User talk:Johnparkw

Welcome!
- Tinucherian (talk) 10:23, 26 February 2008 (UTC)

Sub-projects to improve the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Article
Sub-projects as of today.

Rewrite the summary section

 * 1. Clarify who the church is and what it stands for.
 * 2. Take a stab at the Denominations contributions to North American Protestantism.
 * 3. Sumarize its global witness
 * 4. Document all assertions with verifyable references.
 * 5. Move the "least known" out of the Lead sentence.
 * 6. Remove the redundant history paragraph

Locate pictures of the founders for the History section.

 * 1. Identify someone to help with the copyright issues.
 * 2. Search for relevant images.
 * Thomas Campbell
 * Alexander Campbell
 * Walter Scott
 * Racoon John Smith
 * Cane Ridge
 * Cane Ridge Revival
 * Brainstorm Ideas for graphics for Modern Disciples section
 * 3. Edit and resize
 * 4. Upload to Wikipedia
 * 5. Edit location in the article

Re-edit history section and add references.

 * Decide how to approach the Division section
 * Decide how best to approach the CC(DOC)/ Independent Split
 * Where Disciples renewal/ Heritage fellowship??
 * Add a section RE: Jim Jones/Jonestown and its impact on the Denomination

Re edit Universities and Seminaries --

 * 1. Consider whether this section makes sense to take up space
 * 2. Write a talk section about my concerns and see if there is a consensus.

FIND HELP

 * 1. Can I find a couple of editors from the CC(DOC) to assist?
 * 2. Can I find an editor from the Churches of Christ and from the Independent Christian Churches who can help edit the article for balance?


 * Create Sub-headings

Split the Prominent Members section

 * to show leaders in the movement and individuals whose primary fame is outside the church.

John Park (talk) 00:48, 2 March 2008 (UTC)

Other Articles to Consider

 * Ecclesiastical_polity John Park (talk) 16:08, 6 March 2008 (UTC)
 * Alexander Campbell
 * Restoration Movement
 * Add a section on the slogans of the movement.
 * Clean up the POV in the separation of CC(DOC) & non-instrumental Churches of Christ (1906)John Park (talk) 17:13, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and Category:American Disciples of Christ
These two categories are for the same American denomination. Its official name is The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada. I would like to rename the CC(DOC) category to cover the full official name and then transfer the "american DOC" links there and the link the references that go there to the renamed page. In addition, there is a category:Disciples of Christ. It is really a disabiguation for American vs British Disciples of Christ. My questions: 1. Do you think this is a reasonable idea? 2. Can you help me do it? 3. Should it just be boldly done or should a notice be posted on the talk pages first? 4. Could the "Category:Disciples of Christ" page be linked to the Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) page and then a disambiguation paragraph be added at the top of that page, linking to the British page. John Park (talk) 22:08, 19 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
 * Category:American Disciples of Christ
 * Disciples of Christ by nationality


 * I'm not sure I understand the rationale. Category:American Disciples of Christ is for individuals who are (1) American, and (2) members of the CC(DOC). Similarly, Category:British Disciples of Christ are for those who are British and members. Both of these categories have a parent category Category:Disciples of Christ by nationality, which is in use for any religion with members of more than one nationality, so that it can be included in Category:Protestants by nationality or similar categories. Category:Disciples of Christ by nationality is in turn a subcategory of Category:Disciples of Christ, which is a meta-category for members of the church. This category is a subcategory of Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the meta-category for the church in general. Everything seems in order here and the categories seem to be named and structured as all Christian religious denomination categories are. To make a change to a category name you need to propose a WP:CFD — the instructions for doing so are laid out fairly clearly on that page. Good Ol’factory (talk) 10:11, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

Thanks for your insight and perspective. I see that there are a number of issues here that will require some thought. My basic concern is still valid, namely that CC(DOC) and American Disciples of Christ are in reality the same category. With two locations, they are less useful than they might otherwise be. Some editors add to one and other editors add to the other. This is not my top priority, but I will add it to my list of improvements to explore down the road. John Park (talk) 23:27, 20 April 2008 (UTC)

My Sandbox
/Sandbox

Image copyright problem with Image:CampbellThomas.gif
Thank you for uploading Image:CampbellThomas.gif. However, it currently is missing information on its copyright status. Wikipedia takes copyright very seriously. It may be deleted soon, unless we can determine the license and the source of the image. If you know this information, then you can add a copyright tag to the image description page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thanks again for your cooperation. NOTE: once you correct this, please remove the tag from the image's page. STBotI (talk) 00:38, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Image copyright problem with Image:CampbellThomas.gif
Thank you for uploading Image:CampbellThomas.gif. However, it currently is missing information on its copyright status. Wikipedia takes copyright very seriously. It may be deleted soon, unless we can determine the license and the source of the image. If you know this information, then you can add a copyright tag to the image description page.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them at the media copyright questions page. Thanks again for your cooperation. Polly (Parrot) 00:39, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Hi, I've had a chance to read through the article. Here are some of my initial thoughts, presented in no particular order:
 * 1) I think the article is going quite well with history and the modern structure of the church section is coming along, but I would like to see some more on current beliefs (i.e. specific matters of doctrine) and practices. I realise there is a bit in there already in the "Modern Disciples" section, but it definitely could be expanded. Perhaps that might be a challenge since there doesn't seem to be a large amount of doctrine a member has to ascribe to to become a member.
 * 2) the first sentence of the article is interesting for me to read, but it's probably not the best thing to place in the very first sentence. I would tend to define what the church is (something like "The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a Mainline Protestant denomination in the United States and Canada."), and then maybe the second sentence could say it's not well-known as compared to other mainline Protestant denominations.
 * 3) some parts of the "Modern Disciples" sections could be reworded and referenced better. As compared to the history section, it sounds less encyclopedic and more point-of-view-ish — like it was written by someone trying to promote the church or at least present it in as positive a light as possible. Perhaps not coincidentally, this section also is not referenced as well as the historical section. If the statements made in the "Modern Disciples" section were all referenced with third-party sources, the point of view problems would also likely disappear.
 * 4) since Category:Disciples of Christ exists, I'm not sure you ultimately need the section on prominent members. However, I would keep it for now until it's clear that the article is too otherwise too long and then that section could be cut.

For now, obviously my #3 would be the highest priority, followed perhaps by #1, depending on how much more there is out there that could be added. I hope this helps. I would like to contribute myself, but unfortunately I don't know much about this particular denomination or where to find information on it as compared to what I know about most. I guess that does go to show that it's possibly the "least well-known" of the M.P. denominations. :) Good Ol’factory (talk) 07:38, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

An Observation
Tb and user:Secisek, you have have made your case. You are, to some degree getting caught in a game of uproar. May I encourage you continue to document the abuse and not respond to comments? I think the uproar itself will make your point, if you just watch. Those who speak (right now), in these cases lose. John Park (talk) 04:36, 3 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I think you may well be right. thanx. Tb (talk) 12:57, 3 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Have a good day!:^) John Park (talk) 13:02, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

That was my advice to Tb, as well. It would be futile to comment. -- Secisek (talk) 16:01, 3 April 2008 (UTC)

Hello John! Thank you!
John/RedRocket: Thank you again for putting the links in your posts. That makes it really easy for me to go to them. Wiki is a little bit disorganized sometimes. I surely understand your concerns regarding citations. I like good citations in articles, too. When it comes to Scripture, we need to allow Scripture to prove itself. Put it up on the witness stand, so to speak. What I mean is this: if I can show you fifteen different passages that say the same exact thing in slightly different wording, that IS our secondary, and tertiary source. I could always site commentaries, and I probably will in some cases. That can get really wordy, though. As long as the citations are simple Scriptural passages, and the context doesn’t get into extremes, then I believe the changes should be left. The sections that I changed hardly had any citations, and needed some “body”. I added a lot of citations and organized the sections a little. We are trying to write an article that shows how MOST churches of Christ worship and how they use Scripture. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, and I love encyclopedias just like everyone else here. When it comes to the part of the encyclopedia where religion comes up, we’ll see quite a bit of Bible verses. And that’s ok. It’s when we start adding material from outside the Bible that the discussion will become difficult to understand. Cross referencing will be our best tool. Again, thank you for helping me with the links and the ways of Wiki. Mark0880 (talk) 02:34, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

The importance of Acapella music to the Churches of Christ.
ThuranX, can you explain to us how mentioning the A Cappella music of a movement that developed around the principle of not using Musical instruments does not belong in the lead section of the article? Do you really believe your note: "revert. That's a minor point, as per the talk page, and not the lead?" To me, it seems central to the identity of the movement, which is NOT a minor point. Did I miss some conversation on the talk page? John Park (talk) 03:48, 26 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Frankly, I'm dropping this article from my watchlist. The POV pushing on here's insanely high ,the entire article reads like crap, and I got tired of fighting it almost immediately after reading the AN/I threads about it. There are too many religious zealots on this page, all insistent that the religion's existed since jesus, and teh catholic church must've hid it in a root cellar for censutires, and so on. Dogma won over fact here long ago, and i'm done. ThuranX (talk) 05:54, 26 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Seconded, ThuranX. I've lost track the number of times I've reverted POV edits in this article.  Many editors have lost sight that we are trying to build an encyclopedic article...that is based on proven fact....and not a pamphlet used for converting readers to the movement.  I'm glad someone is/was trying to keep this article in check from POV edits.  Sorry to see you go.
 * While A Capella music may be an identifying factor to Churches of Christ, it shouldn't necessarily be the second thing mentioned in the introductory paragraph. The introductory section is already too long. Being A Capella is already mentioned later on in the article, so mentioning it initially is redundant.  You don't hear members of Churches of Christ saying to potential members "Come visit us, we're A Capella."  While it might have played a role in historic separations in the past, it shouldn't be a central theme in the movement.  --Ichabod (talk) 08:35, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

ThuranX, and --Ichabod, Thanks for your prompt responses here. Both of you are correct, of course, that POV edits abound on the Churches of Christ article. '''Many are made in good faith. They represent the different perspectives of individuals who are zealots''' in the sense that they tell the story of their church with passion. I suspect that many may never have written a term paper where they had to cite references and footnotes, so the reference they know are Bible verses. With a radically congregational approach, there are few places that individuals from the Churches of Christ can engage in conversation about their movement. Others do not seem to made in good faith, but doesn't the Wikipedia mantra "assume good faith" require that you and I just fix those, respectfully, and move on? With the article on limited protection as it is my expectation that the anonymous editors will simply reinsert the "lead section" everyone has reverted since January 2008 or before. I expect it within two minutes of the end of the protection. I personally believe in seeking consensus, scholarship, and reason. Consensus is a messy process, isn't it? To those in the Churches of Christ, the edits and comments the three of us make appear that we do not respect their identity. (Yes, MINE, too.) We are all outsiders. I hope both of you will continue to watch Churches of Christ and help referee the game. BTW, My real interest is described in detail on this page and my user page. I find it interesting that some members of the churches of Christ see themselves as a branch of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) after more than a century of separation. Consensus may take a long time. This article will need a few editors who understand what NPOV means and are willing to sympathetically coach and teach. John Park (talk) 13:44, 26 April 2008 (UTC)


 * John Park W. I left that page, unwatched it, and removed from my talk page your messagve to me. WHAT, in all of that, led you to think I gave a shit about your excuses for pushing your religious advocacy version of the page? You're one of the 'we're the greatest religion ever' pushers that drove me away from that article. DO NOT BOTHER ME AGAIN. ThuranX (talk) 14:04, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

JP: I need assistance with citations
Hi John! Thank you for the updates. - Hey, I actually found and added a citation to the "Other Theological Tendencies" section of churches of Christ. However, I am trying to learn how to follow the already established citation method in the page. I went to Wikipedia:Citing sources and I still really dont see directions on how to make that little number appear with brackets. Can you help, please? Thank you!! Mark0880 (talk) 22:33, 26 April 2008 (UTC)


 * Mark, there are two parts to adding references and citations on a page.
 * First list the source (Book, article, whatever) by editing the section of the article called "References." There are templates at Citation templates that will format it for you, or you can enter the info as plain text. To do the former, find the appropriate template copy it and paste it where it goes. You can play with this in the Sandbox by cutting and pasting and the clicking preview. If you do the latter, be sure you give all the information. You can see what it will look like by using the Preview feature. This will give the details needed to find the book or source, for those who would like to read more, or to check your work. More details on sources are available at Reliable sources and its links.
 * Second for each page cited in the article put your cursor in the text where you intend the citation to go and the click on the  tool bar (at the top of the edit window) and enter the Author, Year of Publication, and page numbers just as you'd like them to appear in the Notes or footnotes section. The wiki software will do the rest. John Park (talk) 23:49, 26 April 2008 (UTC)

Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Hi, I may have mentioned this before.

