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Two men, including a former Ravena minister who is now a prison chaplain, face criminal charges after they were allegedly caught in a sex act Saturday at a Northway rest stop near Exit 24. State Police said Joseph A. Loux Jr., 62, of Hannacroix in Greene County, and Eugene F. Barnaby, 34, of Thurman in Warren County, admitted to investigators that they engaged in oral sex along a path behind the rest stop, about 15 feet from an outdoor picnic area. Loux, a chaplain assigned to the Washington County prison, was suspended without pay Tuesday, said Linda Foglia, a spokeswoman...

ATLANTA, Ga., July 4 - With a movement to amend the United States Constitution to ban gay marriage picking up steam, the United Church of Christ became the first mainstream Christian denomination to officially support same-sex marriages today when its general synod passed a resolution affirming "equal marriage rights for couples regardless of gender." The resolution was both a theological statement and a blow to discrimination, said the Rev. John H. Thomas, the president and general minister of the denomination, which has 6,000 congregations and 1.3 million members. "On this July 4, the United Church of Christ has courageously acted...

<p>"He fought against self-righteousness of people who had everything. . . . He was a person who set an extraordinary example that has lasted 2,000 years, which is pretty inspiring when you think about it."</p> <p>This is a fair example of the way people in New England talk--and think--about Jesus, and you will hear a variation on that theme from the pulpit of any Congregational church in Vermont this Sunday.</p>

Conversion on the Bike Path In India, many people consider cows to be sacred. In Vermont, they worship bicycles. How else to explain this exchange between Dean and ABC News's George Stephanopoulos last Sunday, after Dean was asked if he was raised Roman Catholic. "No, raised Episcopalian, and I ended up as a Congregationalist," Dean said. Why did he become a Congregationalist? "Because I had a big fight with a local Episcopal church about 25 years ago over the bike path. . . . We were trying to get the bike path built. They had control of a mile and...

How Old is Your Church?    AUTHOR UNKNOWN If you are a Lutheran, your religion was founded by Martin Luther, an ex-monk of the Catholic Church, in the year 1517. If you belong to the Church of England, your religion was founded by King Henry VIII in the year 1534 because the Pope would not grant him a divorce with the right to remarry. If you are a Presbyterian, your religion was founded by John Knox in Scotland in the year 1560. If you are a Protestant Episcopalian, your religion was an offshoot of the Church of England founded by...