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Issue Sections
Published by the Queens Federation of Churches Rev.
N. J. L'Heureux, Jr. Rev.
Pedro Bravo-Guzman |
Respect for Human Dignity and Human Rights Can Provide Possible Solutions to Conflicts
October 28, 2002, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – Addressing representatives of faith communities attending a historic summit near Johannesburg, University of Witwatersrand (Johannesburg) law professor, Shadrack Gutto, defined conflict as a continuous process involving differences that may be resolved with or without violence. The challenge then, he told the more than 100 delegates attending the Inter-Faith Peace Summit in Africa, is how to manage such contradictions "in ways that prevent or minimize social violence."
Villagers Report General Lack of Food in Zimbabwe Chronic Fuel Shortage Hampers Food Aid Delivery
October 30, 2002, BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe – "Parched and barren" is the way ACT (Action by Churches Together) Press Officer Rainer Lang describes Zimbabwe's southern province of Matebele, where a lingering drought has withered the crops on their stalks and turned the lowland region into a dustbowl.
Leader Development Is Top Request from PC(USA) International Partners
October 30, 2002, LOUISVILLE – It's true: the advertising folks would hate it. There's absolutely no jingle in the phrase "International Leader Development." But the idea itself has plenty of pull. Think of Christians from many countries, some of them new converts, some religious minorities in a volatile political landscape, hungry for pastors who can teach them about the Bible and God.
October 31, 2002, LOUISVILLE – It looks like it should have happened sooner. The first-ever Children's Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study nearly sold out on its day of release, according to officials of the Mission Interpretation and Promotion office in the Congregational Ministries Division (CMD) here. "We'll have to have a second printing almost immediately," Managing Editor Deborah Haines said on Oct. 30, the day the new book was released. "We shipped more than 13,000 today!"
Ecumenical Delegation to Visit Churches in Pakistan
November 1, 2002, The World Council of Churches (WCC) is sending an ecumenical delegation on a pastoral visit to Pakistan, 2-9 November. Organized in consultation with the WCC member churches in the country and the National Council of Churches in Pakistan, the delegation will visit Karachi and Lahore to listen and learn from the people about the situation in the country as a result of the war in Afghanistan, and the challenges facing the churches there.
Commentary: What Would Wesley Do about Global AIDS?
October 29, 2002 – Countless Christians ask every day: "What would Jesus do?" In light of the unprecedented global HIV/AIDS pandemic that the United Nations has declared "a global emergency," United Methodists might ask not only "what would Jesus do?" but also "what would John Wesley do?"
Una delegacisn ecuminica visita las iglesias de Pakistan
29 de octubre de 2002 – El Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) enviara, del 2 al 9 de noviembre, una delegacisn ecuminica a Pakistan, encargada de una visita pastoral. La delegacisn, constituida en consulta con las iglesias miembros del CMI de ese pams y el Consejo Nacional de Iglesias de Pakistan, visitara Karachi y Lahore para escuchar a la gente e informarse asm sobre la situacisn del pams como consecuencia de la guerra en Afganistan, y sobre los problemas con que se enfrentan las iglesias. Desde que comenzs esa guerra, ha habido varios atentados a iglesias e instituciones cristianas del pams.
Relief Agency Distributes Funds for Further Sept. 11 Response
October 28, 2002, STAMFORD, Conn. – The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has approved a $973,192 grant to allow the denomination's Virginia Annual (regional) Conference to further address the needs of those affected by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
ELCA Board Asks Council for Statement on Iraq
October 29, 2002, CHICAGO – The board for the Division for Global Mission of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) asked the ELCA Church Council to consider adopting a public statement for the church on the tense situation between the U.S. government and the government of Iraq headed by Saddam Hussein. The board met here Oct. 17-19.
United Methodist Advocates Will Miss Senator Wellstone
October 29, 2002, WASHINGTON – United Methodists involved in social advocacy on behalf of the denomination are mourning the death of a U.S. senator who, they said, shared their passion for justice.
Lutherans Express Concerns about Sexuality Issues
October 31, 2002, KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Lutherans opposed to blessings of same- sex relationships and to ordaining gay and lesbian people in committed relationships say they don't think the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) hears their voices. They gathered here Oct. 24-26 to make their voices heard through a statement about their beliefs.
‘Irretrievably Apostate' – Ministers Tape "Call to Confession" to Presbyterian Center Entrance
October 28, 2002, LOUISVILLE – Five Presbyterian ministers appeared at the Presbyterian Center at dawn Monday, taping a poster-size "Call to Confession and Repentance" on a wall near the entrance and offering prayers for a reformation of the church and its national leadership.
LWF Consultation: Diakonia in the Context of Global Challenges of Violence, Poverty and HIV/AIDS
October 28, 2002, GENEVA – "Prophetic Diakonia – For the Healing of the World" is the title of a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) global consultation on diakonia that will take place from 3-7 November 2002 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Taiwanese Theological School "Threatened" with Landmark Status
November 3, 2002 – The municipal government of Tainan City, in southern Taiwan, began discussing the status of the buildings of Tainan Theological College and Seminary, an agency of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan (PCT) last Spring. The point of the discussions was the designation of the school's chapel and quadrangle as historical artifacts, including them in development restrictions that apply to other old structures in the city's East Gate District.
Episcopalians: Canadian Bishops Divided on Blessing Same-Gender Relationships
October 31, 2002, ONTARIO – In the wake of a controversial decision last June by the Anglican Church of Canada's Diocese of New Westminster to develop a liturgy for blessing same-gender relationships, the church's bishops have acknowledged their deep divisions.
Strange Fruit: Israeli Volunteers Serve as ‘Human Shields' in West Bank Orchards
October 29, 2002, DIR ISTIYA, West Bank – Israelis and internationals were milling around on a dirt road – deep in the heart of the West Bank – when Rabbi Arik Ascherman started hollering instructions.
Episcopalians: Alexandria Declaration Meeting Offers Plan for Promoting Peace in the Middle East
October 31, 2002,LONDON – A high-level consultation of Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders hosted by Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey at Lambeth Palace in London has issued a 10-point plan to deal with the continuing conflict in the Middle East.
Middle East Church Leader Pleads for Diplomacy, Not War
October 29, 2002, NEW YORK CITY – The General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches has issued a plea to U.S. churches to press for a peaceful, diplomatic resolution of the Iraq crisis and to speak to your government to stop any military offensive.
Assemblies of God Missions Leader Dies
October 28, 2002, SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Rev. J. Philip Hogan, longtime Assemblies of God World Missions director, passed away Sunday, October 27 in Springfield, Missouri, after a lengthy illness. He was 86.
October 28, 2002, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Argentine pastor Federico Schaefer, 59, was elected president of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate (IERP) on October13. He succeeds Pastor Juan Pedro Schaad, who after four years in office did not seek re-election.
November 1, 2002, OSLO, Norway – "I want people to feel that the church is present in their daily lives and that the local church is their church," says Laila Riksaasen Dahl, Norway's second Lutheran woman bishop.