When an article is found in a subcategory of Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), it does not need to be added to the main parent category of Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); in fact, in almost all cases it should not be.

For instance, Frances McDormand is in Category:American Disciples of Christ; there is no need to add her to Category:Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Similarly, Drury University is in Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), so it doesn't need to be added to the parent category.

I saw that you added a whole heap of articles back into the parent, but that pretty much defeats the purpose of farming them out to the subcategories and can be more confusing for those who like to find articles by sifting through categories. Thanks! Good Ol’factory (talk) 08:30, 1 May 2008 (UTC)


 * Thanks for the note. I personally find the Wikipedia subcategories puzzling. My personal preference would be for a few broad categories.  You ARE the specialist in categories!  And, I yield to your perspective.  Would you like me to go back and clean up my mess? John Park (talk) 12:57, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

Christianity WikiProject Newsletter - July 2008
This Newsletter was automatically delivered by TinucherianBot (talk) 08:57, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

RFA thank-you
Thank-you for your support of me at my recent RFA, which was successful. I have appreciated everyone's comments and encouragement there. Good Ol’factory (talk) 03:36, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Brush run Church Possible external links
Christ. New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1909.
 * Pictures from Bethany
 * By LeRoy Garrett
 * Pictures from William T. Moore's A Comprehensive History of the Disciples of

REstoration movement -external links
WHO ARE THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST?

Alphabetically sorting an article in categories
If you want to "sort" an article to be in the correct alphabetical section in a category, you add this right above the categories. This will sort all the categories in this manner. If you want to just sort an individual category alone, add, e.g., "|Stone, Barton W." after the category name, so it would look like  For people, I usually just use the defaultsort method so that all future categories will be properly sorted. Good Ol’factory (talk) 04:01, 2 August 2008 (UTC)

Wikipedia tools & guidlines
John Park (talk) 17:26, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

Using Scriptures in the Churches of Christ Article
Johnparkw, It has been quite some time since the last time I wrote. I see the churches of Christ page has changed some. Looks a lot more organized now. I have a question at this time. I notice in some other religious pages, such as "Islam", they have many direct references to the Koran. It would be great if we could incorporate more of God's Word in our page as reference. Mark0880 (talk) 00:11, 14 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Mark, You and I both love the Bible. It is a source book for our lives. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia, however. Articles are supposed to give a brief general description of their subject.  They are intended to give a concise picture of their subject to a general audience that may or may not know about it.  Wikipedia suggests a length of 30 kilobytes for a "feature article."  The Churches of Christ Article is already more than twice that now. Here is the key question: although Scripture plays an important role in the Churches of Christ, how do the scriptures tell the story to those not part the churches?  Much of the change in the article is the scholarship of User:EastTN. He has done some fine work.  You might want to raise your question on the talk page of the Churches of Christ Article. John Park (talk) 19:37, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

Hi John, Hope you had a good weekend. I understand that Wikipedia is an encyclopedia. I will get with East too. I think what Im trying to say is that most other Wiki pages on religious organizations use quotes from their sacred texts to prove what theyre saying. I think it is a bit sad that we have a beautifully written Wiki page for the churches of Christ, but the main spiritual encyclopedia we're trying to explain is hardly mentioned. Does that seem correct to you? Im unsure if I am comfortable with that. The Bible should be allowed to defend itself at least occasionally in the article. I am concerned that we have too many words from men. The Bible speaks better than any of us can. I do see quite a few verse references, so if someone sees that, if theyre interested, they can look it up for themselves, too. At any rate, just a thought. Verse references are probably equally as important as just listing out the verse. Mark0880 (talk) 20:13, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

Oh, also John, A professor at the church I attend just finished a 13-week lesson on church history. I am almost finished with the outline of that class. I was wondering is you'd be interested in seeing the outline? I'd have to email it to you. It is about 50 pages in MS Word. I think you'd really enjoy reading thru it. Mark0880 (talk) 20:16, 15 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Mark, I hope you don't mind my joining this conversation. I think I understand your point of view, and I'm sympathetic.  For what it's worth, let me offer my perspective.


 * Wikipedia offers a great avenue for people who are not affiliated with the churches of Christ to understand what they are and the basics of what they believe. It has very specific goals and rules, though, so there are some things we simply can't do through Wikipedia. It's not intended to be a forum for persuading people - and it will backfire if we try to use it that way.


 * There are also some characteristics of the churches of Christ that make it particularly difficult to write a good article on them - the biggest of which is the deep, deep commitment to congregational autonomy. It's hard to document what the "churches of Christ believe/do," because there's no synod, council, committee or head honcho we can quote to give us an official position - and in many cases, whatever we say, there's almost certain to be some congregations among the churches of Christ that don't believe it or do it.  The only effective way I've found to address this is to turn to authors who have studied the churches of Christ and to quote what they say the churches of Christ believe and do - and where there's disagreement within the churches of Christ, to find sources that talk about how common certain beliefs or practices are.


 * It would be easier to just write, based on what we know from our own experience, about what the churches of Christ believe and practice, and provide the appropriate scripture references. There are a couple of problems with that approach.  First, it's a primary source, and while we can quote it, any conclusions we draw are considered original research.  It may be a fine distinction, but what a Wikipedia article on a group like the churches of Christ is intended to explain is what the churches of Christ teach about the Bible - it's not intended to explain the Bible itself.


 * Second (and this is what really convinced me), if you look at the history of the article, that approach led into a seemingly endless cycle of disputes. Really good citations from third party sources are the only thing I've seen resolve the kind of arguments that swirled around in the past.


 * I would not write a magazine article about the churches of Christ in the same way that I write for the Wikipedia article. I'd write a book differently from a magazine article  - and how it would look would depend on the target audience.  A FAQ for a congregational website would be still different, and it would be different from a sermon.


 * Personally, I think that the basic plea of Restoration Movement churches in general, and the churches of Christ in particular, still has a great deal of appeal. All Wikipedia can do is describe that plea - but if it's described clearly and fairly, I'm convinced that will do nothing but benefit the groups involved.


 * I do think the article should make the role that the Bible has in the churches of Christ very clear. I think it does that pretty well now, but there's always room for improvement.  What I'm talking about is covering things like (quotes from the article) "Refusal to hold to any formalized creeds or statements of faith, preferring instead a reliance on the Bible alone for doctrine and practice," "Churches of Christ seek to practice the principle of the Bible being the only source to find doctrine," "Their approach to the Bible is driven by the 'assumption that the Bible is sufficiently plain and simple to render its message obvious to any sincere believer'," "They seek to base doctrine and practice on the Bible alone," "generally combine the lack of any historical evidence that first century churches used instruments in worship, and the belief that there is no scriptural support for using instruments in the church's worship service."  There's a way to describe (and document) what the churches of Christ believe about the Bible without relying solely or even primarily on scripture references.


 * It can be very difficult to work within the bounds of Wikipedia's rules - and some other articles don't always follow those rules. But if we do a good job, and are like Caesar's wife in citing Wikipedia-style "reliable sources" (above reproach), we can produce an article that will withstand challenge from people who are not at all sympathetic to the churches of Christ (there will be those challenges) and that will be generally useful in helping people understand what the churches of Christ are and have to offer. EastTN (talk) 23:19, 15 June 2009 (UTC)


 * Mark, somtimes our best intended actions can have the opposite effect of what we desire to accomplish. For a person who has not come to appreciate the wisdom of the Scriptures, quoting Bible text does not prove the point, at all.  It may in fact lead to doubt that the information being shared has any merit.  Wikipedia's rules are designed to help tell the story of the subject of the article in such a way that even those who are uninformed will give the subject consideration.  EastTN is right that it is important to stay within the guidelines, even though there are other articles that do not.
 * I would be interested in seeing the outline you suggested. You may email it to me at ****. (Replace the (AT) with @) I will discard that email address as soon as I have heard from you. John Park (talk) 12:21, 18 June 2009 (UTC)

Johnpark, I notice that the page on Islam uses passages from the Koran right in their paragraphs. This is what I think I'd like to see some of in the churches of Christ page,too. If they can do it, so can we it seems to me.--Mark0880 (talk) 16:31, 24 April 2012 (UTC)

WikiProject Christianity Newsletter - July 2009
John Carter (talk) 22:44, 16 July 2009 (UTC)

Please be aware of this CfD
Please be aware of this CfD to rename Category:Universities and colleges by affiliated with the Stone-Campbell movement to either
 * Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Stone-Campbell movement or
 * Category:Universities and colleges affiliated with the Restoration Movement, and read and comment there if you wish. User talk:CarlaudeUser talk:Carlaude 16:14, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

Ichthus: January 2012
 In this issue...   - Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here
 * From the Editor
 * What are You doing For Lent?
 * Fun and Exciting Contest Launched
 * Spotlight on WikiProject Catholicism

Concern about the word "sacrament" in churches of Christ page
Hi John, In the churches of Christ page under the Baptism heading, that phrasing regarding "sacraments" is not accurate to the Lord's church teachings. I added some referenced material and it was deleted w/o comment. Any thoughts? Thank you, In Him, Mark0880 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mark0880 (talk • contribs) 19:29, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

Ichthus: May 2012


From the Editor
This month marks the observation of Pentecost, one of the most important feast of the Christian liturgical year. It is our hope here that all of you, regardless of your religious affiliation (if any), find that the holiday, and its accompanying activities, an enjoyable and beneficial experience. We also hope that this "Birthday of the Church" is one which gives you the same joy as the birthday of yourself or your loved ones.

Ichthus is the successor to the long running WikiProject Christianity newsletter, run under the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department. As such, you will continue to see information about our latest featured and good articles, DYKs, as well as new members who have joined our project. You might also see links to Christianity related news from the mainstream media! With that, I wish you all happy reading!

John Carter, Asst. Editor

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity-related topics Noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

Help Bring Wikipe-tan "into the fold"
As many of you may know, our unofficial mascot, dear Wikipe-tan, hasn't yet indicated any particular beliefs. However, yes, as we all know, ahem, some people might object to our beloved mascot running around in a French maid outfit. People do talk, you know. ;) If anyone might be able to develop an image of the dear lady in a image more, well, "Christian," I would like to see perhaps a vote for next month as to which, if any, image of the dear girl we might make our own unofficial mascot. Please post your images here.

By John Carter

Christianity in other wikis
As many of you might now, there are a large number of other Wikimedia Foundation projects, including WikiSource, Wiktionary, Wikibooks, WikiQuote, and others. I certainly believe that Wikibooks and Wikiquote might be among the more directly relevant sister projects. If any of you can think of any particular efforts in these other projects which you think would benefit from more input, please let us know here, so we can help spread the word around.

