Shrine about to open along I-80 in Nebraska

Gretna, Neb. Interstate 80 travelers soon will be offered a spiritual rest stop between Omaha and Lincoln.

The Holy Family Shrine, a 48-foot glass Roman Catholic chapel open to people of all faiths, opens in a few weeks atop a hill overlooking the highway.

“This is a place to get away,” said Omaha architect Jim Dennell, a parishioner at Omaha’s Christ the King Church, who designed the $2.2 million chapel and worked with other Catholics for almost a decade to build it.

The chapel has limestone paths and gardens. Inside, a spiraling water sculpture symbolizing the shroud of Jesus drips into a circular pool and an 18-by-8-foot pane of glass etched with images of the Holy Family is placed above a 1,400-pound limestone altar.

The Omaha Archdiocese is not involved but has given the shrine its blessing, Dennell said. Future plans call for building a retreat shelter and a residential village on the surrounding 23 acres.

Evangelical Lutherans boost Jewish-Christian relations

Chicago The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is trying to boost Jewish-Christian relations with a new booklet, “Talking Points,” meant to facilitate discussion between Lutherans and Jews.

The idea for the document grew from a 1994 Lutheran “Declaration to the Jewish Community,” denouncing the reformer Martin Luther’s “anti-Judaic diatribes,” which contributed to the Holocaust.

“We express our urgent desire to live out our faith in Jesus Christ with love and respect for the Jewish people,” the declaration read.

Among the topics are law and gospel, difficult texts and Jewish concern for Israel. Publication is expected by the end of the summer.