No hearing for Canadian pot priests. Two self-styled ministers who claim smoking marijuana is a church sacrament have lost their bid to use and distribute marijuana while they are free on bail and appealing their drug convictions. Michael Baldasaro, 59, was sentenced to two years, and Walter Tucker, 75, received a one-year sentence, after they were convicted in late 2007 of trafficking marijuana; they sold $70 worth of pot to a plainclothes police officer. The two men from Hamilton, located 60 miles northwest of Buffalo, N.Y., describe themselves as reverend brothers in the Church of the Universe, where they worship what they call the Tree of Life—marijuana. The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear their appeal of any restrictions on their religious freedoms.
Joseph’s Tomb vandalized. A group of 500 Jews who arrived at Joseph’s Tomb, the traditional burial place of the biblical patriarch Joseph, located in the Palestinian-ruled city of Nablus in the West Bank, discovered boot marks and swastikas at the site. One pilgrim reported seeing a Star of David with a bootprint on it, adding that putting one’s foot on something is considered a grave insult in the Arab world. The tomb has long been a lethal flash point between Israelis and Palestinians. Although it is under Israeli legal jurisdiction, it has been difficult to patrol due to its location inside the Palestinian city. Several Israeli soldiers have been killed while defending the site.
No gay marriage, Methodist court rules. The United Methodist Church’s highest court has ruled clergy may not officiate at same-sex unions, even in states where such marriages are legal. The church’s nine-member Judicial Council rejected separate resolutions passed by the California-Nevada and California-Pacific Confer-ences that voiced support for clergy who officiate at such unions. In a separate case, the court said it found no reason to halt construction of the planned George W. Bush Presidential Center at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Critics contend the library complex and affiliated policy center will promote policies the United Methodist Church officially opposed, including the Iraq War. The former president and his wife, Laura, both are United Methodists.
Televangelist to step down as head of Regent. Pat Robertson will retire as president of Regent University, the Virginia school he founded, next year. Robertson, 79, founded the school in Virginia Beach in 1978 and has been president since 2000. After his retirement on July 1, 2010, he will remain the university’s chancellor and a member of its board of trustees. The school that opened with 77 students and seven faculty now has more than 4,500 students who earn their degrees on campus or online. Robertson also has stepped down from some responsibilities at the Christian Broadcasting Network, the religious broadcasting empire he founded in 1960. In December 2007, the CBN board elected his son, Gordon, as chief executive officer. The elder Robertson remains chairman of CBN.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.