By John Carter

Spotlight on the Outreach department
Ichthus will spotlight a different subproject or workgroup of WikiProject Christianity. This edition will spotlight on our vital Outreach department. This comparatively small, but vital, project unit is dedicated to welcoming new editors to Wikipedia and the Christianity related content, and to providing information to the various project members, in forms like this newsletter.

The scope of articles with which this group deals is truly enormous, and, given the wide variety of material with which we deal, we would very much welcome the input of more individuals, particularly individuals who are particularly knowledgeable of the less well-known and less frequently monitored articles related to Christianity.

Speaking personally, I would be very, very gratified if we were to have this become a very, very large and active unit, with members from the broad spectrum of Christian beliefs, practices, and groups. The broader the spectrum and areas of expertise of members we have, the better we will be able to help manage the content. Please consider whether you believe you might be able to contribute in this vital area.

By John Carter

- Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) 20:32, 29 April 2012 (UTC)

Ichthus: June 2012


Membership report
The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 331 active members. We would like to welcome User:Sanju87, User:Psalm84, User:Zegron, User:Jargon777, User:Calu2000, User:Gilderien, User:Ronallenus, Thank you all for your interest in this effort. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor
Ichthus is one of the ways that the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department helps update our members. We have recently added some new sections to the newsletter. Please let us know what you think of the new departments, and if there are any other suggestions for departments you would like to see. And if you have anything you would personally like to add, by all means let us know. The talk page of the current issue is probably the best place to post such comments. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

Church of the month
by Berthold Werner Saint Catherine's Monastery, Mount Sinai

Vote for the project mascot
We had last month asked our members to help "bring into the fold" Wikipe-tan as the project's mascot. Voting will take place this month for which image we should adopt at WikiProject Christianity/Outreach/Wikipe-tan. Please take a moment to review the images and vote for whichever is your favorite, or, if you so prefer, suggest an additional one.

By John Carter

DYK

 * ...that Anna of Kashin, a Russian medieval princess, was twice canonized as a holy protectress of women who suffer the loss of relatives?

Calendar
Thie coming month includes days dedicated to the honor of Beheading of John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, the Nativity of John the Baptist, and Saint Barnabas.

Featured content and GA report
Alec Douglas-Home recently achieved FA status. This picture, in the Church of the Month section, was recently promoted to Featured Picture status. Our thanks and congratulations to all those involved.

Wikimedia Foundation report
Wikisource currently has many old texts available, most of them in the public domain. This is a potentially very valuable source for several things, including for instance links to Biblical verses, because we know that it will, basically, be around as long as we are.

By user:John Carter with inspiration from History2007

Christian art
This section would include a rather large image of a specific work of art, with a link to the most directly relevant article. Suggestion: Resurrection of Christ, an English 15th century Nottingham alabaster. Groups of painted relief panels were sold via dealers to churches on a budget, who had wood frameworks made to hold them locally. From a huge new donation of images from the Walters Art Museum to Commons, see By Johnbod

Spotlight
A new WikiProject relating directly to Christian history is being developed at WikiProject Christian history. Also, a group specifically devoted to the Mennonites and other Anabaptists is now up and running at WikiProject Christianity/Anabaptist work group. Anyone interested in assisting with the development of these groups and topics is more than welcome to do so.

By John Carter

I believe
... in the statements contained in the Nicene Creed. I believe that the Bible is one of the two defining bases for belief. The other is the Sacred tradition, which provides us with means of interpreting the Scriptures, as well as some teachings which have been handed on by God outside of the scriptures. I believe that the Magisterium has been empowered to fill this interpretative function. I believe that clerical celibacy is a rule that should generally be followed. I am a member of the Catholic Church.

By John Carter

Help requests
Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

- Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) 02:47, 12 June 2012 (UTC)

Ichthus: July 2012
 Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 336 active members. We would like to welcome User:Emilymadcat, User:Toa Nidhiki05, User:DonutGuy, and User:RCNesland, Thank you all for your interest in this effort. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor Ichthus is one of the ways that the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department helps update our members. We have recently added some new sections to the newsletter. Please let us know what you think of the new departments, and if there are any other suggestions for departments you would like to see. And if you have anything you would personally like to add, by all means let us know. The talk page of the current issue is probably the best place to post such comments. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

Church of the month by User:JaGa Mission Santa Clara de Asis

Vote for the project mascot We had last month asked our members to help "bring into the fold" Wikipe-tan as the project's mascot. Voting will take place this month for which image we should adopt at WikiProject Christianity/Outreach/Wikipe-tan. Please take a moment to review the images and vote for whichever is your favorite, or, if you so prefer, suggest an additional one.

By John Carter

Calendar Thie coming month (mid-July through mid-September) includes days dedicated to the honor of Mary Magdalene, James, son of Zebedee, Ignatius Loyola, Saint Dominic, Joseph of Arimathea, and the Transfiguration of Jesus.

Featured content and GA report Grade I listed churches in Cheshire was recently promoted to Featured List status. This picture was recently promoted to Featured Picture status. Bartolome de las Casas and Edmund the Martyr were promoted to GA level this past month. Our thanks and congratulations to all those involved.

Wikimedia Foundation report Wikibooks welcomes the development of textbooks of all kinds, children's books, recipes, and other material. It currently has just under 2500 books, including several Wikijunior books for the 12 and under population. There is, at present, not even a book on Christianity. Anyone interested in helping develop such a textbook is more than welcome to do so.

By John Carter

Christian art

The portrait of Sir Thomas More by Hans Holbein the Younger. By John Carter

Spotlight A new WikiProject relating directly to Christian history is being developed at WikiProject Christian history. Anyone interested in assisting with the development of these groups and topics is more than welcome to do so.

By John Carter

I believe ... in the tradition of Thomas the Apostle, Mar Addai, and Saint Bartholomew. I believe that Jesus had two essences (or natures), human and divine, unmingled, that are everlastingly united in one personality. I am a member of the Assyrian Church of the East.

By John Carter

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) 15:41, 17 July 2012 (UTC)

WikiProject Christianity August 2012 newsletter
 Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 341 active members. We would like to welcome our newest members, User:David_FLXD, User:Alexsbecker, User:Penguin 236, User:Gugi001, User:John D. Rockerduck, and User:Margaret9mary. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor Ichthus is one of the ways that the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department helps update our members. We have recently added some new sections to the newsletter. Please let us know if there are changes you would like to see in the format, or if there are any particular things you would like to see included. And if you have anything you would personally like to add, by all means let us know. The talk page of the current issue is probably the best place to post such comments. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

By John Carter

Church of the month by User:Diliff Frauenkirche (Church of Our Blessed Lady) in Munich, taken from the tower of St. Peter's Church

Contest of the month We currently have a remarkable lack of Wikipedia-Books. Right now, Category:Wikipedia books on Christianity contains only 12 books. We certainly could have at least one book on each major grouping within Christianity. One of the challenges for this month, then, is working to put together books on relevant topics. For this month, one contest is for editors to assemble the basic Wikipedia books for each of the main topics of the extant related projects. When finished, they should their creation of the books at the main Christianity noticeboard, and at the end of the month the project will award barnstars to those who have made a significant efforts in developing this underdeveloped content.

Also this month, we are going to have have a challenge to create and improve some of our more important missing or low-quality articles. As biographies are often a bit easier, this month we are choosing two biographies: Karl Behm, which has yet to be started, and the currently Stub-class article Nerses IV the Gracious. A barnstar will be awarded to any editor who can get these articles up to DYK quality level and ultimately selected for the DYK section of the main page.

Calendar Thie coming month (mid-August through mid-September) includes feasts dedicated to the honor of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Bartholomew the Apostle, Nativity of Mary, and the Exaltation of the Cross.

Featured content and GA report Since the last report, William de Chesney (sheriff), Knights of Columbus, and  Angelus Silesius were promoted to GA level. Our thanks and congratulations to all those involved.

Wikimedia Foundation report Wikinews is our sister site for developing news stories. Several events relating to Christianity, like the installation of bishops for instance, do not necessarily merit extensive coverage in wikipedia encyclopedic articles, but can and easily could be covered at greater length in a news article format. Given the number of significant news events that relate to religion, including claims of miracles, assignment of bishops and other religious leaders, church conferences, and other events, this site provides an excellent opportunity to provide in-depth coverage of current events at greater length than wikipedia.

Christian art

Christ Crucified by Diego Velazquez.

Spotlight One of our newer editors, User:David_FLXD, has recently gone through much of our content related to Methodism and assessed it. We are very grateful for his efforts, and that of all the editors who have had a role in developing that content. We have every reason to believe that this will make it significantly easier for the Methodism work group to create and develop content relevant to Methodism. To help that along, we certainly encourage everyone to do what they can to help David and the other Methodism editors to bring the content relevant to their tradition to the highest possible level of quality.

I believe ... in the Holy Trinity, the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion, the Arminian conception of free will through God's prevenient grace, and the regular renewal of the individual's covenant with God. I am a Methodist.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) ~

WikiProject Christianity September 2012 newsletter
 Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 344 active members. We would like to welcome our newest members, User:Floating Boat, User:Dewey420, and User:Jpacobb. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor Ichthus is one of the ways that the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department helps update our members. We have recently added some new sections to the newsletter. Please let us know if there are changes you would like to see in the format, or if there are any particular things you would like to see included. And if you have anything you would personally like to add, by all means let us know. The talk page of the current issue is probably the best place to post such comments. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

By John Carter

Church of the month by User:Diliff The Chapel of Keble College, Oxford

Contest of the month We currently have a remarkable lack of Wikipedia-Books. Right now, Category:Wikipedia books on Christianity contains only 12 books. We certainly could have at least one book on each major grouping within Christianity. One of the challenges for this month, then, is working to put together books on relevant topics. For this month, one contest is for editors to assemble the basic Wikipedia books for each of the main topics of the extant related projects. When finished, they should their creation of the books at the main Christianity noticeboard, and at the end of the month the project will award barnstars to those who have made a significant efforts in developing this underdeveloped content.

Also this month, we are going to have have a challenge to create and improve some of our more important missing or low-quality articles. Last month's challenge articles were Karl Beth and Nerses IV the Gracious. Both articles are currently candidates for the DYK section of the main page. This month's challenge articles are the Stub-class article James Hastings and the not yet started Rudolf Sohm, A barnstar will be awarded to any editor who can get these articles up to DYK quality level and ultimately selected for the DYK section of the main page.

Calendar Thie coming month (mid-September through mid-October) includes feasts dedicated to the honor of the Martyrs of Korea, Saint Matthew, Vincent de Paul, Michaelmas, Saint Jerome, Theresa of Lisieux, the Feast of the Guardian Angels, Francis of Assisi, Our Lady of the Rosary, and Teresa of Avila.

Featured content and GA report Since the last report, Albertus Soegijapranata, and Reginald Heber were promoted to FA. Grade I listed churches in Greater Manchester was promoted to Featured List, and Jackie Hudson, Joyce Kilmer, Divine command theory, Bosa of York and Argument from morality were promoted to GA level. DYKs featured this past month include Church of Saint Benoit, Istanbul, All Saints Church, Hollingbourne, Neustädter Kirche, Hannover, St Mary's Church, Kirkby Lonsdale, Albert Ndongmo, If We Are the Body, List of places of worship in Tonbridge and Malling, Kulubnarti church, All Saints Church, Ulcombe, Val-Saint-Lambert Abbey, Igny Abbey, Church of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel, Brăila, Places of Worship Registration Act 1855, Collegiate Church of San Gimignano, and St Matthew's Church, Burnley. Our profoundest thanks and congratulations to all those involved!

