Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year of 5770, begins Friday, Sept. 18th at sundown. In the Jewish calendar, the most sacred time is the 10-day period from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, which this year falls on Sept. 28. What are the traditions of Rosh Hashanah?

After struggling for years with the issue of gays and lesbians “in the pulpit,” the largest group of Lutherans in the United States (the ELCA), voted by a relatively small margin to allow gays and lesbians who are “either celibate or who are in a committed, monogamous relationship,” to serve as clergy (August 21, 2009).

Aurelio Vallerillo-Sanchez, 39 of Omaha, Nebraska pleaded “no contest” Friday for stealing a painting of the Virgin Mary to pay for an abortion. The abortion was to cover up a crime Vallerillo-Sanchez committed.

In a resolution adopted by the governing council of the American Psychological Association, mental health professionals were prescribed to not tell gay clients that they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.

While all eyes in France these days are on Tour De France Stage 20 and the upcoming final stage 21, there is something more historic is happening in France. The foreign minister of France Bernard Kouchner has established a religious center in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is the first in France.

This is the first that a very high ranking church authority says that the Ark of the Covenant is Revealed. The head of the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia, Abuna Pauolos, has announced that the Ark of the Covenant will be revealed to the public.

Today the Christian Church throughout the world (except those using the Julian calendar) celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit.

On the second day of his week-long trip to the Middle East, Pope Benedict has condemned "the ideological manipulation of religion" and called for inter-faith dialogue. Speaking to Muslim leaders and other dignitaries Saturday at the Hussein bin Talal mosque in Amman, Jordan, the pontiff said religion should be a force for good, not for division.

Today is The National Day of Prayer, a day when people are asked to come together and pray, especially for their country. And with the current situation in the world right now, prayer is very much needed.

This week Jews the world over are commemorating their holiest celebration, Passover. Passover is, of course, the commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt, in particular the last night of their bondage in Egypt, as the Hebrews prepared to flee the land where, according to the Bible, they had been slaves for 400 years. Though I am not myself Jewish, I am impressed with the amazing influence the Jewhish people have had on human history and the profound depth of their religous traditions.