Latest news with #LutheranChurch
Hans India
2 days ago
- Hans India
Monsoon rains take a break as schools reopen in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram: On Monday morning, as the new academic year began in Kerala, the rain gods seemed to have relented. After a week of heavy monsoon downpour that caused widespread disruption, the skies cleared and the sun shone brightly, offering a welcome respite. Kerala has nearly 10,000 schools that follow the state syllabus. A record 4.5 lakh tiny tots across the state were seen marching to school for the first time, accompanied by their parents. Last week's rains had left many roads waterlogged, but on Monday morning, it was traffic congestion that clogged the streets, as is typical on the first working day of the week -- with most parents opting to drop off their children in private vehicles. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, along with the State Education Minister, inaugurated the academic year at the Government Higher Secondary School in Kalavoor, Alappuzha. The CM watched a cultural programme by students before officially declaring the school year open. He also handed over school kits to a few children. Similar programmes were held across the state -- in government, aided, and private schools. However, in parts of Alappuzha and other districts, the reopening has been delayed due to some schools still functioning as relief camps in the wake of last week's torrential rains. Dr K.P. Laladhas, manager of the Lutheran Church that oversees around two dozen schools, told IANS that their largest school, located at Aryad in Alappuzha district, could not reopen as it is currently housing a relief camp. In Adimali, Idukki district, a group of children resumed their long walks to school through forested areas. While they are happy that schools have reopened, they expressed fear about possible encounters with wild elephants. 'We have to walk nearly two km through forest paths, and sometimes we spot wild elephants. It's especially scary in the evenings, after tuition,' said one girl. Another student added, 'We don't have a choice. If we stay home, we miss our studies. We've seen elephants eating jackfruit by the roadside. It's frightening, but we walk silently and carefully.' Meanwhile, a school in the Idukki district witnessed protests on the opening day. Parents were shocked to learn that the English-medium Class 9 division had been cancelled due to low enrolment. The situation escalated, prompting police intervention as the protesters were joined by members of the Congress party's student wing.
Local Norway
28-05-2025
- Local Norway
Why Ascension Day is a public holiday in Norway
Ascension day, or Kristi himmelfartsdag in Norwegian, is the day that Christians believe marks the day that Jesus ascended to heaven. It's always 40 days after Easter Sunday and 10 days before Pentecost, which means that its exact date varies from year to year. However, it always falls on a Thursday, offering the opportunity of an inneklemt dag , meaning it is squeezed between a public holiday and a weekend. This means many who have planned ahead will have also booked the Friday off to enjoy four days off. But why does Norway give people a day off work on this day? Ascension is actually one of the oldest religious holidays and, in some ways, one of the most important days in the Christian calendar as it symbolizes Jesus' return to God. The tradition of observing Ascension Day dates back centuries and was widely celebrated by the fourth century. Norway isn't alone in designating the day as a public holiday, as Sweden, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and Denmark all get a day off. The day is a public holiday in Norway due to the historical connection between church and state. The Lutheran Church was the state church until 2012 with the church and state being formally separated in 2017. Advertisement Therefore, many Christian feast days like Ascension Day are enshrined in law as public holidays. Norway has a law on public holidays, Lov om helligdager og helligdagsfred , that ensures businesses close on certain days of the year. In addition, the Working Environment Act restricts employees from working on public holidays, except in essential sectors like healthcare or transport. Those who do work on these days are entitled to extra pay, as outlined in collective agreements or employment contracts. Unlike other public holidays like Easter or Christmas, Ascension Day isn't associated with any particular meal, cake or custom. However, some religious Norwegians will attend special church services - typically held outside if the weather permits it. When it comes to most people, they'll use the long weekend to travel or visit family, catch up on some rest, or try and spend some time outdoors in some pleasant spring weather.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Austria's Lutheran Church appoints first female bishop
A woman is set to head the Lutheran Church in Austria for the first time. Cornelia Richter, a 54-year-old professor of theology, was elected on Friday as the Protestant church's first female bishop at a synod in Vienna. Richter, who teaches at the University of Bonn in Germany, was the only candidate. She will take office on January 1 next year. Like her predecessor, who is retiring for age reasons, Richter wants to campaign for the reintroduction of Good Friday as a public holiday in Austria. She had previously stated that she intends to give up her teaching position in Bonn. With just over 237,000 members, the Protestant Lutheran Church is one of the less prominent denominations in Austria. There are around 4.5 million Catholics in the Alpine republic, followed by sizeable communities of Muslims and Orthodox Christians.
