24 – August – 2012 – CNN Belief Blog

First lady meets with victims, families of Sikh temple shooting

By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) - Michelle Obama met privately Thursday with victims and surviving family members of the mass shooting at a Wisconsin Sikh temple earlier this month.

The shooting - which left six people dead and four others wounded - occurred August 5 at a gurdwara, or Sikh house of worship, in Oak Creek. The gunman, identified by police as 40-year-old Army veteran Wade Michael Page, later killed himself.

On Thursday, the first lady first met with the gurdwara secretary, Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, and Mayor Stephen Scaffidi in the hallway of Oak Creek High School.

"It's my honor to be here with you," Obama told them, according to a pool report. "I'm sorry it's under these circumstances, but I am anxious to meet with the families and lend whatever support I can."

FULL STORY

The Editors - CNN Belief Blog

Filed under: Belief • Sikh

August 24th, 2012

05:22 AM ET

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Belief Blog's Morning Speed Read for Friday, August 24

By Arielle Hawkins, CNN

Here's the Belief Blog’s morning rundown of the top faith-angle stories from around the United States and around the world. Click the headlines for the full stories.

From the Blog:

CNN: Rick Warren cancels presidential forum; mixed explanations as to why
High-profile pastor Rick Warren has called off plans for a presidential forum that he said was scheduled to include both major party candidates, but there are conflicting accounts about why the event was canceled. Warren told the Orange County Register that he was nixing his "civil forum" because of the toxic political climate.

CNN: Conservative Christians rally around Akin in face of GOP criticism
Even as the official Republican Party continues to try to derail Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin over his remarks about “legitimate rape,” a powerful force within the GOP has begun rallying to the candidate’s side: the party’s socially conservative base. Powerful Christian activists in the GOP have begun pushing back against party leadership, alleging it has gone too far in trying to thwart Akin and that it is attempting to sideline issues that social conservatives care about, such as abortion.

FULL POST

Arielle Hawkins - A. Hawkins

Filed under: Uncategorized