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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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October 22, 2004 – "Significant and useful" were the adjectives used today in a joint statement to describe the series of encounters held since February 2003 between the World Council of Churches (WCC), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). Issued at the end of a meeting of the heads of the three organizations, the statement affirms that the encounters allowed them to improve "their mutual understanding of their positions on development and related issues," while identifying "areas of common ground but also differences of view." October 22, 2004 – Recalling the World Council of Churches' (WCC) foundational mandate to make "the church in every place a voice for those who have no voice" as well as its firm commitment to justice, rooted in the "ecumenical perception of God's preferential option for the poor," WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia affirmed encounters with the Bretton Woods institutions as a "critical engagement in the search for viable pathways towards global justice, so that all people can have their fair share in the common wealth of all." "Through mutual listening and dialogue, we have reached a basis of understanding which allows the WCC and the IMF and World Bank to engage together on areas of mutual concern and identify areas of disagreement," Kobia commented after a breakfast meeting at WCC headquarters with World Bank (WB) president James D. Wolfensohn and International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director Agustín Carstens. Report Rebukes Episcopalians for Disunity but Declines Sanctions October 19, 2004, LONDON - The Episcopal Church should apologize for stirring disunity but will not face serious sanctions for allowing an openly gay bishop, an Anglican church panel said in long-anticipated recommendations made Oct. 18. The panel's 92-page Windsor Report, issued by Irish Archbishop Robin Eames, stopped short of calling for the U.S. church to be excommunicated, but said the decision breached "the proper constraints of the bonds of affection" with sister churches in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion. In presenting the report in the crypt of St. Paul's Cathedral, Eames called for a moratorium on new gay bishops but said there is "no mechanism for the imposition of a discipline" after the U.S. church consecrated an openly gay priest, V. Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire. American Bishops Issue Calls to Prayerful Consideration of Windsor Report October 18, 2004 – As bishops of the Episcopal Church finished their initial look at the newly released Windsor Report from the Lambeth Commission on Communion, most echoed Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold's call for careful and prayerful contemplation of its conclusions and recommendations. Bishop John Bryson Chane of Washington, one of those who consecrated Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire and whose diocese has developed a rite for blessing same-sex unions, expressed "my sadness that actions we undertook in good conscience-actions which gave hope to one alienated and marginalized population-have themselves engendered alienation and made others feel marginalized. This was not our intent. We lament this result and I commit myself to participating fully and energetically in the process of reconciliation through dialog and discernment which is outlined in the Commission's report. Divided US Episcopals Both Accept Parts of Anglican Report October 19, 2004, NEW YORK - Frank T. Griswold, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church USA reacted cautiously to conclusions by an Anglican Communion commission seeking to find a way of preventing a schism over the consecration of homosexual clergy. But Griswold's reaction was also seen as re-affirming his denomination's consecration of V. Gene Robinson as the church's only openly gay bishop, which drew criticism from traditionalist members of the Anglican Communion, opposing the consecration of homosexual clergy. Presiding Bishop: A Word to the Church Some Preliminary Reflections Regarding the Windsor Report October 18, 2004 – I write to you from London where I am attending a meeting of the Primates' Standing Committee. I have had a matter of hours to review the Report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, thus I will now offer only some preliminary observations. It will take considerable time to reflect upon the Report, which consists of some 100 pages. Over the next months it will be discussed in a number of venues, including the Executive Council meeting in November and the Winter Meeting of the House of Bishops in January. After an opportunity for further study and reflection, I will have more to say about the Commission's work. Hunger Humanity's Worse Misfortune, Said Fray Betto October 14, 2004, SAO LEOPOLDO, Brazil - Renowned Catholic writer and theologian Fray Betto, adviser to President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and coordinator of the government's "Zero Hunger" social movement said that hunger is humanity's worst misfortune. Hunger, he said, kills 24,000 people around the world on a daily basis. It is shameful that in the XXI Century a lack of food costs more lives than war, terrorism, illness and traffic accidents combined. The