Oklahoma's top religion stories for 2011

Thought I’d get this in before the New Year arrived, but it didn’t happen.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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