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One thing lacking

I had a great idea for starting this sermon—a PowerPoint presentation of artists’ depictions of this Bible story. I could imagine the paintings: a man in beautiful robes running and kneeling before Jesus, or the dramatic moment of Jesus looking at the man with love, or the man reacting to Jesus’ words with a sad expression on his face.

Is support for Israel waning among evangelicals?

Christ at the Checkpoint conferences, held in Bethlehem, have drawn a variety of speakers from the local Palestinian and Messianic communities, as well as from international Christian circles. The stated mission of the 2014 conference: To challenge evangelicals to take responsibility to help resolve the conflicts in Israel-Palestine by engaging with the teaching of Jesus on the Kingdom of God.

American evangelicals have played a significant role in U.S. support for Israel; by some measures they are even more supportive than American Jews.

Raspberries and communion

(Image by by Anja/Pixabay)

On Holy Week we gather to celebrate communion along with the Christian church throughout the world, as Jesus invited us to do. As we do so, we remember how Jesus shared the last supper with his disciples in the intimacy of the upper room; all dipping in the same dish with him, without knowing the full significance of the event, and unaware of how it would be remembered for centuries to come.

Honour Walk has begun

“Honour walkers” Laurens Thiessen van Esch, Ann Heinrichs, Brad Langendoen and Nathan Thorpe, joined by their supporters. (Credit: Deborah Froese/Mennonite Church Canada)

On March 6, ‘honour walkers’ Laurens Thiessen van Esch, Ann Heinrichs, Brad Langendoen and Nathan Thorpe were joined by 16 supporters on the campus of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) as they prepared to leave Winnipeg on their way to Stoney Knoll, Sask.

Christian leaders urge dialogue with Nigeria’s violent Boko Haram

Clerics have pressed Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, pictured here in Nairobi, to use the state security services against the militants. (Credit: Fredrick Nzwili/Religion News Service)

For five years, bombs and bullets from Nigeria's Islamist group Boko Haram have ripped through churches and their members, raising concerns over the security of Christians in majority Muslim regions of the country.

International conference explores Holy Land issues

Brothers Bishara Awad (left) and Mubarak Awad have conversation with filmmaker Yasmine Perni about “The Stones Cry Out,” a documentary which was screened at the conference. (Credit: Palmer Becker)

Three hundred seventy evangelicals and others from around the world are meeting in Bethlehem, March 10-14, 2014, to strengthen the Palestinian church and to seek resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Under the theme, “Thy Kingdom Come,” renowned speakers are exploring the challenge from biblical, historical, theological, and practical points of view.

CSC reverses decision for a portion of CoSA funding

Logo from the “Cosa Solidarity” Facebook page, which has garnered 528 “likes” since March 4.

In a reversal of its decision to cut funding for Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) as of March 31, Corrections Services of Canada (CSC) has restored $650,000 to CoSA, thanks to pushback from Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Steven Blaney, Member of Parliament Harold Albrecht of Kitchener, Ont., and Health Minister Rona Ambrose.

'Holy Spirit is great choreographer’ in creation care, delegates told

A Rocha promotes "Good Seed Sunday."

Rick Faw and his wife Crista

“The Holy Spirit is a great choreographer,” Rick Faw told the delegates gathered here Feb. 21-22, 2014, for the annual meeting of Mennonite Church British Columbia. “What would happen if our churches would become ecological points of light in a world of darkness?” he asked, in casting a vision for creation care as an integral part of the church’s mission.

Typhoon Haiyan survivors to receive building supplies, employment, training

MCC is supplying building materials, including plywood and tin sheets similar to those being loaded onto this bicycle-powered rickshaw, to almost 3,000 Filipino families whose homes were destroyed by Typhoon Haiyan. In addition, MCC is paying local people to build the houses in the towns of Naval and Dulag.(Credit: Laura Armstrong/ MCC)

Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is providing disaster-resistant shelters and basic kitchen utensils for almost 3,000 Filipino families who lost their homes during Typhoon Haiyan, in November 2014.

Dumpster diving as an act of faith

Gio Andollo looks for food in the dumpsters in Manhattan, New York. Andollo, who is driven by his faith, goes Dumpster diving about once a week. (RNS photo by Sarah Pulliam Bailey)

As a musician barely scraping by, Gio Andollo looks to trash bins as a way of life.

On a recent outing, he carefully untied bags outside a supermarket next to Columbia University. He likes this market because it uses clear plastic bags, making it easier to spot bread, fruits, vegetables and other treasures.

Canadian scholar studies how education preserves Old Colony Mennonite culture

Robyn Sneath’s research on the relationship between education and Old Colony Mennonites was awarded a Trudeau scholarship, one of Canada’s most prestigious doctoral awards. (Photo supplied by Robyn Sneath)

It’s hard to understand Canada’s Old Colony Mennonites without first understanding their views on education.

In 1922 about 8,000 Old Colony Mennonites left Canada for Mexico and Paraguay because of education mandates.

Green burials reflect a shift to care for the body and soul

Jeff and Suzanne Becker buried father and husband Gilbert Becker naturally, in a hand-carved log casket after his death in Sept. 2013. (Photo by Sally Morrow, RNS)

Growing up in small-town Georgia, John B. Johnson had family friends who ran the funeral home down the street, so the particulars of a typical American funeral — the embalming, the heavy casket and remarks about how great the deceased's hair looked — were all familiar to him.

When the time came, he assumed, his funeral would look much the same.

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