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Church World Service Deploys Regional Teams, Sends $900,000 in Initial Supplies to Aid in South Asia Tsunami Disaster

December 29, 2004, NEW YORK - International humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) announced today that it is expediting more than $900,000 in initial relief supplies and deploying emergency assistance teams to aid in recovery efforts in Sri Lanka and Indonesia, following Sunday's devastating earthquakes and tsunami that have killed more than 67,000 people in South Asia and areas of coastal East Africa. "Bodies are still being found or washed ashore," said Rick Augsburger, Director of Emergency Response Programs for Church World Service. "About a third of the victims are children, and thousands are still missing," he said. " Sunday's massive earthquakes and tsunami tidal wave that swept away coastlines without warning from Indonesia to Africa are being characterized as the worst natural disaster in recent history. Augsburger said New York-headquartered Church World Service has issued a U.S.-.wide fundraising appeal for survivors of the disaster. "We've already deployed rapid response teams in the region and issued initial rapid response grants for relief efforts our partners are undertaking in concert with us in Indonesia and India."

Click here for other Photos showing the power of the earthquake induced tsunami.

General News

Archpastoral Message of His Beatitude Metropolitan Herman at the Beginning of the New Year

January 1, 2005 – During the last week of December 2004, the joy with which we celebrated the Nativity of Our Lord was darkened by reports of what has been termed the worst natural disaster in recorded history: the earthquake and resulting tsunami which left a path of death and destruction from Southeast Asia to the shores of Ethiopia. The media images of this disaster could only leave one speechless. And reports of tens of thousands of lost lives, many of them children, staggered even the most hardened of heart. Standing as we are on the threshold of a new year, filled with hope for a brighter future for ourselves and for a world gripped by terror, inhumanity, war, and natural disaster, we are once again challenged to give thanks to God for all things, for His many blessings, and for the loving kindness He has bestowed upon us. Such disasters serve as a reminder that the world is indeed fallen, and that the tragedies which seem so remote could surely befall any one of us, at any time. And they also serve as a reminder that, as Christians, we cannot be indifferent to the suffering of those we are enjoined to call "brother" and "sister." Their sorrow is our sorrow. Their loss is our loss. Their lives, rooted in the Creator Himself, are as sacred as our own; as such, they cannot be considered to be of less worth than our own. While giving thanks to God for sparing us the pain and unimaginable grief so many have suffered, we are prompted to face the new year with the desire to become more compassionate, more merciful, more loving-in a word, more God-like-in order to reveal God's presence in a world which all too often fails or refuses to see it.

United Methodists Use 'USA Today' Ad to Help Tsunami Victims

December 30, 2004, NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The United Methodist Church will use a full-page advertisement in USA Today to offer a message of healing and encourage support for relief efforts following the Dec. 26 earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The advertisement is scheduled to appear in USA Today's Jan. 3 edition in the United States and in its international editions on Tuesday, Jan. 4, said Bishop Peter D. Weaver, president of the denomination's Council of Bishops.

New Year's Message Addresses Pain from December 26 Disaster

December 30, 2004 – The tidal waves that struck countries along the Indian Ocean prompted the Rev. R. Randy Day to set aside an earlier text he had developed for a New Year's message.

Instead, the top staff executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries wrote his 2005 New Year's message in the form of a prayer.

Tsunami Disaster Response

ELCA Member Killed by Tsunami in South Asia

December 28, 2004, CHICAGO - Tamara Mendis, 55, a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), died when a tsunami struck southern Asia Dec. 26. Mendis and her daughter, Eranthie Mendis, 25, had been traveling by train along the Indian Ocean coast between the cities of Maratuwa and Hikkaduaw, Sri Lanka, when the tsunami struck. Mendis is survived by her husband, the Rev. Eardley Mendis, pastor of the Purna Jiwan Mission, a South Asian congregation of the ELCA in Chicago's Norwood Park. According to a Dec. 28 e-mail to staff of the ELCA churchwide office here, family members in Sri Lanka told Eardley Mendis that a half-hour before his wife and daughter were to reach their destination "a 30-foot wave came from nowhere and crashed into the train, toppling it. Passengers were submerged for several minutes before the water subsided." Eranthie Mendis "tried pulling her mother to safety, but people screamed at her to go because another wave was coming. She walked about 10 miles to a family home in shock, her father said."

International Orthodox Christian Charities Joins Earthquake Response

December 27, 2004, BALTIMORE, MD - International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC) is joining with its partner Church World Service to respond immediately to the massive earthquake disaster throughout Southern Asia. Together with CWS, IOCC is developing a regional response to the crisis, focusing initially on hardest-hit areas in Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, and elsewhere, and CWS assessment and relief teams are on their way to the region now.

Tsunami Aid: Bulletin Insert Offered; Response Seen as Long-term

December 29, 2004 – Continuing the Episcopal Church's response to tsunami-torn south Asia, Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) has prepared a bulletin insert for use in congregations (see on-line address below) to support aid efforts foreseen to be long-term. Noting that immediate emergency response will aid children and families devastated by one of the worst natural disasters in recent times, ERD staff members say the agency will continue monitoring the situation and assess the ongoing needs of people in areas affected by the tsunamis.

American Baptists Respond to Devastation in Asia

December 30, 2004, VALLEY FORGE, Pa. - In the aftermath of massive earthquakes and tsunamis (tidal waves) that have killed over 114,000 people and caused enormous destruction across a dozen countries in and around the Indian Ocean, International Ministries and its partners are undertaking initial response efforts. Through One Great Hour of Sharing, $20,000 in undesignated contributions has already been sent to support the relief efforts of Church World Service, Baptist World Aid and partners in India and Thailand.

In Response to Sunday's Earthquake and Resulting Tsunamis in Southern Asia

December 29, 2004 – On behalf of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada, I wish to offer deepest feeling for the massive suffering experienced by the people of Southern Asia as a result of the earthquake and resulting tsunami. Seldom have humans and all of the creation had to face such awesome force. The toll is yet untotaled, if it ever will be. Our deepest prayers are with those who have lost so much - a woman who lost eleven children, a Chicago pastor who lost his Sri Lankan wife, 2000 plus fishermen off the southeast coast of India, lost. For many of us this is simply unimaginable.

Assemblies of God Responds to Tsunami Victims

December 30, 2004 – Assemblies of God Relief efforts were in motion within hours after a series of tsunamis hit coastal towns in Asia and Africa Sunday, killing over 100,000 people in twelve countries and leaving millions homeless. Convoy of Hope is working with AG World Missions to ship emergency supplies to affected regions. Relief funds are also being sent immediately so missionaries and national churches can quickly begin meeting needs.

Middle East News

Sabeels Christmas Message 2004: The Defiant Spirit of Christmas

On behalf of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center Board and Staff I would like to send to all of our friends, local and international, our sincere Christmas greetings. I would also like to express our heartfelt gratitude for all the support that our friends give us. May the Joy, Peace, and Love of Christmas Remain with You Throughout the New Year.

Reviews

Leading British Thinker Queries Mysticism

December 27, 2004, MINNEAPOLIS - Fortress Press will soon release Two Worlds Are Ours: An Introduction to Christian Mysticism. In this masterful historical survey, preeminent theologian John Macquarrie demonstrates how Christians, especially the great mystics, have experienced at their own "radiant core" the love and presence of God. The word mysticism often evokes ecstatic visions, cruel asceticism, and esoteric teaching. Yet, Macquarrie maintains, mystics are better thought of as people who exhibit common human curiosity, long to explore religious mystery, and ultimately find a deep personal relationship with God.