Zimbabwe election peace-plea

THE national elections of 31 July must not be marred by a repeat of the bloodshed of 2008 (News, 4 April, 2008), church leaders in Zimbabwe said this week. The Bishop of Harare, the Rt Revd Chad Gandiya, called on all people to "shun violence", and for Christians to bring harmony to the country. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches expressed concern about attempts to divide churches for political gain.

'Pall' cast over bankrupt Detroit

THE bankruptcy filing by the city of Detroit had cast a "pall of uncertainty" over a region still trying to recover from race riots dating back to the 1960s, the Bishop of Michigan, the Rt Revd Wendell N. Gibbs Jr, said at the end of last week. Court papers filed on Thursday of last week listed 100,000 creditors. Bishop Gibbs also spoke of the outcome of the trial of George Zimmerman, describing it as "a major red flag that the struggle for racial equality is far from over" (News, 19 July).

Tengatenga to move to US

THE Bishop of Southern Malawi, the Rt Revd James Tengatenga, has tendered his resignation, and will take up a post as Dean of the William Jewett Tucker Foundation, the centre for chaplaincy and spirituality at Dartmouth College, in January, it was announced last week. He will see out his term as chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council and Anglican Communion Standing Committee, which ends in 2016.