Dominican priest emphasized that while Brazil is one of the world's top five food producers malnutrition remains a problem despite the efforts of the current government. In Brazil, he said, we still struggle for animal rights not human rights. How Would Jesus Rule? Theological Task Force Explores Relationship Between Polity and Power October 15, 2004, CHICAGO - Presbyterians (and other Christians) are wont to say that Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church. "This is a wonderfully pious thought," the Rev. Mark Achtemeier told the Presbyterian Church (USA) Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church at its Oct. 14 meeting here. "But does it translate into anything meaningful? Does our polity (form of church government) actually bring us back to Christ's Lordship?" In a wide-ranging discussion on the relationship between theology, polity and power in the church, task members agreed on the need, as Achtemeier put it, "to recover a vision of the church led by Christ rather than by bureaucracies and competing interest groups." NCC's "Christian Principles in an Election Year" Inspire New Hymn October 19, 2004, NEW YORK CITY - The National Council of Churches' "Christian Principles in an Election Year" have inspired a new hymn - "In Times of Great Decision," by the Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette, whose hymns are sung in a wide variety of denominational and ecumenical settings. The Rev. Gillette and her husband, the Rev. Bruce Gillette, are co-pastors of Limestone Presbyterian Church, Wilmington, Delaware, where they moved two months ago after 10 years of service together at the First Presbyterian Church in Pitman, N.J. "Bruce found the principles on the Web, and he said, 'You know what? This would make a really neat hymn," said the Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. She agreed, commenting, "The principles are very biblical, and express the faith we believe, have passed down and try to follow. And they bring focus to what we feel is important in this election. "Some people say we should separate the 'political' and 'religious' sides of life, but I believe we are supposed to carry our faith convictions into the way we vote and the way we choose our leaders," she said. Report Reflects Desire for Unity, Canadian Anglican Primate Says October 18, 2004, TORONTO - The report of the Eames Commission on the unity of the Anglican Communion reflects a "positive will" to keep the international church together, says Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. In a statement released shortly after the report was made public, Archbishop Hutchison said it is "significant" that the commission issued a unanimous report, despite the fact that its members "cover a broad spectrum of geography, culture and theology." ELCA Bishops Told of Military Chaplains, Review Documents October 18, 2004, CHICAGO - There are 20 chaplains of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America serving in combat zones in the Middle East and in Kosovo, said Chaplain Ivan G. Ives, assistant to the ELCA presiding bishop for federal chaplaincy ministries, Washington, D.C., in a report to the ELCA Conference of Bishops. Fifteen of the 20 were called up from the National Guard and military reserves, he said. "The impact of this has been noticed because these are people coming out of your parishes," Ives told the conference. The Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the church, consisting of the church's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary. It met here Sept. 30-Oct. 4. Statements from the Primates Standing Committee and the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion October 20, 2004 "Surrounded by a Great Cloud of Witnesses" First Ecumenical Calendar of Saints and Martyrs October 21, 2004 – The light in the church is dimmed, and it is only through small windows above the Iconostasis that small streams of light penetrate the highly decorated building. Fumes of incense become visible in this light, and their strong scent fills the nostrils and contributes to the special atmosphere of an Orthodox service. Bit by bit, people enter the church, going straight forward to kneel in front of an icon. One woman kisses the holy image, making the sign of the cross before moving back into the nave to attend the worship. Today's service honours St George, a 5th century martyr who is adored as an example of fidelity unto death. A Sunday morning worship in a medieval Protestant church: the chancel is very simple, with white walls and roman-style windows with stained glass that make the light refract colourfully on the floor. The altar is decorated with a cross, the Bible and two candlesticks; the communion chalice and plate are already prepared. Jews and Christians Meet in Oct. 20-21 Dialogue October 22, 2004, WASHINGTON, DC - The American Jewish Committee and the National Council of Churches convened a high-level Christian-Jewish summit that met in Washington, D.C., for a day and half October 20-21. Twenty-one participants took part in this scheduled second meeting of a dialogue process begun earlier this year. The first meeting of the group was on May 4, 2004. On the main agenda was a discussion on the Jewish and Christian understandings on the "Theology of Land." "This was a continuation of the dialogue begun in May with a focus on understanding each other and building trust," said the Rev. Shanta