May 14 Today’s Prayer
Lord, may we bring good and not harm to all those around us all the days of our lives. Help us to be a blessing to others. Amen.Me So Holy is not so holy, Apple says
Apparently Apple has rejected a request for an iPhone application that would allow someone to superimpose their face or someone else’s onto the face of religious figures like Jesus, a nun or the Virgin Mary.
The developers of the Me So Holy application have posted a statement about the rejection on their Web site at www.mesoholy.com.
The developers said have a similar application that allows people to superimpose their face or someone else’s on an animal.
In their statement the developers said the feel that “Apple is being too sensitve to its perceived user group and are disappointed that this otherwise creative, freethinking company would reject such a positive and fun application.”
The developers said Apple, in its rejection letter, said “Me So Holy” contains “objectionable content and is inviolatin of Section 3.3.12 from the iPhone SDK Agreement which states:
“Applications must not contain any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.) or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgement may be found objectionable by iPHone or iPod touch users.”
Watch a CNN video on the matter: CNN “Me So Holy” video
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
May 13 Today’s Prayer
Lord, may we live our lives so those who depend on us have full confidence in us, and may our families have what is needed. Amen.Tulsa preparing for televangelist’s visit
An estimated 12,000 people are expected to converge on downtown Tulsa Thursday to see televangelist Joyce Meyer.
Joyce Meyer Ministries is hosting ministry sessions Thursday through Saturday at the BOK Center. 
The attendance estimates come from a BOK advisory noting that there will be increased traffic in the downtown area later this week.
“The crowds expected for this event will increase the amount of traffic arriving in downtown Tulsa throughout the three days. Commuters should be ready and allow more time for their drive,” the advisory said.
Meyer, who conducts about 15 conferences a year, can be seen and heard on her “Enjoying Everyday Life” television and radio programs.
She visited Oklahoma City as guest speaker at Church of the Harvest’s Momentum Conference in 2006. In October 2005 she conducted a three-day conference at the Ford Center — her first in Oklahoma City.
Doors at the BOK Center open at 5 p.m. Thursday, and the opening ministry session is set for 7 p.m. Doors open at 8 a.m. Friday for the 10 a.m. session and 5 p.m. for the 7 p.m. session. Saturday, doors open at 8 a.m. for the 10 a.m. session.
The BOK advisory said the following lots and parking garages will be available: Old City Hall Parking Lot, B&B, Central North Garage, 100 West Garage, Doubletree parking garage, the flat lot at Third Street and Denver and all meters for street 
parking.
For a parking map, go online to the Joyce Meyer Ministries event page on the BOK Center Web site.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
MovieGuide’s caution on “Angels & Demons”
Ted Baehr, founder of MovieGuide and the Christian Film and Television Commission, has given an advisory alert to families and individuals regarding the new movie “Angels & Demons” set to premiere Friday in theaters.
Baehr first gave the caution alert in April but he said he decided to keep it in effect now that he has had a chance to preview the film.
The movie is based on a Dan Brown novel of the same name, stars Tom Hanks and is directed by Ron Howard. It follows the adventures of professor Robert Langdon, the character introduced in Dan Brown’s novel “The Da Vinci Code (turned into the 2006 movie of the same name).”
In a news release, Baehr said faith is often denied throught the new movie.
“When confronted by the cardinals with various statements about Jesus Christ, Robert Langdon keeps his agnosticism. The movie’s ultimate impression is that the Catholic Church is mostly a bunch of bumbling fools with a few really bad guys included in the bunch.”
Baehr said throughout the film ” there are smears, innuendoes and false statements made about Christians, the church and Christian history. As a result MovieGuide will continue an extreme caution alert in regard to the upcoming movie release on May 15.”
For more of MovieGuide’s assessment of the film, go to Ted Baehr on ‘Angels & Demons’.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
May 12 Today’s Prayer
Lord, give us noble character so it will be said of us that we are more valuable than all the world’s riches. Amen.Notre Dame students plan counter assembly
Some members of Notre Dame University’s senior class have decided not to attend their own graduation, opting instead to hold the Class of 2009 Vigil for Life on the college campus.