Wikimedia Foundation report As some of you may have seen, the Simple English Wikipedia has been experiencing some difficulties lately. This particular entity could be of great value to several individuals who are trying to learn English. As some of you who do speak foreign languages know, one of the most easily available, and, in general, useful learning aids for people is a text they know already, which allows them to focus on the specific words of the new language. Various recorded readings and translations of the Bible are among the best examples of this. Any efforts to try to enhance this vital means of informing a large segment of our readership is more than welcome. People interested in helping develop it are encouraged to leave a note regarding their specific articles of interest at the Christianity noticeboard. It would be wonderful if we could report some significant contributions to this sister site next month. And, of course, if we do have something to report, those involved would receive our greatest thanks.

Christian art

The Guardian Angel by Pietro da Cortona.

Spotlight WikiProject Calvinism is one of our more important subprojects. It is specifically devoted to developing content relating to the Calvinist tradition, and the primary point for development of content relating to the Pilgrims, Presbyterians, Reformed churches, Congregational church, Reformed Baptists, and Low church. We definitely encourage everyone to do what they can to help this project develop the content relating to this extremely important Christian tradition.

I believe ... that human nature is insufficient for salvation, and the grace of God is required to do so. I believe that God has preordained who will and will not achieve salvation. I believe that Jesus's atonement was sufficient for the purposes for which it was done. I believe that God's grace is of such power that it can overcome any person's resistance. I believe that those whom God has chosen for salvation will, by the undeniable power of God, persevere in God's grace. I am a Calvinist.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) ~

WikiProject Christianity October 2012 newsletter
 Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 347 active members. We would like to welcome our newest members, User:Dplcrnj, User:Danmuz, User:Zigzig20s, and User:Jasonasosa. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor Ichthus is one of the ways that the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department helps update our members. This newsletter is one of the ways we do try to help people keep up with the project. We would always welcome any input for things to be included in it or additional editors to keep it going. Please let us know if there are changes you would like to see in the format, or if there are any particular things you would like to see included. And if you have anything you would personally like to add, by all means let us know. The talk page of the current issue is probably the best place to post such comments. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

By John Carter

Church of the month by User:Taxiarchos228, recently promoted to Featured Image St. Paul's Church, Basel

Contest of the month For the upcoming month, the contest will be to develop content related to the Christmas season, including Advent and other related topics. Please feel free to see and take part in the discussion at Wikipedia talk:Christianity noticeboard.

One of last month's challenge articles, Rudolf Sohm, has been substantially developed by User:Jack1956 and User:StAnselm. Our deepest thanks to both of them!!

Calendar Thie coming month (mid-October through mid-November) includes All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and major commemorations dedicated to the honor of the Ignatius of Antioch, Luke the Evangelist, Simon the Canaanite, Saint Jude, the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the beginning of the Nativity Fast, James of Jerusalem, Reformation Day, and others.

Featured content and GA report Since the last report, Augustinian theodicy by User:ItsZippy was promoted to FA. Grade I listed churches in Merseyside by User:Peter I. Vardy was promoted to Featured List. The images in the Church of the Month and Christian art sections of this newsletter were promoted to Featured Picture status. John Wheelwright by User:Sarnold17, Christmas Party (The Office) by User:Gen. Quon and If We Are the Body by User:Toa Nidhiki05, were promoted to GA level. DYKs featured this past month include Cathedral of Saint Demetrius, Craiova, by User:Biruitorul, Nerses IV the Gracious by User:John Carter, Church of St Candida and Holy Cross by User:BarretB, St Laurence's Church, Morland by User:Peter I. Vardy, St Mary's Church, Longfleet by User:Bermicourt, Chor von St. Bonifatius by User:Gerda Arendt, St Andrew's Church, Penrith by User:Peter I. Vardy, Holy Rosary Cathedral (Vancouver) by User:Bloom6132, Sacred Heart Cathedral (Kamloops) by User:Bloom6132, St Columba's Church, Warcop by User:Peter I. Vardy, St Oswald's Church, Ravenstonedale by User:Peter I. Vardy, and W. E. Biederwolf by User:John Foxe. Our profoundest thanks and congratulations to all those involved!

Christian art

Portrait of John Henry Newman by Sir John Everett Millais. This image was promoted this past month to FM by the work of User:Spongie555. Thank you, Spongie! Spotlight WikiProject Holidays/Christmas task force is the group whose purpose is to help develop the content related to the Christmas season, including Advent, New Year's, and related holidays. As many of us know, in several parts of the world, including the United States, the Christmas season is not only the time of one of the greatest holidays of the Christian liturgical year, but it is also the "make or break" time for many retailers, whose profitability for the year often depends on their success in this time of the giving of sometimes significantly expensive gifts. In other parts of the world, the winter solstice period and sometimes specifically Christmas itself means something that might surprise many Christians, like the Christmas in Japan, where Christmas is one of the times hotels receive the greatest number of, often unmarried, couples staying there for the night. The solstice season is also significant to several other religions. Many of these days are also legal holidays in several places. In Belarus, for instance, both the Western and Eastern Christmas commemorations are legal holidays. We would certainly welcome the members of this project to donate some of their time and talents in the upcoming months to improving this significant content.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) ~

WikiProject Christianity October 2012 newsletter
 Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 349 active members. We would like to welcome our newest members, User:Hayayika and User:Pikachu Bros.. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor Ichthus is one of the ways that the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department helps update our members. This newsletter is one of the ways we do try to help people keep up with the project. We would always welcome any input for things to be included in it or additional editors to keep it going. Please let us know if there are changes you would like to see in the format, or if there are any particular things you would like to see included. And if you have anything you would personally like to add, by all means let us know. The talk page of the current issue is probably the best place to post such comments. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

By John Carter

Church of the month Saint-Augustin, Paris by User:Saffron Blaze Recently promoted to Featured Image. Great work!

Contest of the month For the upcoming month, the contest will continue with the Christmas theme, including Advent and other related topics. Please feel free to see and take part in discussion at the Christianity noticeboard.

Calendar This coming month (mid-November through mid-December) includes the Advent season. Other major feasts are those of Margaret of Scotland, Matthew the Evangelist, Hilda of Whitby, Elizabeth of Hungary, Edmund the Martyr, the Presentation of Mary, Saint Cecilia, Clement of Rome, Catherine of Alexandria, Andrew the Apostle, Francis Xavier, Saint Barbara, John Damascene, Nicholas of Myra, Saint Ambrose of Milan, Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Lucy of Syracuse, and others.

Featured content and GA report Since the last report, Crucifixion and Last Judgement diptych by, among others, User:Truthkeeper88, User:Ceoil, and User:Kafka Liz and Mitt Romney by User:Wasted Time R were promoted to FA. List of 2000s Christian Songs number ones by User:Toa Nidhiki05 was promoted to Featured List. The two images in the Church of the Month and Christian art sections of this newsletter were promoted to Featured Picture status, as were these two images of Michelangelo's Pieta and of Giovanni Bellini's Saint Francis in the Desert. Derek Webb by User: Pepsi2786 and others, and Scipione Piattoli by User:Piotrus were promoted to GA level. DYKs featured this past month include Archdiocese of Râmnic, by User:Biruitorul, Diocese of Caransebeş by User:Biruitorul, Wythburn Church by User:Peter I. Vardy, St. Gumbertus, Ansbach by User:Gerda Arendt, User:Dr. Blofeld, and User:Nvvchar collectively, St. Johannis, Ansbach by User:Gerda Arendt, User:Dr. Blofeld, and User:Nvvchar collectively, Nikollë Bojaxhiu by User:ZjarriRrethues, All Saints Church, Lydd by User:Dr. Blofeld, User:Rosiestep, User:Gilderien, and User:Ipigott collectively, St Mary's Church, Acton Burnell by User:Peter I. Vardy, St Eata's Church, Atcham by User:Peter I. Vardy, Nativity of St. John the Baptist Church, Piatra Neamț by User:Biruitorul, Anna Schäffer by User:Shii, List of Archbishops of Vancouver by User: Bloom6132, James Francis Carney by User:Bloom6132, St Luke's Church, Chelsea by User:PKM and User:Johnbod, Gregory Orologas by User:Alexikoua, Ambrosios Pleianthidis by User:Alexikoua, and St Giles' Church, Barrow, by User:Peter I. Vardy. Our profoundest thanks and congratulations to all those involved!

Christian art

Three scenes of the legend of the Miraculous Sacrament, in which communion wafers were reported to bleed after being stabbed, in the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral, Brussels by Jean-Baptiste Capronnier. This image was promoted this past month to FM by the work of User:Alvesgaspar. Thank you, Alvesgaspar!

Spotlight The core topics work group is the group whose specific purpose is to help identify and develop those articles which are of greatest importance to an overall understanding of the broad subject of Christianity, based on what is included in the core topics list. These articles include some of specific churches and individuals, history, philosophical and theological matters, and more. We have had some recent discussion regarding which articles should be included in this list, and it probably makes sense to revisit the selections, and try to figure out how best to work to make them high quality articles. Discussion is beginning at WT:X regarding these matters, and all input is welcome.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) ~

WikiProject Christianity Newsletter - December 2012
 Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 350 active members. We would like to welcome our newest member, User:Harishrawat11. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. We would be able to achieve nothing here without the input of all of you. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor Ichthus is one of the ways that the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department helps update our members. This newsletter is one of the ways we do try to help people keep up with the project. We would always welcome any input for things to be included in it or additional editors to keep it going. Please let us know if there are changes you would like to see in the format, or if there are any particular things you would like to see included. And if you have anything you would personally like to add, by all means let us know. The talk page of the current issue is probably the best place to post such comments. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

By John Carter

Church of the month This image of The Baptistry of Saint John in Pisa by User:NotFromUtrecht was recently promoted to Featured Image. Thank you and congratulations for the great image!

Contest of the month As I imagine many of our editors will be editing at a greatly reduced level for the next few weeks, what with the Christmas and New Year's holidays coming, there is no specific content-related contest this month. The contest, if anything, is to make the most of the season, in whatever way, if any, you deem appropriate.

Calendar This coming month (mid-December through mid-January) includes the Advent season, and one of the two greatest holidays of the Christian year, Christmas. Other major feasts in the next month include those of the Feast of the Epiphany, Baptism of the Lord, Saint Stephen, Thomas the Apostle, Holy Innocents, John the Evangelist, Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil the Great, Saint Genevieve, Elizabeth Ann Seton, and Saint Sava.

Featured content and GA report Since the last report, Anne Hutchinson nominated by User:Sarnold17 was promoted to FA. Grade I listed churches in Lancashire by User:Peter I. Vardy was promoted to Featured List. The image in the Church of the Month and Christian art sections of this newsletter were promoted to Featured Picture status. Come to the Well by User:Toa Nidhiki05 and others, and Dwight Christmas by User:Gen. Quon and others were promoted to GA level. DYKs featured this past month include King's Chapel, Gibraltar, by User:Prioryman, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Albany, New York) by User:Daniel Case, Tingsted Church by User:Ipigott and User:Rosiestep, St. Mary's Church (Albany, New York) by User:Daniel Case, Stubbekøbing Church by User:Ipigott and User:Rosiestep, Notre Dame Cathedral (Phnom Penh) by User:Bloom6132, and St. James' Church, Cardington by User:Peter I. Vardy. Our profoundest thanks and congratulations to all those involved!

Christian art

The nave of the Parish Church of Urtijëi. This image was created by User:Moroderen. Thank you, Moroderen!

