 |
 |
 |
of Local and Global News
in God's Household
|
Issue Sections
Published by the Queens Federation of Churches Rev.
N. J. L'Heureux, Jr. Rev.
Pedro Bravo-Guzman |
Support Urged for Aid to Needy Families
November 5, 2002, WASHINGTON – Episcopalians are being urged to contact their senators and representatives about passing a three-year reauthorization for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF is the primary funding source for states to assist those moving from welfare to self-sufficiency. Proponents, who originally backed a five-year extension, now want Congress to consider a compromise to extend TANF without change for three years. Congress returns to Washington on November 12 for a post-election "lame duck" session.
‘We Are Throwing People Away,' Prejean Tells Prison Ministry
November 5, 2002, BALTIMORE – Conferees attending the Prison Ministry Task Force Conference entitled "Out of Darkness into Light," held October 17-18 in Baltimore, were challenged to confront their legislators and representatives with facts about the death penalty.
Churches Challenged to Speak out on Violence Even When Not Directly Affected
November 6, 2002, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – A Lutheran pastor from India has pleaded for a new understanding of diakonia in a world with violence. Addressing participants in a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) consultation on diakonia taking place in Johannesburg, Rev. Dr. Deenabadhu Manchala, Program Executive for Peace Concerns, World Council of Churches (WCC) and a pastor of the Andhra Evangelical Lutheran Church in India, pointed out that the majority of victims of violence are the powerless and poor, and that ultimately, violence is an exercise of power over the powerless.
U2 Fans Interested in Sermons Based on Irish Band's Song Lyrics
November 6, 2002, LOUISVILLE – Three Episcopal priests, all fans of the Irish rock band U2, are looking for sermons and homilies based on the supergroup's lyrics for a book they hope to publish.
Study Examines Why Gay United Methodists Stay with Church
November 6, 2002, PHILADELPHIA – Despite the United Methodist Church's restrictive policies regarding homosexuality, many gays and lesbians remain in the denomination because they feel accepted at their local churches. That's a key finding of a study conducted by Jamie Bigham Stroud of Philadelphia, a marriage and family therapist licensed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The longtime United Methodist conducted her research as part of a doctoral dissertation for the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco.
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Cuts Jobs
November 5, 2002, CHICAGO – Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) restructured Sept. 27, eliminating 14 staff positions and freezing salaries, as part of a "renewal process" to deal with a potential financial deficit, reduced refugee arrivals and other special needs in U.S. immigrant communities.
ELCA Multicultural Mission Institute ‘Breaking the Barriers'
November 7, 2002, ATLANTA – About 320 members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) took part in the church's 13th and final Multicultural Mission Institute. Speakers, workshops, worship and music reflected on the theme "Breaking the Barriers" here Nov. 1-3. The institute was meant to equip ELCA pastors and lay leaders with specific tools to build and nurture culturally diverse congregations.
Argentine Pastor Wants Churches to be Open about HIV/AIDS
November 7, 2002, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – "God is not democratic, but rather has always preferred the poorest people and leaned towards those who are excluded from church, religion and society." With this provocative statement, Lutheran pastor Lisandro Orlov from Argentina began his address on the theme "The World Provokes Us – HIV/AIDS" at a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) consultation on diakonia, taking place November 3-7 in Johannesburg.
November 5, 2002, JOHANNESBURG (South Africa) – On the second day of a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) consultation on church social service taking place in Johannesburg, the concept of "prophetic diakonia" was discussed from different perspectives. Dr. Kjell Nordstokke, director of Diakonhjemmet Hospital and College in Oslo, Norway, challenged the conference participants to "break with the tradition of understanding diakonia as self-effacing, humble service." He pointed out that the history of diakonia (church social service) shows the strong influence of piousness, which has often resulted in an attitude of obedience and silent service.
November 6, 2002, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – The head of a leading German Protestant aid agency has stressed that the churches' social service work (diakonia) should be "the vanguard of life and of the church in the world." Diaconal interaction with society is always two-pronged, Rev. Cornelia Fuellkrug-Weitzel director of Bread for the World (Brot fuer die Welt), the social service agency of the Protestant Church in Germany, told participants in a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) global consultation on diakonia.
