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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
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Messages of Peace on Video Available at September 20, 2004 – "God weeps over God's world, aching because of conflict in Darfur, in Beslan, in Harare, in Colombia, in Jerusalem, in Belfast," says Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu in his message for the International Day of Prayer for Peace, to be observed on 21 September. And he adds: "God - Emmanuel, God with us, with you - has no one but you to help God make this world hospitable to peace and justice." Although, as Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I affirms in his message, "violence and war are considered by many as ways of improvement for the world's situation," the truth is that "all of the ideologies and convictions on the necessity and effectiveness of violence are wrong and are to be condemned." Statement from Lambeth Palace on the 'Network' Stories September 24, 2004 – The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, has had a wide range of meetings and conversations with many groups and individuals on all sides in relation to the current concerns in the Anglican Communion. These meetings remain private and confidential. Amongst those with whom the archbishop met last autumn were those dissenting from the impending consecration of Gene Robinson; those involved wished to discuss the shape that might be taken by groups dissenting from the decision of General Convention but remaining within the structures of ECUSA. ELCA in Hunger Documentary to Air Beginning October 24 on ABC-TV September 22, 2004, CHICAGO - "Hunger No More: Faces Behind the Facts," is a new television documentary that examines hunger in the 21st century from a faith perspective and offers possible solutions. The one-hour program, which includes stories about hunger ministries related to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), is scheduled to begin airing Oct. 24 on ABC-TV stations throughout the United States. "Hunger No More" is a production of the National Council of Churches USA (NCC) for ABC-TV's "Vision and Values" series. The program was produced by Mennonite Media for the NCC. Help Wanted: Web Site Offers Job Seekers New Search Portal September 20, 2004, LOUISVILLE - The Presbyterian Church (USA) recently launched a new Web-based employment referral site that adds mission and volunteer opportunities in this country and around the world to the denomination's online search service for church professionals. The "One Door" site, which became operational in June, offers opportunities for volunteer and mission service as well as non-clergy positions in the PC(USA)'s national offices in Louisville. Cardinal Affirms That Market Logic Does Not Serve Christians September 17, 2004, QUITO - Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodrmguez Madariaga, one of the Latin American Catholics who has most consistently spoken out against the neoliberal system, affirmed that the implacable logic of the market cannot serve Christians. The Cardinal made the comments during the inaugural conference at the symposium of Bishops, priests, lay people from Latin America, Germany and Spain, who met from September 13 17 in Casa Bethania in Quito. Men Want Church Involvement to Make a Difference September 23, 2004, NASHVILLE, Tenn. - If men are to be attracted to United Methodist churches, they must feel that at the end of the day they have done something that makes a difference, according to the newly elected president of the denomination's Commission on United Methodist Men. Gil Hanke, a layman from Nacogdoches, Texas, challenged members of the commission, meeting Sept. 20-22 in Nashville, to help men recapture a "doing spirit." The lack of church leadership by men is "frightening," he said, and the participation of men under 40 "pathetic." American Baptists, United Methodists Sign Insurance Agreement Septempter 22, 2004, NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Baptist college presidents will have an opportunity to protect their institutions from lawsuits thanks to a new cooperative venture with the United Methodist Church. An agreement signed Sept. 3 by officials of both denominations offers group buying power to the 26 colleges, universities, and seminaries affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA through the insurance and risk management services of Educational & Institutional Insurance Administrators Inc. The president of each American Baptist institution will be offered the option of joining the program. September 17, 2004, SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador/GENEVA - The president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Bishop Mark S. Hanson met Salvadoran Roman Catholic Archbishop Monsignor Fernando Saenz Lacalle as part of the continuing dialogue between Lutherans and Roman Catholics. "We had a very cordial, and I believe honest conversation. We begun to talk about the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification. It is always good as a Lutheran leader and a Roman Catholic leader to begin by affirming what we have in common," Hanson said after the meeting with Lacalle. Pentecostal Movement Celebrates Five Years of Presence and Testimony September 13, 2004, SANTIAGO - Seventy thousand people filled the National Stadium in Santiago on September 12 while hundreds of choirs sang songs of praise to God. Bishops and pastors from all Evangelical denominations in the country were present, participating in the Pentecostal celebration. September is the month when Chile celebrates its national holiday and the beginning of spring. It is also the month of the Bible and for the Evangelical Pentecostal movement the commemoration of the so-called