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MCC active in relief on Leyte Island, Philippines

Anthony Coralade stands in front of what is left of his concrete house in Carmen, Hernani, in Eastern Samar. His house was completed last month after painstakingly building it for seven years. Before the landfall of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines on Nov. 8, 2013, he hired men to find the cash he had buried under the floor. (Photo by ACT Alliance/Christian Aid)

As the devastation from Typhoon Haiyan continues to unfold in the Philippines, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) is increasing its response to meet crucial needs for people on the eastern side of Leyte Island and working with partners to assess next steps for relief and recovery.

Photo story: Indigenous leaders visit England

Little Pine First Nation Chief Wayne Semagani (left) stands with Ovide Mercredi, former grand chief of the Assembly of First Nations, outside Buckingham Palace. Mercredi explained: “The trip that we made here was to show Canadians that we still have this connection with Britain and that the treaties were made by our ancestors…” (Photo by Brad Langendoen)

Drumming after the pipe ceremony in Green Park, near Buckingham Palace. (Photo by Brad Langendoen)

The delegation of Saskatchewan and Manitoba veterans, elders and chiefs assemble at the Guards Chapel, London, as part of their visit to celebrate the Royal Proclamation of 1763. (Photo by Brad Langendoen)

Gabrielle Hughes, from Mik'maq Nation, plays the drum in the Honour Song at the Canada High Commission. Hughes is the first Rhodes Scholar to come from the First Nations. (Photo by Brad Langendoen)

Chief Perry Bellegarde of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations (centre) examines the Royal Proclamation with other members of the delegation. (Photo by Brad Langendoen)

A copy of the 1763 Royal Proclamation, housed at the National Archives in London, England. (Photo by Brad Langendoen)

To mark the 250th anniversary of the Royal Proclamation of 1763 (Oct. 7), a delegation of indigenous leaders travelled to London, England, in October 2013.

Filipino Climate Negotiator Issues Challenges to World

“We refuse to accept that running away from storms, evacuating our families, suffering the devastation and misery, counting our dead, becomes a way of life. We simply refuse to.”

So spoke the Philippines’ lead climate negotiator Naderev Yeb Saño at the opening of this year’s United Nations climate change conference in Warsaw, Poland.

Mennonites respond to Typhoon Haiyan

Typhoon survivors stand in line for potable drinking water on Nov. 11, 2013, in Ormoc, Leyte. (Photo by Maryannm “Mai” Zamora, courtesy World Vision.)

In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, disaster relief efforts are underway to help with cleanup and reconstruction.

Young adults learn through cross-cultural experience

Among the many memories that Shammah Nakawesi of Uganda brings home from her one-year service assignment in Indonesia is her new understanding of loving God and others.

“Even in the uncertainties of life, loving God and loving others is all that matters,” says Nakawesi, who served as an English teacher and community worker in the village of Margorejo.

Kristallnacht anniversary with interfaith service

Westminster Abbey

At an emotional worship service, considered one of the largest gatherings of Christians and Jews, some 1,600 British men and women filed into Westminster Abbey Sunday (Nov. 10) to mark the 75th anniversary of Kristallnacht.

Mennonites take to social media to share peace

Ben Borne added the Peace Button to his profile photo.

For the last 20 years people have shared the message of peace by pinning red buttons reading, “To remember is to work for peace” to their shirts, coats, backpacks and purses.

"Pastoral letter" from friends in the UK

Sara Wenger Shenk

In this post I share a “pastoral letter” from Anabaptists in the United Kingdom who are praying for us. Alan Kreider notes this in introductory comments to the letter:

MCC taps memories of Teachers Abroad Program

In 1965, Ron Mathies works with students to ready a pole and a hoop for a basketball court at Blantyre Secondary School, Malawi. Mathies went on to become MCC executive director from 1996-2005. Photo courtesy of Ron Mathies

Forty years have passed since former Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) worker Nancy Heisey first stood in front of a classroom in Zaire, now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Ellen Davis unearths an agrarian view of the Bible

With her gray hair tied neatly in a bun and her wire-rimmed glasses perched thoughtfully on her nose, Ellen Davis looks the part of a distinguished Bible scholar.

Her resume certainly reads like one – a Ph.D. from Yale University and teaching appointments at Union Theological Seminary, Virginia Theological Seminary, Yale and now Duke Divinity School.

COMMENTARY: Challenge and disruption

I had the privilege of teaching a pastoral theology class at Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, last week.