Premawardhana, NCC Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations, New York City. October 20, 2004, GENEVA - The general secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Rev. Dr Ishmael Ishmael Noko today called on Lutheran churches to accompany the Anglican Communion "with prayer" following the release of a report by a special commission set up, among other issues, to study the implications of actions "considered to be in breach of the bonds of communion." The Windsor Report 2004 was authored by the Lambeth Commission on Communion, established in October 2003, with the mandate, among other tasks, 'to examine the legal and theological implications' following the decisions in the Episcopal Church (USA) to appoint a priest in a committed same sex relationship as one of its bishops. "The question of the unity of a Christian world communion faced with major challenges in the area of ethics is one that deserves great attention in the ecumenical world at the present time," Noko says in a statement released today. October 15, 2004, CHICAGO - The impact of economic globalization on nations and churches, the implications of growing diversity in the United States, the role of women in church and society, and the role of the church in resolving conflicts were among the issues discussed this morning as the Presbyterian Church (USA) Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity and Purity of the Church tried to set its work in a "world context." Conversations the rest of the day about the "personal" and "church" contexts of the task force's work were closed to press and observers. Initial talk centered around a critique of the global economic system contained in the message of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) General Council, which met earlier this summer in Accra, Ghana. PC(USA) General Assembly stated clerk and new WARC president Clifton Kirkpatrick briefed the task force on the WARC gathering Thursday night. "En Medio De Una Gran Nube De Testigos" Primer Calendario Ecuménico De Santos Y Mártires 21 de Octubre 2004 – La iglesia está en la penumbra, y sólo a través de las pequeñas ventanas sobre el iconostasio penetran delgados rayos de luz en el edificio ricamente decorado. Nubes de incienso son visibles con esa luz, y su fuerte fragancia se respira y contribuye a crear una atmósfera especial en un culto ortodoxo. Poco a poco, los fieles entran en la iglesia, yendo directamente a arrodillarse ante un ícono. Una mujer besa la santa imagen, haciendo la señal de la cruz antes de regresar a la nave para asistir a la liturgia. En el culto de hoy se conmemora a San Jorge, un mártir del siglo V que es venerado como ejemplo de fidelidad hasta la muerte. Culto matinal del domingo en una iglesia protestante medieval: el presbiterio es muy sencillo, con paredes blancas y ventanas románicas con vitrales que proyectan una luz multicolor sobre el piso. El altar está decorado con una cruz, una Biblia y dos candelabros; el cáliz y la patena para la comunión están ya preparados. Directivos Del Fmi Y Del Banco Mundial En La Sede Del CMI October 18, 2004 – El presidente del Banco Mundial (BM) James D. Wolfensohn y el subdirector gerente del Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) Agustín Carstens se reunirán con el secretario general del CMI Samuel Kobia y con la presidenta del CMI por África Agnes Aboum en un encuentro a alto nivel entre las tres organizaciones que tendrá lugar el 22 de octubre de 2004 en el Centro Ecuménico de Ginebra. El encuentro, con el que culmina una serie iniciada en febrero de 2003, adoptará la forma de un panel, que será moderado por Cornelio Sommaruga, ex presidente del Comité Internacional de la Cruz Roja, al cual seguirá un debate con los participantes. Miembros de las tres organizaciones representadas en el panel e invitados de movimientos sociales y organizaciones ecuménicas participarán en el encuentro. Una declaración sobre futura acción común, destacando las zonas de coincidencia y las diferencias persistentes entre las organizaciones, se hará pública tras el encuentro. In Missouri, Judge Returns Good Shepherd to the Fold October 18, 2004, SAINT LOUIS - A St. Louis County Associate Circuit Court judge ruled in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri in its suit against the former rector and wardens of the Church of the Good Shepherd, a parish of the Episcopal Church located in Town & Country, Missouri, and against an entity purporting to be a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rwanda. The Circuit Court also ruled in favor of the national church's Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, the entity through which the national church holds property. Judge Mary B. Schroeder ruled in a decision dated October 12 that Paul Walter, the deposed rector, and members of the vestry at Good Shepherd acted outside the scope of their corporate authority when they petitioned the court in February to amend the parish's charter to so as to allow dissidents at the parish to remove the parish and its property from the diocese. The Court also ruled that the property of Good Shepherd was subject to a trust in favor of the diocese and the national Episcopal Church which prevented any attempt to use the property for purposes other than those approved by the diocese. Thousands of Christians Rally for Traditional Marriage October 19, 2004, WASHINGTON - The Rev. Thomas Wang arrived at the National Mall on