Among the tens of thousands who lost their lives when the waves of December's tsunami surged onto Sri Lanka was a cousin of Richmonder Emily Thevathasan, who now hopes to participate in relief efforts on the stricken island. By Shawn…
Hungarian Baptist Aid carves unique disaster-relief niche
Americans might not think of Hungarians as being in the forefront of international relief efforts, but a relatively young Hungarian organization is a pacesetter in worldwide disaster relief. Hungarian Baptist Aid was founded in 1996 by Sandor Szenczy, a Baptist…
Relief team in Sri Lanka helps restore wells in stricken village
By Tony Cartledge On a map, the small island nation of Sri Lanka looks like a giant teardrop. It's an appropriate image. When a 9.0 earthquake off the faraway coast of Sumatra sent a tsunami speeding across the Indian Ocean…
Church & People News for January 20, 2005
S T A F F • C H A N G E S Todd Gaston, to Mount Ararat Church, Stafford, as senior pastor, effective Jan. 30. He had served the church as pastor for student ministries since 2002. Clyde Mawyer…
Jewish leader objects to Bush’s faith statement
President Bush said recently he doesn't understand “how you can be president without a relationship with the Lord.” But that testament brought a protest from one of the country's top Jewish leaders. Bush made the comment in an interview with…
Evolution disclaimer found unconstitutional
A federal judge has struck down a suburban Atlanta school district's policy of placing disclaimers about evolution in science textbooks, saying the policy violates the Constitution's ban on government establishment of religion. United States District Judge Clarence Cooper issued a…
Episcopal bishops apologize for ‘pain’
The bishops of the Episcopal Church formally apologized Jan. 13 for the “pain, hurt and damage” caused by the consecration of an openly gay bishop but stopped short of saying the action was wrong. The bishops, after a two-day meeting…
Lutheran panel says ‘no’ to gay clergy, gay unions
A Lutheran task force on Jan. 13 recommended no change to church rules that ban gay clergy and same-sex unions, saying a majority of the church does not support “wholesale change” to existing gay policy. But the 13-member panel of…
China moves against sex-selection abortion
The Chinese government has announced it will act to eliminate sex-selection abortion and end the imbalance between male and female babies. China Daily reported Jan. 7 the world's most populous country, which reached 1.3 billion in population the day before,…