I had the entire senior class: 13 young, promising, enthusiastic, veterans of church wars, and yet eager to get started.

’12 Years a Slave’ prompts calls for racial reconciliation

The new movie “12 Years a Slave” may depict a bygone era in American history, but religious leaders hope it might spark increased attention about present-day race relations.

A Theologian’s Influence, and Stained Past, Live On

Yoder

Can a bad person be a good theologian?

All of us fall short of our ideals, of course. But there is a common-sense expectation that religious professionals should try to behave as they counsel others to behave. They may not be perfect, but they should not be louts or jerks.

Ohio court gives lawyer guardianship of Amish girl with cancer

An Ohio court has given limited guardianship of a 10-year-old Amish girl to a lawyer who will make medical decisions instead of the girl's parents.

An aging maverick, Episcopal Bishop John Shelby Spong has no regrets

Spong speaking to a church in England.

At 82, retired and enjoying life, Bishop John Shelby Spong doesn't have to be the liberal enfant terrible whose pronouncements for gay rights and against traditional dogmas once scandalized Christendom.

Interview: Malcolm Gladwell on his return to faith

Author Malcolm Gladwell may not be known for writing on religion. His New York Times best-selling books "The Tipping Point," "Outliers," "Blink" and "What the Dog Saw" deal with the unexpected twists in social science research.

A Global Slaughter of Christians, but America’s Churches Stay Silent

Christians in the Middle East and Africa are being slaughtered, tortured, raped, kidnapped, beheaded, and forced to flee the birthplace of Christianity. One would think this horror might be consuming the pulpits and pews of American churches. Not so. The silence has been nearly deafening. Read more at

Pope Francis’ explosive new interview

Pope Francis says the church "cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently." (Riccardo De Luca/Associated Press)

In a lengthy, wide-ranging interview with journalists from his own Jesuit order, Pope Francis makes a number of stunningly frank comments that are likely to rattle the church and to cement his reputation as a leader more concerned with a pastoral approach than a doctrinal hard line.

The Amazing Mennos of Saskatchewan

On a recent trip north of the US border, Menno Media's director of development, Steve Carpenter, met some interesting people in the persons of Vern Ratzlaff of Aberdeen and Dave and Sue Neufeld of Herschel. See his comments on a blog entry here: http://bit.ly/14iVFen

As denominations decline, numbers of unpaid ministers rise

Mark Marmon (right) teaches fly fishing at the Fishers of Men retreat at Camp Allen in Navasota, Texas. Photo by Emily Krueger, Camp Allen | courtesy The Episcopal Diocese of Texas

The 50 members of All Saints Episcopal Church in Hitchcock, Texas, are looking forward to December, when Mark Marmon will be ordained their priest.

One reason for the excitement? They won’t have to pay him.

MEDIA REVIEW: Al-Jazeera America lives up to its unbiased promise

Before its Aug. 20 launch, officials at Al-Jazeera America emphasized that, despite its Middle Eastern roots and ownership, the fledgling cable news network would be aimed squarely at a U.S. audience.

Guess they weren’t kidding.

Religious leaders rip Kenya vote to withdraw from world court

Roman Catholic Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth of the Kisumu Archdiocese and the chairperson of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Justice and Peace Commission, said the withdrawal will breed impunity and injure human-rights protection. Photos by Fredrick Nzwili

With Kenya’s president and his deputy facing trials at the International Court of Justice in the Netherlands, parliamentarians here have voted to withdraw the country from the court.

But the Roman Catholic Church and the National Council of Churches of Kenya view the move as “misguided.”

Drug cartel teams with Mexican Mennonites to move pot to Colorado

A federal grand jury has indicted seven people, most members of a Mexican Mennonite community working with a drug cartel, accused of moving tons of pot to Colorado Springs and North Carolina.

Looming surge in vacant United Church buildings

The United Church Observer, an award-winning independent monthly magazine published for the country’s largest Protestant denomination, is revealing the results of “Imagine: Your Church in 2025.” The national survey asked readers to envision what and where their church will be when The United Church of Canada celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2025.

Persecuted Coptic Christians still hopeful

Egyptian Copts pray in Tahrir Square during the 2011 Egyptian protests.

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams took Britain’s Christian community to task last month when he said that Western Christians need to “grow up” and stop claiming they are persecuted just because they are sometimes made to feel uncomfortable about their faith.

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