Syrian civil war forces Sunni and Shiite Muslims to pick sides
The Syrian civil war is increasingly drawing in nations across the Middle East, a regionwide conflict that threatens to pit world powers against each other and Muslim against Muslim.
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Christian leaders seek to overcome polarization
Twenty-five top Christian leaders gathered in the U.S. city with perhaps the worst reputation for civil discourse Wednesday (May 15) and committed themselves to elevating the level of public conversation.
Canadians turning away from organized religion
A new national study shows that while Canada remains overwhelmingly Christian, Canadians are turning their backs on organized religion in ever greater numbers.
Welby installed as 105th Archbishop of Canterbury
The new archbishop, Justin Welby, smiled and occasionally laughed as he watched African Anglicans dance and sing.
Justin Welby, the 57-year old former oil executive who quit the world of high finance in 1992 to become a priest, was enthroned Thursday (March 21) as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury and spiritual leader of the world's 77 million Anglicans.
Pope Francis and the long shadow of Argentina’s "Dirty War"
In 1974, when the Rev. Jorge Bergoglio was the top Jesuit in his native Argentina, a former nightclub dancer named Isabel Peron came to head the nation – an accidental and weak president.
Venting and vetting: The brutal side of papal politics
If you want a crash course on how papal politics really works, look no further than the saga of Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien.
Zimbabwe's gang rape coming back to haunt
When Robert Mugabe clung to power after Zimbabwe's 2008 election he was quick to wield the power of the law and the authority of the state, reported Anna Maria Tremonti on CBC's The Current Tuesday, Feb. 26.
Quebec loses status as Canada’s most secular province
A new poll suggests Quebecers are no longer among the least religious residents of Canada.
GUEST COMMENTARY: Why the next pope should come from the Global South
As the 117 Roman Catholic cardinals walk into the Sistine Chapel next month for the election of a new pope, one hopes that they fully recognize the unfolding, dramatic pilgrimage of world Christianity: The demographic center of Christian faith has moved decisively to the Global South.
Poll: Bad sex a bigger problem for couples than religious differences
Unchurched Americans have high expectations that they will have sex on Valentine's Day. Lutherans, Presbyterians and other mainline Protestants? Not so much.
Strangers seeking ashes
The Rev. Amy Butler, senior pastor at Calvary Baptist Church, Washington, D.C.
The church that I pastor sits on a busy corner in downtown Washington, D.C. It’s the kind of neighborhood where most people, whether they live or work in the area, rarely if ever think about attending church.
At halftime, a religious alternative to Beyonce
Beyonce
Super Bowl halftime shows often burn more vivid images into the American conscience than the most-watched football game of the year, and can claim millions more viewers.
Obama’s use of Scripture echoes Lincoln, King
President Barack Obama looks at the portrait of Abraham Lincoln that hangs in the Oval Office prior to meeting with President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia, June 29, 2009. RNS photo by Pete Souza/The White House
President Obama will publicly take the oath of office with Bibles once owned by his political heroes, Abraham Lincoln and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. One Bible was well read, but cited cautiously. The other granted scriptural sanction to the civil rights movement.
MCC facing funding gap for chaplaincy service
Peter Worsley coordinates MCC Alberta’s community chaplaincy program.
Mennonite Central Committee's chaplaincy programs in Alberta and Ontario are facing a fund gap following the Canadian government's decision to change how it supports community chaplaincy services for ex-prisoners.
Church of England rejects women bishops
In a surprise move that shocked both sides of a years-long debate, the Church of England on Tuesday (Nov. 20) rejected an expected move to allow women bishops, preserving the church's status as one of the last bastions of male privilege in the United Kingdom.
A Public Confession of Our Personal Wars
Devon Clunis, a 25-year veteran of the police force, will be sworn in as chief of police later this year.
The sound-byte was simple, “What would happen if we all just truly—I'm talking about all religious stripes here—started praying for the peace of this city and then actually started putting some action behind that?” With that quote Devon Clunis, Winnipeg's incoming chief of police, stirred up a brief and vigorous media storm. Responses ranged, predictably, from clear support for
EMU trained new president of Somalia
Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the new president of Somalia, is standing in center-front among classmates at the 2001 Summer Peacebuilding Institute. This class, titled "Learning to Listen, Learning to Teach," was one of three that the president took.
The new president of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, deepened his understanding of building peace in traumatized societies in three classes taken at the 2001 Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) held at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU).
EMU grad brings trauma-healing to Somalia
Doreen Ruto of Kenya, pictured working in Somalia, is playing a key role in a USAID-funded project using materials developed at EMU for Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR). The goal is to introduce trauma-healing principles to about 115,000 Somalis and thus decrease the likelihood of cycles of violence.
A graduate of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), as well as the center’s Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program, is playing a key role in a
Letter to editor: Clarifying inaccuracies in prison chaplaincy
I wanted to clarify some inaccurate information published in Ron Csillag’s article “Canada cuts all non-Christian prison chaplains” regarding the Government of Canada’s policy on spiritual services for prisoners.
Canada cuts all non-Christian prison chaplains
The Canadian government is canceling the contracts of all non-Christian chaplains at federal prisons.
By next spring, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and other non-Christian inmates will be expected to turn to Christian prison chaplains for religious counsel and guidance.
Obama at the UN--a new religion doctrine
Obama address the UN assembly.
President Obama on Tuesday (Sept. 25) gave a forceful speech at the United Nations, in which he challenged much of the world's assumptions about free speech and religion.
3 deaths on US Mennonite/Brethren campuses
The Church of the Brethren requests prayer for college communities in Kansas and Virginia following three separate and unrelated tragedies: McPherson (Kan.) College and Bridgewater (Va.) College, both Church of the Brethren-related schools, and Tabor College in central Kansas, which is related to the Menno
Ralph Reed: back from purgatory
When Ralph Reed, the former head of the Christian Coalition in the US, was discovered to have raked in millions of dollars from the super lobbyist — and eventually convicted felon — Jack Abramoff, Reed wound up in political purgatory, says Bill Moyers on his weekly TV show.
Amish bishop could face life in prison
Amish bishop Samuel Mullet was convicted Thursday (Sept. 20, 2012) of federal hate crimes and conspiracy for exhorting followers to forcibly shear the hair and beards of those who opposed his breakaway Ohio sect.
Elsie Cressman, pioneer missionary, dies
Elsie Cressman, foreground, the subject of a documentary, Return to Africa: The Story of Elsie Cressman, is pictured with filmmakers Paul Francescutti, and Paula and Paul Campsall, at a screening in Waterloo in 2010
Funeral services were held Sunday, Sept. 23, for Elsie Cressman, former Eastern Mennonite Missions worker in East Africa, who died Sept. 11, in New Hamburg. Cressman was known for her work among leprosy patients and her work as a midwife both in East Africa and in Canada.
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