Oct. 15 after spending a week driving from the San Francisco Bay area in a van that declared "Marriage: One Man and One Woman." He joined thousands of evangelical Christians for "Mayday for Marriage," a rally supporting heterosexual marriage and condemning same-sex marriage. They traveled by car, bus and plane to spend three hours on the grassy expanse in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol to hear Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson, Focus on the Family Chairman James Dobson and other evangelical leaders decry a court decision in Massachusetts legalizing same-sex marriage and promote a federal constitutional amendment that would ban such marriages in any state. President Uribe, Co-Founder of the Charismatic Mission Church, Named Ambassador to Brazil October 14, 2004, BOGOTA, Columbia - Evangelical leader Claudia Rodrmguez de Castellanos was sworn in October 6 as Colombia's new ambassador to Brazil. Lawyer Rodrmguez de Castellanos, graduate of the Law Faculty of the University of Greater Colombia and her husband Pastor Cesar Castellanos founded the International Charismatic Mission Church, one of the largest in Colombia. Rodrmguez de Castellanos was president of the International Charismatic Mission between May 1998 and July 2000 when Cesar and Claudia Fajardo were appointed presidents of the growing mission. President of the IERP Analyzes Role of Churches Before Economic System October 11, 2004, ASUNCION, Paraguay -"Unemployment and the misery of millions is knocking on our doors," said Federico Hugo Schdfer, president of the Evangelical Church of the River Plate (IERP) in his report before the Church synod in Hohenau, Paraguay October 9 -11. The IERP, with a presence in Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, is a member of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Reformed Alliance. With around 25,000 members the IERP holds a synod and assembly every two years and the two are the maximum spiritual and juridical bodies respectively. Evangelicals Attract Attention in Lima October 11, 2004, LIMA, Peru - Intense Evangelical activity last week took place in the Peruvian capital and the major media (dailies and television) who are generally reluctant to publish activities that are not linked to the Catholic Church, dedicated broad coverage to these events. Considerable coverage was dedicated to the Lima 2004 Festival, with well known Argentine Preacher Luis Palau and popular singers Jose Luis Rodrmguez or El Puma and Mexican Yuri. While the daily La Republic said it was the largest religious gathering to be held in Lima with the exception of John Paul II's visit, El Comercio said it was "one of the largest Evangelical concentrations in memory." Archbishop of Cape Town Launches Global Poverty Campaign October 16, 2004 – A global campaign to mobilise millions of Christians in 100 countries to press their governments to halve poverty by 2015, was launched at the United Nations on Friday by the Archbishop of Cape Town, The Most Reverend Njongonkulu Ndungane. The Archbishop urged churches around the world to take a lead in putting pressure on governments to achieve the eight Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty, declaring: "How can we claim to follow Jesus if we are not prepared to work to achieve his gospel good news for the poor?" Archbishop Ndungane, successor to Desmond Tutu and once a political prisoner along with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island, was launching Micah Challenge, which aims to mobilise Christians to lobby, campaign and pray for governments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Church Leaders to Deliberate on Peaceful, United, Nuclear-free Korea October 19, 2004, BANGKOK - Church representatives from North and South Korea have joined other groups at a meeting in Japan to promote peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula and stem the threat of nuclear proliferation. They are meeting in an Oct. 17-21 consultation taking place in Tozanso, near Tokyo, to mark anniversary of a similar gathering at the same place 20 years ago. "The meeting also aims at strengthening the churches' commitment to peaceful reunification by improving their mutual communication and opening possibilities of joint prayer, reflection and action," said the Geneva-based World Council of Churches, which is organizing the meeting with the Christian Conference of Asia. United Church Intervenes in Supreme Court on Same-sex Marriage October 6, 2004, TORONTO - Canada's largest Protestant denomination, The United Church of Canada, appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada today, speaking in support of the right of same-sex couples to be legally married, and also in support of the right of religious officials and congregations to decide for themselves whether they will make religious marriage services available to same-sex couples. "A significant, unique contribution that the United Church brings to this debate is the denomination's own experience of making same-sex marriage ceremonies available to its members and, at the same time, respecting the right of those within the denomination who are opposed to such services," explains the General Secretary of the General Council, the Rev. Dr. Jim Sinclair. IMF and World Bank Heads at WCC Headquarters October 18, 2004, GENEVA - World Bank (WB) president James D. Wolfensohn and International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director