Creole Pentecost World Methodist Leaders Adopt Statement on Witness to Muslims September 24, 2004, PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa - Leaders of the World Methodist Council have adopted a document calling on all Wesleyan/Methodist Christians to "lovingly accept Muslim brothers and sisters as persons of faith" and to "invite them into life-changing relationships with God through Christ." The council's executive committee adopted the document, "Wesleyan/Methodist Witness in Christian and Islamic Cultures," on the final day of a Sept. 15-18 meeting in Port Elizabeth. "This is truly a world document, signed by 16 regional secretaries and staff of World Evangelism," said the Rev. H. Eddie Fox, director of World Methodist Evangelism, after the document was approved. "This is a clear call to bear witness to Jesus Christ, graciously." The council's World Methodist Evangelism Division brought the paper to the committee. September 17, 2004, GENEVA - The Council of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) reiterated its call to LWF member churches to pay up their respective contributions of fair membership fees to the global organization. The Council at its September 1-7 meeting near Geneva, approved a fair membership fee for 2005-2006 calculated on the basis of church membership size and the Gross National Product, without fixing a minimum level. All member churches were encouraged to pay up the expected amounts. Council members would be informed about the status of membership fees in their region and church. Mensajes De Paz En Video Disponibles En www.superarlaviolencia.org/paz2004 9 de septiembre 2004, GENEVA - "Dios llora por su mundo, un mundo afligido por los conflictos en Darfur, Beslán, Harare, Colombia, Jerusalén y Belfast," dice el Premio Nobel de la Paz Arzobispo Desmond Tutu en su mensaje por el Día Internacional de Oración por la Paz a ser observado mañana 21 de septiembre. Y añade: "Dios -Emanuel, Dios con nosotros, con ustedes- sólo dispone de ustedes para que le ayuden a hacer que este mundo sea un mundo acogedor de paz y justicia." Aunque, como el Patriarca ortodoxo griego Bartolomé I afirma en su mensaje, "muchos consideran la violencia y la guerra como medios para mejorar la situación mundial," la verdad es que "todas las ideologías y convicciones sobre la necesidad y la eficacia de la violencia son erróneas y han de ser condenadas." Interfaith Group Seeks "Meaning Making Response," Proposes Inter-religious Sanctuary at WTC Site September 23, 2004, NEW YORK CITY - A New York interfaith group that met for dialogue on the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks is following up with release today (Sept. 23) of a joint statement affirming a desire "to stand together in a meaning making response." Specifically, the group is calling on the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation to include representatives of religious communities in the planning for the rehabilitation of the World Trade Center and to urge that the site include "a hospitable inter-religious sanctuary or sacred space of meditation that can reclaim the edifying and healing power of faith." Labor Agreement Ends Mt. Olive Pickle Boycott September 17, 2004, LOUISVILLE - A five-year boycott of the Mt. Olive Pickle Company in North Carolina - which was led by the National Council of Churches and supported by the Presbyterian Church (USA) - came to an end this week with the signing of an agreement between the Farm Labor Organizing Committee and the North Carolina Growers Association (NCGA). The collective bargaining agreement, signed Sept. 16, covers 1,000 growers in North Carolina and an estimated 8,500 legal (federal "H-2A") guest migrant workers from Mexico and other Latin American countries who work on North Carolina farms each year. "This agreement gives these farm workers in North Carolina the justice they deserve," said NCC General Secretary Bob Edgar, who traveled to Raleigh, NC, for the signing of the agreement. LWF President Hanson to Raise Concerns about Free Trade, Global Peace September 24, 2004, CHICAGO - At the end of a visit to El Salvador, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), affirmed his commitment to transmit to the LWF and the ELCA concerns of Central American Lutherans about Free Trade Agreements (FTA). The six-day visit was Hanson's first to Central America as LWF president. He visited El Salvador Sept. 11-16 at the invitation of the Communion of Lutheran Churches in Central America. In a news conference before he returned to the United States, Hanson said during meetings with Central American Lutheran communities he witnessed people living in situations of extreme poverty. He noted that Central American Lutheran churches have understood their ministries as accompanying the suffering population, caring for creation and defending such human rights as access to health care, education, housing and employment, the LWF release said. In talks with civil society representatives, Hanson said he sensed their frustration because the peace accords signed after the end of the 1980-1992 conflict in El Salvador had not been implemented fully and had not brought expected peace with justice, the news release said. September 24, 2004 – To the People of God of the Diocese of Recife: Grace and Peace! The House of Bishops has gathered in the city of Porto Alegre for an extraordinary meeting under the presidency of the Primate, the Most Revd Orlando Oliveira, and attending to the request of the clergy of the Anglican Diocese of Recife and its Suffragan Bishop, in the face of recent events in that Diocese, has deliberated the following: World Lutheran Leader Committed to Lobbying for Economic Justice and Peace September 16, 2004, SAN SALVADOR - At the end of a six-day visit to El Salvador, the