Virtues and values in sports and religion

Douglas Todd is more of a preacher than a newspaper author. Focussing on "the Virtues and values in sports and religion" he subtitles: "One teaches marketplace values about how to win; the other can contribute to our capacity for compassion." and summarizes: "All powerful organizations -- athletic, educational, governmental, charitable, business and media -- are necessary for advancing the ideals of a civil society. Religious communities could well be the most influential of them all."

sports books | spirituality books

NFL Allows Churches to Host Super Bowl Parties

This week, the NFL said it would allow big-screen viewings in churches as long as admission is not charged and the showings are on premises that the church uses on a "routine and customary" basis. More...

sports books | spirituality books

Church and Stadium Lego Edition

Lego Church 04

Lego turns 50 today. Google celebrates it logo-style and we ask:

What about lego stadiums and lego churches on the major Photo Sharing Sites?
Here are the facts:

flickr found 219 photos tagged with lego and church.
photobucket has 79 lego church images.

flickr found 37 photos tagged with lego and stadium.
photobucket has 9 lego stadium images.

On both sites churches are more popular than stadiums are. Amazing buildings, tons of bricks. Check the photos.

Presbyterian Manning

The staffs of Presbyterians Today and the Presbyterian News Service compiled a review of 2007. Presbyterians are proud making news like this in the secular arena:

"Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who worships at a Presbyterian church in Indianapolis, led his team to a Super Bowl victory."

sports books | spirituality books

Presbyterians walking

Last August we reported Lutherans Stretch & Pray. Now PCUSA National Health Ministries announce their latest program "Let's Get Moving! A Walking Program for Congregations". It offers ways that congregations can help many Presbyterians practice good stewardship of their bodies and health by encouraging regular exercise through walking programs. Maybe they could incorporate the Cardiovascular Bible Training.

sports books | spirituality books

Church vs. Football

This is featured by Cartoon Blog, a British based blog, so I think it's about soccer.

Putt'n'Pray

Promise of God has an inspirational story about a golfer:

"On the night of your incident in Africa, it was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf. I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you.
(read more)"

via Reflections

Stadium and Church @ Flickr and Photobucket

On April 24 flickr had a 7.74 church per stadium ratio.
On photobucket it was 5.36.
Today
flickr found 812.496 photos tagged with church.
photobucket has 130.184 church images.

flickr found 115.589 photos tagged with stadium.
photobucket has 24.584 stadium images.

Church/Stadium on flickr = 7.02
Church/Stadium on photobucket = 5.3

On both sites the church per stadium ratio is decreasing.

Lutherans Stretch & Pray

These days Lutherans from all over the US gather in Chicago Il for the tenth biennial ELCA Churchwide Assembly meeting. ELCA's Board of Pensions asks voting members and guests to participate in The Around the Wheel challenge.
The program includes:
Run, Walk ‘n’ Roll - Go at your own pace through Grant Park and along the scenic Lake Michigan
Stretch & Pray - Join Bishop Murray Finck for low-impact stretching and high-impact prayer

Body & Soul or Faith & Fitness

Henry G. Brinton knows of 250 people who after a worship service ran a half-marathon, 13.1 miles. Being pastor of Fairfax Presbyterian Church in Virginia he's aware that that 76% of Christian clergy are either overweight or obese (compared with 61% of the general population). Lucky enough there are programs that help moving closer to a life of integrity by pursuing health and wholeness in weekend worship and weekday workouts such as Body & Soul Ministries and those covered by Faith & Fitness Magazine.

4 SecondLife Places to be on July 4

The first place on Second Life to be today is the Library of Congress Exhibit.


Then let's proceed to ALM CyberChurch.


Third stop: Yankee Stadium.


And finally: a celebration of freedom!

Outreach in an ESPN World

Eric Tiansay is a freelance writer and he interviewed nine churches about their sports ministry. The structure of this article is very meaningful:

Introduction - Virtually any American is involved in sports, says Rodger Oswald, founder of Church Sports International.

Obsession ... or Outreach Opportunity? - Kerry Wilkerson thinks the apostle Paul would - following 1. Corinthians 9:22 - be heavily involved in sports ministry.

Calling All Kids - "Sports ministry is an effective tool to reach children with the Gospel", says Caz McCaslin, founder and president of Upward Unlimited.

Winning Extreme Youth - to achieve this just bring Christian skaters from Glory Skateboards to do a skate outreach in the church's parking lot.

Activating Adults - start a partnership with In His Grip Golf Association and offer Bible Studies in the off-season.
You can get a sports coordinator for your church and Fellowship of Christian Athletes pays half the salary.

read more | digg story

Sports at UCC General Synod

On Friday the Rev. Da Vita McCallister delivered a sermon in which she "praised the over 1,000 youth who are giving up a week of their summer camps not to go to soccer camp or football camp, not to be working or hanging out with friends at the pool but to be here to celebrate their church."
Grant Smith comments: "The sermon was an awesome, but being in a basketball coliseum thingy and worshiping God is an interesting mixed feeling. I’m used to seeing basketball games when I see college basketball banners hanging from the rafters not singing hymns."

On Saturday Sen. Barack Obama gave his first major address on faith and politics as a presidential candidate. His sporting abilities are shown in the video above.

On Sunday Ryan Lambert was happy to join "one of the centerpiece worship experiences of the Synod which featuring the preaching of the Rev. John H. Thomas, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ. The worship included an inspiring mix of musical styles, the sermon from John Thomas, and beautiful liturgical dance." Due to crowded committee meeting rooms Ryan Lambert was "able to watch the final game of the College World Series as Oregon State University won to repeat as NCAA champions."
Oh happy day!

Barack Obama on Players' Prayers

Barack Obama is not just Senator of Illinois and a Democratic web2.0 addicted presidential candidate, but also an enthusiastic churchgoer and a spiritual football fan.
Sen. Obama writes in his book "The Audacity of Hope":

"football players point to the heavens after every touchdown, as if God were calling plays from the celestial sidelines."

If Obama does not make his way to the White House, we'd be happy to have him on our PlayersPrayers team.

Stadium and Church @ Flickr and Photobucket

What about stadiums and churches on the major Photo Sharing Sites?
Here are the facts:

flickr found 553,857 photos tagged with church.
photobucket has 74,805 church images.

flickr found 71,565 photos tagged with stadium.
photobucket has 13,951 stadium images.

On both sites churches are more popular than stadiums are.

Stadium @ Church Street

Stadium @ Church Street
Originally uploaded by playersprayers.

Looking for a stadium where would you go to? - Church Street of course! In Charlotte, NC, you exit Bank of America Stadium and go along Church Street, six blocks later you run into First Presbyterian Church, two more blocks and you are at St. Peter's Episcopal Church and another two blocks further long the road you find First United Methodist Church.
What a road of sport and spirituality!