Agustín Carstens will join WCC general secretary Samuel Kobia and WCC president from Africa, Agnes Abuom for a high-level encounter between the three organizations to take place on 22 October, 2004 in Geneva's Ecumenical Centre. The encounter, which is culminating a series initiated in February 2003, will take the form of a panel roundtable, moderated by Cornelio Sommaruga, former President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, with further discussion with participants. Members of the three organizations and invited guests from social movements and ecumenical organizations will participate in the encounter. A statement on future common action, highlighting areas of common ground and areas of continued difference amongst the organizations, will be presented after the encounter. Iraqi Christians Say They Want to Stay Despite Bombs October 20, 2004, BANGKOK - Syrian Catholic Archbishop Basilios Georges Casmoussa of Mosul, had been speaking in Bangkok to a global gathering of Christian media specialists about religious coexistence in Iraq when five churches in Baghdad were bombed. The bombings on Oct. 16 prompted new Vatican concern about the fate of Iraqi Christian communities who make up about 700,000 of the country's 25 million people. No one was injured or killed, but several of the churches were reported to be badly damaged. There are five Evangelical (Presbyterian) churches in Iraq. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Middle East coordinator Victor Makari was traveling in the region and was unavailable for comment. October 21, 2004, LOUISVILLE - Three top officials of the Presbyterian Church (USA) have written a letter to Jewish leaders with whom they met last month, renouncing a meeting earlier this week in southern Lebanon between a PC(USA) delegation and representatives of Hezbollah. General Assembly Stated Clerk Clifton Kirkpatrick, General Assembly Council Executive Director John Detterick and General Assembly Moderator Rick Ufford-Chase said the meeting between members of the church's Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) and Hezbollah representatives during a two-week fact-finding mission to the Middle East was "misguided at best" and denounced statements made by delegation members after the meeting as "reprehensible." Spitting Triggers Jewish-christian Tension in Jerusalem's Old City October 19, 2004, JERUSALEM - Tensions in Jerusalem's Old City have flared following an incident in which a Jewish seminary student spat at an archbishop during a procession from the city's Armenian Quarter to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a site commemorating Jesus' crucifixion and burial. Israeli police arrested the seminary student, but Christian clerics living in the walled Old City say such assaults by ultra-Orthodox Jews is a frequent occurrence. James Vanderkam Assembles the First History of the Jewish High Priests October 18, 2004, MINNEAPOLIS - From one of the most authoritative and respected scholars of early Judaism comes From Joshua to Caiaphus: High Priests after the Exile, a unique history of the central actors in Israel's religious and civil history. Beginning late in the Old Testament period and continuing for the next six hundred years, the Jewish high priests were often the most important members of Jewish society. They not only possessed religious authority but also exercised political control. This book gathers and assesses the surviving evidence about each of the fifty-one men who served as high priest from about 515 BCE until approximately 70 CE when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed. Scholars Explore Religion and Spirituality in the Arts October 20, 2004, MINNEAPOLIS - Translucence: Religion, the Arts, and Imagination is the result of an ongoing seminar, led by Ronald Thiemann of Harvard Divinity School, taking the arts as the point of departure for consideration of the role of religion in public life, particularly the ways in which Lutheran intellectuals and academics might participate. The emergence of religious meaning in the arts (especially music and literature) and the nature of the spirituality that results are considered by the seminar participants in this new resource that explores the embodied word-personal and public. Current Physics Affects Ideas of God October 21, 2004, MINNEAPOLIS - Finally a Christian theologian has systematically rethought traditional trinitarian ideas about God in light of contemporary cosmology and physics. In Participating in God, Samuel Powell's bold proposal harvests from two of the most fruitful fields of recent theology-trinitarian theory and religion-and-science-and crafts a creative new vision of how we and all creation participate in the life and work of the triune God. Mark Smith's the Memoirs of God Provides Brilliant New Approach to Israel's History October 18, 2004, MINNEAPOLIS - Mark Smith's The Memoirs of God: History, Memory, and the Experience of the Divine in Ancient Israel is an insightful work that examines the variety of ways that collective memory, oral tradition, history, and history writing intersect. Integral to all this are the ways in which ancient Israel was shaped by the monarchy, the Babylonian exile, and the dispersions of Judeans and the ways in which Israel conceptualized and interacted with the divine-Yahweh as well as other deities.
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