ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (AP) — Investigators say a fire that destroyed a 150-year-old church in New Jersey is not considered suspicious. But the cause of the blaze remains under investigation. The fire broke out around 7 p.m. Tuesday at the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood, with flames bursting through the roof. The church pastor says the […]

CHIMAYO, N.M. (AP) — Authorities are preparing for the thousands of people who are expected for the annual Good Friday pilgrimage to El Santuario de Chimayo. Santa Fe County sheriff ’s deputies will increase traffic patrols beginning Thursday when the majority of pilgrims begin walking to the northern New Mexico shrine. Deputies are urging walkers […]

HELSINKI The witches are out, but don’t despair. Instead of casting evils spells, they wish you well, although you’d better have some chocolate or candy handy just in case. Every year before Easter, small colorful witches appear on Finnish doorsteps in a blend of eastern and western religious traditions related to spring. They hand over […]

SALT LAKE CITY A Utah missionary seriously wounded during a bombing at the Brussels airport is now in a medically induced coma. The family of 66-year-old Richard Norby of Lehi said in a statement issued by the Mormon church Wednesday that shrapnel caused severe trauma to the man’s lower leg and he also suffered second-degree […]

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you.” Isaiah 26:3a ESV Finding Peace The first line of a favorite song reads, “Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.” But how can one find peace in a world filled with hatred and violence? The news media are […]

SUNRISE SERVICE IN BATH There will be a multi-denominational Easter sunrise service at 6 a.m. on Sunday at Bath Library Park in the Gazebo on Washington Street in Bath. Everyone is welcome. For more information, call First Baptist Church at (207) 443-5356. EDGECOMB COMMUNITY CHURCH An Easter Sunrise Service will be held at 6:30 a.m. […]

CASTELNUOVO DI PORTO, Italy Pope Francis washed and kissed the feet of Muslim, Orthodox, Hindu and Catholic refugees Thursday, declaring them children of the same God, in a gesture of welcome and brotherhood at a time when anti- Muslim and anti-immigrant sentiment has spiked following the Brussels attacks. Francis denounced the carnage as a “gesture […]

Five Bible translators were slain in the Middle East this week for interpreting God’s word into languages others could understand. The first four served with Wycliffe Bible Translators, the same organization with which my family served in Australia when I was a teenager. They were killed in an attack on their office in a country […]

GAUHATI, India Citizens in Bhutan are anxious to ensure the survival of groves of trees that have been planted across the Himalayan nation to honor the beloved king and queen’s new baby boy. Many people in the Buddhist country stop during daily walks or drives to water some of the 108,000 saplings placed on hillsides […]

LONGVIEW, Wash. When R.A. Long established Longview Community Church in the 1920s, he wanted it to be a truly community church, welcoming people from all Christian traditions. When visitors step in, though, they encounter a symbol that people now associate with terror, though it once was a revered sign for several faiths. About 60 floor […]