Hudson Leick, who portrayed Callisto on Xena: Warrior Princess, will appear in "CSI" at 9 p.m. EDT on CBS Thursday (Oct. 6)

HELEN OF TROY: Classical historian Bettany Hughes travels across the eastern Mediterranean to find out the truth about the woman whose face “launched a thousand ships” more than 3,000 years ago. On the PBS special “Helen of Troy,” Hughes separates reality from centuries of romantic myths told about Helen. Hughes travels from the city where Helen is said to have been born — Sparta in the mountains of Greece — to the archaeological site in modern Turkey that forever will be linked with the war fought in her name: Troy. “The drama starts with a messy love affair and it ends up in a bloody and disastrous conflict,” says Hughes. The two-hour special airs 9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12 (check local listings).

Evangelist Franklin Graham sees ’revival’ for New Orleans in Katrina’s aftermath

By STEVE SZKOTAK
Associated Press Writer
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Evangelist Franklin Graham said Tuesday that Hurricane Katrina could lead to a spiritual rebirth of a sinful New Orleans.
Graham, the son and designated successor of the Rev. Billy Graham, said he doesn’t believe the devastating storm was a punishment from God for what he sees as the city’s ties to satanic worship and sexual perversion.
“I’m not saying that God used this storm as a judgment,” Graham said.
But he said the city’s Mardi Gras revelry and ties to voodoo were adverse to Christian beliefs.
“New Orleans has been known for years as a party town,” Graham said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press from his office in Boone, N.C. “It is a city that has strong ties to the gay and lesbian movement, and these types of things.”
On Monday, Graham delivered a similar message in an appearance in Lynchburg: “There’s been satanic worship. There’s been sexual perversion. God is going to use that storm to bring revival. God has a plan. God has a purpose.”
Graham’s comments, reported by The News & Advance of Lynchburg, were made at Thomas Road Baptist Church’s Super Conference 2005 at Liberty University. Both the church and the university were founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
“The good news is that God loves sinners,” said Graham.
Graham said he has prayed with clergy in New Orleans for deliverance from “this dark spiritual cloud,” and he sees signs of promise as churches “black and white work hand in hand” to restore the city.
His Samaritan’s Purse organization is working in five communities in Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana, including New Orleans. He said volunteers were distributing 200 trailer homes in Louisiana. The organization has been criticized for delivering gift bags to displaced children that include Christian tracts and a stuffed lamb that plays “Jesus Loves You.”
On Sunday, New Orleans’ historic St. Louis Cathedral held its first Sunday Mass since the hurricane, and Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes suggested the city would rebuild as a community with a stronger moral thread, free of racial tension and rampant self-indulgence. The Roman Catholic leader reassured the congregation that God did not cause the hurricane to punish evildoers.

Just read a bit about The Noah Alliance. It sounds like a worthwhile group.

Pretty cool.

TOM BROKAW ON EVANGELICALS FRIDAY NIGHT ...

Brokaw looks at power of religion

By Frazier Moore
Associated Press

September 6, 2005
 
"While attendance at traditional churches has been declining for decades," Tom Brokaw says, "the evangelical movement is growing, and it is changing the way America worships."
Consider New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colo., which marks the Easter holiday with a full-scale staging of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ -- with a cast and crew of 750 mostly coming from the church's membership of 11,000.
The phenomenon of such an evangelical "mega-church" is part of Brokaw's focus on "In God They Trust," a one-hour NBC News special airing at 8 p.m. Friday.
Brokaw notes that evangelical Christians have become a powerful force in American culture, politics and the economy, and that, propelled by their faith, they're determined to spread the word.
But he also explores why so many Americans are turning to this expression of faith, and whether some evangelicals are going too far: imposing on others their spiritual beliefs not only for personal reasons but also for political reasons.
Brokaw talks with families at New Life as well as cadets at the nearby U.S. Air Force Academy. And he interviews Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals (which represents 45,000 churches) and New Life's pastor.
Haggard "believes that America is entering a new period of religious intensity that will alter both souls and society," reports Brokaw.
Attempting to explain the growth of the evangelical moment, Haggard says, "It's not political -- it's authentically spiritual renewal."
But Haggard, who speaks regularly with the White House, also declares that, although Americans live in a pluralistic society, "all of us have a responsibility to advance God's will through government."

1 Cent Shipping and Give Free Donation to a Charities:Pardon the commercial, but I think these shops help people and the shipping is only 1 cent now. Won't last for long.

http://shop.thehungersite.com/store is the link and it's for:

The Hunger Site Store

The Animal Rescue Site Store

The Breast Cancer Site Store

The Literacy Site Store

and
The Rainforest Site Store

Lucy Lawless and crew safe from Katrina:

Message from Sharon (forwarded from the Flawless List)

Lucy, cast and crew safely away from New Orleans

Talked to Lucy just a couple hours ago and she wanted everyone to know
all the cast and crew of the movie are safely out of New Orleans.
They're staying with friends of the production company.  It was a
long, slow ride out of town, but they made it.  Their thoughts are
with those still in the city and the surrounding area and everyone is
praying that the storm weakens.  She's grateful for the offers of help
that were received as they were readying the troupe to move out.  I'll
be keeping in touch with her and passing along word when I get it.