Boston Globe
17-05-2025
- General
- Boston Globe
‘For a lot of us, we bury it deep down': In Lowell, horror remains raw 50 years after Cambodian genocide
The photo of Theam and her family is on display on the 5th floor of an old mill building overlooking a canal in Lowell. It's part of an exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh, when the Khmer Rouge took over the Cambodian capital and seized power in the country, leading to a period of death and exodus. Now, decades later, the exhibit offers an opportunity to recall the horror of the genocide and recognize the resiliency of those who survived. The Khmer Rouge's radical policies led to the deaths of an synonymous with murderous despots. Advertisement The work of Cambodian sculptur Chanthou Oeur depicts the atrocities by the Khmer Rouge at the Proleung Khmer exhibit. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff (Some historians and many Cambodians Theam was a child when the family fled; her birth certificate says she was born in 1975, although she's unsure if that's right. Advertisement She remembers flashes of the refugee camps in Thailand her family stayed in — there were at least a half dozen — and the transitional center in the Philippines where her family was prepared for life in America, which included English lessons. Her family made the move in 1984, sponsored by a Lutheran Church, and settled in Bristol, Conn. She would attend Boston College and would eventually move to Lowell and Chelmsford, where she currently lives. Nearby in the exhibit, there is another photo, this one of Theam's husband, Sayon Soeun, who was kidnapped by the Khmer Rouge at 5 or 6 and forced to become a child soldier. These stories are commonplace in Lowell, home to what is believed to be the second largest Cambodian community in the country, behind only Long Beach, Calif. A small park is in the midst of Cambodia Town in Lowell with a statue depicting Bayon, a treasured temple in Cambodia. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Po Yung sells clothes and other items outside a market in Cambodia Town. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff A reliable population count is hard to come by, as locals dismiss the Census figures as inaccurate, but people like Sothea Chiemruom, executive director of the Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association, estimate Lowell has between 20,000 and 35,000 residents of Cambodian descent. Elsewhere on the exhibit floor, there are happier images of the Cambodian diaspora, Khmer instruments, mannequins draped in traditional Khmer dress, paintings and art by Cambodian American artists, a cart that would be pulled by oxen in the old country. It's important to memorialize the 50th anniversary of the fall of Phnom Penh, said Chiemruom and Theam, but it's also vital to them that people understand Cambodians are so much more than what the Khmer Rouge did to them. Theam, who co-chairs Proleung Khmer, the organizers behind the exhibit and a group that works to preserve Khmer heritage, considered the photo of her and her sister, with their swollen bellies. Advertisement 'It reminds me how precious life is,' she said. Many here speak unwaveringly of horrors a half-century in the past and a half-a-world away. Summary executions. Hard child labor. Famine. Genocide. These are stories of perseverance and trauma. 'We all have different levels of PTSD,' Chiemruom said. Chiemruom survived the Killing Fields, which refer to the rural sites of mass execution. His younger brother and his father were not so lucky. Chiemruom, now 56, can still recall his father being taken away by the Khmer Rouge to be executed. Sothea Chiemruom walked through a small curbside produce market in Cambodia Town. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff He remembers being told that he should show no reaction to that abduction. He was there when his brother died of illness and malnutrition brought on by starvation at about 7 years old. Sometimes, he still wonders why he and his brother fought so much as kids. 'Survivor's guilt,' he said. 'It ebbs and flows.' Before he was a teen, he worked hard labor for the benefit of the Khmer Rouge, planting and harvesting crops, tilling the fields, building canals. Brutal work for a child. At night, there would be indoctrination lessons for youths featuring regime propaganda. Like Chiemruom, Sokhary Chau was forced into labor in Cambodia as a young boy. He herded cows before he was separated from his siblings and sent to work in the rice fields, which sometimes were studded with landmines, he said. Chau, who was the first Cambodian American mayor in Lowell, as well as nationwide, now serves as a Lowell city councilor. His father was a captain in the Cambodian Army who fought against the Khmer Rouge. He was among the first to be executed when the country fell in 1975, leaving his mother to raise seven children, he said. Advertisement 'We lived in constant fear of being tortured and killed any day,' he said recently. In 1979, his mother fled through the jungle, travelling at night with her children, to refugee camps in Thailand. The Roman Catholic Church eventually sponsored the family to come to the US. 