Today, Priests for Life, a national pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia, issued a news release that said the Vigil for Life will feature Priests for Life director the Rev. Frank Pavone (pictured at right) as guest speaker. The vigil is set for Sunday, the day of the university’s commencement.
This is related to the controversy surrounding Pres. Barack Obama’s scheduled plans to deliver the commencement address at Notre Dame, a Catholic university in South Bend, Ind. Many Roman Catholics, particularly bishops, have expressed outrage that Obama, who is pro-choice, was asked to deliver the graduation speech.
The bishops, including the archbishop of the archdiocese of Oklahoma City and the bishop of Tulsa, said the selection of Obama flies in the face of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop’s stance on abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
In his statement released today, Pavone said he has joined with the students groups that comprise the ND Response in calling all the faithful to pray a million rosaries in reparation for the “scandal” that has arisen with Notre Dame’s decision to honor Obama.
In response to his invitation to speak at Sunday’s vigil, Pavone said “In standing with these students, I am standing with the true spirit of Notre Dame: a pro-life spirit, in harmony with human reason and Catholic faith. The scandal that has been generated does not represent what Notre Dame is all about; it represents a radical betrayal of what Notre Dame is all about.”
Pavone also urged graduating seniors to take control of the situation by showing up at the vigil instead of their commencement.
“The seniors who do this are manifesting the real meaning of commencement: they are carrying out the witness to truth and service that their hard-earned degrees have prepared them to give in the world.”
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
Controversial pastor banned from Britain
The Rev. Fred Phelps, the anti-gay Kansas pastor, has been banned from the United Kingdom because he is “fostering hatred,” according to a story by the Religion News Service.
Oklahomans may remember that Phelps and members of his Topeka,Kan.-church, Westboro Baptist, have come here a few times.
The group was here in February staging a protest across from Moore High School. They also staged a protest of Oklahoma City University’s production of “The Laramie Project,” a play about the slaying of gay college student Matthew Shepard. Students at both Moore High and OCU held counter-protests.
Meanwhile, Westboro Baptist members have protested at the state Capitol and at military funerals in Oklahoma.
The RNS is now reporting that Phelps and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, were among 16 people the British government barred from entering the country.
Known for their “God Hates Fags” protest signs, they were cited specifically for “engaging in unacceptable behavior by fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence in the United Kingdom.”
The RNS said two of them were barred from entering Britain in February when they planned to picket a performance of “The Laramie Project,” a play that depicts the 1998 murder of gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyo.
“Coming to the UK is a privilege and I refuse to extend that privilege to individuals who abuse our standards and values to undermine our way of life,” Home Secretary Jacqui Smith in a statement to the RNS. “Therefore, I will not hesitate to name and shame those who foster extremist views as I want them to know that they are not welcome here.”
Phelps-Roper, a spokeswoman and attorney for Westboro Baptist, said Smith’s decision — which she called “this little mischief” — will only increase publicity about her church’s position.
“She thinks she can ban the Word of God from their borders?” Phelps-Roper asked. “She’s messing with the wrong God.”
(AP PHOTO: The Rev. Fred Phelps, pastor of Wesboro Baptist Church, Topeka, Kan., is shown in this 2006 picture.)
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
May 11 Today’s Prayer
Lord, let us always speak up for those who cannot defend themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Amen.Online prayer rally
There’s an online prayer rally under way today at www.tangle.com in conjunction with the 58th annual National Day of Prayer.
People are gathering all across Oklahoma and other states to join together in prayer.
The National Day of Prayer Task Force is headed by Shirley Dobson, wife of Focus on the Family founder Dr. James Dobson. The task force has joined up with tangle.com to offer the online prayer rally.
Visit the site now and post your prayer on the Virtual Prayer Wall.
Carla Hinton
Religion Editor
