Christian and Muslim clashes in Egypt have left 12 people dead, 238 injured and two Coptic churches in Cairo burned, the state media reported.
Faith and political leaders condemned the weekend violence, which was triggered by rumors that a woman who had converted to Islam was being detained at the sixth-century Coptic Church of St. Mena in the working-class neighborhood of Imbaba in northwest Cairo.
It’s the worst sectarian violence since protests in February overthrew Hosni Mubarak, Egypt’s long serving president, and the clashes are presenting fresh challenges to the military-led government.
Members of the Coptic community there were reportedly …
As part of a week-long series of events to promote a just peace in Israel and Palestine, Palestinians and Israelis will be praying for peace in front of several Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, the separation wall and in houses of worship in Jerusalem and across Palestine.
They will be part of a worldwide effort to affirm the human dignity and rights of all peoples through the World Week for Peace in Palestine Israel, an initiative of the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum (PIEF) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), taking place from May 29-June 4.
The aim …
The McCormick Theological Seminary Board of trustees has elected the Rev. Frank Yamada as the school’s 10th president. He assumes office July 1.
Yamada succeeds the Rev. Cynthia M. Campbell, who is retiring.
In a press release issued by the seminary, John Anderson, the board’s chair said, “With Frank Yamada as our next President, we have a tremendous opportunity to re-imagine theological education for and by a new generation of church leaders.”
Anderson continued: “He is tremendously enthusiastic about the future of theological education and new ways to deliver it. He is passionate about scholarship and research, is deeply committed to students, and this is a great opportunity for a new generation of leadership not just for McCormick but for the church, as well.”
The Presbyterian Hunger Program has announced the appointment of Valéry Nodem as associate for international hunger. He has begun his new work in Louisville, succeeding Lionel Derenencourt, who retired last year.
Violence against religious minorities in Egypt, including Coptic Christians, has prompted an independent U.S.-based commission to cite Egypt as a country that violates religious freedom.
This weekend, Jeanne O’Hair, her friends and family will raise their voices in Easter hymns “as the spirit leads us,” she says, in her “house church” ― O’Hair’s living room in Brea, Calif.
Eight students representing six colleges and universities related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) have received the 2011 Samuel Robinson Award. The award recipients are:
-Amy Erickson, Whitworth University
-Emma Hayes, Milliken University
-Christina Tammen, Centre College
-Maggie Watters, Alma College
-John Gillette, Alma College
-Rachel Kelly, Whitworth University
-Glenna Galliher, King College
-Brett Glavey, Westminster College Pa.
The Samuel Robinson Award, which is open to PC(USA) students who are completing their junior or senior year of college at a Presbyterian-related college or university, was created from a gift made in 1956 naming the General Assembly, Princeton Theological Seminary, McCormick Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary to promote the memorization of the Westminster Shorter Catechism contained in The Book of Confessions.
“Our first priority has been to do the things that a church must do,” said the Rev. Peter Kwon of the Temecula Valley Korean Presbyterian Church, a recent recipient of the 2011 Sam and Helen R. Walton Award. Each recipient church will receive $50,000.
“Brno Blokuje” (which means “Brno resists”) brought out close to 2,000 people of goodwill to oppose the ideology of exclusion that had summoned about 300 neo-Nazis to march through the Roma ghetto in Brno on May 1.
A Japanese church district leader has said that he wants to avoid a “tsunami of people,” many of whom are well-intentioned volunteers, who want to visit the northeastern area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.