Spotlight In the spirit of Christmas, the spotlight for the coming month might actually best be on those people closest to you. We know that a lot of our editors here are associated in some way or another with schools, and many if not most of them are going on rather extended breaks for the holidays. This can give some of us a chance to meet up with old friends, spend time with our families and those close to us, and, in a sense, "recharge" for the new year. So, for all of you who are in some way part of that group, we wish you the very best of holidays. We hope you all return to editing after the holidays with your spirits lifted and with your energies at peak level. There are some small matters in development here as well, and it is our hope that some of them will be ready come the next newsletter. But, until then, we wish you all the happiest and holiest (if appropriate) holidays.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) ~
 * EdwardsBot (talk) 02:28, 20 December 2012 (UTC)

WikiProject Christianity Newsletter - January 2013
 Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 354 active members. We would like to welcome our newest members, Alliereborn, Iselilja, Peterkp, and Sosthenes12. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. We would be able to achieve nothing here without the input of all of you. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor Ichthus is one of the ways that the WikiProject Christianity’s Outreach department helps update our members. This newsletter is one of the ways we do try to help people keep up with the project. We would always welcome any input for things to be included in it or additional editors to keep it going. Please let us know if there are changes you would like to see in the format, or if there are any particular things you would like to see included. And if you have anything you would personally like to add, by all means let us know. The talk page of the current issue is probably the best place to post such comments. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

By John Carter

Church of the month This image of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn, Estonia by User:Poco a poco was recently promoted to Featured Image. Thank you and congratulations for the great image!

Contest of the month No particular contest this month. I am however getting rather close to getting together a more or less complete set of articles relating to different areas of Christianity which can be found in recent reference sources on the broad topic of Christianity, and about various subtopics, which I hope to have finished in the next few weeks. I wonder what the rest of you might think of, maybe, making the contests of future months be basically directed at filling in the gaps of our existing coverage of topics, like those topics given significant coverage in specialized reference works which we don't yet have content on, and giving the thanks, and rewards, whatever they might be, to those who create and develop such content. I am starting a discussion at Wikipedia talk:Christianity noticeboard, and would very much welcome any input from interested parties in how to set it up, determine winners including how many winners, etc.

By John Carter

Featured content and GA report Since the last report, the image in the "Church of the Month" section of this newsletter was promoted to Featured Image status.

Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes, BWV 40 by Gerda Arendt and others, Teuruarii IV by Lemurbaby, KAVEBEAR and others, and Peace on Earth (Casting Crowns album) by Toa Nidhiki05 and others, were all promoted to GA status.

Also this past month, the DYKs on the main page included St James' Church, Cardington by Peter I. Vardy, Bishop's Palace, Kraków by Poeticbent, Kippinge Church by Ipigott and Rosiestep, Trinitatis Church, also by Ipigott and Rosiestep, Steindamm Church by Olessi, St Laurence's Church, Church Stretton by Peter I. Vardy, Monastery of the Holy Trinity, Meteora, by Peter I. Vardy, Sonrise Church, by Aboutmovies, St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Albany, New York), by Daniel Case, All Saints Church, Claverley, by Peter I. Vardy, and Church of the Holy Virgin Mary of Lourdes, by  Poeticbent. Our profoundest thanks and congratulations to all those involved!

Christian art

The Tower of Babel'' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder This image was created by User:Dcoetzee. Thank you, Dcoetzee!

Spotlight The Spotlight this month turns to the the Syriac Christianity work group. The scope of this project includes the various traditions of Syriac Christianity, including the Assyrian Church of the East, Ancient Church of the East, Church of the East, Syriac Orthodox Church, Chaldean Catholic Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, and Saint Thomas Christians. One of these groups, the Assyrian Church of the East, is considered by scholars to have probably been, for several hundred years, the largest Christian grouping in the planet, with its numerous members in Central Asia and Eastern Asia. Numerous texts, traditions, and practices unique to these groups exist, including the Jesus Sutras and the belief of the Assyrian Church of the East that the bread they use in the preparation of their Eucharist uses the same basic yeast as that used in the bread of the Last Supper itself. Sadly, given the linguistic barriers to much of the content relative to these groups, and the comparative lack of notoriety they have in the Western world, much of this content does receive less attenion, and thus less development, than much other content. There is a large amount of extremely valuable historical material here still waiting to be adequately developed by editors with an interest in the topic, and I personally very much hope that we can draw more attention to these topics, and the content related to them.

By John Carter

Calendar This coming month (mid-January through mid-February) includes The Presentation of Christ in the Temple or Candlemas and the Conversion of Paul. Other major feasts in the next month include those of Saint Agnes, Saint Francis de Sales, Saints Timothy and Titus, Thomas Aquinas, John Bosco, Saint Agatha, Paul Miki, [{Saint Scholastica]], and Saint Anskar.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) ~
 * EdwardsBot (talk) 03:38, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

WikiProject Christianity Newsletter April 2013
 Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 357 active members. We would like to welcome our newest members, Thomas Cranmer, Mr.Oglesby, and Sneha Priscilla. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. We would be able to achieve nothing here without the input of all of you. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor

We apologise for the hiatus in the publication of this newsletter due to unforseen circumstances leading to the wikibreak of John Carter, and so I have taken over as acting editor, and have taken this opportunity to move the publication date to the start of each month as planned, to better reflect on the previous month and look ahead to the next. This issue covers the period of time from mid-January to the end of March.

Since the last issue we have seen the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI and the election of Pope Francis. This has received much coverage both in the world media and on Wikipedia. While there is still much work to do, several quality articles have been written and the editors involved are thanked for their efforts.

This month we look ahead to Easter and the celebration of God's love for mankind through the crucifixion and resurrection of his Son Jesus Christ. With that, I wish you all happy reading!

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

By Gilderien

Church of the month This image of the Church of Saint Ildefonso, Portugal by Poco a poco was recently promoted to Featured Image. Thank you and congratulations for the great image!

Contest of the month No particular contest this month. I am however getting rather close to getting together a more or less complete set of articles relating to different areas of Christianity which can be found in recent reference sources on the broad topic of Christianity, and about various subtopics, which I hope to have finished in the next few weeks. I wonder what the rest of you might think of, maybe, making the contests of future months be basically directed at filling in the gaps of our existing coverage of topics, like those topics given significant coverage in specialized reference works which we don't yet have content on, and giving the thanks, and rewards, whatever they might be, to those who create and develop such content. I am starting a discussion at Wikipedia talk:Christianity noticeboard, and would very much welcome any input from interested parties in how to set it up, determine winners including how many winners, etc.

By John Carter

Featured content and GA report Since the last report;

Grade I listed churches in Cumbria was promoted to Featured List status, thanks to Peter I. Vardy, and the image above of the Church of Saint Ildefonso was promoted to featured picture status.

Martin Luther King, Jr., by Khazar2, was promoted to GA status, as well Third Epistle of John by Cerebellum.

Also these past months, the DYKs on the main page included St Mary's Church, Cleobury Mortimer by Peter I. Vardy; Marion Irvine by Giants2008; Margaret McKenna by Guerillero; Archdiocesan Cathedral of the Holy Trinity by Epeefleche; St Edith's Church, Eaton-under-Heywood by Peter I. Vardy; Vester Egesborg Church by Ipigott, Rosiestep, Nvvchar, and Dr. Blofeld; Undløse Church by Ipigott, Rosiestep, Nvvchar, and Dr. Blofeld; St Martin's Church, Næstved by Ipigott, Rosiestep, Nvvchar, and Dr. Blofeld; St. Peter, Syburg by Gerda Arendt and Dr. Blofeld; Østre Porsgrunn Church by Strachkvas; Church of Our Saviour (Mechanicsburg, Ohio) by Nyttend; Dami Mission by Freikorp; Mechanicsburg Baptist Church by Nyttend; Acheiropoietos Monastery, by Proudbolsahye; T. Lawrason Riggs, by Gareth E Kegg; McColley's Chapel, by Mangoe; Oświęcim Chapel, by BurgererSF; Second Baptist Church (Mechanicsburg, Ohio), by Nyttend; Church of the Holy Ghost, Tallinn, by Yakikaki; Old Stone Congregational Church, by Orladyl Heath Chapel, by Peter I. Vardy; St. Joseph's Church, Beijing, by Bloom6132; Church of St Bartholomew, Yeovilton, by Rodw; and St. Michael's Catholic Church (Mechanicsburg, Ohio) also by Nyttend. Our profoundest thanks and congratulations to all those involved!

Christian art Complete recording

Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe, BWV 22, a cantata by the German composer J.S. Bach, was promoted to GA this month and was written by Gerda Arendt. Many thanks for her continuing work in the area of early 18th Century Church music.

Spotlight The Spotlight this month turns to the the Jesus work group. The scope of this project includes the life and teachings of the central figure of Christianity, Jesus Christ and aims to write about them in a non-denominational encylopædic style. Top-priority articles include Jesus, Christ, Resurrection of Jesus, and Holy Grail, whereas High-priority articles include Aramaic Language, a former FA, as well as Sermon on the Mount, Lamb of God, and Passion (Christianity). The workgroup has also published two books, covering Christ's final days and the Parables of Jesus. The workgroup has two GAs, Nativity scene, and Jesus in Islam, but unfortunately the flagship article, Jesus was delisted in 2009. It is also responsible for three WP:1.0 articles, and the WikiWork of the project is 4.56, which indicates the "average" article is between Start and C class.

By Gilderien

Calendar This coming month (end-March through end-April) includes Easter Sunday in Western Christianity and both Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday for the Eastern Orthodox Church. Other major feasts in the next month include those of Saint George, Saint Mark the Evangelist, Saint Stanislaus, James, son of Zebedee, and Benedict the Moor. - Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here EdwardsBot (talk) 12:20, 29 March 2013 (UTC)

File:Walter Scott (Evangelist).jpg missing description details
Dear uploader: The media file you uploaded as: is missing a description and/or other details on its image description page. If possible, please add this information. This will help other editors make better use of the image, and it will be more informative to readers.
 * File:Walter Scott (Evangelist).jpg

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If you have any questions, please see Help:Image page. Thank you. Theo's Little Bot (error?) 09:53, 14 April 2013 (UTC)

WikiProject Christianity Newsletter (May 2013)
<div style="font-family:Georgia, Palatino, Palatino Linotype, Times, Times New Roman, serif;"> Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 363 active members. We would like to welcome our newest members, Pleonic, MJWilliams1998, Iloilo Wanderer, Jkadavoor, Sir Ian and McBenjamin. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. We would be able to achieve nothing here without the input of all of you. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

From the Editor This month we hear the news that the Bible is to be made into a film after outstanding success of a biblical miniseries on the History Channel, and we have seen the release of Iraqi Pastor Ali Hamzah from his confinement in Iraq.

After last month's spotlight on the Jesus work group, the flagship article, Jesus, was nominated for Good Article status after much work from FutureTrillionaire and History2007, and provisionally passed by the reviewer, although they have requested a second opinion. Our many thanks for the hard work that has gone into restoring this article to a quality piece of work.

This month the second largest denomination of Christianity, the Eastern Orthodox Church, celebrates Easter and the death and resurrection of the Son of God Jesus Christ.

P.S. Please [ click here] to add the new Christianity noticeboard to your watchlist to follow the latest discussions relevant to WikiProject Christianity and subprojects.

By Gilderien

Church of the month Wells Cathedral was this month promoted to GA status. Rodw has appealed for any help project members can give to improve this article for a FA nomination.

