 |
 |
 |
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 |
Churches Respond to Tragedy, Damage in Wake of Tornadoes
November 14, 2002, CONVOY, Ohio – An 18-year-old United Methodist, in his first year at the University of Northwestern Ohio in Lima, was killed Nov. 10 when a tornado slammed into the car he was driving. Nicholas Mollenkopf, a member of Convoy United Methodist Church, was on Lincoln Highway in Van Wert, Ohio, when his car was broadsided by the F4 tornado. He is among at least 36 fatalities reported in five states after a wave of more than 70 tornadoes and thunderstorms blew across the nation Nov. 9-11.
Nigerian Leader Praises Efforts Towards Reconciliation by Victims
November 14, 2002, Church and political leaders at a memorial service held November 7 to mark the anniversary of the massacre of hundreds of Tiv civilians by soldiers in the central state of Benue praised efforts towards reconciliation and called for an end to ethnic conflicts in Nigeria.
Seminary Launches Immigrant Distance Education Program
November 13, 2002, A distance-education seminary program for immigrants to the United States is expected to be "up and running" in mid-February with some 40 students. The Ethnic Immigrant Institute of Theology, based at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, is a specialized, interdisciplinary program that incorporates distance education, local mentoring and on-campus training.
Church Offers Hope, Support to Ex-Offenders
November 11, 2002, All over the world, United Methodists are helping ex-convicts re-enter society and live productive lives. United Methodist churches have taken Disciple Bible study to prisons and sponsored summer camps for prisoners' children. Currently, 30 United Methodist pastors are serving as full-time prison chaplains, and five are serving part time. In each of the denomination's annual conferences, volunteers and local churches are providing prison ministries.
World Relief Committee Approves Funding
November 14, 2002, VALLEY FORGE, Pa. – In semiannual session here today the American Baptist Churches' World Relief Committee has voted to fund dozens of relief and development programs and projects overseas and within the U.S.
"I'm Walking Across America for Jesus Christ"
November 15, 2002 – At a church in rural northeastern Oregon, a tall, slim, bearded man stepped up to the microphone one Sunday morning in late October and introduced himself with these words: "My name is Don Vermilyea, and I'm walking across America for Jesus Christ." This stop at the Weston Community Church of the Brethren was congregational visit No. 45 for Vermilyea, who hopes to visit every church in the denomination before his coast-to-coast journey is done.
Church-Planting Congregations Share Insights with National Staff
November 11, 2002, SAINT LOUIS – Representatives of six LCMS congregations that have done "an exemplary job" of starting "daughter congregations" shared their expertise with national mission leaders Sept. 5-7 in St. Louis.
"Women of the Table" ECW Video Filming Concluded
November 14, 2002, Filming has just concluded for the ECW video project "Women of the Table" and the production has moved into the scripting and editing phase. Produced by Katie Sherrod, award winning independent television producer and Fort Worth Episcopalian, "Women of the Table" is a 20 minute video telling the stories of women doing ministry in and through the Episcopal Church using narration, interviews, footage and photos of the various featured ministries.
Advocates Gather to Claim Blessing Rite for Same-Sex Couples
November 12, 2002, SAINT LOUIS – Nearly 200 advocates of a rite of same-sex blessing gathered at Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis over Veterans' Day weekend for a part pep rally, part prayer meeting, part strategy session, preparing for what will surely be the most controversial issue of the next General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
Indeed, how things change! We have moved to publish our official newspaper over the internet (although we have not abandoned an intention to return to publishing a printed version). Through this medium, we shall continue to fulfill our mandate to keep our ecclesiastical community informed.
Lutherans Organize Relief Work after Storms, Tornadoes
November 14, 2002, CHICAGO – Lutheran Disaster Response, a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS), is organizing recovery work after storms and tornadoes brought death and destruction Nov. 10 in several Eastern and Southern U.S. states.
Methodist Leaders from Across Globe Make Witness at Vieques
November 13, 2002, SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Methodist bishops from around the world spent part of their weeklong business meeting in November in prayer and worship on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, joining residents in a call for an end to weapons testing and occupation by the U.S. Navy.
Sing a New Song, Not One of Taiwan's Decline
November 17, 2002, The Rev. Dr. C. S. Song, current president of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and a promoter of Taiwan's self determination for 40 years, was the speaker when East Gate Presbyterian Church in Tainan City celebrated its 100th anniversary on November 10th. His sermon was entitled, "Sing a New Song Unto The Lord." Dr. Song used the text from Psalm 96 to look at the nature and legacy of the September 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C. and the opprobrium with which many people of Arab ethnicity view the United States. "Part of the hatred," he said, "stems from the Arab perception of the United States is a Christian nation.
Latin American Bishops Eye Initiative on Children's Issues
November 13, 2002, SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Each day in Argentina, 8-year-old Rosilla and her mother walk the streets of Buenos Aires, picking through garbage cans, looking for food. Four-year-old Milivy Adams, of Camden, N.J., the child of parents reared near a U.S. Navy testing site at Vieques, Puerto Rico, is living with cancer. According to some reports, incidents of cancer are 25 percent higher on Vieques than in other parts of Puerto Rico – the remnant, critics say, of 60 years of U.S. weapons testing on the island.
Canadian Priest Resigns in Protest over Same Sex Blessings
November 14, 2002, A Canadian Anglican priest who is opposed to his bishop's approval of same-sex blessings has resigned from his British Columbia parish and will leave to serve a Reformed congregation in Switzerland next year. The Rev. Timothy Cooke of St Martin's Anglican Church in North Vancouver resigned effective January 2003 due to the impasse with diocesan Bishop Michael Ingham. Cooke's parish has voted at three successive meetings to reject the diocese's decision in June this year to "celebrate permanent, intimate, loving relationships between persons of the same sex."
Global Stock Markets Force Churches to Cut Back on Social Projects
November 14, 2002, Sagging global stock markets have caught churches and church organizations in a double bind, forcing investment income down and making donors reluctant to give because of financial problems, and leading to cuts in social programs.
Having a Prayer – a First-person Account from a Battlefield in Afghanistan
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – It was the best part of the day, the part when the boots came off, marking the end of one more day of MBWA – Ministry By Walking Around – and one step closer to going home. I had just sat down on my cot when a soldier came running in, breathless, and gasped: "Sir, an Apache (helicopter) went down, they need you at the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) right away."
WCC Pastoral Delegation to Pakistan Learns Extent of Christians' Trials and Tribulations
November 11, 2002, "An extreme kind of terrorism never witnessed before – an execution carried out by professionals," was how a former officer of Pakistan's airforce described a recent attack on the offices of a Christian institution in Karachi. Seven young Christian workers were killed in the 25 September attack on the Idara-e-Amn-o-Insaf (Committee for Justice and Peace). The officer was speaking at a 5 November meeting of church leaders with a delegation from the World Council of Churches (WCC) on a pastoral visit to Pakistan.
Harold Jones, First American Indian Bishop, Dies at 92
November 14, 2002, The Rt. Rev. Harold Jones, retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota, died November 12 at a hospital in Chandler, Arizona. He was 92.
