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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.

Dutch ecumenical leader wants churches to examine slavery history

An ecumenical leader in the Netherlands has called on the country's churches to examine their role in the history of slavery, ahead of next year's 150th anniversary of the Dutch abolition of slavery.

Prayers for peace worldwide

At a place called Antietam, 23,000 soldiers died in the bloodiest day of the American Civil War. More than 150 years later, 20 different religious traditions will gather on this battlefield in the state of Maryland on Sept. 21 to share prayers and songs of peace.

US Coptics distance themselves from anti-Muslim film

Coptic Christian leaders in the United States distanced themselves from an anti-Muslim film that has sparked protests in more than 20 countries, and denounced the Copts who reportedly produced and promoted the film.

EMU grads head for war-torn Colombia

Larisa Zehr (centre), Jessica Sarriot and William C. Morris are recent EMU grads who have headed 2,000 miles south to work alongside Colombians seeking to emerge from decades of warfare and destitution. Photo by Emma Stahl-Wert.

Months after earning their undergraduate degrees from Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) in 2011, Jessica Sarriot (Silver Spring, Md.), Larisa Zehr (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and William C. Morris (Charlottesville, Va.) headed 2,000 miles south to work alongside Colombians seeking to emerge from decades of warfare and destitution.

Activists hail release of pastor, teen

Religious rights activists are hailing the release over the weekend of an Iranian pastor accused of apostasy and a Pakistani girl who was charged with blasphemy.

Congo religious leaders seek to build awareness of war

A delegation of religious leaders from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is visiting the U.S and Canada as part of a tour seeking to build awareness of a re-emerging war at the border of the DRC and Rwanda.

Former MCC executive joins MWC as fundraiser

Arli Klassen begins her duties Oct. 1.

Arli Klassen, formerly executive director of the binational Mennonite Central Committee before its reorganization earlier this year into a Canadian and US entity, will serve as Development Manager for Mennonite World Conference beginning October 1, 2012, according to a news release. She is in the process of moving from Akron, Pa. to Kitchener, Ont.

Argentina addresses need for non-sexist language

The World Association for Christian Communication (WACC) said it welcomes a plan by Argentina's National University of Entre Rios to oversee a seminar on "subjective construction of gender in the media."

Friday News Wrap-up: Obama invokes Lincoln

Barack Obama invoked Abraham Lincoln in Thursday's speech in which he accepted his party's nomination for president.

COMMENTARY: Republicans’ descent into nihilism

What a revealing end to a disturbing political convention.

Unification Church founder dies at 92

Rev. Sun Myung Moon

The Rev. Sun Myung Moon, revered as a messiah within his Unification Church but regarded by many others as a vain and enigmatic man who blessed mass weddings, built a sprawling business empire and presided over a personality cult, died on Monday (Sept. 3) in South Korea. He was 92.

Faith groups in Pakistan seek release of girl accused of blasphemy

A bail hearing is set for today, Aug. 28, in Islamabad in the case of a girl charged with blasphemy for allegedly burning pages of the Quran, Islam's holy scriptures.

Officers describe bizarre Amish beard-cutting

Law officers testified Wednesday (Sept. 5, 2012) about the chaotic and bizarre scene they discovered the night of Oct. 4, 2011, when they arrived at the Holmes County, Ohio, home of Raymond Hershberger, a 79-year-old Amish bishop.

Ethiopian Evangelical Church mourns prime minister

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi

The leader of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church has urged citizens to observe peace, love and tolerance as the country mourns the death of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Does megachurch ‘high’ explain their success?

Southeast Christian Church, a Louisville, Ky., megachurch, holds services like this one during Christmas time. Credit: Religion News Service photo courtesy of Southeast Christian Church

Maybe religion really is the opiate of the masses – just not the way Karl Marx imagined.

Skinny dipping sacrilege: commentary

US Representative Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas) --Photo Courtesy

OK, so like I'm on vacation in Maine and you're pondering the fate of Rep. Todd Akin (R-Mo.), but what would we do without those crack investigative reporters at Politico, Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan?

UCC boycotts Israel-produced products

The United Church of Canada, the country's largest Protestant denomination, has approved a recommendation to boycott products produced in Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory.

The intent is to bring pressure to bear on the government of Israel to stop expansion of the settlements and end the occupation.

Cardinal Dolan defends Obama invitation

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has said talks with the White House over a proposed contraception mandate are "going nowhere." --RNS photo by Gregory A. Shemitz

New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan defended his invitation of President Obama to the annual Al Smith Dinner in October, saying he is trying to encourage civility and dialogue amid a bitter battle with the White House over abortion rights and access to contraception.

A Tale of Two Catholics

Paul Ryan--Romney's veep choice.

Joe Biden, veep to President Obama

For the first time in U.S. history, both sides of the ballot include Roman Catholics: Democrats' Vice President Joe Biden, and Republicans' newly named vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.

Amish-Mennonite pastor convicted of abetting kidnapping

A Vermont jury found an Amish-Mennonite pastor guilty Tuesday (Aug. 14) of abetting an international kidnapping to keep a young girl from her lesbian parent.

Russian punk band found guilty of 'hooliganism' and 'religious hatred'

A Moscow court found three members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot guilty of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred" today (Aug. 17) for a guerrilla performance in Moscow's main cathedral last February. They were sentenced to two years in a penal colony.

Kwitsel Tatel jailed for ‘resisting assault’

Sto:lo Drummers and Activists Rally in Front of the Chilliwack Court House on July 26. On July 25, the prior day, Kwitsel Tatel and her son, Kwiis Hamilton, were both jailed and penalized for her decision to drum and sing her evidence into Court dressed in Aboriginal regalia.

In another of many court trials for Kwitsel Tatel, the aboriginal mother of two charged with illegal possession of fish, was jailed here July 25, along with her son, before the trial began. Kwitsel had shared her story at an Assembly 2012 workshop at the invitation of Professor Anthony Hall, an expert witness on her behalf, and Steve Heinrichs

Africa most devout region in world

Africa has topped the list of most devout regions of the world, with 89 percent calling themselves religious, according to a worldwide poll called "The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism."

Al Geiser remembered at service

Gray skies sputtered rain into the muggy Ohio afternoon as friends and family gathered for the memorial service for Alfred Geiser on Aug. 5. The organist played "When Peace Like a River" as more than 500 people filled the pews at Kidron (Ohio) Mennonite Church.

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