OPEN BOOK – PAUL’S FIRST LETTER TO TIMOTHY: YOUTHFUL SELF-RESPECT
BRUCE C WEARNE looks at a passage in I Timothy in which Paul urges the youthful Timothy to be an “example” to others…
Ravaged by Ebola and war, Congo named most neglected crisis of 2018
Thomson Reuters Foundation With an Ebola epidemic raging and millions caught in a forgotten “catastrophe” of conflict and hunger, Democratic Republic of Congo was the most neglected crisis of 2018, according to an annual Thomson Reuters Foundation poll of aid agencies. This year’s survey was unusual for the high number of “most forgotten crises”, with […]
Eleven men sent for trial for attacking Copts in Egypt
World Watch Monitor Eleven men suspected of an attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt’s capital Cairo a year ago will have to appear before a criminal court, reports Coptic news site Watani. The suspects were caught by police following a double attack on the Mar Mina and Pope Kyrillos VI Coptic Orthodox Church in the Helwan district south of Cairo, […]
HEALTH INSIGHT: CHRISTMAS VERSUS KILOJOULES – HOW TO FOCUS MORE ON CELEBRATION AND LESS ON THE FOOD
In an article first published on The Conversation, CLARE COLLINS, of the University of Newcastle in Australia, provides some tips for avoiding the excess calories this Christmas…
Hundreds of trafficked children go missing from UK care homes
Thomson Reuters Foundation A growing number of trafficked children in Britain are going missing from care homes, with some feared to be returning to their traffickers after being treated like criminals or illegal immigrants by authorities, two charities said on Wednesday. A quarter of the 1,015 identified or suspected child trafficking victims in the care […]
Crackdown on Christians in Iran continues with reports of beatings
World Watch Monitor At least seven Iranian Christian converts have been arrested in Iran in the last two weeks, including two sisters who allegedly have been beaten. Shima Zanganeh, 27, and her sister, Shokoufeh, 30, were arrested by Intelligence Service officials in their homes in Ahvaz, capital of Iran’s western Khuzestan province, on 2nd December, reports Mohabat […]
HOMELESSNESS: IN THE US, HOMELESS FIND REFUGE IN SAFE PARKING
CAREY L BIRON, writing for Thomson Reuters Foundation, reports on how non-profit organisations – and churches – are working to help people sleeping in their cars after numerous cities passed laws criminalising such behaviour…
In the US, a new Christmas pageant shows off the fierce side of Mary
RNS If you ask Rev Katy Fitz Shedlock, there is something wrong with the way Mary is portrayed in most church Christmas pageants. She’s boring. A traditional depiction of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in a pageant manger scene. ‘Deleted Scenes Christmas Pageant’ skips most traditional depictions of the holy family. PICTURE: Tech Sgt Jared […]
ESSAY: EMBRACING THE WORK OF CHRISTMAS
In an article first published on Religion News Service, US United Church of Christ minister CHUCK CURRIE reflects on the meaning – and “work” – of Christmas…