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Rev. N. J. L'Heureux, Jr., Publisher & Editor
Rev. Pedro Bravo-Guzman, Editor-in-Chief
An Ecumenical Report of Local and Global News
in God's Household
Published by the Queens Federation of Churches
World AIDS Day: Churches Express Their Concern at European Consultation in Minsk, Belarus November 29, 2002, GENEVA – The following communique has been released by an ecumenical consultation on HIV/AIDS in Central and Eastern Europe: From 27 – 29 November, just before the commemoration of the World AIDS day (1 December 2002), representatives of 14 churches and church organizations from 10 countries in Western, Central and Eastern Europe came together in Minsk, Belarus, for a consultation on the "Healing Ministry" of the churches. Bishop Writes Annual Letter to Martin Luther King Jr. December 2, 2002 -- Each year, United Methodist Bishop Woodie W. White writes a letter to his friend and colleague, the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., in advance of King's Jan. 15 birthday. White, 67, was the first staff executive for the denomination's Commission on Religion and Race, where he served from 1969 to 1984. He was elected a bishop in 1984 and led the church's Illinois Area for eight years. He was appointed to the Indiana Area in 1992. Church Coffee Shop Serves Up Hospitality for Neighborhood November 25, 2002 – When the Rev. Hilde Marie Xgreid heard 1,200 college students were moving into the neighborhood, an idea started percolating in her mind. Xgreid is pastor of Immanuelkirken United Methodist Church, a church in the middle of a working-class neighborhood in Oslo, Norway. When she heard nearby Olso University was building a student housing unit in the neighborhood, she started planning a way for the church to get in touch with the students. For Xgreid, the idea of a coffeehouse seemed like a perfect match for the church, the neighborhood and the students. Christmas: Message of Hope Built on a Fulfilled and Dignified Human Life November 25, 2002, WOLFENBUETTEL, Germany – The message of hope through Christmas is much needed today in a world with increasingly little concern for human dignity, and where poverty and disease undermine life, says Bishop emeritus Dr Christian Krause, President of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), in this year's Christmas message. Gay Minister Won't Face Charges – Baltimore Presbytery PJC Agrees with Investigating Committee November 25, 2002 – Two members of Baltimore Presbytery's Permanent Judicial Commission designated to review an investigating committee's report say no disciplinary charges should be filed against Donald E. Stroud, a gay Presbyterian minister who is on the staff of That All May Freely Serve. Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson's 2002 Christmas Message November 25, 2002 – Greetings in the name of our Triune God. Oh, how fear permeates our lives – the possibility of war, the instability of the economy, the uncertainty of our children's future, the reality of debilitating illness, the finality of death. Amid all the fears that haunt us, it is my prayer that we might experience something of the shepherd's holy fearfulness. For it is not finally the power of weapons, wealth, or wisdom that causes us to tremble, but the incomprehensible possibility that God comes to us in this way and in this place. Church Secretaries Get Advanced Certification Program November 27, 2002, NASHVILLE – The United Methodist Church's U.S. association for church secretaries received approval for a program of advanced certification to supplement its existing certification process. ‘A Spiritual Community' – Conference Will Coax Young Adults out of ‘Denominational Ghettos' November 25, 2002, LOUISVILLE – About 300 Presbyterians will join more than 700 other college students in a national ecumenical conference next month. Students from around the nation, most of them between 18 and 25 years old, will ring in the New Year during the quadrennial gathering, which begins in Albuquerque, NM, on Dec. 28 and runs through Jan. 1. Campus ministers and a host of international guests will also take part.
Disciples Launch 100-plus New Churches in Fewer than Two Years November 26, 2002, INDIANAPOLIS – Disciples new churches started since January 2001 topped a benchmark 101 with the early November opening of Bethel Christian Church, an Hispanic congregation in San Benito, Texas, according to Church Extension of the Disciples of Christ.
ELCA Presents ‘This Holy Night,' on CBS-TV, Hallmark November 27, 2002, CHICAGO (ELCA) – The Department for Communication of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) – in cooperation with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saint Luke, Chicago, and the ELCA Metropolitan Chicago Synod – will present "A CBS Christmas Special: This Holy Night," a one-hour Christmas Eve worship service to be broadcast nationally on CBS-TV. The program will also be broadcast on the Hallmark Channel, a national cable television channel. 
Pan-Methodist Group Moves Toward Spiritual Unity November 25, 2002, LOS ANGELES – Members of a pan-Methodist commission, meeting Nov. 19-21, agreed on the need to improve visibility and cooperation among their four denominations. Adopting a vision statement of "One body . . . many members," the 2-year-old Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union signaled its interest in moving toward spiritual unity among churches in the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion, Christian Methodist Episcopal and United Methodist traditions. The four denominations represent more than 12 million members and share a common Methodist heritage. Pentecostals, Methodists Can Help Each Other November 26, 2002 – A few years ago, at the Eighth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in 1998, a formal and ongoing Consultative Group was created for the first time between representatives of WCC member churches and Pentecostals from across the world. I readily accepted the invitation to be co-moderator for the dialogue. So far, it has been a fascinating and educational journey.
And On Earth Peace: A Holiday Season Message from the Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church The holiday season is upon us – a special time for my family and I hope for yours. Thanksgiving is historically rooted in the American experience, while Advent and Christmas focus upon the coming of our Savior into the world. All three point to deeper spiritual values that our world needs desperately in 2002! Listening Posts Show Holy Communion Important to United Methodists November 26, 2002, NASHVILLE – The sacrament of Holy Communion is important to United Methodists, though understandings and practice vary widely. Nearly 100 clergy and laity from six annual conferences in the Southeast Jurisdiction made that determination as they provided reactions to a paper being developed by the denomination's 19-member Holy Communion Study Committee. Army Arrests 88 as Thousands Demand Shutdown of Military School November 25, 2002, LOUISVILLE – At least two Presbyterians were among nearly 90 people arrested on Nov. 17 in Columbus, GA, after they marched onto the grounds of Fort Benning during an annual protest of a controversial military unit that trains Latin American soldiers. Marilyn White, of suburban Houston, TX, and Ann Huntwork, of Portland, OR, could be imprisoned for six months and fined $5,000 for trespassing on federal property during the peaceful demonstration.
Brazil: Radio Stations United against HIV/AIDS World AIDS Day Joint Initiative by 230 Radio Stations November 30, 2002, RIO DE JANEIRO – Around 230 radio stations in Brazil have declared a joint initiative to commemorate World AIDS Day on December 1. Their action will make it possible for private and public radio stations, internet and school radios to access a free-of-charge pool of programs, interviews, spots, jingles and music.
Episcopalians: Mexican Covenant Committee Deals with Misappropriation of Funds November 26, 2002 – The covenant committee that monitors the relationship between the Episcopal Church and the Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico (IAM) met November 19-20 in San Antonio, Texas, to deal with financial difficulties stemming from the misappropriation of funds by two Mexican bishops. Use Peaceful Means to Disarm Iraq, Says ELCA Presiding Bishop November 26, 2002, CHICAGO – The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), said in a Nov. 26 public statement the ELCA will continue to urge the U.S. government to work with the international community to use peaceful means to disarm Iraq. |