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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
Dallas Church Voices Support for Abuse Victims, to Host ‘Wholeness and Healing' Prayer Service LOUISVILLE – The session of Highland Park Presbyterian Church in Dallas has issued a statement expressing support and "caring compassion" for the victims of child-sex-abuse incidents involving a former staff minister. Resources Shed Light on Beating Materialism December 2, 2002 – A variety of resources are available for people and congregations interested in learning more about "affluenza." Churches to Launch Global Campaign on Trade and Human Rights December 9, 2002 – A global network of churches and related organizations are launching a three-year "Trade for people, not people for trade" campaign on 10 December – International Human Rights Day. The campaign – launched by the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA) – will press for international human rights, social, and environmental agreements to take precedence over trade agreements and policies. Disabled Still Excluded from Church Mission December 6, 2002 – There are over 650 million people living in the world with a disability. And yet, according to Prabhu and Nancy Rayan who recently visited Australia, the majority of them are not being reached by the gospel. Church Wants Your Hopes, Fears, for Holiday Art Display December 6, 2002 – Inspired by the words of the hymn ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem,' a United Methodist church in Berkeley, Calif., wants to collect the hopes and fears from people around the world and turn them into an art display for Advent and Christmas. Free Newsletter Enables Churches to Reach Members Easily December 3, 2002 – Local churches have a new way to reach the people in their congregations: a free newsletter developed by United Methodist Communications. The newsletter is provided by e-mail as a template that can be filled with local church news and sent out electronically or by postal mail to congregation members. Lutheran Students Focus on Social Justice and Faith December 4, 2002, CHICAGO – Striving to support justice and give clarity to faith, Lutheran college and university students will participate in "Celebrate IV: Weave Us Together" at the Albuquerque Convention Center, Albuquerque, N.M., Dec. 28-Jan. 1. Christmas Message of Archbishop Rowan Williams December 6, 2002 – One of the great treasures of the Christian world is the great heritage of Christmas songs and carols in the English language from the Middle Ages. Modern composers still want to set these beautiful and often surprising words. Some will have heard the carol beginning ‘There is no rose of such virtue as is the Rose that bare Jesu' – which picks up the ancient tradition of describing Mary as the rose blossoming from the wintry earth of human history. ABCUSA: World Council to Reorganize December 9, 2002, Valley Forge, Pa. – The World Council of Churches announced last month that it would reorganize its Geneva and New York staffs "around the five historic themes of the Council's work" in an effort to increase its efficiency. Vancouver Bishop Agrees to Delay Rite for Blessing Same-Sex Relationships December 4, 2002 – Bishop Michael Ingham of the Vancouver-based Diocese of New Westminster (Canada) has agreed to delay implementation of a rite for blessing same-sex relationships to honor a mediation process with eight parishes that are withholding funds in protest and asking for a "flying bishop" as an alternative to Ingham's oversight. Anglican and Roman Catholic Bishops Meet in Malta to Discuss Ways to Promote a ‘Lived Ecumenism' December 4, 2002 – Six Anglican and six Roman Catholic bishops met November 19-23 at a retreat house in Malta to discuss further steps on the road to unity between the two churches. The bishops are members of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission for Unity and Mission (IARCUUM), established in 2000 in a historic international meeting in Canada of bishops from regions of the world where relations between the two churches are especially critical. World Council of Churches Announces Plans for Reorganization and Staff Cuts December 6, 2002 – The World Council of Churches has announced plans to reorganize and reduce staff at its Geneva and New York offices. CMI: Comerci y derechos humanos Las iglesias inician una campaqa mundial sobre el comercio y los derechos humanos Una red mundial de iglesias y organizaciones conexas inician una campaqa trienal por un Comercio al servicio de las personas y no las personas al servicio del comercio el 10 de diciembre – "Dma Internacional de los Derechos Humanos." Swiss Churches Hail Defeat of Proposal to Tighten Asylum Laws December 4, 2002 – Switzerland's churches have expressed relief after voters rejected, by a tiny margin, a proposal that would have made the country's asylum laws the "most restrictive" in Europe, automatically turning back anyone seeking asylum from another country that was deemed safe. It was defeated in a referendum November 24 by just over 3,000 votes out of a total of 2.24 million. Germany's Jewish Community Getting Status Equal to Churches December 4, 2002 – Jewish leaders have welcomed as a milestone a plan by the German government to grant them status equal to the main Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. 
December 4, 2002 – The committee appointed to examine a potential move of the Episcopal Church Center to a new facility on the campus of the General Theological Seminary (GTS) has reported to Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold that it has encountered difficulties and that it does not seem possible at this time to "successfully complete a binding agreement that will be acceptable to both parties." Liberian Church Launches Efforts to Boost Agriculture December 9, 2002 – In the wake of the Liberian government's call for self-sufficiency in food production, the United Methodist Church there has launched three agricultural projects in Nimba, Bassa and Montserrado counties. MCC-Supported Trip Connects Salvadoran Women December 9, 2002, AGUA ZARCA, El Salvador – For women in rural El Salvador, nearly every minute of the day is filled with homemaking tasks: cooking and grinding corn, patting out tortillas, washing, hauling water and firewood and caring for children. But this fall a group of 17 women from 11 communities in northern Morazan state took a two-day break from their routine to visit and share ideas and stories with women's groups in other parts of the country. Manuscript Bibles Become Popular in Taiwan December 8, 2002 – In the year 2000 Taiwan's Bible Society promoted a "Hand Written Bible" movement to raise funds. Since then many local congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan have produced their own manuscript scriptures to celebrate anniversaries. Council of the Churches of East Asia: Promote Peace, Justice and Understanding December 2, 2002 – A resolve to promote peace, justice and real understanding between faiths was the main outcome of the meeting of the Council of Churches of East Asia (CCEA) which met in the Diocese of Grafton, New South Wales, Australia, in October. War Could Seriously Disrupt Relations Between Christians and Muslims in Iraq December 4, 2002 – Christians in Iraq are expressing fears that a war would seriously alter what have been peaceful relations between them and the Muslims. Muslim fanaticism increased in the years following the Gulf War in 1991, Christians said, but this did not have a major impact on Christian communities. "We have had no religious problems until now," said one man. "There has never been any harassment of us as Christians." Canadian Church Activists Ambivalent about Oil Company's Withdrawal from Sudan December 4, 2002 – Canadian church and human rights activists are claiming some credit for the decision of a leading energy company to pull out of Sudan in the face of persistent charges that they were fueling a 19-year civil war that has resulted in the deaths of almost two million people, many of them Christians living in the south.
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