Group Tackles Questions of Science, Theology
November 6, 2002, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A surgeon pauses to pray before entering the operating room. The family wonders: Does that mean he doesn't know what he is doing? A college freshman struggles with what she learned in church and what she just heard her professor say: "We are not spiritual beings, just a collection of molecules." A mother helplessly watches the national debate on stem cells knowing those cells could help her paralyzed son walk again. Is there a place for science in the pulpit? For faith in the laboratory? Those questions and more were discussed by a group of pastors, scientists, students, and concerned laypeople during two days of meetings sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Discipleship Oct. 18-20.
Taiwan's Grassroots Culture vs. Christian Faith
November 10, 2002, TAIWAN – To celebrate the 130th anniversary of the introduction of Protestant Christianity into Northern Taiwan three Presbyterian institutions in the region will hold a seminar on faith and culture on November 16th.
CWS Co-sponsors Roundtable on Religious Persecution, Refugees
November 4, 2002, BALTIMORE, Md. – After 50 years of assessing refugee status on the grounds of religious persecution, officials charged with this responsibility are asking how the changing meanings of "religion" and "persecution" apply to the millions whose destinies they decide.
November 4, 2002, NEW YORK – Noteworthy for Contemporary Translation, Letterpress Printing, Hand Binding, Hand-illumination, Arion Press, the nations premier fine printers and publishers of limited edition artists books, will exhibit its sixtieth publication, a grand folio lectern Bible, in New York City in November.
Group Named to Follow up on Sex-Abuse Case
November 4, 2002, LOUISVILLE – A seven-member work group has been appointed to recommend how the Presbyterian Church (USA) should implement about 30 recommendations of a panel that investigated sexual abuse of missionary children in the Congo by at least one Presbyterian missionary. In a related action, a letter of apology has been sent to all known survivors of the abuse on behalf of the General Assembly Council (GAC) by four of its leaders.
Archbishop Carey Dedicates Hispanic Mission in Diocese of Chicago
November 6, 2002, CHICAGO – The public ministry of the 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury ended in a Northern Illinois blue-collar town on the shore of Lake Michigan October 19 with Dr. George L. Carey doing what he loves best – celebrating the emergence of a vigorous faith community.
White House AIDS Chief Addresses NEAC Conference
November 5, 2002, AUSTIN – Episcopalians and Lutherans concerned about HIV/AIDS met in Austin, Texas, October 11-12 for "New Directions 2002," a joint conference of the National Episcopal AIDS Coalition (NEAC) and the Lutheran AIDS Network (LANet). Featured speaker for the gathering was Dr. Joseph O'Neill, newly appointed director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy. He is responsible for guiding national health policy on HIV/AIDS care and treatment, health care financing, and access for medically underserved populations.
Church World Service Moves New Africa Initiative Forward
November 5, 2002, NEW YORK – Church World Service is moving forward plans for a new Africa Initiative, through which CWS and its partners will seek to bring increased attention and resources to the struggles faced by the majority of Africans.
Bishop Protests Treatment of Haitian Migrants
November 5, 2002, MIAMI – Bishop Leo Frade of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida is protesting the treatment of more than 200 Haitians who came ashore near Miami's Rickenbacker Causeway on October 29. The migrants had left Port-au-Prince 18 days before and picked up three Cubans on a raft along the way.
‘Firewall' Resolution Passes in Pittsburgh
November 5, 2002, PITTSBURGH – A resolution touted as an attempt to build a "firewall" between self-described "orthodox Anglicans" and decisions of the General Convention passed at the 137th annual convention of the Diocese of Pittsburgh on November 2.
El Cajon Parish, Mayor Reach Temporary Compromise on Homeless Shelter
November 5, 2002, EL CAJON, California – As a midnight deadline approached on October 29, Mark Lewis, the mayor of El Cajon, California, and the Rev. John Conrad, the rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church in El Cajon, were able to work out a tentative plan for homeless people camped on the church's property. As a result, a news conference and candlelight vigil, originally scheduled as protests, became, as Conrad put it, "more Easter than Good Friday."
