I thought folks in the faith community might be interested in this story about Notre Dame and how Catholicism and football merge tonight.

At the heart of Notre Dame’s legendary football program is a careworn balancing act. The team is unapologetically Catholic,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Read the entire article for yourself: 

Wall Street Journal: “Notre Dame’s Holy Line”

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Lord, give us courage to admit sin and the pain it has caused others. Amen. 

Sunday, Aug. 5

There is great joy, dear Lord, knowing You walk with us each day. Amen.

Here’s a listing of a few of them:

Aug. 10-11 — Women of Faith: “Celebrate What Matters,” Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno. The event will begin at 7 p.m. Aug. 10 and 9 a.m. Aug. 11. For more information, go to www.WomenofFaith.com.  

Aug. 10-11 — Oklahoma Youth Evangelism Conference featuring Christian recording artists Kutless, Tenth Avenue North and other artist, Mabee Center, Oral Roberts University campus, 7777 S Lewis. Admission is $17 before July 30 and $20 after July 30. For more information, call 942-3000, Ext.  or go to www.mabeecenter.com.

5:30 p.m. Aug. 25 — “Secret Keeper Girl Live!,” Mabee Center, Tulsa. For more information, go to www.mabeecenter.com.

7 p.m. Sept. 13 — “Living a Legacy” with Dave Ramsey (pictured) and Wall Street Journal best-selling author Jon Acuff, Crossings Community Church, 14600 N Portland. For more information, go to www.crossingsokc.org.

5 p.m. Sept. 15 — “VeggieTales Live: Sing Yourself Silly,” Mabee Center, ORU, 7777 S Lewis. For more information, go to www.mabeecenter.com.

8 p.m. Sept. 21 — The Afters (pictured) and Fireflight, Chesapeake Energy Stage, State Fair of Oklahoma. Free admission with admission to the fair. For more information, go to www.okstatefair.com.

Sept. 22 — Hillsong Live “Cornerstone Tour,” BOK Center, Tulsa. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Friday, July 20. Cost is $26, $32 and $38. Ticket prices increase $3 on the day of the show. For more information, go to www.PremierProductions.com. 

7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 — “A Night of Hope with Joel and Victoria Osteen,” Chesapeake Energy Arena, 100 W Reno. Tickets are $15.  For more information, go to www.ticketmaster.com or www.chesapeakearena.com.

Oct. 6 — Mark Schultz and  Anita Renfroe, Mabee Center, Tulsa. For more information, go to www.mabeecenter.com.

Dec. 20 – “12 Gifts of Christmas” tour with Steven Curtis Chapman, Laura Story, Patsy Clairmont, Marilyn Meberg, Luci Swindoll, Lisa Welchel and others, Mabee Center, Tulsa. For more information, go to www.mabeecenter.com

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Anyway, here are my selections for the top religion stories in Oklahoma for 2011. These are in random order and I probably left something out, but here are the stories that immediately came to mind: 

February 2011: The Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley (pictured) is installed as the fourth archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City.

May 2011: Peace Lutheran Church, a prominent Edmond church, votes to terminate its relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America because of the church’s perceived view that the denomation had moved away from Scripture. The church’s ties with the  ELCA were officially terminated June 30, the end of the church’s fiscal year. Church members then voted to become part of the North American Lutheran Church denomination. Also, church members hired a new pastor, the Rev. Keith Falk, who was installed on Sept. 11.

October 2011:  The majority of members of First Presbyterian Church of Enid decide to sever ties with Presbyterian Church USA, the nation’s largest Presbyterian denomination.

November 2011:  Oklahoma Catholics join other parishioners at Catholic churches across American and more than 20 other English-speaking countries in using a new revised Roman Missal. The missal is the liturgical text used during Mass. 

May 2011: The “Passages” exhibit opens at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The nonsectarian exhibit, marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, was displayed through Oct. 16 at the museum.

October 2011: LifeChurch.tv leaders celebrate the 30 millionth download of  the YouVersion Bible app, a free Bible app created by a development team at the Edmond-based megachurch.

October 2011: The board of directors of the Jesus House names Rick Denny, a former assistant attorney general, as the homeless shelter’s new executive director. Denny pledges to restablish the shelter’s mission of offering Christ-centered help for the homeless.

November 2011: The Baptist Messenger, the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma’s official newspaper, goes digital.  

July 2011: Cory Stanley becomes the only Archdiocese of Oklahoma City seminarian to be ordained into the priesthood. A few days before his ordination, Stanley said in an interview, that the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City will have more seminarians ordained to the priesthood in the next several years.

October 2011: This is indirectly tied to religion but there is still a connection … Integris Health Edmond, a $94 million hospital and medical office building opens its doors to patients.  Henderson Hills Baptist Church sold the property on which the hospital was built to Integris in 2007. The property was part of the Edmond megachurch’s 109-acre parcel of land off 15th Street and Interstate 35. 

August 2011: Mercy Health Center opens the state’s first school for autistic children, the Good Shepherd Catholic School at Mercy.

November 2011: The Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City celebrates its 70th anniversary. While it is not a religious agency, the federation obviously has strong connections to the three main Jewish religious entities in Oklahoma City — Temple B’nai Israel, Emanuel Synagogue and the Chabad Jewish Center of Greater Oklahoma City.

December 2011: Several metro area churches decide to forego Christmas Day services on Sunday, Dec. 25, in order to allow staff and congregation members to spend the time at home with their families or traveling to spend time with extended family.  

September 2011: The Oklahoma Conference of Churches’ 2011 Interfaith Youth Tour draws the largest crowd since the annual event was started five years prior.  About 180 young people and their advisors, representing various faith communities, visited an Orthodox Christian church, a Jewish temple and an Islamic mosque as part of the tour. The event is aimed at raising awareness about different faiths.    

September 2011: Famous guest speakers are always popping up at Oklahoma churches, but one stood out: Louis Zamperini, the famed Olympian and World War II POW, spoke at an anniversary service at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid. Zamperini’s life story is chronicled in the best-selling book “Unbroken.” (In this picture, the Rev. Wade Burleson, senior pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church, poses for a picture with Louis Zamperini at the Enid church). 

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Here’s hoping the new year is just as newsworthy!

Carla Hinton

Religion Editor