ENI – German Protestant Juergen Moltmann was declared the greatest theologian of the 20th century in the Systematic Theology World Cup that took place on the Internet during the world's top soccer tournament in Germany.

The Bible can be read in the spirit of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, says a pastor who teaches the ritual renowned for its tranquility and attention to detail that has been influenced by Zen Buddhism.

The Office of the Life and Mission Agency is undergoing some restructuring thanks to new programs, a new focus on communications and the increased workload at Presbyterian World Service & Development resulting from the tsunami appeal, Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan earthquake. To accommodate three new staff persons, the national offices are being revamped and reconfigured.

In June, Canadians and Americans met for a picnic across the Peace Bridge in Ft. Erie, Ont., to protest the war in Iraq. Presbyterian minister Marion Schaffer (left) was amongst the gathered. “I feel strongly motivated,” she says, “to continue making myself available to work on justice issues; I don’t think I could sleep at night if I did not.” Seen with Schaffer are singer Sara Marlowe and Rev. George Addison, chaplain of Brock University. Right: soldiers who resist the Iraqi war declare themselves. However, as Schaffer points out, some soldiers were there incognito, fearing for their livelihood if found out.

ENI – The US Episcopal (Anglican) Church has elected Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as its first female leader, a move seen as creating further strain in a denomination already divided over the consecration of an openly gay bishop.

As part of the centennial celebrations of the Canadian Bible Society, I led a team of more than 80 cyclists for nine weeks on a cross-Canada journey. It took us 64 days to cover more than 7,500 kilometres. The team gathered at Mile Zero in Victoria on July 2nd and ended with a climb up Signal Hill in Saint John’s on September 3rd. The ride passed through every province in Canada. We had participants from all parts of Canada and even some from Australia and Ireland.

Marc-Henri Vidal, who has been pastoring Saint-Luc, Quebec's largest French Presbyterian church, as well as leading several other key ministries in the province, will be assuming a new pastorate in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of July.

The Presbyterian Church has a new resource for kids. Pathways to Leadership teaches nine basic leadership skills including teaching a song, building a group, telling a story, negotiating with people in authority and reading scripture in worship. The intended age group is nine to 12, but can be adapted for use with teens or even adults. Written by Dorothy Henderson, associate secretary for children and youth, and June Holohan, an elder at Unionville Presbyterian Church, Pathways is designed for use at a weekend camp setting, where each child comes with an adult who made a commitment to help them with leadership tasks when they return home. Read more about it in the August PCPak, or it can be purchased through the Book Room for $12.95. Call 1-800-619-7301 ext. 239 to order. – AM

The Canadian government is being taken to task concerning its support of several Canadian mining companies operating abroad, which are allegedly abusing international human rights law and endangering the political, social and physical environments of the areas in which they are operating. Government representatives met with people from the affected communities and with human rights advocates in April, who are calling on the government to monitor and correct the behaviour of Canadian companies working abroad.

The Choir of the Hungarian Reformed Seminary in Romania will be heading to Canada for a concert tour from Sept. 20th to Oct. 10th. Presented by The Presbyterian Church in Canada, the choir will visit all four Atlantic provinces as well as southern Ontario. The seminary students glorify God through joyful music, bearing witness to how God has worked to restore the church in Romania after years of persecution.

Rev. Donald Macleod's biography of Presbyterian minister W. Stanford Reid recently received the Donald Grant Creighton Award. The citation for the award states that the book about “Reid's spiritual and intellectual journey gives a balanced in-depth critique of the man and his times, never fawning or censorious.”

ENI – The head of Greece's Orthodox church has urged Christians of different denominations to step up cooperation to promote unity in the face of growing secularism in society.

Rosedale Presbyterian, Toronto, will daily provide a place of sanctuary for those attending the XVI AIDS Conference and the Ecumenical Pre-Conference, August 10 – 18, in Toronto. The church, decorated with PWS&D's new posters for the Towards A World Without AIDS campaign, will be open from 2 p. m. to 8 p.m. as a place of quiet reflection for the expected 20,000 international delegates.

This banner was made in Sarnia, Ont., (see People and Places) and travelled to Malawi with Rev. Carol Hamilton (left) who presented it to Esther Lupafya who works in the Ekwendeni HIV/AIDS program in Malawi. Hamilton was on a PWS&D HIV/AIDS study trip.

ENI – Clerics have not been spared in Malawi's spiralling of armed robberies and the situation is so severe the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian says it will allow some clerics to own at least one firearm for personal protection.

ENI – By a vote of 483 to 28 the Presbyterian Church (USA) set as church policy that “financial investments … as they pertain to Israel, Gaza, East Jerusalem, and the West Bank, be invested in only peaceful pursuits.”

William P. Thompson, a United States church leader and layperson instrumental in bringing the world's Congregationalists and Presbyterians together in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and its first president, died at age 87.

The 14 Bhil people imprisoned in India since January 2004 have been acquitted of all charges and released. The accused had been imprisoned for incidents surrounding Hindu attacks on Christian homes. The Supreme Court of India's decision came on May 31st after years of delayed trials, no-show witnesses and judges and difficulty getting bail for the accused. The long-awaited decision was met with joy at the Presbyterian Church's national offices. “It feels great to get this news,” said Ron Wallace, associate secretary for International Ministries. “The dismissal of the charges against the Bhil prisoners and their release from prison are an answer to the prayers of many faithful people, both in Canada and in India.”

The Canadian Council of Churches has announced that Rev. Dr. James T. Christie has been elected president for the years 2006-2009. The United Church minister is currently dean of the faculty of theology at the University of Winnipeg and dean of the university's Global College. His specialty lies in inter-faith dialogue and he has extensive experience in ecumenism and global governance. Christie recently completed a three-year term as a vice president of the CCC.

Stories published in the Presbyterian Record in 2005 and subsequently about sexual assault charges against a Presbyterian minister played a key role in the church's eventual disciplinary proceedings in the matter, the church has been told.