LWF Global Consultation
Ends with Call for a More Proactive Church:
Diakonia Is about Justice, ‘More
Than the Strong Serving the Weak'
November 8, 2002, JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – "Diakonia is more than the strong serving the weak. Those who benefit at the expense and exploitation of the poor must be named, confronted and brought to justice." This was one of the messages in a statement agreed upon by more than 80 delegates from Lutheran churches, partner organizations, social service agencies and institutions worldwide at the closing of a Lutheran World Federation (LWF) consultation on "Prophetic Diakonia – For the Healing of the World," in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Kenya's Parliament Dissolved In Readiness For Elections
October 28, 2002, NAIROBI – Kenya's eighth parliament was dissolved by President Daniel Arap Moi last Friday. In a terse press statement, the president said the Kenyan parliament stands dissolved to pave way for the members to seek new mandate from the electorate. The president vacates office early next year to pave way for a new and third president of Kenya.
Religious Leaders Adopt An Interfaith Plan Of Action
October 28, 2002, JOHANNESBURG – A week-long historic inter-faith peace summit ended in Benoni near Johannesburg on October 21, with the adoption of a plan of action authorising the establishment of a Continuation Committee and a call on religious leaders to take "immediate" actions in regard to areas of conflict such as "Sudan, Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Museveni Intensifies Mop-up Operations Against Rebels
October 28, 2002, GULU – Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has ordered for a rapid deployment of more Uganda Peoples Defence Force (UPDF) infantry forces in Lango, Northern Uganda for a quick response against the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) rebels of Joseph Kony, security sources said.
Christian – Muslim Consultation Supports Peace Efforts
October 28, 2002, GENEVA – "We condemn the exploitation of religious sentiment and the distortion of the teachings of our two faiths," says a report from an international consultation of representatives of Christian and Muslim organizations, scholars and activists who met 16-18 October in Geneva.
Methodist Pastor, Friend of Bushs, Supports President on Iraq
November 4, 2002, NEW ORLEANS – At the end of the day, if it comes down to choosing between losing another life to terrorism or getting rid of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the Rev. Kirbyjon H. Caldwell would vote for "taking out Saddam."
Sad State of Affairs – Moderator Heard One Message Over and Over in Palestine: SOS
November 6, 2002, JERUSALEM – During his bittersweet journey home, the Rev. Fahed Abu-Akel kept hearing the same message: Times are bad. Worse than ever. It didn't seem to matter whether he was talking with ordinary folks, clerics or political leaders. Everyone said the same thing: Palestinians are sick of the killing, weary of the brutality. They want the violence of the Israeli occupation to end. And they want the United States to drop its plan to attack Iraq, which would only bring more death and despair to a civilian population not unlike their own.
Black, Native American, Asian Missioners Leaving Church Center Staff
November 5, 2002, NEW YORK – The Rev. Lynn Collins, missioner for Black and Urban Ministries, and the Rev. John Robertson, missioner for Native American Ministries, will conclude their work at the Episcopal Church Center by the end of 2002. The announcement was made November 5 by Pat Mordecai, chief operating officer and assistant to the presiding bishop for administration.
Building Bridges over Widening Gaps
November 8, 2002, A Mission Connections letter from Indonesia: Some of you may wonder how we are doing after the bombings in Bali. We are fine. Usually we avoid Kuta beach as the worst tourist trap in Indonesia. Bali is profoundly beautiful. But Kuta is ugly to our eyes, dominated by chain restaurants, hotels, shops, and bars. Bali is a precious jewel of human civilization and natural beauty. Even romantic tourist brochures cannot do justice to the miracle of Bali's gracious, creative culture.
Jesus and Empire Provides Insight Into Today's Highly Charged Atmosphere of International Politics
November 5, 2002, MINNEAPOLIS – Fortress Press is proud to announce a major advance in Jesus studies and a critique of oppression in the release of Jesus and Empire: The Kingdom of God and the New World Disorder by Richard A. Horsley.