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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
Presiding Bishop Holds Up Church's 'Diverse Center' July 30, 2003 – On the eve of what promises to be historic debate on the Episcopal Church's doctrine and order, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold emphasized the importance of listening to the church's "diverse center" in the convention's opening news conference. "One thing I am deeply aware of in our churches is what I like to call the 'diverse center' in which different perspectives, a presence of the overarching sense of, like it or not, we are members of one body and that is our larger value," said the presiding bishop. "It is unfortunate that most of the air time is claimed by those on either extreme." Hearings on Sexuality Resolutions Scheduled July 30, 2003 – Two key resolutions addressing the standing of gays and lesbians in the life of the church will be reviewed in back-to-back hearings by the cognate Committee on Prayer Book and Liturgy on Friday, August 1, and Saturday, August 2. A special hearing on the Diocese of California resolution (C005) calling for the preparation of rites of blessing for couples in committed relationships outside marriage will be held Friday evening, August 1, in the Hyatt Hotel beginning at 7:30 p.m. Noting the growing debate and media interest around this measure, the committee has allotted two hours before the hearing for persons to register for testimony. The hearing will be held in an area with seating for several hundred people. Task Force to
Focus on Nature of Church July 30, 2003, LOUISVILLE - Next week's meeting of the Theological Task Force on the Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church will focus on two issues - the purpose and nature of the church in the Reformed tradition, and the Presbyterian way of making decisions. The three-day meeting in Chicago will begin on Aug. 6. Feud for Thought July 30, 2003, SACRAMENTO, CA - The Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) last week heard from two prominent critics of a controversial policy paper on the changing nature of American families. During a July 24-27 meeting here, the committee heard from the California pastor who introduced an alternate paper during this year's General Assembly and from another author of the substitute statement, the leader of a conservative Presbyterian think tank. ACSWP's 45-page paper provoked contentious debate at the 215th Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and gave rise to the two-page substitute drafted by members of the National Issues Committee. House of Bishops Approves First Set of Legislation July 30, 2003 – With little dissent, the House of Bishops approved Wednesday afternoon more than a dozen pieces of primarily housekeeping legislation. They also applauded reports from Episcopal Relief and Development and a youth representative. Flanked by other members of the official youth presence, Erin Ferguson of the Diocese of Southeast Florida urged the bishops to engage in ministry with young people. "We must include youth as an integral part of the leadership on the national, provincial, diocesan and parish level," Ferguson said. Altar guilds and diocesan councils, vestries and General Convention deputations all should have youth representation, he said. Engaging God's Mission - 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, USA July 30, 2003 – The 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, USA, began today with the Presiding Bishop, Frank T. Griswold, delivering his opening address to an assembly of nearly 1,000 bishops, clergy and laity at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minnesota. "We come from various dioceses, and congregations within those dioceses - each with their own particular culture and point of view," said Bishop Griswold. "And we need one another.... What a solemn and hopeful moment this is: full of possibility." Convention 'Full of Opportunity,' Presiding Bishop Says July 29, 2003 – "We have been provided with a solemn and hopeful moment full of possibility," said Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold in a pre-convention opening address to the assembly of the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on July 29. Nearly 1,000 laity, clergy and bishops and guests of the church streamed into the Minneapolis Convention Center to begin orientation for the 10-day gathering of the Episcopal Church family by listening to presentations by the heads of both houses of deliberation: Griswold, as head of the church and presider of the 300-member House of Bishops, and the Rev. George L. Werner, president of the 853-member House of Deputies, comprised of laity and clergy from around the church. July 28, 2003, WINNIPEG, Canada - Confessional Christian families, regional and international church organizations brought goodwill messages to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Tenth Assembly, and affirmed their commitment to ecumenical cooperation. The Rev. Dr. Konrad Raiser, General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), said three assemblies in 2003 - of the LWF, Conference of European Churches and All Africa Conference of Churches - had chosen themes focusing on healing, reconciliation and re-building. At a time of brokenness in the world, he said, churches were beginning to understand that it is their missionary vocation to be healing and reconciling communities in Christ. Text of Presiding Bishop's Orientation Address to Episcopal General Convention July 29, 2003 – My dear brothers and sisters: we have long anticipated this moment, this privileged time during which we will seek, as best we can - knowing we are fallible and finite human beings - to discern God's desire for this curious yet wonderful household we call the Episcopal Church. We come from various dioceses, and congregations within those dioceses - each with their own particular culture and point of view. And we need one another. We need the gift of one another's perspective, one another's way of articulating the Gospel and seeking to be faithful, because Christ is present among us all, and each of us holds within the love of God's calling to us, some aspect of God's truth that is seeking to be enlarged in communion with others. What a solemn and hopeful moment this is: full of possibility. Lutherans Address Variety of Concerns in Later Synod Assemblies July 30, 2003, CHICAGO - Voting members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) addressed a variety of local, national and international concerns through actions at synod assemblies. Synod assemblies began April 25 and concluded June 28 of this year. La paz y la seguridad en Asia meridional seran tema de una consulta de lmderes de iglesias 28 de julio de 2003 – En un clima de creciente entusiasmo por la posible reanudacisn de conversaciones de paz entre la India y Pakistan, dirigentes de iglesias de Asia meridional deliberaran sobre csmo pueden ayudar las iglesias a construir la paz y dar estabilidad a la regisn. Unos 15 representantes de iglesias participaran del 2 al 4 de agosto de 2003 en una consulta sobre paz y seguridad en Asia meridional. Organizada por el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), la consulta tendra lugar en Colombo, Sri Lanka. Archbishop Condemns "Old and New Forms of Slavery" July 29, 2003, Lambeth Palace - The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, on a visit to a former centre of the West African slave trade, has spoken of the continuing challenge of "overcoming slavery in old and new forms." In remarks delivered after receiving the honorary freedom of Freetown in Sierra Leone, Dr Williams said, "Even today we are not free from the slavery of destructive patterns of human behaviour. "There is the slavery of poverty, the slavery of injustice, the slavery of greed - both sexual and financial, the slavery caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and the slavery of violence in which bitterness and revenge can be guaranteed to keep people captive forever, unless delivered by truth and reconciliation. We must go on identifying and overcoming every kind of slavery we encounter in our society. World YWCA Restates its Position as Leader in Women's Issues July 29, 2003 – The World YWCA brought together over 1000 women from more than 100 countries and 50 partner organisations in Brisbane, Australia, from July 5-10, 2003 for Leading Change: The Power to Act. During this meeting the World YWCA convened a two-day International Womens Summit to review the status of women within the framework of the womens global agenda adopted in Beijing 1995. To do this the World YWCA brought women leaders, women activists and women from grassroots areas to tell their stories from their perspective. Reformed World Assembly to Explore Links Between Ecology and Faith July 25, 2003, GENEVA - A prominent Indian environmentalist and scientist, Dr. Vandana Shiva, is to be the main speaker at a worldwide gathering of Reformed churches scheduled to take place next year in Accra, Ghana. Shiva is to give the keynote address at the gathering, the 24th General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), meeting on the theme "That All May Have Life in Fullness," from July 30 to Aug. 12, 2004. The author of dozens of publications, Shiva has served as an advisor to governments in India and beyond, and founded the independent Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology in Dehra Dun, which addresses contemporary ecological and social issues. July 29, 2003, WINNIPEG, Canada - In silent and solemn procession delegates and visitors to the Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) walked from the Winnipeg Convention Centre through the streets of Winnipeg to the Oodeena to protest the Canadian government's refusal to grant visas to 53 of their fellow delegates from developing nations. The Oodeena is located next to Johnston Terminal, the location of the Citizenship and Immigration Canada offices. The procession which had a police escort was led by the Rev. Raymond Schultz, National Bishop, the Assembly host-church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, LWF President Bishop em. Dr Christian Krause, LWF General Secretary Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko and several clergy. Archbishop Hears the Cries of Refugees in the Gambia July 29, 2003 – One of the most dramatic moments in Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' pastoral visit to the Anglicans in West Africa came on Tuesday as he visited a refugee centre run by the local diocese. Archbishop Williams showed signs of being deeply moved at the Centre. He said, 'May your experience as refugees be a thing of the past.' He then said, 'I promise these concerns will not be forgotten.' Archbishop Rowan praised the diocese for 'being at the forefront of the work'. He then said that he hoped the centre would be 'a challenge and reproach' for concerned people around the Communion. South Asian Church Leaders to Discuss Regional Peace and Security July 28, 2003 – In a climate of mounting enthusiasm about the possibility of reopened peace talks between India and Pakistan, South Asian church leaders are planning to get together to determine how churches can help build peace and stability in the region. About 15 church representatives will participate in a 2-4 August, 2003 consultation on Peace and Security concerns in South Asia. Organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC), the consultation will take place in Colombo, Sri Lanka. July 29, 2003, WINNIPEG, Canada - When massive hydroelectric power plants were constructed in northern Manitoba, Canada's central province, during the 1960s and 1970s, they brought more electricity to the general public but at great cost to the native people of the area. Huge dams built along the great Churchill River diverted water where Nature never intended it to go. Native communities were flooded. Hunting and trapping grounds were damaged. Debris from flooded timber littered the shorelines and made boat navigation unsafe. Mercury poisoned the fish, ancestral sites were destroyed and the quality of the water itself was reduced. BWA General Council Stresses Unity, Welcomes Cooperative Baptists July 30, 2003, Valley Forge, Pa. - At its meeting earlier this month in Rio de Janeiro, the Baptist World Alliance's General Council focused on the need for unity and for compassion for the world's poor, and voted to accept five new member bodies, including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). In his address to the General Council and in a closing devotion, BWA General Secretary Denton Lotz emphasized the need for reconciliation and peacemaking. Lotz described the work of the BWA in Cuba and among the Telugu Baptists in South India. He also noted dramatic progress in South Africa, where reconciliation has taken place between the Baptist Union and Convention and where all five Baptist groups have formed an alliance to work together. Iraqis Receive Critical Food Assistance from Episcopal Relief and Development July 28, 2003, Episcopal Relief and Development - The Revd Carl Harris, an Episcopal priest and a consultant for Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), went to Iraq in June to assess the needs of people in the country following the war. Mr Harris, who has worked with nongovernmental organisations in Kosovo, Bosnia, Rwanda and Vietnam, described Iraq as a very dangerous place. "I saw the challenges many families face and how they experience daily life in Baghdad and Mosul," he said. July 29, 2003, WINNIPEG, Canada - In a press briefing at the Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the Rev. Dr Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan (ELCJ), declared that the "Roadmap to Peace" is a "golden opportunity" to solve the enormous problems in his troubled region of the Middle East. Younan said that for the first time the United States is actively involved in the peace process. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elected LWF President July 28, 2003, WINNIPEG, Canada - The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), was elected president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) July 26. He was elected on the first ballot, receiving 267 votes to 111 votes for the only other nominee, the Rev. Susan C. Johnson, vice-president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC). The vote was by secret, written ballot. Hanson, who was elected to a six-year term as ELCA presiding bishop in 2001, will continue in that role. The six-year term he will serve as LWF president is a volunteer position and will be in addition to his responsibilities as ELCA presiding bishop.
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