Why Does Jesus Matter?
Sometimes in the Christian life it’s crucial (a word, aptly enough, rooted in the cross) to take a few steps back and ask again the foundational question of our faith:
Latest Posts
WCC Launches Online Library for Theology and Ecumenism
GENEVA (ENI) The World Council of Churches (WCC) has launched
the first online digital library covering theology and
ecumenism, called GlobeTheoLib, saying it will help close the information
gap between North and South.
Conferees Calls for Combat Against Greed
KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia (ENI) Speakers at an international Christian-Muslim dialogue
conference organized by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) say religious groups need to do
more to combat greed in the global economy.
Suicide Bomber Attacks Packed Indonesian Church
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (ENI) A suicide bomber blew
himself up on the porch of an Indonesian church packed with hundreds of
worshippers on Sept. 25, injuring 28 people, some critically.
Pope’s Trip to Germany Fails to Meet Ecumenical Hopes
BERLIN (ENI) Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Germany on Sept. 23
featured an ecumenical worship service in the town of Erfurt that
was meant to reach out to German Protestants, but for many it felt like a
missed opportunity.
Gay Marriage Controversy in Scotland
EDINBURGH, Scotland (ENI) The Scottish government has drawn fire from Catholic church
leaders for launching a 14-week public consultation, starting Sept. 2, on the question of
legalizing marriage for gay couples.
October 4 is St. Francis Day!
Carolyn Gillette has composed a new hymn for use and it’s available free of charge for your congregation’s use.
Film in review: “Seven Days In Utopia”
What can you say about a movie that you’re supposed to like but didn’t?
Film in review: “Moneyball”
“Moneyball” is a baseball movie, so right away that limits its audience.
However, there are many other appealing dynamics in the film that
transcend baseball and are just about life.
Film in review: “Drive”
“Drive” is several movies at once:
1) A slick action film with car chase sequences to rival any of the muscle-car,
musclehead, predictable silliness,
Film in review: “Dolphin Tale”
“Dolphin Tale” is one of those “family films” that you know are going to
feature good-looking children, beleaguered parents, a little bit of stress, and
the triumph of love and acceptance. So what’s wrong with that? Nothing.
Film in review: “Contagion”
Watching this movie will convert thousands to the ranks of the
germophobes. As fast as you can say, “Bats on pigs.”
Death toll climbs past 100 in Himalayan earthquake
Bangalore, India (ENI) A pastor's wife was killed and churches and schools destroyed in the Sept. 18 earthquake that killed more than 100 people in several countries in the Himalaya mountains north of India.
Obama administration criticizes eight countries on religious freedom
Washington (ENI) The U.S. State Department has designated eight nations as the most serious violators of religious freedom, naming the same countries as the Bush administration.
Pope meets with Jewish representatives in Berlin
Berlin (ENI) Pope Benedict XVI's meeting with Germany's Jewish community on the first day of his four-day state visit to his homeland was marked by both good will and honest criticism.
Religious dialogue helped release of U.S. hikers in Iran
Washington (ENI) The release of U.S. hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal from an Iranian prison on Sept. 21 "affirms the importance of the role of religious dialogue and its end product in this case, public diplomacy, as we seek ways to define common ground between our two countries," said Episcopal Diocese of Washington Bishop John Chane, who returned from a weeklong visit to Iran on Sept. 19.
Forgotten, but not gone: Three years later, Hurricane Ike recovery efforts short
STATESVILLE, N.C. (PNS) Six years after Hurricane Katrina, rebuilding New Orleans after the country’s costliest storm continues.
GAMC members brainstorm sweeping ideas — aware of the gap between ideas and action
LOUISVILLE – Heres’s some of what the General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) wants to be known for:
What’s (not) in a name? GAMC must ditch the word ‘council’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The General Assembly Mission Council of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is considering changing its name – something it needs to do to comply with the denomination’s new Form of Government, which reserves the use of the word “council” for actual governing bodies.
Some international partnerships imperiled by new ordination policy, GAMC told
LOUISVILLE – The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) continues to feel the international rumblings from its controversial decision earlier this year to allow the ordination of sexually-active gays and lesbians.
Synod court upholds presbytery in Larges case
The Presbytery of San Francisco did not commit any doctrinal errors when it voted to allow the ordination of Lisa Larges, and it does not need to conduct another examination of her, the Permanent Judicial Commission of the Synod of the Pacific has ruled.
Pope will reach out to German Protestants on state visit
Berlin (ENI) Pope Benedict XVI, on his first state visit to his native country, arrives in Berlin on Sept. 22 in what many see as a unique opportunity for increased understanding between Catholic and Protestant churches.
Clinton’s anti-child-marriage initiative finds relevance in churches
Nairobi, Kenya (ENI) As a new international initiative seeks to stop child marriages, church-based centers in southern Kenya are an example of faith organizations providing a haven for girls and educating communities about the issue.
Panel aims to help GA make its meetings a better blend of worship and business
LOUISVILLE – A special committee is poised to recommend restructuring General Assembly meetings in ways intended to allow the assembly to blend worship more fully into its work and to focus more energy on fewer items of business.
A Presbyterian pastor
Most letters to the editor arrive in response to a particular article. The following one came without prompt from Walter Smith of Lynchburg, Va.
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