Last April authorities raided a Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints compound in Texas. They took more than 400 children into custody based on allegations of forced marriages of underage girls. Shortly after the raid the Southern Poverty Law Center reported that during the last two years, members of the polygamist group had purchased some $2 million in real estate in Colorado’s rural Custer County. This may now be largest cluster of FLDS properties in the country outside the group’s home base near the Arizona-Utah border. Only a few residents knew of the FLDS presence, so the news rocked the tiny community of Westcliffe. KRCC’s Shanna Lewis reports.

Bente BirkelandThe presidential election has raised plenty of contentious issues — but perhaps no topic has been as polarizing as religion. Whether its rumors that Barack Obama is a Muslim or certain members of the Evangelical Christian movement criticizing John McCain for not being conservative enough, religion has been a strong undercurrent in this year’s race. Bente Birkeland talked to local religious leaders to get their thoughts about the intersection between religion and politics.

Denver police arrested several anti-abortion protestors on Tuesday. The same day that DNC officials hosted their first ever caucus on religion. Panelists from across the religious spectrum discussed topics ranging from poverty, to faith based government programs. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.

The Democratic Convention got an early start with the party’s first-ever interfaith gathering. As Elizabeth Wynne Johnson reports from Denver, Democrats are staking a claim at the intersection of faith and politics.

The Aspen Institute is hosting its annual Ideas Festival this week. The event brings together hundreds of leaders from across the world to discuss politics, technology, religion, healthcare and the arts. Bente Birkeland reports from Aspen about one discussion that examined the role Islam plays in breeding terrorists.

Dr. Walter Brueggemann, author of Mandate to Difference is spending the weekend in Colorado Springs. The professor and United Church of Christ minister will give lectures and lead discussions as part of the seminar The Bible for Those on their Way, sponsored by the Colorado College chaplain’s office and First Congregational United Church of Christ.

The largest community of Muslims in Colorado opened its doors to a Jewish rabbi this week, a man known for challenging the status quo of Arab-Israeli relations. Left wing Rabbi Michael Lerner of San Francisco addressed a standing room only crowd at the Colorado Muslim Society in Aurora, and said many Jews in the United States feel solidarity for Muslims in the post 9-11 world. Helen Gray was there.

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Murray’s Parents Speak

Ritter Visits Colorado Troops in Iraq

Salazar: No Renewable Mandate in Federal Energy Bill

Spud Pests in Colorado?

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Colorado Springs police say the man who killed four people at New Life Church in Colorado Springs and the Youth With a Mission training center in Arvada on Sunday died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound.

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After keeping her identity secret for 24 hours, New Life Church and Colorado Springs police announced that the volunteer security guard who stopped the killing spree at the church Sunday is 42-year-old Jeanne Assam. Assam then took questions from the media at a press conference at the Colorado Springs police operations center downtown for about 10 minutes. Here is the press conference in its entirety.

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Brady Boyd, head pastor at New Life Church addresses the media Monday morning, Dec. 10, 2007

3 p.m. update, Dec. 10, 2007 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - A law enforcement official says the deadly rampages at a megachurch and a missionary training school were believed to have been carried out by the same person - Matthew Murray, a 24-year-old suburban Denver man who “hated Christians.”

Text below updated at 1pm:
The two people killed in a shooting spree at New Life Church in Colorado Springs are being identified today as teenage sisters. Eighteen-year-old Stephanie Works and 16-year-old Rachael Works were killed when the gunman opened fire with a high-powered rifle. Senior Pastor Brady Boyd said “our hearts are grieving this morning for them.” One of the three people who were injured in the attack was the girls’ father, 51-year-old David Works, who’s in fair condition with gunshot wounds in his abdomen and groin area. Also injured were 40-year-old Judy Purcell, who suffered a gunshot wound to her right shoulder, and 59-year-old Larry Bourbannais, who had a gunshot wound in his left forearm. Both were treated and released. Boyd says “the others that were wounded yesterday are doing well. All of them should recover. They don’t have life-threatening injuries.”

Boyd said the gunman had no connection to the church, and called the incident a “senseless random attack.” He said the New Life security guard who shot and killed the gunman was a volunteer but he did not release her name. “She’s a real hero” says Boyd this morning outside the church, “She probably saved 100 lives,” because the gunman “had a lot of ammunition to do a lot of damage.” Boyd says the guard is a member of the church with a law enforcement background, but said she is not currently a law enforcement officer. He did say security was increased at the church after the earlier shootings in Arvada. Two people were killed on the Youth With a Mission campus after a staffer told a man he could not spend the night there.

Witnesses to yesterday’s shooting spree at New Life described a horrific scene as a gunman opened fire there following a church service. Jessie Gingrich had left New Life and was in the parking lot getting into her car when she saw the gunman get a rifle from his trunk and open fire on a van full of people. She says she then cowered in her car, fumbling with the ignition key. She told ABC’s “Good Morning America” today that she was expecting the next gunshot to come through her car, but “by the grace of God, it did not.” Ashley Gibbs was getting into a car when she heard the gunshots, which she said sounded like someone was kicking ice from the side of a car. She told NBC’s “Today” show that she prayed God would bring him peace.

We will keep you posted as we learn more.

Here is a link to an AP story at NPR’s website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17060196

After more than a year of input and analysis, Colorado’s bi-partisan Blue Ribbon Commission on Healthcare Reform has recommended the state adopt a Massachusetts-style “individual mandate.” That means everybody has to buy health insurance, or face a fine. The state subsidizes the cost for those with low incomes. KCFR had reporter Martha Bebinger see how the idea is working out in Massachusetts.
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PART ONE: Employer Mandate
In just over a month, Colorado’s legislative session will convene. One of hottest topics will be health care reform. This week on KRCC, we’re going to dig in to some leading reform ideas. One of those ideas is the so-called “employer mandate,” that’s where businesses have to provide insurance for their employees, or face a fine. KCFR’s Andrea Dukakis has more.

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Andrea’s report is part of a larger series on health care reform produced at Colorado Public Radio. It includes other stories, and interviews with leaders in Colorado’s reform efforts. To hear more, click HERE.

DIA Forecasts 2nd Busiest Travel Weekend Ever

Front Range Airport May Start Taking Passenger Jets

Beaver Creek Delays Opening For Lack of Snow

Feds: Denver Violating Ozone Limits

State Unemployment Rate Drops

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The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado has formally de-frocked the Reverend Don Armstrong, of Grace Episcopal Church in Colorado Springs. The action came 30 days after a church court found him guilty of several financial crimes.

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An auditor hired by the Reverend Don Armstrong’s attorney has found no evidence the pastor committed fraud or theft. Armstrong is the pastor of Grace Episcopal Church and St. Stephen’s Parish in Colorado Springs. Last December, he was suspended by the Episcopal diocese of Colorado on suspicion of financial misconduct. In August, that body found him guilty of misappropriating nearly $400,000, lying to the IRS, illegally encumbering church property and other crimes. Armstrong has denied any wrongdoing, and says the diocese has no jurisdiction over him. But he remains under investigation by the Colorado Springs police department’s financial crimes unit.

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