I did not write a year-end roundup story in time for publication, since I was on vacation over the holidays. But I have been reviewing my articles for 2007 and came up with these as the most-interesting and/or significant articles of the year, from my point of view covering the Toledo religion scene.
We'll go in ascending order starting with No. 10:
10. The Channel 48 Fight: This was a series of articles, including the longest article I've ever written aside from my book, about the battle for Channel 48, a low-power Toledo TV station, between longtime owners Marty and Linda Miller and Cornerstone Church. It is an incredibly confusing and torturous process and I tried my best to explain it in laymen's terms.
9. Irish Tensions: Religious divide still runs deep in Belfast. On my trip to Ireland in March, I saw how the Catholics and Protestants remain far apart despite the recent peace accords.
8. Matthew Drake: Young soldier Matthew Drake, from Sylvania, was wounded by a roadside bomb in Iraq and suffered severe injuries, including brain damage. Moments after being hit, he said he saw God. His courage and his determination to overcome his injuries and live a normal life are awe-inspiring.
7. Barefoot Jesus: Carl James Joseph left Toledo 19 years ago on foot and has traveled around the world wearing a Jesus-like robe and walking barefoot, sharing the Gospel with those he meets. He is the subject of an upcoming documentary, The Jesus Guy.
6. Sister Sujita: I interviewed the leader of the Sisters of Notre Dame worldwide, an India-born nun who after earning a master's degree in social work moved into the slums of Bombay. Not having any material possessions is liberating, Sister Sujita said, adding that her motto is: "Be more and have less." A truly inspiring woman.
5. Priest's dismissal: Bishop Leonard Blair went to Van Wert, Ohio, to talk to parishioners about the forced removal from ministry of their priest, Father Joseph Schmelzer, over credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. Many parishioners don't want to hear it and tell the bishop they want Father Joe back, but Bishop Blair tries to get them to accept reality.
4. St. Rose Parish: This was a series of stories about St. Rose pastor Father Thomas Leyland claiming that Bishop Blair was forcing him into retirement because he criticized the bishop, and a group of parishioners rallying to try to keep Father Leyland as their pastor. Father Leyland's appointed successor, Father David Nuss, withdraws a day after his appointment at St. Rose over an inappropriate relationship with a woman.
3. Not in Kansas Anymore: Parishioners at the closed St. James Parish in Kansas, Ohio, provide documentation to The Blade showing that the Toledo diocese used funds from the ex-parish's account to pay legal fees to a Toledo lawfirm to fight St. James' lawsuit challenging the diocese over ownership of the parish property.
2. Bishop Spong Interview: I had a face-to-face interview with Bishop John Shelby Spong, an Episcopal bishop (retired) in good standing with controversial views of Jesus and the Bible. He is a deep thinking theologian, articulate and thorough in his research, who believes Jesus was not born of a virgin, performed no miracles, and did not physically rise from the dead. The bishop made me think, and when the article about the interview ran in the Behind the News section of The Blade, I got responses pro and con from people around the world.
1. Creation Museum Opens: The $27 million Creation Museum opened in suburban Cincinnati (debt free) in what founders see as a front line in the culture wars. If people don't believe the biblical story of creation, then they don't have to believe anything in the Bible, and from there the morals and ethics and spiritual health of the world goes downhill. Fascinating topic and the museum features world-class exhibits and animatronics could compare to a Disney display.

There were many other noteworthy stories but these stood out... Some others I would give "honorable mention" to are the AIDS village exhibit at CedarCreek, a visit to the Zen Buddhist Center, interviews with comedian Mark Lowry, singer Steven Curtis Chapman, Methodist pastor Adam Hamilton, atheist Nica Lalli, abuse victim Paul Cultrera, and Hillary Clinton faith and values coordinator Burns Strider; a visit to the Carey shrine for Mary's feast day; the release of the Simpsons Movie, the new steeple at St. Pat's Historic, the deaths of Jerry Falwell and Ruth Graham, Rabbi Barry Leff and family's move from Toledo to Jerusalem and Dr. Yong-Jin Kim's move to Malawi to head up a prison program there, and the Temple-Congregation Shomer Emunim hiring a Torah scribe to hand-write a new Torah scroll.
Religion and politics seems to be the dominant theme in 2008 in many ways. Thanks for a good year in 2007.
Sylvania, Ohio
Jan. 6, 2008