[12.08 GMT] ... ‘We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.’ George Bernard Shaw

[06.14 GMT] Restoring our faith in free speech (Third Way and Ekklesia, UK). Simon Barrow explains why Christians should shun censorship...more

[01.02 GMT] Contesting the theft of Jesus Todd Huffman says the US is now a nation of two Christianities. No doubt friends in other faith trdaitions can speak of their own experiences of felony...

[318.1] A WORD DEVOID OF FLESH

...is what hits me with deadening force whenever I am within radar of a satellite TV and chance upon the 'God' channels. Celebrity perfume to erase the smell of the soul; or what one might call, to adapt the title of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's best-known book, "the cost of non-discipleship."

Jim Wallis summed it up well, and personally, when he described the impact of his first encounter with Bonhoeffer through his written legacy: "I realized that what I had mostly experienced was an American Christianity without Christ, a religion highly conformed to its culture and mostly uncritical of its nation."

(From the foreword to A Year With Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Daily Meditations from His Letters, Writings, and Sermons, published by HarperSanFrancisco in January 2006.)

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[17.57 GMT] Christian peace worker says al-Zaqari death will not halt violence; Israelis demolish Palestinian buildings, say Christian peacemakers (both Ekklesia, UK)

[317.1] KEMBER SPEAKS ABOUT POST-IRAQ LIFE - EXCLUSIVE

Norman Kember, the 74-year old peace activist whose kidnapping with three colleagues in Baghdad catapulted the work of Christian Peacemaker Teams from obscurity to global media exposure, joined the group’s UK supporters earlier this week to discuss both his experience and the future work of CPT. Dr Kember, a retired radiation physicist and college professor, attended the second day of a British Christian Peacemaker Teams gathering for members and supporters held at the informal Just Church and Soul Space centre in multi-religious Bradford, northern England, from 4-5 June 2006. Exclusive report here.

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[16.58 GMT] Loney feels terror suspects being unfairly judged (CTV.ca, Canada}; Former Iraq hostage to join protest march (CTV.ca, Canada); Ex-captive blasts security measure (Toronto Sun, Canada); Ex-captive joins rally (Ottawa Sun, Canada); Kidnapping had 'moments of kindness': Loney (CBC.ca, Canada); Former Iraq hostage joins protest for detainees (Guelph Mercury, Canada); Ex-hostage aids protest against detainee system (London Free Press, Canada).

[10.22 GMT] UK Christian Peacemaker Teams meet to plan future (Ekklesia, UK).

[12.13 GMT] CPT KIDNAPPINGS IN IRAQ - A back-review selection of stories and editorials by Mennonite Weekly Review staff and others drawn from nearly 120 days of captivity for a group of four Christian Peacemaker Teams activists kidnapped in Iraq on 26 November 2005. Also, a timeline of the CPT hostage crisis.

[21.53 GMT] More church agencies gear up aid for Java quake zone. Including donation links.

[316.1] PEACEMAKERS TO REMAIN IN IRAQ

Despite misleading media reports, including one in The Times recently, Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) are remaining in Iraq for the time being - though they are operating outside Baghdad, and only with full-term workers, not short-term (ten day) volunteers like Norman Kember. The full details are here. There are two CPTers inside the country at the moment, though their location cannot be disclosed for security reasons. CPT has worked to expose prisoner abuse, to bring Sunni and Shia factions together, to promote human rights, to highlight alternatives to war and occupation, and to help establish a Muslim Peacemaker Team. The group have also responded sympathetically and factually to a recent criticism on Premier Radio from Dr Kember, concerning the visit to the Sunni mosque which led to the capture of four CPTers in November 2005. He has been very traumatised by his experience. CPT supporters in the UK are meeting in Bradford next weekend. More on that later.

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[10.46 GMT] Canterbury Cathedral invited to turn tables on war games and
Bible supports gay partnerships, says leading Anglican bishop (both Ekklesia, UK).

[00.33 GMT] Java quake response: Donations can be made to Christian Aid and CAFOD. For more information see: Churches respond immediately to Indonesia earthquake and Christian Aid and CAFOD respond to Indonesia tragedy.

[315.1] A MODERN CANTERBURY TALE

On the day that marks the anniversary of St Augustine of Canterbury’s death in 604, England’s most famous Cathedral – which is dedicated to him – has been urged to turn a public spat with a computer wargame manufacturer into an opportunity to promote global peace. UK Christian think tank Ekklesia is suggesting to Canterbury Cathedral that instead of trying to get Koch Media to withdraw their War on Terror game, which uses the building as one of its backdrops, they could mount an exhibition on initiatives in non-violence – and ask the manufacturer to promote it to their customers. Continued here.

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[14.23 GMT] Sarah McDonald discusses trip with Christian Peacemaker Teams (Kalona News, Indiana, USA); Condoleezza Rice faces anti-war protests at Christian college (Ekklesia, UK); Jim Loney's Complex Thank You (Embassy, Canada); Ramallah Invasion (International Solidarity Movement, Palestine); A Stronger UN: Human Rights —Getting in the Way (PeaceJournalism.com, Nepal).

[02.49 GMT] Recovering a healthy grassroots vision - This is an expanded version of my article looking at wider lessons from the English local elections which appears in the June 2006 issue of Third Way magazine.

[314.1] LIVING THE PASSION

From a small collection of daily Dietrich Bonhoeffer readings called The Narrow Path (edited by Aileen Taylor, foreword by Edwin Robertson) which I picked up on holiday in a small bookshop in Fowey, Cornwall:

"The cross is the only power in the world which proves that suffering love can avenge and vanquish evil... It looked as though evil had triumphed on the cross, but the real victory belonged to Jesus. Jesus calls those who follow him to share his passion. How can we convince the world by our precahing of the passion when we shrink from that passion in our own lives? ... Jesus addresses his disciples as [those] who have left all to follow him, and the precept of non-violence applies equally to private life and official duty." (The Cost of Discipleship, pp. 127-30)

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[15.28 GMT] Witness Against Torture repeats Guantanamo closure call; Christian Peacemaker Teams gain peace prize; Palestinian priest to receive Episcopal Peace Fellowship prize (Ekklesia, UK).

[07.59 GMT] Norman Kember given standing ovation at 2006 Baptist Assembly and Mennonites and Anglicans work to overcome violence in northeast Uganda (Ekklesia, UK). See also the fascinating article Dialogue contrasts Islamic approach to peace, Christian nonresistance By Jewel Showalter (Mennonite Weekly Review, USA).

Please note that FinS will be having a break for a week. Feel free to search the archives in the meantime!