ALGIERS, May 31 (Reuters) - Algeria hit back on Saturday at foreign accusations minority Christians are harassed, saying Protestant evangelicals were secretly trying to divide Algerians to colonise the mainly Muslim north African country.

Abu Amrane Chikh, head of the government-appointed Higher Islamic Council, said uproar in the West over a recent prosecution of an Algerian woman on a charge of practising Christianity was being fomented for the benefit of foreigners.

"There are some church evangelists and reformist journalists who want to sow discord among brothers, and their long-term political goal is to create a Christian minority coupled with some foreign institutions," he said in an interview with the website of the El Khabar daily newspaper.

By Hamid Ould Ahmed, Reuters, May 31, 2008

Archaeologists in Jordan have unearthed what they claim is the world's first church, dating back almost 2,000 years, The Jordan Times reported on Tuesday.

"We have uncovered what we believe to be the first church in the world, dating from 33 AD to 70 AD," the head of Jordan's Rihab Centre for Archaeological Studies, Abdul Qader al-Husan, said.

Larry King is not known as a tough interviewer. Yet with smooth-talking pastor and author Joel Osteen, he went for the jugular, asking whether Jews and Muslims must believe in Christ to go to heaven. And Osteen blinked: "I'm very careful about saying who would and wouldn't go to heaven. I don't know."

While Osteen later apologized for seemingly downplaying the necessity of faith in Christ for salvation, the pluralistic pressure to waffle on this issue is intense. Several mainline denominations support a two-covenant theology, which holds that Judaism and Christianity are parallel, divinely guided paths to God. In addition, in 2002 the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops released a document, "Reflections on Covenant and Mission," affirming that "Jews already dwell in a saving covenant with God."

Stan Guthrie, CT Website, March 25, 2008

The council of Local Evangelical Churches in the Holy Land (CLEC) establishes “The Living Stones Evangelical Trust”. Funds contributed to LSET will be used to meet urgent needs and empower the ministries of CLEC and its member congregations

The CLEC represents the majority of evangelical pastors and congregations serving in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem. The Council was established to encourage fellowship and cooperation among the congregations even though they belong to different evangelical denominations. The Council was also established to represent the evangelical Christian communities before local political and religious authorities and the body of Christ worldwide. The Council is a member of World Evangelical Alliance.

Special For Come and See, May 27, 2008

Over 1000 senior leaders from seventeen provinces in the Anglican Communion, representing 35 million church-going Anglicans, have registered for the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) in Jerusalem at the close of the online registration process. They include 280 bishops, almost all accompanied by their wives. Final attendance figures will depend on smooth processing of requested visas, and other factors.

News Release, May 12, 2008

Pope Benedict appealed to Israel on Monday to help stem a sharp decline in the country's minority Christian population, saying Catholics had grown particularly vulnerable to Middle East conflicts.

He also called for Israel to allow greater mobility for Palestinians, including travel to places of worship, "so that they too can enjoy greater peace and security".

By Phil Stewart, Rueters, May 15, 2008

Leaders of Ireland's main Christian churches were barred from praying at Jerusalem's Western Wall Thursday because they refused to remove the crosses they were wearing.

Roman Catholic Cardinal Sean Brady, Church of Ireland Archbishop Alan Harper and Presbyterian and Methodist Moderators John Finlay and Roy Cooper arrived at the wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, without giving prior notice to Israeli authorities, Brady told the Irish broadcast network RTE.

By Steve Weizman. Associated Press Writer

Rhadia Qupty was invited to participate in a one day conference of the Friends of Sabeel of The Netherlands held at Zeist.

Rhadia gave a presentation on Complex Identity: as Christian Arab/ Palestinian Israeli.

She traced her life story starting with her birth in Haifa, Palestine in l944, growing up in the Baptist Orphanage for Palestinian children who were left with no families after the 1948 war, studying in the USA, and then returning to live in Nazareth and serve among the Arab Community as a social worker

Special For "Come and See", April 30, 2008

The nation-state of Israel will have its 60th birthday celebration on Thursday, May 8. This will be a milestone event in Middle East history. It comes at a time when Israel faces near-daily rocket attacks from northern Gaza.

While lovers of Israel from around the world will celebrate, there are others who will observe the anniversary and also maintain a deep commitment to justice for Palestinians.

Two individual Christians Ben White and Philip Rizk recently composed a "Joint Declaration by Christians on Israel's 60th Anniversary".

JustPeace60 blog, April 2008