters. That is why Active Prayers will be manufactured “on-time”. In a time when sewing manufacturers are moving overseas, the dancewear industry continues to thrive with businesses like H-Corporation. Active Prayers will endeavor to keep costs low and quality high so the savings can be passed to the customer. Active Prayers will produce their garments “on-time”, which means garments will be manufactured after an order is placed. Customers see the saving immediately and benefit from the quality.

H-Corporation is a woman-owned, vertical manufacturing facility. All design, pattern making, computerized cutting, sewing, inventory, distribution and business offices are accomplished in our 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Ludlow, Mass. All garments are proudly manufactured in the USA.

Active Prayers founder, Nan Hurlburt was a freelance designer working in dance, regional theatre, children’s theatre, puppet theatre, summer stock and historical costuming with illustrators and publishing houses prior to starting the DesignWorks Recital Portfolio Costume Company in 1992. The Grex Bodywear line was launched in 2003.

DesignWorks/Grex/Active Prayers is a member of the United Dance Merchants of America (UDMA) and SEAMS. Nan Hurlburt serves on the Board of Directors of the UDMA.