Christians on wane in Middle East and Africa

Christians on wane in Middle East and Africa, report says
The Irish Times: Christianity could be on course to disappear from the principal countries of the “ancient biblical heartland” of the faith, according to a report issued by Aid to the Church in Need, a Catholic charity.

Parishioners lose appeal to maintain Scituate vigil
Boston Globe: A group of Roman Catholic parishioners seeking to reverse the closure of a Scituate church were dealt a legal blow Wednesday, when the state Appeals Court ruled that they were trespassing by continuing an 11-year vigil to keep their place of worship open.

Virginia Theological Seminary celebrates a chapel raised from ashes
Episcopal News Service: With three knocks on the door from Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Virginia Theological Seminary began a year-long celebration its new Immanuel Chapel, five years after its predecessor was destroyed by fire. The remnants of the 1881 building were preserved as a memorial garden.

Four questions fundraisers must be prepared to answer
Working Knowledge: Howard H. Stevenson, a Harvard Business School expert on entrepreneurialism and himself a philanthropist, explains why people give and how fundraisers can reach them.

Why some religious Americans see same-sex marriage as a threat
The Conversation: An NYU professor, looking for the seeds of a more productive national discourse on same-sex marriage, visited a dozen Christian churches to understand how values are expressed and translated into public policy.