Sharon
outback@creationent.com
Official Xena Fan Club

Message from flawless list via Mary D's list.

Vote for Xena:

Go to this site to vote for "Xena: The Warrior Princess," as the Best Show of All Time. You DDDO think it's the best show of all time, don't you?
A note from fellow Xenite, Mary D, if you are voting for Xena as the top show, you have to be accurate in how the show is written in the voting box. DO NOT vote as Xena: Warrior Princess or XWP or Xena. The correct way to vote is by writing Xena: The Warrior Princess.

MINISTRY SEES NARNIA MOVIE AS AN OUTREACH OPPORTUNITY - posted by Andy Rau -- Are you looking forward to "The Lion, the Witch, andthe Wardrobe," scheduled to arrive in movie theaters this winter? So are a lot of Christian ministries, who see in the film not just a promising movie, but an opportunity to share the Gospel story. The Mission America Coalition is looking to organize church leaders[1]throughout America to meet with others in their cities to preview the film and discuss the evangelism opportunities presented by the movie. Even if you don't join an official Narnia-based outreach effort likethis, it's a good reminder for Christians to keep their eyes open forchances to use the Narnia film's allegorical Gospel tale to share their faith with others.

"Trekkies are prosperous and willing to spend" is an article that has some nice things to say about Renee O'Connor and Lucy Lawless of "Xena" fame.

Renee O'Connor and Bruce Campbell star in Alien Apocalypse, which is airing again on the SciFi channel for those that missed it the first time...
 
SciFi channel Saturday, September 10, 2005 at 7 pm.

OK, I sanitized the last line.
***
LAWLESS FIGHTS FOR XENA FILM

Actress LUCY LAWLESS and her husband are fighting over the rights to cult show XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS because they want to make a movie based on the series.
New Zealander Lawless starred in the fantasy show, which was created by her husband ROB TAPERT, who also produced the long-running program.
Tapert is hoping to buy the rights for the show from bosses at Universal so he can make a new film.
Lawless tells internet site SciFiwire.com, "I think a movie would be great, and I'd love to do it. I've been wanting to do it for years.
"But nobody can agree who owns the rights, and it's a big fat pain in the a%%." 23/08/2005 02:17

http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/lawless%20fights%20for%20xena%20film

This story on the children in northern Uganda really moved me. It's difficult to think that this type of violence is taking place in the world. We all need to pray and do more, if we can, to help.

Newsweek has an interesting new story on religion and spirituality in this week's edition. The online version has links to lots of related stories. You can also take a poll. See how your beliefs stand up to those of your neighbor.

Check out the Everything You Want to Know About the Bible blog.
An excerpt "Bible for the first time? Mmmm. Good question. I was going to say Song of Solomon just because it’s hotsy-totsy (if comparing a woman’s beauty to a flock of goats or the Tower of Babylon does it for you) ..."

Researcher Advocates 'Healing Connection' Between Faith, Health
Charisma News Service
A medical researcher is changing the heart of the medical community with a simple, yet profound message that faith is good for your health. Harold Koenig has found a clear relationship between faith and health, one that he has dubbed "the healing connection." Koenig, founder and director of the Duke University Center for the Study of Religion/Spirituality and Health in Durham, N.C., and editor-in-chief of Science & Theology News, has published 25 books, including "The Healing Connection," and more than 200 professional journal articles detailing his findings. Koenig has extensively studied the healing connection in the mentally and physically ill, and in the elderly. "People who attend church regularly live longer," concluded Koenig, who studied 4,000 randomly selected people over the age of 65 in North Carolina. After following the subjects for six years, Koenig said he found that the likelihood of dying during that six-year period was 41 percent lower among those who regularly attended religious services. Bottom line, Koenig said, is "as long as you are here on this earth, God has a purpose for your life. That purpose is not sitting around just existing. That purpose involves ministry to others. It's when people do that, that people get healthier."

90-Day Prayer Period Underway
Baptist Press
A 90-day period of worldwide prayer for Saudi Arabs recently began and will continue through October. Here are some prayer requests you can use to lift them up: Pray that God will pour out His Spirit on Saudi Arabs and draw multitudes of people to Himself. Pray that God will give the people He draws to Himself the faith they need to believe that Jesus is God's Son and to accept Him as their Lord and Savior. Pray that whole families -- and whole tribes -- will come to know Christ as their Savior and Lord. Pray that King Abdullah, the royal family and Saudi government leaders will come to know Jesus as Lord. Pray for the effectiveness of radio, television, satellite, Internet and other media that bring the Gospel to Saudi Arabs. Pray for the persecuted believers in Saudi Arabia, that God will grow His church out of their persecution. Pray for the body of Christ to be strengthened and to grow in purpose and unity throughout the country. Pray that God will draw Saudi Arab children and youth to Himself and reveal the truth of His salvation and love to them. Pray for Saudi Arab women who live under oppression and control from their families and society in general. Pray that God will lift their yoke of oppression and replace it with freedom found only in Christ.

A new article on one of my favorite contemporary writers, Adriana Trigiani.

I'd like to recommend a new blog. It's called thinkchristian.net.