Conway prodigies
to lead LR service
Nine-year-old Sydney Hopson of Conway, known for her ability to memorize entire chapters of the Bible as "The ABC Girl," will help lead a celebration service at 4 p.m. today at Tabernacle Missionary Church, 4820 W. 65th St. in Little Rock, (501) 570-7776.
Leading with her will be 11-year-old Aidan Elsinger of Conway -- a playwright and published author. The service coincides with Hopson's signing with a talent agency, the release of a DVD, Created Worship, that will include a compilation of some of Hopson's performances, and marks four years since she first began giving memory recitals.
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Addiction seminar
set at Saint Mark's
Saint Mark's Episcopal Church, 1000 N. Mississippi St., will host a seminar from 9 a.m. to noon Oct. 21 called "Addiction: The Church's Role in Recovery."
The seminar will feature the Rev. Stuart Hoke, a former assistant rector at Saint Mark's, former rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Harrison and adjunct professor at New York City's General Theological Seminary.
On Oct. 22, Hoke will speak at the church's 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. services, and give a talk from 9:30-10:15 a.m. titled "The Infinite Value of a Painful Past."
To reserve seating, contact Joanna Seibert at joannaseibert@me.com or (501) 425-8525.
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Website to feature
Bahai celebrations
An international website has been created to share news and photos from commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Bahai religion, according to a Bahai World News Service news release.
The site, bicentenary.bahai.org, will premiere a feature film about the life and teachings of Baha'u'llah on Wednesday. At 11 am. Friday, the site will post photos and stories from celebrations worldwide for a 72-hour period and will also livestream events from selected Bahai Houses of Worship.
-- Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
India's court bans
Diwali fireworks
NEW DELHI -- India's Supreme Court on Monday banned the sale of fireworks in New Delhi and nearby towns 10 days before the Hindu festival of Diwali to help curb the capital's air pollution.
The ban is effective immediately and lasts until Nov. 1.
Millions of highly polluting firecrackers are normally lighted on Diwali, which falls on Thursday this year.
Last week, levels of lung-clogging particulate matter known as PM2.5 hovered at nearly 5 micrograms per cubic foot in New Delhi -- 17 times higher than what the World Health Organization deems safe, and more than four times higher than India's own standard.
-- The Associated Press
Death penalty not
option, Pope says
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis has marked the 25th anniversary of a landmark compilation of Catholic teaching by saying it should be updated to address an issue close to his heart: the death penalty.
Francis on Wednesday repeated his insistence that capital punishment is "inadmissible" under any circumstance. He says the death penalty violates the Gospel and amounts to the voluntary death of a human life, which "is always sacred in the eyes of the creator."
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, issued a quarter-century ago, allows for the death penalty. While saying its need is increasingly rare "if not practically non-existent," the Catechism says capital punishment is permissible if it's the only way to defend life against an "unjust aggressor."
-- The Associated Press
Religion on 10/14/2017