'This anniversary is not only a time to remember the horrors we endured; it is a moment to honor how far we've come,' he said. 'Cambodians will continue to heal together, to support one another, and to make sure the world never forget what happened to our people.' The trauma of those years has spanned generations and is still a reality in the lives of many, both Chiemruom and Theam say. Take Theam's mother. Theam said she is normally quiet but there are times when she has 'bursts of anger.' 'Sometimes it's unexplainable,' she said. Some elders in the community don't talk about what they went through, Theam said, and when the rage erupts, younger relatives who did not live through the hellish Khmer Rouge are left asking why. There were other ripple effects. Cambodian gangs in Lowell started organizing not for criminal activity, but for protection walking to and from school. Advertisement 'They got picked on by other groups,' he said. Nuon, 61, lost three brothers through starvation and sickness during the rule of the Khmer Rouge. His mother, he remembered, was helpless to prevent their deaths. 'We couldn't help ourselves,' he said. His story is not so different from many Cambodian Americans, he said, and it's important to never forget the inhumanity of that regime. The exhibit in the old mill building brought him to tears. He had to find a corner to collect himself. 'For a lot of us, we bury it deep down, deep down, in order to survive, to function,' he said. 'It just hit me.' Cambodian refugee Sophy Theam puts her hand on the photo of her husband, Sayon Soeun at the Proleung Khmer exhibit. Soeun was forced to become an armed Cambodian soldier as a child at 5 years old. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Danny McDonald can be reached at
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Remarkable woman Minna Bothwell leads with unconditional love
DES MOINES, Iowa – Churches are often at the forefront of taking care of the less fortunate and marginalized of society. This week's Remarkable Woman nominee is not only one of the youngest of the Des Moines area religious leaders but also one of the most active in supporting social causes and those on the fringes of society, and people are noticing her work. Pastor Minna Bothwell of Capital Hill Lutheran Church preaches love. It's the one word that's the main reason behind all the things Minna Bothwell and her parishioners continue to do in uncertain times. Mary Van Heukelom goes 'Above and Beyond' to help cancer survivors 'Sometimes I even tell them that, you love too much, you know. It's amazing the amount of compassion and joy they have to do this work that's becoming increasingly more difficult, ' Pastor Bothwell says of her parishoners and volunteers. The Parishoners have a guide in Bothwell to get them there, doing more good, according to the Remarkable Woman nomination that came in to WHO 13 regarding Pastor Bothwell. Minna Bothwell came to Capitol Hill Lutheran in 2014. It was her first call following seminary. She notes that she came into a church that was multicultural in so many ways. While she is inspiring at the lectern, she inspires among the mix of people within her church and community, unifying a worldwide collection of members. The church has members from Germany, El Salvador, Mexico, South Sudan, Vietnam, and Uganda who worship regularly. Iowa mom's remarkable impact on parents of kids with Down syndrome The church, with Bothwell's guidance, has formed a unified front to support its neighbors in the LGBTQ community, the homeless, and resettling refugee families. Its clothing closet has provided clothes and even food to more than 2000 individuals on average in a year. It delivers a few hundred Blessing Bundles to the homeless each week. They've resettled two refugee families from Africa. Pastor Bothwell admits it has become more difficult in recent weeks due to policy changes in our country and cuts in federal funding to aid support. 'I think the most difficult part of the changes that have come in the last two months is the uncertainty of safety that our members feel, as well as members of the greater community that come here to receive some of the different ministries we provide,' explains Bothwell. Irma Ariza, a fashionista volunteer helping women Dress for Success every day Pastor Bothwell and her team are staying on top of researching laws and changes in policy. She leads by example and word, encouraging her parishoners and volunteers to keep moving forward, helping how they can, even as things change. 'You continue to do it. Keep showing up. Keep bearing the good news of Jesus. Every day is a good day to do the right thing and to make a difference in somebody's life,' says Bothwell. 'I've always experienced God to be one of welcome and hospitality and the witness in scripture, particularly in the gospels of Jesus, you know. Spending time on the margins of society, loving people where they are. Meeting them where they are without discriminating, without judging them, but welcoming them fully and wholly as they are.' Minna Bothwell is a remarkable woman, leading good deeds with unconditional love that continues to impact the less fortunate and marginalized in the Des Moines community. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
