Posts in News
Unheralded Voice of the Truth Celebrates Half Century of Arabic-Language Ministry

After a recent 50th anniversary dinner for about 250 workers, partners, friends and donors, the Voice of the Truth ministry offered to share some of its achievements

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Despite Daily Missile Attacks, Christian Family Keeps Serving At-Risk Ukrainians

An eastern Ukrainian family traveled 760 miles from their home in Zaporizhzhia, where they worship with a Church of Christ and work with Program for Humanitarian Aid, a nonprofit that, before the war, served primarily orphans and at-risk youths. Now, all Ukrainians are at risk. So the ministry has become one of relief, support and, on occasion, evacuation.

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Women Earn Unique Master’s In Ministry Behind Tennessee Prison Bars

Thirteen women walked across the gymnasium stage at Nashville’s Debra Johnson Rehabilitation Center in mid-December to receive a Master of Arts in Christian ministry, the first graduate degree Lipscomb University has bestowed behind the chain-link and razor wire of the correctional facility formerly called the Tennessee Prison for Women.

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Prison Art From China's Ming Dynasty Reflects A Restriction Of Religious Freedom

Ying Zhang, associate professor of history at Ohio State University, is exploring the connections among prison, art and religion in a unique and meaningful way. Her lecture at The American Academy in Berlin accompanies her new book and discusses the way incarceration limits religious freedom.

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Tens Of Thousands Mourn Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI At Vatican Funeral Mass

Pope Francis joined tens of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on Thursday at a funeral Mass for Benedict XVI, an unusual gathering for a dead pontiff presided by a living one. The Vatican, enveloped in a thick fog, featured heads of state and bishops from around the world who came to Rome to mourn Benedict’s death and remember his papacy.

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Evangelical Publishing Still Going Strong In Post-Communist Romania

Romanian evangelicals hid their faith during communist rule, but the Eastern European country now ranks as the most religious in Europe. Some evangelical magazine publishers, like Eugenia Rosian, never stopped creating and distributing religious materials.

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Animal Chaplaincy Has Become A Growing Profession

Animal chaplains can help clients prepare for a pet’s passing and run animal loss support groups. They partner with clients to develop rituals, from memorial events to a welcome for a new animal companion. They may also lead “blessing of the animals” services at houses of worship, or comfort families who have lost an animal following a natural disaster.

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Retired Pope Benedict XVI, First Pontiff To Resign Papacy In Six Centuries, Dies At 95

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who served as head of the Roman Catholic Church from 2005 until his surprise resignation in 2013, was a theologian known for his writings and defense of traditional values to counter the increased secularization of the West.

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Faint Signs Of Faith Part 2: Churches In Prague Serve As Art And Tourism Sites If Not Houses Of Worship

Almost all of the pieces are religious, taken from churches, basilicas and private chapels. They are echoes of a glorious religious past — one that contrasts with the fact that most of the Czech Republic’s population today is religiously unaffiliated.

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Lilly Endowment To Award $75 Million To Help Pastors Preach Better

The Lilly Endowment as part of its Compelling Preaching Initiative will award $75 million to help Christian pastors, “strengthen their abilities to proclaim the Gospel in more engaging and effective ways.” Proposals are due in May 2023.

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Holy Family Trail Unites Coptic Sites Where Jesus Once Traveled

Egypt is developing the Holy Family Trail — a pilgrimage of sites from Jesus’ infancy to his wandering in the desert — hoping to revive its tourist industry battered by two years of COVID-19 travel restrictions.

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Geneva Bible From The 16th Century On Display At Connecticut Church

The 427-year-old Abercrombie Bible was displayed publicly for the first time Nov. 4-6, when members past and present gathered to celebrate the Connecticut congregation’s 150th anniversary. The Bible is but one small part of the church’s legacy as a tightly knit congregation with a steadfast love of God.

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Christians From Myanmar Celebrate Passage Of US BURMA Act

Since Myanmar’s latest military coup in February 2021, ethnic Chin, Kachin and Karen Christians in the U.S have advocated for democracy.  Last week those efforts paid off, with the historic passage of the BURMA Act, an American Congressional act that will authorize sanctions against senior officials in Myanmar’s military and state-owned commercial enterprises, support democracy efforts and provide humanitarian relief.

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Churches Across US Host Premieres Of New Season Of ‘The Chosen’

Since “The Chosen” initially premiered in spring 2019 as an app-based, crowdfunded project, many churches have viewed it in their Bible classes, during their small groups and at their weekday services. And several bought blocks of tickets to the show’s Christmas special released in theaters a year ago.

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In Search Of The Real St. Nicholas’ Deep Roots In Turkey

’Tis the season when Santa Claus is nearly everywhere. Most people know that jolly old St. Nick hails from the North Pole. But many might not realize that the real St. Nicholas, a fourth century Christian bishop, lived and worked in what is now the country of Turkey.

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‘Untraditional’ Hanukkah Celebrations Often Full Of Traditions For Jews Of Color

(ANALYSIS) Hanukkah, the Jewish “festival of lights,” commemorates a story of a miracle, when oil meant to last for one day lasted for eight. Today, Jews light the menorah, a candelabra with eight candles – and one “helper” candle, called a shamas – to remember the Hanukkah oil, which kept the Jerusalem temple’s everlasting lamp burning brightly.

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Lionel Messi Thanks God For Success In Epic World Cup Win

The soccer star, a practicing Catholic, didn’t hide his feelings after Argentina’s World Cup victory on Sunday at the 89,000-seat Lusail Stadium outside Qatar’s capital Doha. It was a final loaded with ups and downs. Argentina twice squandered a lead — but triumphed in the end on penalties after the game ended 3-3.

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Morocco’s World Cup Soccer Team Used Prayer To Win Games And Crowds

The team, nicknamed the Atlas Lions, became the first African nation to reach a World Cup semifinals in the tournament’s 92-year history. Not only did Morocco represent the African continent, but over the past four weeks was a team that galvanized the Arab world behind it.  

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Qatar’s Museum Of Islamic Art Highlights Religious Artifacts Spanning 14 Centuries

The Museum of Islamic Art in Doha, a limestone building in the style of old Arab structures, houses many masterpieces connected to Islam. From ceramics to manuscripts, the museum is the Arab world’s artistic jewel and a repository like no other. It is the only one of its kind to highlight art and culture from the Arab world.

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