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.
