By Adelle M. Banks| Washington Post | Religion News Service, Published: May 16

WASHINGTON — Prison Fellowship founder and former Nixon aide Chuck Colson was memorialized Wednesday (May 16) at Washington National Cathedral in a service steeped in Scripture and prayers about prison and redemption.Colson, who died April 21 at the age of 80 after a brief illness, was known as Nixon’s “hatchet man” and served seven months in prison on Watergate-related charges. But at the 90-minute service, he was recalled as a transformed “friend of sinners.”

“Chuck was not perfect, but he was forgiven,” said the Rev. Timothy George, the homilist and dean of Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School…

Registration is still open for 2012 Vacation Bible School, which will be be held here at the church, 9am – noon, Monday, June 4th, through Thursday, June 7th.

The deadline for registration is Sunday, May 20th.

Click here to register your child.

Click here to register as an adult or youth volunteer.

John Harper, Vice Dean Emeritus, is working on a book about the art at the Advent, including the windows. He wants to connect current Adventers with those who have been memorialized or have donated art to the Advent, most involving the windows: Minnie Ward Cameron; Judge Thomas Cobbs; Dr. Robert Cotton; Henry Ticknor or Dottie Drane DeBardeleben; Mrs. Lottie G. Forbes; Robert and Eugenia Jemison, Jr.; Sibley Paul King; James William McQueen; Robert Randolph Meyer, Jr.; Willam Swearinger Mudd; The Rev. John G. Murray; Elizabeth Page Beard Nevins; Nellie Cobbs Phillips; Florence Perkins Roberts; Mr. and Mrs. Hale Van Zant Tarrant; The Rev. John C. Turner; Major and Mrs. E. M. Tutwiler; William Augustus Walker and Virginia Mudd Walker; and George Thomas Wofford.

If you are related to any of these, please send John an email with your full name and how you are related to JohnHarrisHarper@gmail.com. You can also reach him by phone at 902-6266.

The group will meet at the home of Jane Menendez (4221 Sharpsburg Drive) on Wednesdays from 12:30-1:45 (except for July 4th).

If you are interested or have questions, please call or email Jane: 871-2169 or JLGMenendez@gmail.com.

From “Has the Gospel-Centered Emphasis Gone Too Far?” on WhiteHorseInn.org/blog

…We have to be careful that this wonderful recovery of something so precious doesn’t become reduced to “the gospel thing.” I think that this is in part what people are reacting to when they wonder if it has all gone too far. But has it? From what I hear with some growing frequency, this is becoming a real question in our circles. With all this talk about grace, are we becoming antinomians? Maybe we’ve taken the gospel for granted, but are we now over-reacting by taking holiness for granted?

Read the whole thing.

A glorious and exciting afternoon of music by our Cathedral Choir and members of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra occurs Sunday, May 6^th at 4 p.m. with three settings of the canticle Te Deum. Composed by 17^th century French composer Marc-Antoine Charpentier, 18^th Century Austrian Joseph Haydn and 19^th century Czech Antonín Dvořák, these diverse works exhibit marked contrast in musical style, treatment of text, purpose and emotion. One common link is that they were all written at the end of their respective centuries.

Joining the Cathedral Choir and orchestra for the monumental Dvořák setting are lyric soprano Christina Villaverde, who has “dazzled audiences with her full rich tone and dramatic stage presence”, and bass Won Cho, who “excelled with his deep, resonant and mellifluous sound.” In addition to their international careers, these guest artists have recently joined the music faculties at Samford University (Villaverde) and UAB (Cho).

This  is a major concert for our choir and a time of  my own personal thanksgiving for 25 years in ministry here at the Advent.  You are cordially invited to this concert. Parking will be available in the Cathedral lots and in the Financial Center garage.

- Stephen Schaeffer

…In The Everlasting Man Chesterton surveys the many forces over the last 2,000 years that threatened and should have destroyed Christianity.

“‘Time and again,’ Chesterton noted, ‘the Faith has to all appearances gone to the dogs.’ But each time, ‘it was the dog that died.’”

Click here to read the entire article.

…We live in a society where we have relegated the teen years to something of a carefree vacation, protected from consequences and responsibilities. Alex and Brett Harris challenge this notion in their book Do Hard Things. When we don’t expect teens to rise to challenges, we don’t teach them doctrine. However, this lack of confidence in teens has left us with an ignorant generation (or several) with regard to what the church actually believes. It is strange that we teach young people complex calculus and physics but don’t think they can handle or will be interested in understanding the significance of the Trinity or atonement. Brian Cosby, in his book Giving Up Gimmicks, recalls offering a basic biblical Greek overview class to teens. He expected a handful to respond but the room couldn’t fit everyone who was interested…

Read the whole article by Dave Wright and our own Cameron Cole at TheGospelCoalition.org.

The Mid-Day Musical Menu series continues this Friday at 12:30 p.m. with A Broadway Cabaret in Clingman Commons, with the “Dream Out Loud” Showcase, featuring James Green and company (Green and White Productions).

A boxed lunch is served at 12 noon at a cost of $7 (pre-paid) for those who have made reservations by no later than noon on Wednesday, April 25. The show, which is free, begins at 12:30. To reserve a lunch, please call Beulah Fowler at 443-8553, or Charles Kennedy at 226-3505. Please do not miss the opportunity to hear these outstanding singers and actors!