links roundup

1. The Buechnerfest brings people together to celebrate (and extend) the legacy of Fred Buecher. More here: http://www.montreat.org/current/2nd-annual-buechnerfest
2. Two Orthodox Christian Archbishops, Archbishop Paul Yazigi and Archbishop Youhanna Ibrahim, were abducted by armed rebels on April 23, 2013 in the suburbs of Aleppo, Syria. Their driver was murdered and the Archbishops were forced by the rebels to go to an unknown location in Syria or Turkey. The petition below urgently asks the Obama administration to use all its influence for the release of these two Archbishops and to bring a peaceful settlement to the Syrian conflict through a negotiated settlement.
The following petition has been logged on the White House Website and the link below will take you to the Webpage
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/appeal-president-obama-and-his-government-release-two-abducted-orthodox-christian-archbishops-syria/xNskxL1q
Please sign the petition and forward this information to friends and family and ask them to sign the petition.
3. If you’re interested in the subject of faith and evolution, don’t miss Looking for the Missing Link. You’ll also find lots of good cartoons and quotes on their website.
4. I was asked recently about how Evangelicals came to see abortion as our nation’s primary moral issue. This 2012 article sheds some interesting light on the question: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-dudley/how-evangelicals-decided-that-life-begins-at-conception_b_2072716.html?view=screen
The author includes links to rebuttals that are also worth reading.
5. James Cone meets Rene Girard: here. Other similarly valuable resources here.
6. Churches of Christ folks are speaking up for gender equality. Learn more here:
http://1voice4change.com. Will the Plymouth Brethren be next?
7. Haven’t taken a walk in the woods lately? Why not? (Thanks GS)