Lucimarian Roberts, a much-loved Presbyterian elder who always downplayed the achievements of her illustrious family, including herself, died Aug. 30 in Pass Christian, Miss. She was 88.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) “is defined by all the three key words in our name. We are global, in all continents, and therefore also in solidarity with one another, seeking peace in all its meaning for the whole earth,” said the WCC general secretary the Rev. Olav Fykse Tveit.

President Barack Obama, a Democrat, says it’s not his job to defend his Christian faith against doubters who suspect he’s Muslim. His Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, says religion is “integral” to his life, even as often he avoids mentioning his Mormon faith by name. In interviews published Aug. 21 by Cathedral Age, the magazine of the Washington National Cathedral, the candidates responded in writing to nine questions about their faith.

A senior leader of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has expressed concern over the treatment of religious minorities by a section of the Buddhist majority in Sri Lanka.

Seven years after Hurricane Katrina toppled a nearby floodwall and drowned their synagogue, and after a seven-year journey praying in hotel meeting rooms, then in rooms borrowed and rented from another congregation, the 100 or so families of Congregation Beth Israel are finally home.

Australian clerics are dismayed that the federal government has backed a plan to assess offshore those seeking asylum. They maintain such moves are short of a compassionate response as the government tries to curb people smuggling.

“The WCC can be and still is prophetic today,” said the Rev. Walter Altmann, moderator of the World Council of Churches (WCC) Central Committee, reflecting in his opening address to the committee here on highs and lows in the ecumenical movement and on the identity of the WCC.

 “You can’t go solo anymore,” warned Jim Singleton. Any individual or congregation wanting to join the Fellowship of Presbyterians (FOP) or A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians (ECO) needs to know that membership has its requirements.

In a move that could recast the reigning political narrative about the Catholic bishops, Cardinal Timothy Dolan has accepted an invitation to deliver the closing benediction at the Democratic National Convention, a week after he gives a similar blessing to the Republicans in Tampa, Fla.

The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) said on Aug. 29 that it is joining efforts to respond to the growing influx of Syrian refugees in Jordan who are fleeing fighting between government and opposition forces in their home country.