Looking for something to wear on Talk Like A Pirate Day? Whether ye be a landlubbin’ pencil-pusher or a true salty sea dog, Pirate Jesus, with his parrot, patch, and lopsided grin, is concerned for your salvation.

I have climbed out of the depths
where human ash and soil
comprise a pyramidal mound
covered by the green of life.

Here women, men, and children

Ten thousand African-American Baptist ministers, lay leaders, and activists met in Nashville in January for what has been hailed as a watershed gathering. The meeting marked the first time that the four prominent American black Baptist conventions, representing a community of 30 million people, met together.

While I certainly respect the concern for the issue of abortion expressed by John Puffer in his letter ("Abortion is Key," Letters, January 2005), I am puzzled by the reasoning of his concluding sentence: "I agree that poverty and war are worthwhile

The Church of the Brethren Service Center in Maryland, site of Anabaptist organizing around issues of conscientious objection to military service, received a surprise visit last October from the director of the Selective Service System’s Alternative Service Division.

I applaud Larry Rasmussen’s efforts to find the middle ground between the positions of just war theory and Christian pacifism in the form of "just peacemaking" ("In the Face of War," January 2005). I, however, take exception to his conclusions in two regards.

The Dominican Sisters of Grand Rapids, Michigan, decided to back up their advocacy with action on the issue of a livable family income. The sisters sought to match what they pay their own employees with the wage-and-benefit structure for which they advocate nationally.