Religion news in brief

FORT WORTH, Texas - Texas Christian University will not provide on-campus housing for gay students this fall as previously planned.

"TCU will not launch any new living learning communities at this time," TCU Chancellor Victor J. Boschini Jr. said in a statement. "Instead we will assess whether the concept of housing residential students based on themes supports the academic mission of the institution as well as our objective to provide a total university experience."

He added that TCU "will maintain its long-standing commitment to the inclusiveness of all people. To that end, our numerous and diverse support groups will continue to play a vital role on our campus."

The DiversCity Q community was to open this fall in some campus apartments for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students _ as well as their heterosexual classmates who support them. It would have been part of TCU's living-learning communities, designed for those who want to live with like-minded students.

TCU already has several such communities that will not change, such as one for students who want to become leaders, for those interested in the environment and for healthy living enthusiasts.

All others proposed for the fall are no longer being offered, including "patriotism," "marine life," "creativity and the arts," "Christian perspectives and service" and "community service and teamwork."

TCU, a private university with about 7,500 undergraduate students, is associated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ.)

http://www.tcu.edu

Justice seeks dismissal of lawsuit in Kan. alleging religious discrimination in military

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Government lawyers are seeking the dismissal of a federal lawsuit in Kansas alleging widespread religious discrimination within the military, arguing many of its claims are only "general grievances" and not wrongs against specific soldiers.

The Justice Department also contends a former Fort Riley soldier who joined the Military Religious Freedom Foundation in filing the lawsuit did not pursue his complaints aggressively enough with superiors first.

Mikey Weinstein, president of the Albuquerque, N.M.-based foundation, said that the government's response contains "nothing meritorious."

The lawsuit, filed last year in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Kan., named Defense Secretary Robert Gates as the defendant. It alleges a pervasive bias within the military in favor of evangelical Christianity, even allowing its personnel to attempt to convert Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Justice Department attorneys filed their response last week, questioning whether the foundation has the legal standing to sue. The department also suggests the lawsuit attacks a tradition of religious observances within the military dating back to George Washington's army during the Revolutionary War.

As for a pattern of abuses, the government attorneys wrote, "These allegations are precisely the kind of generalized grievances that are routinely rejected by the federal courts."

Weinstein and two Topeka attorneys involved in the lawsuit said the government is wrong about the facts of the case and misinterpreting past court decisions. Weinstein also said the Justice Department is parroting some evangelical Christians' "revisionist" version of American history.

http://www.defenselink.mil

http://www.militaryreligiousfreedom.org/

NC church encourages Twitter to spread word

STALLINGS, N.C. (AP) _ Most churches want them turned off, but one North Carolina church encouraged its members to use their cell phones, BlackBerrys and other devices to help spread the word during Easter services.

Next Level church in Union County was alive with Twitter during the Easter Sunday service. The electronic service sends short messages to other phones and online accounts.

"I hope many of you are tweeting this morning about your experience with God," Pastor Todd Hahn said before his sermon. A tweet is a message sent through Twitter.

Hahn said a committee of young members came up with the idea as a special way to observe Easter. The pastor said Twitter is a social network and can remind people they aren't worshipping alone.

During Hahn's sermon about St. Paul and the resurrection story of Jesus, Scarlett Hollingsworth bowed her head to her Blackberry.

"I'm listening to the teachings of Paul & wondering how many people need to hear that we can face hardship in life without fear," Hollingsworth wrote.

Hollingsworth, 44, said it sometimes was difficult to tweet and pay attention to the sermon, but she embraced the idea that the church needs change.

"If you don't jump on the new technology, you're going to lose opportunities," she said. "We use it for work and for life. Why not church?"

http://www.nextlevelchurch.org

La. school board changes prayer policy

AMITE, La. (AP) _ Facing a federal lawsuit set to go to trial in June, the Tangipahoa Parish School Board has altered its meeting invocation policy.

The school board's attorney said changes to the policy, a model also used by municipal governments in other states, stemmed from concerns raised elsewhere and not as a result of the litigation in U.S. District Court in New Orleans.

The policy establishes ground rules for invocations delivered by local clergy, setting a time limit of about five minutes before the start of meetings.

School officials portrayed the changes as merely to "clean up" the policy. One change explains that if there is a question about whether a congregation is authentic, school officials should rely on criteria the IRS uses to determine if religious organizations are tax-exempt.

The school board's special attorney in the case, Michael Johnson, said last week that the question arose in another community with a similar policy and he advised the School Board to make the change.

Roman Catholic priest gives kidney to ailing parishioner

NORMAL, Ill. (AP) _ A Roman Catholic priest in this central Illinois city decided to stand in solidarity with a parishioner by donating his left kidney to her.

Monsignor Eric Powell, pastor of Epiphany Roman Catholic Church in Normal, underwent surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. Transplant surgeon Dr. Beverly Ketel later said Powell and the kidney recipient were doing well.

The priest said he wanted "to alleviate potential suffering and stand in solidarity with a sister in Christ." The 45-year-old Powell would not name the recipient of the kidney.

Powell said the transplant occurred after he underwent months of testing to determine whether he was physically and mentally fit to be an organ donor.

A service of the Associated Press(AP)