The key role played by young people during the transformations in the Arab world throughout the past year was a recurrent theme for the recent World Council of Churches (WCC) Christian-Muslim consultation on “Christian Presence and Witness in the Arab World”.
Ten years after the clergy sexual abuse scandal erupted in the United States, Catholic bishops from all over the world will meet this week at a Vatican summit aimed at preventing abuse and protecting children.
Archbishop Hieronymos II
Archbishop Hieronymos II of Athens and All Greece on Feb. 2 warned the Greek government of a possible social upheaval if more austerity measures are ushered in by international financial institutions overseeing the sovereign debt crisis.
A multi-year, multi-million dollar funding proposal submitted by Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada has been turned down by the federal government’s Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Rev. Benedict Ndiweni: 'brings to the fore the issue of accountability.'
Energetic music, lively dance, and passion for the church they belonged to was apparent to those who came, both church delegates and visitors, to the conference held just outside of Johannesburg from April 15-17, 2011.
Palestinian children playing in Khallet Zakariya beside the Israeli settlement of Alon Shvut. --UN News photo
The homes at the edge of this Palestinian village are located a few hundred meters from houses in the Jewish settlement of Yitzhar. But the relationship is anything but neighborly.
Rafael Erasmo Arevalo, a Mennonite pastor in Honduras, was attacked and killed Sunday, Jan. 22, after leading an evening worship service. Arevalo, from Santa Rosa de Copán, drove about 20 kilometres north to Veracruz, where he had led worship services for the past 10 years.
The US government says 29,000 children under five years old died between May and July 2011, according to a BBC report.
Was aid for people suffering from drought in East Africa too slow?
Yes, says a new report from two international aid agencies.
According to the report, prepared by Oxfam and Save Children, most rich donor nations waited until the crisis in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya was in full swing last summer before donating a substantial amount of money.
From left to right: Prof. Richard Falk, Welly Esau Mandowen and Archbishop Michael Kehinde Stephen at the WCC International Affairs and United Nations Advocacy Week in New York, 2003
Methodist Archbishop Michael Kehinde Stephen of Ibadan, Nigeria has appealed to Christian and Muslim leaders worldwide to act together in the face of extremist violence that threatens to divide Nigerians along religious lines.
As Egyptians gathered this week in Cairo's Tahrir Square to mark the first anniversary of the "Egyptian Revolution," nearby Jasr El Dobara church continued to be a bridge-builder between communities of faith.
Churches in India have decried the verdict of an Islamic court in Kashmir that ordered the expulsion of Christians, including a Protestant pastor and a Dutch Catholic missionary, and recommended government control of Christian schools.
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in the east German state of Saxony ruled on Jan. 21 that gay pastors will for the first time be allowed to cohabit with their partners.
Conservative U.S. Presbyterians launched a new denomination on Jan. 19, saying that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is too consumed by internal conflicts and bureaucracy to nurture healthy congregations.
The hands of a cattle-herder. --Photo by Peter Muller of Safer World
Christian humanitarian agencies are delivering relief aid to thousands of people displaced in inter-tribal conflict in South Sudan, the world's newest nation.
From November 14-30, 2011, Jack and Irene Suderman and Bert Lobe participated in a series of workshops and training sessions with Asian Mennonite and Brethren in Christ leaders in several venues in India. These sessions were sponsored jointly by Mennonite World Conference and the Mennonite Christian Service Fellowship of India.
Gene Herr, May 11, 1932 – Jan. 1, 2012
Over a lifetime of ministry Gene Herr served as a wise, lively and ever-affirming companion to many pilgrims on the path to deeper spiritual wholeness. Along with his wife Mary, who survives him, Herr helped introduce Mennonites to the ancient tradition of contemplative spirituality.
Paul Simon: 'Always a spiritual dimension to his work.'
In a career that has spanned half a century, American musician Paul Simon says there's always been a spiritual dimension to his work. But the overt religious references in his most recent album, "So Beautiful or So What," surprised even him. There are songs about God, angels, creation, pilgrimage, prayer and the afterlife, reports Religion News Service.
Christians have the lowest growth rate among the Israeli population, according to an Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics report released on Jan. 6.
South African President Jacob Zuma: "But our roots are Christian and they will shine through whatever our present problems."
The Christian roots of the African National Congress (ANC) were cited during weekend celebrations in South Africa marking the centennial of Africa's best known liberation and political movement. More than a dozen African heads of state and representatives from around the world attended to honor the movement that eventually overcame the apartheid system of racial segregation.
The Cardinals
Pope Benedict XVI's announcement on Jan. 6 of 22 new cardinals shows that he is continuing a pattern of stacking the College of Cardinals with Europeans (mainly Italians) and with leaders of the Roman curia, the papal bureaucracy whose officials are often considered more conservative than prelates in dioceses around the world.
Patricia Kisare
On November 28, 2011 the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) held its second presidential and legislative election.
$4 million heifer of 2011.
After 30 years of raising funds for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), volunteers for the Heifer Sale are still going strong.
Christian leaders in Egypt are meeting to discuss opening a dialogue with Islamic groups as a way of addressing sectarian violence.
Linda Matties
One of the most famous announcements the world has ever heard is stated in this way: “For unto us is born this day ... a Savior.” It is no accident that the fulcrum of human history rests on a birth narrative. Given the limitations of human language, we struggle to find the vocabulary for momentous events. What better metaphor than a birth story!
Hanukkah dreidels
Both Christmas lights and Hanukkah dreidels (spinning tops) are appearing as decorations as the northern Israeli port city of Haifa throws a multi-faith party on December weekends.