Contest of the month No particular contest this month. I am however getting rather close to getting together a more or less complete set of articles relating to different areas of Christianity which can be found in recent reference sources on the broad topic of Christianity, and about various subtopics, which I hope to have finished in the next few weeks. I wonder what the rest of you might think of, maybe, making the contests of future months be basically directed at filling in the gaps of our existing coverage of topics, like those topics given significant coverage in specialized reference works which we don't yet have content on, and giving the thanks, and rewards, whatever they might be, to those who create and develop such content. By John Carter

Featured content and GA report Since the last report;

Featured report; Madonna in the Church, by Ceoil, Truthkeeper88, and Johnbod was promoted to Featured Article status. Crucifixion and Last Judgement was promoted to featured picture status, after nomination by Crisco 1492.

Wells Cathedral, by Rodw, Robert of Ghent, by User:Ealdgyth, Christianity in Medieval Scotland, by Sabrebd, and Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, also by Sabrebd were promoted to GA status.

Also these past months, the DYKs on the main page included Lectionary 311, by Leszek Jańczuk; Herr Christ, der einig Gotts Sohn, by Gerda Arendt; Whalsay Parish Church, by Ipigott, Rosiestep, Nvvchar, Dr. Blofeld; Interpretatio Christiana, by Altenmann; First Congregational Church, Salt Lake City, by Orlady; Church of King Charles the Martyr, Royal Tunbridge Wells, by The C of E; First Church in Albany (Reformed), by Daniel Case; Pope Anastasius II, by AbstractIllusions; Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Palma, by Dr. Blofeld, Ipigott, Rosiestep; Colan Church, by Rosiestep, Nvvchar, Ipigott; Notre Dame Cathedral, Papeete, Bloom6132, Church of St. Wenceslaus (New Prague, Minnesota), by Elkman; St. Joseph Catholic Church (San Antonio, Texas), by Gilliam; Doubting Thomas, by Johnbod; Robert of Ghent, by Ealdgyth; and Holy Trinity Church, Holdgate, by Peter I. Vardy. Our profoundest thanks and congratulations to all those involved!

Christian art

This depiction of the Crucifixion and Last Judgement was painted by Dutch artist Jan van Eyck and promoted to Featured Picture this month.

Spotlight SPOTLIGHT

This month, we turn our attention to the Encyclopedic articles sub-group, which aims to provide "a collection point for lists of articles contained in other reference sources relating to Christianity, which could serve as a basis for developing our own content". Created by John Carter, it is primarily a list of links, red or otherwise, for subjects which have an article in the reference works listed therein. This serves as a very useful list if any project members are "stuck for what to do" and there remains lots of potential for articles developed from this list.

By Gilderien

Calendar This coming month (end-April through end-May) includes Easter Sunday for the Eastern Orthodox Church. Other major feasts in the next month include those of Matthias the Apostle, The Venerable Bede, and Empress Helena. - Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is the newsletter of Christianity on Wikipedia • It is published by WikiProject Christianity For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe remove yourself from the list here EdwardsBot (talk)17:06, 28 April 2013 (UTC)

WikiProject Christianity Newsletter (June 2013)
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From the Editor Since its formation in 2006, WikiProject Christianity has come a long way. A significant number of new articles have appeared on a wide range of topics, and the quality of some key articles has seen dramatic improvement. Yet, by the very nature of the open, crowd-sourced development environment in which we operate, as the number of pages in the project has increased at times our attention has been naturally diluted. We should of course strive for quality everywhere, but we should remember that this newsletter is called Ichthus.

Starting this month we will start a "Focus on" series, where we will try to "bring Jesus back" and focus on him. For five consecutive issues we will focus on one aspect of the study of Jesus. The goal of this series is to inform our members of what the project contains and highlight those articles which have reached quality and stability.

From this month until November we will focus on the historical Jesus, a topic which has been the subject of much discussion on article talk pages, as well as the general media. This is an important topic, and we have a good set of well referenced articles on that now. Then, starting in December we will focus on Christ, and the spiritual and theological elements that the title entails. Following that the review of the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament, his miracles, and parables will take place. And each month the "Bookshelf" will mention a book that fits the theme of the month.

We hope you will enjoy this journey as we present a new aspect of Jesus each month. And given that as the number of project pages increases, the ratio of those watching the pages declines, we hope that more of you will watch some of these central pages that help define this project.

Church of the month The current building of All Saints' Church, Winthorpe in Nottinghamshire, England which was completed in 1888, is at least the third version of the church, which dates back to at least the early 13th century.

Good articles and DYKs The article Jesus received the good article mark last month, as did Cleeve Abbey. A number of churches were featured on the main page in the DYK section in May, namely St. Lamberti, Hildesheim, Karja church, Braaby Church, St Patrick's Liverpool, Vlah Church, Freerslev Church, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Mata-Utu, St. Michael's Cathedral (Sitka, Alaska), St. Lamberti, Hildesheim, Karja church, Braaby Church, St. Pierre Cathedral, Saint-Pierre, Mont Saint Michel Abbey, St Patrick's Church, Liverpool, Vlah Church, St Catherine of Siena Church, Cocking, Catedral Nuestra Señora de La Asunción, Roholte Church, Notre Dame Cathedral, Taiohae, Leicester Abbey, Caracas Cathedral, Caldey Abbey, King's Mead Priory, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Hong Kong) andAll Saints' Church, Winthorpe, as well as the hymn What Wondrous Love Is This.

Focus on... <BIG>T</BIG>HE <BIG>H</BIG>ISTORICAL <BIG>J</BIG>ESUS

Did Jesus exist? Did he walk the streets of Jerusalem? The Historicity of Jesus article answers these questions with a firm affirmative. Historicity does not discuss if Jesus walked on water, but if he walked at all. The issue was the subject of scholarly debate before the end of last century, but the academic debate is almost over now. As the article discusses, virtually all academic opposition to the existence of Jesus has evaporated away now and scholars see it as a concluded issue. The discussion is now just among mostly self-published non-academics.

In 2011 John Dickson tweeted that if anyone finds a professor of history who denies that Jesus lived,he would eat a page of his Bible (Matthew 1 he said). Dickson's Bible is still safe.

The article discusses the ancient sources that relate to Jesus and how they fit together to establish that he existed. The evidence for Jesus is not just based on the Christian gospels, but by inter-relating them with non-Christian sources, and the fact that they all "fit together". Moreover, the existence of Jesus is not supported just by Christian scholars and in recent years the detailed knowledge of Jewish scholars and their discoveries (e.g. Shlomo Pines' discovery of the Syriac Josephus) has proven highly beneficial. We encourage you to read and follow the article, for the existence of Jesus is central to the existence of Christianity.

From the bookshelf Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence by Robert Van Voorst, 2000 ISBN 0-8028-4368-9

Just a few years after its publication, Van Voorst's book has become the standard comprehensive text for the discussion of ancient sources that relate to Jesus and his historicity. This detailed yet really readable book has received wide ranging endorsements - Blomberg and Harris separately referring to it as the most comprehensive treatment of the subject.

Did you know...
 * ... that Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the initials "S. D. G.", for Soli Deo Gloria, at the beginning and end of all his church compositions to give God credit for the work, and that Handel at times did the same?

Calendar The coming month includes days dedicated to the honor of Beheading of John the Baptist, Saints Peter and Paul, the Nativity of John the Baptist, and Saint Barnabas.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity. For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe remove yourself from the listhere EdwardsBot (talk) ~

WikiProject Christianity Newsletter (July 2013)
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From the Editor Welcome to the July 2013 issue of Ichthus. We focus on the chronology of Jesus, as well as looking back at the project content improved over the last month.

WP:X has gained another Featured Article, Gospel of the Ebionites, by Ignocrates. The Gospel of the Ebionites is the name scholars give to an apocryphal gospel that supposedly belonged to a sect known as the Ebionites. It consists of seven short quotations discovered in a heresiology known as the Panarion, written by Epiphanius of Salamis, and its original title remains unknown. The text is a gospel harmony composed in Greek, and is believed to have been written during the middle of the 2nd century.

St Mihangel's Church, Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn was promoted to Good Article status, as was two other welsh churches, St Enghenedl's Church, Llanynghenedl, and St Peter's Church, Llanbedrgoch.

The main page also featured several DYK hooks for articles in our project, namely Bob Fu, List of places of worship in Tandridge (district), Catholic Press, Garendon Abbey, St. John's Episcopal Church (Jersey City, New Jersey), Pargev Martirosyan, Praskvica Monastery, Heather Preceptory, St. Augustin, Coburg, Longleat Priory, St Mihangel's Church, Llanfihangel yn Nhowyn, St Enghenedl's Church, Llanynghenedl, Christianization of Moravia, Christianization of Bohemia, Repton Abbey, St Peter's Church, Llanbedrgoch, Medingen Abbey, Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church, St. James on-the-Lines, and Leopold Karl von Kollonitsch.

Church of the month St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is part of Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kiev in Ukraine. It is a functioning monastery that dates back to the Middle Ages.

Membership report The parent Christianity WikiProject currently has 367 active members. We would like to welcome our newest members, Newchildrenofthealmighty, Evenssteven, Kerna96, and FutureTrillionaire. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

Focus on... <BIG>T</BIG>HE <BIG>H</BIG>ISTORICAL <BIG>J</BIG>ESUS

When did Jesus live? When did he die? How do we know? We do, in fact, have excellent information about the time intervals for the life and death of Jesus. As in other people who lived and died in the first century, this gives an approximate date range, but still, give or take 3-4 years and we have pretty good estimates confirmed by a number of really diverse sources, ranging from inscriptions in Delphi to Roman and Jewish sources. The Chronology of Jesus article discusses how a wide variety of Christian, Jewish and Roman sources are used to establish the time-frame for the life and death of Jesus.

And all of his data fits together. For instance, the chronology of Paul had been discussed based on the Book of Acts long ago, then the Delphi Inscription is found in the 20th century in the Temple of Apollo. And guess what.. it confirms it and totally dates his trial in Corinth, which helps reaffirm the date of the crucifixion of Jesus. The same date range is independently estimated from the writings of Josephus on the Baptist's death. And it fits Isaac Newton's astronomical models for the crucifixion date as well as the independent lunar calculations of Humphreys. As that article shows, all these dates just fit together.

From the bookshelf Chronos, kairos, Christos: nativity and chronological studies edited by J. Vardaman, E. M. Yamauchi 1989 ISBN 0-931464-50-1

This two volume book (with a very apt title) is gem-filled with scholarly research. Paul Maier's article in the first volume is a classic study on the chronology of Jesus and provides a useful summary of a number of issues.

Did you know...
 * ... that the Russian journalist Nicolas Notovitch who in 1894 originated the story that there was evidence at the Hemis monastery that an adult Jesus had traveled to India, later confessed to fabricating his evidence?

Calendar This month (July) contains the feast days of Mary Magdalene, and James, son of Zebedee.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from a variety of other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity. For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe remove yourself from the list here EdwardsBot (talk)20:30, 30 June 2013 (UTC) This issue was distributed on behalf of Gilderien, current editor of the Ichthus, at 20:30, 30 June 2013 (UTC). Comments and other feedback are always welcome at his talk page.

August 2013 WikiProject Christianity Newsletter
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From the Editor

Welcome to the August 2013 issue of the WikiProject Christianity newsletter. We focus on the historical Jesus and reflect on the last month.

The project has another featured picture, The ruins of Holyrood Chapel, a digitisation of an oil-on-canvas painting. Our top-importance article, Jesus, has been nominated for Featured Article status, the discussion can be seen here; Knights of Colombus has also been nominated as a FAC.

Ecgbert (bishop) and Church architecture in Scotland have both this month achieved Good Article status.

