Attacks in Nigeria

Christians in northern Nigeria vowed to defend themselves after Muslim militants bombed a church in Madella, just outside the capital, Abuja, on Christmas Day.

Thirty-nine people were killed and hundreds injured when a suicide bomber detonated an explosive as worshipers left mass at St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Church.

National Council of Churches president Kathryn Lohre, an ELCA member, condemned such violence as "contrary to the common understanding of God's love as it is expressed among Christians, Muslims and persons of all the major faith traditions."