World Council of Churches urges Patriarch Kirill to lobby for Easter cease-fire

by: Jack Jenkins April 19, 2022 (RNS) — The head of the World Council of Churches is urging Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, to call for a cease-fire in Ukraine as Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter this weekend. “People lost their trust and hope in politicians and in a possible peaceful negotiation and a ceasefire,” the Rev. Ioan Sauca, a Romanian Orthodox priest and acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, wrote in a letter published Tuesday (April 19). “We receive daily requests from the faithful in Russia and Ukraine but also fromRead More
Food drive coming this Saturday to Aurora & the Fox Valley
Letter Carriers 30th Food Drive Will Help Feed Needy Families in All 50 States; Aurora & Fox Valley

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) will conduct its annual national food drive on Saturday, May 14. NALC’s food drive, which was first held in 1983,Read More
“First Share” of STEM supplies
Closing: Aurora’s SciTech Hands-On Museum Announces Future Plans; “Last Look” on June 3

AURORA, Ill., May 4, 2022 — SciTech Hands-On Museum (SciTech), an award-winning hands-on STEM museum dedicated to inspiring learning through creative, interactive and educational activities and programming announced today theRead More
Sons of Norway meeting at St. Olaf Church, Montgomery
At remembrance service, Fox Valley Norwegian-Americans honor deceased brothers, sister

MONTGOMERY, Ill., May 2, 2022 — Fox Valley Norwegian-Americans celebrated deceased brothers and sisters at a service of remembrance Sunday, May 1. Sons of Norway Polar Star Lodge 5-472 heldRead More
Tisby told RNS the allegations that his sermon promoted CRT are “ludicrous.”
Grove City College rejects ‘wokeness,’ CRT in new report

by: Kathryn Post April 25, 2022 (RNS) — Grove City College insists it’s not “going woke.” A new report from the conservative Christian college in Pennsylvania denounced school-sponsored courses andRead More
Lions volunteers and 30 East Aurora High School students served a record 600 breakfasts.
Aurora Lions Club raises $1,343 for Ukrainian refugees; serve record 600 breakfasts at fundraiser

AURORA, Ill., April 18, 2022 — Aurora Noon Lions Club will donate $1,343 to aid the more than two million men, women and children who have fled the ongoing conflictRead More
Helping Ukrainian refugees at local and national level
Aurora Lions to collect donations for Ukrainian refugees; to match up to $500

AURORA, Ill., April 8, 2022–Celebrating its 100th anniversary year, Aurora Noon Lions Club will collect donations to aid the more than two million men, women and children who have fledRead More
Annual Community Event Commemorates the Resurrection of Jesus
Churches Unite for Aurora Easter 2022 Sunrise Service at McCarty Park

AURORA, Ill., April 15, 2022 – Several Aurora churches are uniting for a brief Easter sunrise (6:30 a.m.) worship service at Aurora’s historic McCarty Park, East Galena Boulevard at FourthRead More
Sign-up at https://KiwanisOneDay.org.
Kiwanis Encourage Volunteers for Fox River Cleanup Tomorrow, April 9

Aurora, Ill. – Kiwanis members serve their communities all year long, but the excitement for service really builds in April of each year. Kiwanis members come together for Kiwanis One Day –Read More
Graham returns from Ukraine visit.
Franklin Graham writes to Putin, Zelenskyy to ask for a cease-fire during Holy Week

by: Yonat Shimron March31, 2022 (RNS) — Fresh from a two-day visit to Ukraine, the Rev. Franklin Graham said he wrote to Russian President Vladimir V. Putin and Ukraine PresidentRead More
Update from World Relief
World Relief Welcomes Announcement of Ukrainian Refugee Resettlement and Humanitarian Assistance, Urges Broader Welcome

BALTIMORE – Today, President Biden announced a plan to admit as many as 100,000 Ukrainians to the United States as refugees and through other means. In addition, the United States is committingRead More
“With broken hearts, we are making an earnest plea that you use your voice and profound influence to call for an end to the hostilities and war in Ukraine and intervene...”
US Christian leaders ask Kirill to speak out, ‘reconsider’ comments on Ukraine

by: Jack Jenkins WASHINGTON, March 11, 2022 (RNS) — More than 100 U.S. Christian leaders, including the leaders of multiple denominations, sent a letter to the head of the RussianRead More
Faced with declining audiences and a troubled product, baseball — like organized religion — has turned on itself.
‘If you build it they will come’ no longer works for baseball — or organized religion

by: Bob Smietana March 4, 2022 (RNS) — Tom Johnson loves baseball. And he loves the church. Both, said Johnson, a former Minnesota Twins pitcher turned pastor, are in trouble.Read More
New hospital in Western Ukraine
Samaritan’s Purse, Israelis will treat wounded Ukrainians in Lviv field hospitals

by: Yonat Shimron March7, 2022 (RNS) — Samaritan’s Purse, the Christian humanitarian relief organization, is setting up an emergency field hospital in an underground parking garage in the western UkrainianRead More
Work of Drs. Maria Elena Bottazzi & Peter Hotez
CORBEVAX, a new patent-free COVID-19 vaccine, could be a pandemic game changer globally

CORBEVAX, a new patent-free COVID-19 vaccine, could be a pandemic game changer globally CORBEVAX uses recombinant DNA technology that many countries already have the infrastructure to produce. Artis777 via iStock/Getty ImagesRead More
A theology of danger and martyrdom is not a prominent theme in our churches today.
Hesham Shehab: Did the Reformation Lack Missionary Zeal?

Did the Reformation Lack Missionary Zeal? The Reformation is known for bringing the Gospel to light, but it is accused of lacking an intentional the missionary spirit to bring itRead More
Of all of King’s speeches and writings, the one that has had the most transformative power for me is his masterful “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” ...
Opinion: Martin Luther King Jr.’s hard words for white Christians

by: Robert P. Jones Jan. 17, 2022 (RNS) — White people regularly dilute the words of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to be more palatable. No one isRead More
Constantine was the first emperor to stop the persecution of Christians and to legalize Christianity...
Hesham Shehab: Did the Constantinian Roman Empire Divert the Christian Mission?

Did the Constantinian Roman Empire Divert the Christian Mission? Even though the persecution of Christians occurred, sporadically and usually locally, throughout the Roman Empire, in the first three centuries, theRead More
The clinic is located at 61 S. Broadway, in the building that formerly housed Mission Possible...
Free healthcare clinic in Aurora is seeking volunteers to continue making mission possible

By Tom Siebert AURORA, Ill., Dec. 20, 2021 — Jack Sharratt felt an aching void in his life after recently retiring from a 25-year career as a chiropractor. But theRead More