Our project had several of its articles featured in the main page DYK section, including Hinckley Priory, Little Chapel, St Peter's Church, Ropsley, Chip Ingram, St John the Evangelist's Church, Corby Glen, Great George Street Congregational Church, St Mary's Church, Walton-on-the-Hill and Bunge church.

Our thanks go to all of those who have worked to achieve these article milestones.

Church of the month This image, of Maillezais Cathedral and created by Selbymay was this month promoted to featured picture status.

Membership report We would like to welcome our newest members, Thechristophermorris, Psmidi and Jchthys. Thank you all for your interest in this effort. If any members, new or not, wish any assistance, they should feel free to leave a message at the Christianity noticeboard or with me or other individual editors to request it.

Focus on... <BIG>T</BIG>HE <BIG>H</BIG>ISTORICAL <BIG>J</BIG>ESUS

What was Jesus like? What did he preach? Did he claim to be the Messiah? Did he predict an apocalypse? What can we know about him outside a religious context? The Historical Jesus article discusses what can be known about Jesus with various degrees of probability. While scholars agree on the over all flow and outline of Jesus' life (his baptism by John, debated Jewish authorities, healings, and his crucifixion by Pilate) they have built various and diverging portraits of the rest of his life. These range from minimalist portraits that accept very little of the gospel accounts to maximalists who accept most of the accounts as historical.

The portraits of Jesus have at times been unwitting reflections of the researchers themselves, and Crossan once quipped that some authors "do autobiography and call it biography". However, the study of historical Jesus has made one thing clear: there is so much to learn about Jesus that the more one looks, the more there is to discover.

From the bookshelf Jesus of Nazareth: An Independent Historian's Account of His Life and Teaching by Maurice Casey 2010 ISBN 0-567-64517-7

In this book Maurice Casey not only draws on his special expertise in the Aramaic traditions and the Q source, but provides a comprehensive review of the various approaches to the historical Jesus.

Did you know...
 * ... that in 1951 Christianity was the second largest religion in the world with 500 million followers, compared to 520 million Buddhists, but by 2013 it had gained the top spot with about 2.2 billion Christians?

Calendar This month we celebrate the feasts of St Lawrence, St Bernard, and St Augustine.

- Help requests Please let us know if there are any particular areas, either individual articles or topics, which you believe would benefit from outside help from other editors. We will try to include such requests in future issues.

Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity. For submissions contact the Newsroom • To unsubscribe remove yourself from the list here EdwardsBot (talk)21:55, 31 July 2013 (UTC) -- Gilderien Chat&#124;What I've done 21:55, 31 July 2013 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 16:33, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Ichthus April 2018
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Project News By Lionelt

Belated Happy Easter and Kalo Pascha! We're excited to announce the return of our newsletter Ichthus! Getting this issue out was touch-and-go for a while. Check out what's happening at the Project:
 * There was a lively discussion about the Easter Did You Know nomination Christ the Lord is Risen Today
 * RFC at Knights of Columbus regarding a question about having Prop 8 in the lead
 * In anticipation of being nominated for Featured article, Presbyterian Church in the United States of America was put up for Peer Review by Ltwin
 * The death of Billy Graham on February 21 was a profound loss for many. For the Wikipedia reaction see this discussion. Graham received a blurb.
 * And... Order of Friars Minor--nominated by Chicbyaccident--is still waiting for a GA reviewer. Please help out if you can.

Achievements

In March the Project saw four articles promoted to GA-Class. They were the oh-so-irresistible Delilah (nom. MagicatthemovieS) (pictured), Edict of Torda (nom. Borsoka), David Meade (author) (nom. LovelyGirl7) and last but not least Black Christmas (2006 film) (nom. Drown_Soda). Black Christmas? How did that get in there lol? Congratulations to all of the nominators for a job well done!

Did You Know Nominated by The C of E

... that some people know Christ the Lord is risen today from Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch?"

Featured article Nominated by FutureTrillionaire

Jesus (7–2 BC to 30–33 AD) is the central figure of Christianity, whom the teachings of most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God and the awaited Messiah of the Old Testament. Virtually all modern scholars of antiquity agree that a historical Jesus existed, although there is little agreement on the reliability of the gospel narratives and how closely the biblical Jesus reflects the historical Jesus. Most scholars agree that Jesus was a Jewish preacher from Galilee, was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman prefect, Pontius Pilate. Christians generally believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, performed miracles, founded the Church, died by crucifixion as a sacrifice to achieve atonement, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. The great majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, the second of three Persons of a Divine Trinity. A few Christian groups reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, as non-scriptural. In Islam, Jesus is considered one of God's important prophets and the Messiah.

Help wanted

We're looking for writers to contribute to Ichthus. Do you have a project that you'd like to highlight? An issue that you'd like to bring to light? Post your inquiries or submission here. And if the publication of this issue is any indication, you're in for the ride of a lifetime!

- Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity &bull; Get answers to questions about Christianity here Discuss any of the above stories here &bull; For submissions contact the Newsroom To unsubscribe add yourself to the list here Delivered: 00:13, 7 April 2018 (UTC)

Ichthus: May 2018
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Project News By

Last month's auspicious relaunch of our newsletter precipitated something of an uproar in the Wikipedia community. What started as a localized edit war over censorship spilled over onto the Administrator's Noticeboard finally ending up at Wikipedia's supreme judicial body ArbCom. Their ruling resulted in the admonishment of administrator for his involvement in the dispute. The story was reported by Wikipedia's venerable flagship newspaper The Signpost.

The question of whether to delete all portals--including the 27 Christianity-related portals--was put to the Wikipedia community. Approximately 400 editors have participated in the protracted discussion. Going by !votes, Oppose deletion has a distinct majority. The original Christianity Portal was created on November 5, 2005 by and the following year he successfully nominated the portal for Featured Portal. has revived WikiProject Portals with hopes of revitalizing Wikipedia's system of 1,515 portals.

Stay up-to-date on the latest happenings at the Project

Achievements

Four articles in the Project were promoted to GA: Edict of Torda nom. by, Jim Bakker nom. by, Ralph Abernathy nom. by and Psalm 84 nom. by. The Psalm ends with "O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee." Words to live by. Please support our members and send some WikiLove to the nominators!

Featured article Nominated by Operation Auca was an attempt by five Evangelical Christian missionaries from the United States to make contact with the Huaorani people of the rainforest of Ecuador. The Huaorani, also known as the Aucas, were an isolated tribe known for their violence, both against their own people and outsiders who entered their territory. With the intention of being the first Protestants to evangelize the Huaorani, the missionaries began making regular flights over Huaorani settlements in September 1955, dropping gifts. After several months of exchanging gifts, on January 2, 1956, the missionaries established a camp at "Palm Beach", a sandbar along the Curaray River, a few miles from Huaorani settlements. Their efforts culminated on January 8, 1956, when all five&mdash;Jim Elliot, Nate Saint, Ed McCully, Peter Fleming, and Roger Youderian&mdash;were attacked and speared by a group of Huaorani warriors. The news of their deaths was broadcast around the world, and Life magazine covered the event with a photo essay. The deaths of the men galvanized the missionary effort in the United States, sparking an outpouring of funding for evangelization efforts around the world. Their work is still frequently remembered in evangelical publications, and in 2006, was the subject of the film production End of the Spear. (more...)

Did You Know Nominated by

"... that, shortly after being sentenced to death for treason, Ioan C. Filitti became manager of the National Theatre Bucharest?"

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Ichthus June 2018
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Project news By

Here are discussions relevant to the Project:
 * Liberty University has an RFC regarding the university's relationship with President Trump; see discussion
 * Is Genesis History? has an RFC regarding acceptability of movie reviews for inclusion; see discussion
 * United States pro-life movement has a requested move to United States anti-abortion movement; see discussion

The following articles need reviewers for GA-class: Type of Constans nom. by, Tian Feng (magazine) nom. by. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

Stay up-to-date on the latest happenings at the Project

Did You Know Nominated by

... that in 1636, Phineas Hodson, Chancellor of York Minster, lost his 38-year-old wife Jane during the birth of the couple's 24th child?

Featured article Nominated by The Mortara case was a controversy precipitated by the Papal States' seizure of Edgardo Mortara, a six-year-old Jewish child, from his family in Bologna, Italy, in 1858. The city's inquisitor, Father Pier Feletti, heard from a servant that she had administered emergency baptism to the boy when he fell sick as an infant, and the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition held that this made the child irrevocably a Catholic. Because the Papal States had forbidden the raising of Christians by members of other faiths, it was ordered that he be taken from his family and brought up by the Church. After visits from the child's father, international protests mounted, but Pope Pius IX would not be moved. The boy grew up as a Catholic with the Pope as a substitute father, trained for the priesthood in Rome until 1870, and was ordained in France three years later. In 1870 the Kingdom of Italy captured Rome during the unification of Italy, ending the pontifical state; opposition across Italy, Europe and the United States over Mortara's treatment may have contributed to its downfall.

- Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity &bull; Get answers to questions about Christianity here Discuss any of the above stories here &bull; For submissions contact the Newsroom &bull; Unsubscribe here Delivered: 11:58, 8 June 2018 (UTC)

Ichthus: July 2018
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The Top 7 report By

The big news was the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. The Top 7 most popular articles in WikiProject Christianity were: <ol style="margin-left: -2.0em;"> </ol>
 * 1) Elizabeth I of England – legendary monarch who ushered in the Elizabethan Era over the dead body of her half-sister (#5)
 * 2) Henry VIII of England – on his deathbed the last words of the king who founded the English Reformation were "Monks! Monks! Monks!"
 * 3) Martin Luther King Jr. – can't wait to see the new US$5 bill featuring the "I Have a Dream" speech
 * 4) Seven deadly sins – surprisingly "original research" is not one of the Seven deadly sins
 * 5) Mary, Queen of Scots – arrested for Reigning While Catholic (RWC)
 * 6) Michael Curry (bishop) – our article says that he upstaged Meghan at her wedding. Did you see her wedding pictures? All I can say is
 * 7) Robert F. Kennedy – when informed that missiles were being installed in Cuba he famously quipped, "Can they hit Oxford, Mississippi?"

Did you know Nominated by

... that the little-known 1758 Methodist hymn "Sun of Unclouded Righteousness" asks God to send the doctrine of the "Unitarian fiend ... back to hell", referring to both Islam and Unitarianism?

Our newest Featured list Nominated by List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events. Predictions of apocalyptic events that would result in the extinction of humanity, a collapse of civilization, or the destruction of the planet have been made since at least the beginning of the Christian Era. Most predictions are related to Abrahamic religions, often standing for or similar to the eschatological events described in their scriptures. Christian predictions typically refer to events like the Rapture, Great Tribulation, Last Judgment, and the Second Coming of Christ.

Polls conducted in 2012 across 20 countries found over 14% of people believe the world will end in their lifetime, with percentages raging from 6% of people in France to 22% in the US and Turkey. In the UK in 2015, the general public believed the likeliest cause would be nuclear war, while experts thought it would be artificial intelligence. Between one and three percent of people from both countries thought the apocalypse would be caused by zombies or alien invasion. (more...)

Help wanted

We're looking for writers to contribute to Ichthus. Do you have a project that you'd like to highlight? An issue that you'd like to bring to light? Post your inquiries or submission here.

- Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity &bull; Get answers to questions about Christianity here Discuss any of the above stories here &bull; For submissions contact the Newsroom &bull; Unsubscribe here Delivered: 06:39, 3 July 2018 (UTC)

Ichthus June 2019
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The Top 6 Articles By

The sad news was the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings. The Top 6 most popular articles about People in WikiProject Christianity were: <ol style="margin-left: -2.0em;"> </ol> Did You Know? Nominated by ... that the first attempt to build the Holy Trinity Cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra resulted in the demolition of the nearly completed structure?
 * 1) Louis XIV of France – a monarch of the House of Bourbon who reigned as King of France. He did say, "Every time I appoint someone to a vacant position, I make a hundred unhappy and one ungrateful."
 * 2) Mary, Queen of Scots – arrested for Reigning While Catholic (RWC), Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I of England in 1586, and was beheaded the following year.
 * 3) Elizabeth I of England – The Virgin Queen, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor who ushered in the Elizabethan Era, reversed re-establishment of Roman Catholicism by her half-sister.
 * 4) Henry VIII of England – King of England, He was an accomplished musician, author, and poet; his known piece of music is "Pastime with Good Company". He is often reputed to have written "Greensleeves" but probably did not. He had six marriages.
 * 5) Martin Luther King Jr. – " There are three urgent and indeed great problems that we face not only in the United States of America but all over the world today. That is the problem of racism, the problem of poverty and the problem of war."
 * 6) Billy Ray Cyrus – Having released 12 studio albums and 44 singles since 1992, he is best known for his number one single "Achy Breaky Heart", which became the first single ever to achieve triple Platinum status in Australia.

Featured article Nominated by Saint Fin Barre's Cathedral is a Gothic Revival three-spire cathedral in the city of Cork, Ireland. It belongs to the Church of Ireland and was completed in 1879. The cathedral is located on the south side of the River Lee, on ground that has been a place of worship since the 7th century, and is dedicated to Finbarr of Cork, patron saint of the city. It was once in the Diocese of Cork; it is now one of the three cathedrals in the Church of Ireland Diocese of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin. Christian use of the site dates back to a 7th-century AD monastery, which according to legend was founded by Finbarr of Cork. The entrances contain the figures of over a dozen biblical figures, capped by a tympanum showing a Resurrection scene. (more...) Help wanted We're looking for writers to contribute to Ichthus. Do you have a project that you'd like to highlight? An issue that you'd like to bring to light? Post your inquiries or submission here. <div style="; width: 495px; text-align: center; margin-right: 1em; border: 1px solid /777777;padding:0.5em 1.0em; background:#F5D020;background-image: radial-gradient(#FFDD00,#FBB034)"> WikiProject Christianity

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Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity &bull; Get answers to questions about Christianity here Discuss any of the above stories here &bull; For submissions contact the Newsroom &bull; Unsubscribe here Delivered: 10:55, 16 June 2019 (UTC)

Ichthus July 2019
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The Top 6 Articles By

A suicide attack on July 11th claimed by Islamic State (IS) near a church in the Syrian city of Qamishli shows that Christians remain a major target of the terror group. The Top 6 most popular articles about People in WikiProject Christianity were: <ol style="margin-left: -2.0em;"> </ol> Did You Know? Nominated by ... that The Vision of Dorotheus is one of the earliest examples of Christian hexametric poetry?
 * 1) Henry VIII of England – King of England, He was an accomplished musician, author, and poet; his known piece of music is "Pastime with Good Company". He is often reputed to have written "Greensleeves" but probably did not. He had six marriages.
 * 2) Elena Cornaro Piscopia – was a Venetian philosopher of noble descent who in 1678 became one of the first women to receive an academic degree from a university, and the first to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree. In 1669, she translated the Colloquy of Christ by Carthusian monk Lanspergius from Spanish into Italian.
 * 3) Mary, Queen of Scots – arrested for Reigning While Catholic (RWC), Mary was found guilty of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I of England in 1586, and was beheaded the following year.
 * 4) Bob Dylan – American singer-songwriter, author, and visual artist. " Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them."
 * 5) Elizabeth I of England – The Virgin Queen, Elizabeth was the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor who ushered in the Elizabethan Era, reversed re-establishment of Roman Catholicism by her half-sister.
 * 6) Billy Ray Cyrus – Having released 12 studio albums and 44 singles since 1992, he is best known for his number one single "Achy Breaky Heart", which became the first single ever to achieve triple Platinum status in Australia.

Featured article Nominated by When God Writes Your Love Story: The Ultimate Approach to Guy/Girl Relationships is a 1999 book by Eric and Leslie Ludy, an American married couple. After becoming a bestseller on the Christian book market, the book was republished in 2004 and then revised and expanded in 2009. It tells the story of the authors' first meeting, courtship, and marriage. The authors advise single people not to be physically or emotionally intimate with others, but to wait for the spouse that God has planned for them.

The book is divided into five sections and sixteen chapters. Each chapter is written from the perspective of one of the two authors; nine are by Eric, while Leslie wrote seven, as well as the introduction. The Ludys argue that one's love life should be both guided by and subordinate to one's relationship with God. Leslie writes that God offers new beginnings to formerly unchaste or sexually abused individuals. (more...) Help wanted We're looking for writers to contribute to Ichthus. Do you have a project that you'd like to highlight? An issue that you'd like to bring to light? Post your inquiries or submission here. <div style="; width: 495px; text-align: center; margin-right: 1em; border: 1px solid /777777;padding:0.5em 1.0em; background:#F5D020;background-image: radial-gradient(#FFDD00,#FBB034)"> WikiProject Christianity

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Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity &bull; Get answers to questions about Christianity here Discuss any of the above stories here &bull; For submissions contact the Newsroom &bull; Unsubscribe here Delivered: 12:31, 26 July 2019 (UTC)

Ichthus December 2019
The Top 3 Articles By

The Top 3 most popular articles about People in WikiProject Christianity were: <ol style="margin-left: -2.0em;"> </ol>
 * 1) Dolly Parton - an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music. : " I just depend on a lot of prayer and meditation. I believe that without God I am nobody, but that with God, I can do anything."
 * 2) Harriet Tubman - an American abolitionist and political activist. Born into slavery, she escaped and made some  missions to rescue enslaved people, using the network of antislavery activists and Underground Railroads. During the American Civil War, she served as an armed scout, spy for the Union Army.
 * 3) Henry VIII of England – King of England, He was an accomplished musician, author, and poet; his known piece of music is "Pastime with Good Company". He is often reputed to have written "Greensleeves" but probably did not. He had six marriages.

Did You Know? Nominated by
 * ... that St. Charles College in Louisiana was the first Jesuit college established in the southern United States?
 * ... that the ancient Jewish text of Perek Shirah asserts that spiders and rats praise God using verses from Psalm 150?

Featured article Nominated by

Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol, is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. The book is divided into five chapters, which Dickens titled "staves". A Christmas Carol recounts the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, an elderly miser who is visited by the ghost of his former business partner Jacob Marley and the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. After their visits, Scrooge is transformed into a kinder, gentler man. (more...) Bible Verse Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another. Romans 12:10 New King James Version (NKJV) Help wanted We're looking for writers to contribute to Ichthus. Do you have a project or an issue that you'd like to highlight? Post your inquiries or submission here.

- Quotes " I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year." Charles Dickens – British novelist, journalist, editor, illustrator and social critic. - - WikiProject Christianity Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity <span style="">© Copyleft 2019 Questions &bull; Discussions &bull; Newsroom &bull; Unsubscribe Delivered: 16:53, 5 December 2019 (UTC)

Ichthus January 2020
The Top 3 Articles By

The Top 3 most-popular articles about People in WikiProject Christianity were: <ol style="margin-left: -2.0em;"> </ol>
 * 1) Pope Benedict XVI – retired prelate of the Catholic Church who served as head of the Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2005 until his resignation.
 * 2) Pope Francis – the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century.
 * 3) Dolly Parton – an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, actress, author, businesswoman, and humanitarian, known primarily for her work in country music. : "I just depend on a lot of prayer and meditation. I believe that without God I am nobody, but that with God, I can do anything."

Did You Know? Nominated by
 * ...that the All Saints Church, Henley Brook, the oldest church in Western Australia, held its first service almost eight years before it was consecrated?
 * ...that the Golden Madonna of Essen is the oldest preserved sculpture of the Virgin Mary?
 * ...that the parish church of James Parkinson, after whom Parkinson's disease is named, was St Leonard's, Shoreditch, a church just outside the City of London and most famous for being one of the churches mentioned in the nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons"?
 * ...that the Grand Chartophylax was considered the right arm of the Patriarch of Constantinople?

Featured article Nominated by

A Song for Simeon, is a 37-line poem written in 1928 by American-English poet T. S. Eliot (1888–1965). It is one of five poems that Eliot contributed to the Ariel poems series of 38 pamphlets by several authors published by Faber and Gwyer. "A Song for Simeon" was the sixteenth in the series and included an illustration by avant garde artist Edward McKnight Kauffer. The poem's narrative echoes the text of the Nunc dimittis, a liturgical prayer for Compline from the Gospel passage. Eliot introduces literary allusions to earlier writers Lancelot Andrewes, Dante Alighieri and St. John of the Cross. Critics have debated whether Eliot's depiction of Simeon is a negative portrayal of a Jewish figure and evidence of anti-Semitism on Eliot's part. (more...) Bible Verse May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And fulfill all your purpose. Psalm 20:4 New King James Version (NKJV) Help wanted We're looking for writers to contribute to Ichthus. Do you have a project or an issue that you'd like to highlight? Post your inquiries or submission here.

- Quotes "Faith lived in the incognito is one which is located outside the criticism coming from society, from politics, from history, for the very reason that it has itself the vocation to be a source of criticism. It is faith (lived in the incognito) which triggers the issues for the others, which causes everything seemingly established to be placed in doubt, which drives a wedge into the world of false assurances." ~ Jacques Ellul French philosopher, sociologist, and professor who was a noted Christian anarchist. - - WikiProject Christianity Ichthus is published by WikiProject Christianity <span style="">© Copyleft 2020 Questions &bull; Discussions &bull; Newsroom &bull; Unsubscribe Sent by MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 21:27, 4 January 2020 (UTC)

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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Happy holidays!
 * Wishing you a joyful Christmas and a happy New year. We would like to use this occasion for giving thanks for editors like you for your works on editing, maintaining and expanding this encyclopedia. May the glorious message of peace and love fill you with joy during this wonderful season.

You can do!
 * Improve and assess the articles listed in Category:Christmas and its subpages. (list of categories)
 * Feel free to add  to the Wikiproject banners WikiProject Holidays or WikiProject Christianity in the articles related to Christmas. This will help to automatically place it into Category:Christmas task force articles.
 * Tag articles under the scope of our project.
 * Recruit interested editors to the project.
 * Collect categories, resource links, and templates.
 * Feel free to develop missing articles related to this topic - some of them can be found at WikiProject Holidays/Christmas task force/Reference sources articles list.
 * Bring former featured articles and good articles back to their status.
 * Visit WikiProject Holidays/Christmas task force/Article alerts page for recent changes on project.
 * Feel free to participate in the process of revival of task force.

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 * Featured article


 * Trading Places- a 1983 American comedy film directed by John Landis and written by Timothy Harris and Herschel Weingrod.
 * Featured article candidate


 * Die Hard-a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza.
 * Good Article


 * Home Alone-a 1990 American Christmas family comedy film directed by Chris Columbus.
 * DYK

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 * One Voice at Christmas-a 2016 Christmas album by the Welsh singer Aled Jones and produced by Classic FM.

-- "Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind. To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas!" -Calvin Coolidge -- --- Discuss this newsletter

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Christmas task force

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GA reassessment
Churches of Christ has been nominated for a community good article reassessment. If you are interested in the discussion, please participate by adding your comments to the reassessment page. If concerns are not addressed during the review period, the good article status may be removed from the article. Iskandar323 (talk) 15:09, 7 May 2022 (UTC)