president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Mark S. Hanson committed himself to transmitting the concern of Central American Lutherans about the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and to continue to struggle for peace and a more just world. Hanson, who is also president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of the United States (ELCA) visited El Salvador from September 11-16, invited by the Central American Communion of Lutheran Churches (CILCA). In a press conference just prior to his return to the United States, Hanson said Thursday that during his visit to Lutheran communities and their work places, he has found people who live in situations of dramatic poverty. A Prophetic Church Marked by Solidarity September 14, 2004, SAN SALVADOR - Cecilia Alfaro, a 52-year-old pastor with two children, has seen too many faces to remember them all. Today, more than 20 years after the war began in her country that left more than 75,000 people dead; she cannot avoid tears as she tries to remember their faces. She shared her testimony with Lutheran World Information/ALC during a visit on the part of the president of the Lutheran World Federation Mark Hanson, his wife Ione and leaders from Latin American Lutheran Churches to the Faith and Hope Community, which sheltered scores of displaced and persecuted during the bloody Salvadoran internal war that wracked the country between 1980 and 1992. September 20, 2004, LOUISVILLE - Church volunteers from the United States, South Africa and Sweden who are serving as non-violent "accompaniers" in Israel and Palestine will conduct a panel on their ministry Sept. 21 at the Church Center for the United Nations in New York. The speakers are part of the Ecumenical Accompaniment Program (EAPPI) of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which was launched in August 2002. Ecumenical accompaniers monitor and report violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, support acts of non-violent resistance alongside local Christian and Muslim Palestinians and Israeli peace activists, offer protection through non-violent presence, engage in public policy advocacy and stand in solidarity with the churches and all those struggling against the Israeli occupation. The panel is being conducted in conjunction with the International Day of Prayer for Peace. Anglican Peace and Justice Network Statement on the Israeli/Palestinian Conflict September 22, 2004 – Give Sight to the Blind and Freedom to the Captives: We, as members of the Anglican Peace and Justice Network, representing 23 Provinces of the worldwide 75,000,000 member Anglican Communion, have visited the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem over these last 8 days, and during that time have been inspired by the faith of the people in the diocese, while also being exposed to the draconian conditions of the continuing Occupation under which so many Palestinians live. We have heard from Israeli Jewish voices, and from Palestinians, both those who reside in Israel and those who live under Occupation. We note the continuing policies of illegal home demolitions, detentions, checkpoints, identity card systems and the presence of the Israeli military that make any kind of normal life impossible. We have seen and heard the effects of the overwhelming presence of settlements or colonies in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Gaza, and the bypass roads and highways that connect them while disconnecting Palestinian villages, one from another. We have seen the destruction of precious arable lands and restrictions on precious water resources. Finally, and shockingly, we have been exposed to the separation wall that violates international boundaries, causing mayhem in Palestinian daily life and further defines Israeli intentions to appropriate land from the Palestinians. Palestine/Israel: Largest-ever Group, Including Bishop, Joins Ecumenical Peace-Making Programme September 22, 2004, GENEVA - The Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) enters its second year of operations by welcoming 25 new accompaniers, the largest group since the project started in August 2002. Three have also stayed on from the previous group, bringing the total number of accompaniers on the ground to 28. For the first time in its history, the EAPPI group will include a bishop. Continuing the programme's relationship with the South African Council of Churches, SACC second vice president Bishop Lunga ka Siboto of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church will be one of four accompaniers from South Africa joining a countrywoman who is staying on for an additional term. "There was a time when we thought ours was the last struggle for liberty," said Siboto, who will be working in Bethlehem. "Suddenly one is struck by what is happening here. If one can help to make a difference or can be a friend in solidarity, it will be a step for the good of mankind." Augsburg Fortress Releases New Davey and Goliath VBS Materials September 23, 2004, CHICAGO - Augsburg Fortress, the publishing house of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), announced the release of two new children's ministry resources featuring Davey and Goliath, characters from the classic television series for children, according to a release from the Minneapolis-based publisher. The resources are "Davey and Goliath's Circus Spectacular," a 2005 Vacation Bible School (VBS) program, and "Davey and Goliath's Devotionals," a quarterly devotional magazine created for families. Davey and Goliath is a stop-motion animated television series starring Davey Hansen and his talking dog, Goliath. Aired on commercial television in the 1960s and 1970s, Davey and Goliath is a property of the ELCA.
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