MC News

I was in a newspaper newsroom during the Crash of 1987. Twenty-one years later, I’m still in the news game and now we have the Crash of 2008.The events of recent weeks are something that your grandchildren may ask you about in 20 years. In recent days, we have seen persistent comparisons to the 1930s. That sent me onto Internet search engines to find out what was going on in American Christianity during the 1930s and the Great Depression.Read more of this story.

The Amish are often portrayed as the most rooted of communities, who seldom venture off the farm except for short trips by horse and buggy.In fact, nearly 11,600 Amish households have picked up and moved to a different state since 1992, according to a new study. And that doesn’t include migration within states, said the study’s author, Amish expert Donald B. Kraybill.Read more of this story.

Religious people are more helpful and generous than others — but only on two conditions, according to a new study published in the prestigious journal Science.Read more of this story.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–The American Family Association announced Oct. 9 an end to the boycott it had organized against McDonald’s, citing the restaurant chain’s willingness to "remain neutral in the culture war regarding homosexual marriage."Read more of this story.

A new edition of the Bible sets out to show that the seeds of environmentalism were first sown in the Garden of Eden.Just as "red letter" Bibles highlight the words of Jesus in red ink, The Green Bible, in stores this week, uses green ink to spotlight more than 1,000 passages extolling the goodness of creation and God’s charge to mankind to care for it. Read more of this story.

It’s times like these that drive men and women to their knees. With the economy on the ropes, the populace split almost right down the middle on who should lead for the next four years, the country mired in two wars, global warming, it’s time to pray. And how should we pray? David Bryant is a former Madison resident and former president of Concerts of Prayer International who is now the leader of a national "Christ Awakening movement" called Proclaim Hope. At the invitation of some Christian leaders in the Pacific Northwest, he is offering a prayer that Christians can…

NPR.org, October 2, 2008 · There’s financial tumult all around and people are thirsty for answers. Across America, religious leaders prophesy and preach about ways to deal with the roller-coaster crisis. And they counsel congregants who have deep questions, unquenchable anxieties.Read more of this story.

Boomerangs Resale Store has opened its doors to help people in the Madison community in two very distinct ways. First, it is a Resale Store selling used merchandise at a reasonable cost to Madison residents. Secondly, the income generated will be distributed to support three faith-based mercy ministries in the greater Madison area.

HYDERABAD, INDIA (ANS) — A two-day tour of rural Christian churches in the forested hill villages and plantations of Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, India, makes it clear that Christians in areas outside the metropolitan areas of Bangalore and Mangalore have lived a life of fear since September 14.Read more of this story.

Pope Benedict XVI has opened a synod of more than 200 cardinals and bishops from around the world to examine the modern lack of interest in the Bible.Read more of this story. Pope Kicks Off 7-Day Bible Reading MarathonNew Bibles alter form — not word — to draw readers