California

For the first time since 1994, Northern California residents will have a chance to witness a rare annular solar eclipse on Sunday.

Those living in the Bay Area can drive just a few hours and catch a glimpse at this rare phenomenon.

Annular eclipses differ from normal solar eclipses since they have a different effect on the moon, where instead of completely blocking out the sun, it leaves a "ring of fire" surrounding the moon's dark silhouette. more >>

Crystal Cathedral's newly minted president said Wednesday that the ministry behind the "Hour of Power" might be moving to a Catholic church in their Orange County, Calif., neighborhood, although probably not for another year and a half.

John Charles, president and CEO of the ministry, reportedly said in a meeting of the congregants and the church board that St. Callistus Catholic Church in Garden Grove was the only option the bankrupt ministry could consider moving to when it comes time to relocate, as its campus was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange in February.

Following the famous ministry's bankruptcy filing in Oct. 2010 and subsequent sale, the congregation was given three years from when the escrow closed to find a new venue. more >>

Evangelist Greg Laurie can be seen tracing the steps of the disciple Peter in his upcoming sermon filmed in Jerusalem that will be shown to his church in Southern California and webcast to a global online audience during worship services this Sunday.

"Greg traces Peter's story from the Shepherd's fields to Jerusalem and the site that many believe to be the house of Caiaphas where Jesus was detained on the night of his arrest," said John Collins, executive director of Harvest Ministries, to The Christian Post. Collins along with Harvest's tech team viewed the video from Israel on Thursday.

"On that site, Greg tells the story of Peter's denial before the rooster crowed. more >>

Bobby Schuller, the son of former pastor Robert A. Schuller, spoke to Lawrence Wilkes of The Crystal Cathedral's "Hour of Power" television program to discuss life after leaving the famous ministry founded by his grandfather, and the challenges he faced starting his own church from the ground up.

Schuller is the grandson of the Rev. Robert H. Schuller who started the Crystal Cathedral Ministries as a start-up congregation in a Garden Grove, Calif., drive-in movie theater five decades ago.

Bobby Schuller was active in the church, running Crystal Cathedral's Gathering Community Ministry, but left the famously opulent campus in 2009 with his wife Hannah to begin his own journey into starting a church from the ground up, he told Wilkes. more >>

Crystal Cathedral, the Garden Grove, Calif., megachurch known for its "Hour of Power" broadcasts, will this weekend during its celebration of Mother's Day, honor Roman Catholic icon Mother Teresa of Calcutta and feature a special sermon from the Rev. Bobby Schuller.

Schuller, the grandson of the ministries' founder, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, will preach as one of several prominent guests during this Sunday's service. Another guest will be Kiran Yocom, the India-born founder of nonprofit Seniors Helping Seniors and an expert on Mother Teresa, "one of the greatest women of faith," as the Albanian nun is described on Crystal Cathedral's website.

Mother Teresa, humanitarian, laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize and a recognized blessed figure of the Catholic Church, has been popular with Christians, including evangelicals. Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren, who is one of the most popular evangelical figures in America, has written the forward to a book released by Time magazine about the renowned nun of Calcutta. Warren praises Mother Teresa as one of the greatest evangelists of the 20th century. more >>

As the Presbyterian Church (USA) continues struggling with internal theological issues pertaining to the ordaining of gay priests and same-sex marriage, one Presbyterian Calif. church is leaving the denomination because it is not liberal enough.

The West Hollywood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles will formally join the more liberal United Church of Christ on Saturday, and is claiming that the larger, 2-million member (PCUSA) has not done enough to accept homosexuals though it lifted its ban on the ordination of openly gay clergy last year.

The West Hollywood Presbyterian Church has had a progressive congregation with about 57 members since the 1980s, and is ready to be "set free," according to gay pastor the Rev. Dan Smith. more >>