Front Page

Press Gonzales on Torture, International Law, NCC's Edgar, Other Religious Leaders Say

January 5, 2004, WASHINGTON - Today, some of the nation's leading religious leaders and organizations, including the Rev. Dr. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, expressed grave concerns with Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales in a letter to Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter and Ranking Member Senator Patrick Leahy. In the letter, sent on the eve of Gonzales' congressional hearing, the leaders ask for a "vigorous investigation of Gonzales' views on torture and international law and hold him to a high moral standard of accountability for his actions." Gonzales' views on domestic law enforcement practices are also among the religious groups' primary concerns. In the letter they cite how since the 9/11 tragedy numerous reports of people abused, profiled or otherwise mistreated by law enforcement and immigration practices puts at risk America's safety, trust and credibility. The groups also say that because of Gonzales' views, there is a broader potential problem of "spreading fear and mistrust" throughout communities, particularly among Arabs and Muslims.

South Asia Trip, Weblog Probes Tsunami-related Faith Questions

January 5, 2004, NEW YORK CITY - How do survivors of December's devastating earthquake and tsunami in Southern Asia find meaning amidst that tragedy? What needs can the U.S. faith community meet - and how can the world's current outpouring of concern be sustained after the television cameras leave? These are among questions that the Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, Interfaith Relations Director for the National Council of Churches USA, will be asking religious leaders and survivors during travels in Sri Lanka Jan. 7-13 and Sumatra, Indonesia, Jan. 14-19. The December earthquake and tsunami left as many as five million people homeless in 12 nations of Southern Asia, and the United Nations estimated the death toll at 150,000 and still climbing. Torrential rains hampered relief efforts over the New Year's weekend, with safe drinking water and sanitation at a premium.

United Methodist Online Giving Tops $1 Million for Aid Effort

January 5, 2005, NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The United Methodist Church has surpassed $1 million in online gifts in response to the Dec. 26 tsunami in the Indian Ocean, Bishop Peter D. Weaver, president of the denomination's Council of Bishops, announced Jan. 4. "There is no question United Methodist people are very generous people - that is not just about money, it is about prayers, heart, caring and love," Weaver said. "Our United Methodists, as part of the larger human family, have again demonstrated love for neighbor as well as love of God with their response to the tsunami earthquake disaster." People have identified with the need and are looking for ways to respond, agreed the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive with United Methodist Communications, the denomination's communication agency. "The significance (of raising $1 million) is more than the amount of money; it is the fact that the church was available to people to receive their donations and to act in their behalf. That is a very significant role for us to play."

General News

Storms, Lawsuit, Candidates' Letter among Top 2004 ELCA Stories

January 7, 2005, CHICAGO - Natural disasters, a civil trial in Texas, the presiding bishop's letter to U.S. presidential candidates, sexuality issues and a revival of two well-known animated characters from television in the 1960s and 1970s were among the top news stories of 2004 involving the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The top stories were determined by the ELCA News Service, ELCA Department for Communication. Staff include John R. Brooks, director; Melissa Ramirez Cooper, associate director; and Frank F. Imhoff, associate director.

American Baptists in Mission Reformatting Scheduled

January 5, 2005, VALLEY FORGE, Pa. - American Baptists In Mission, the quarterly feature magazine of American Baptist Churches USA, will be reformatted as a quality printed newsletter and expanded Web-based resource in spring 2005. In announcing the change, Richard W. Schramm, deputy general secretary for communication, Office of the General Secretary, emphasized "American Baptist Churches USA, like many church organizations, is being confronted by expanding opportunities for sharing mission through electronic media, which has become an increasingly cost-effective and user-friendly means of telling our story." "A large number of American Baptists now are comfortable receiving-and responding to-information disseminated through internet communication," he said. "And yet while our General Board has affirmed computer-based communication as the denominational standard, we all know that quality print media needs to remain accessible for everyone who wants or needs it."

ELCA Wellness Team, Mayo Clinic Offer 2005 Health Risk Assessment

January 7, 2005, CHICAGO - As part of their "Healthy Leaders Enhance Lives" wellness campaign, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Board of Pensions, Minneapolis, and ELCA Division for Ministry teamed up with Mayo Clinic Health Management Resources, Rochester, Minn., to offer ELCA leaders, employees and family members use of the Mayo Clinic Health Risk Assessment from Jan. 6 through March 13 at http://www.elcaforwellness.org/ on the Web. "The health risk assessment will help people get moving in 2005. To do so, we encourage people to focus on ways they can increase physical activity and decrease their caloric intake," said the Rev. Ronald T. Glusenkamp, vice president for church/sponsor relations, ELCA Board of Pensions. "Healthy leaders really do enhance lives, including their own," he said.

Epiphany Letter Calls UCC Members to Be Welcoming into 'Consoling Embrace of Christ'

January 6, 2005, CLEVELAND - The Rev. John H. Thomas, general minister and president of the United Church of Christ today (Jan. 6) released a pastoral Epiphany letter calling UCC members to a deeper understanding of Jesus' radical welcome. Highlighting the UCC's December 2004 television ad campaign, Thomas wrote, "The attention the commercial controversy drew to our church provided a unique opportunity to speak the Gospel in an accent not often heard in our culture. Coming in the wake of a political season laced with commercials marked by deception and trading on fear, a message frequently echoed by the highly visible theology and values of the extreme religious and cultural right, our voice broadcast an often-silenced message of grace."

Ecumenical News

"Year of the Family" to Be Observed in 2005 by the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America

January 7, 2005, NEW YORK - His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, has announced on behalf of the Holy Eparchial Synod that 2005 will be observed as the "Year of the Family." This national campaign, which will include programs, activities, and resources for all levels of the Church in America, was officially launched at the 37th Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress held in New York City, July 25-30, 2004. In announcing the "Year of the Family," Archbishop Demetrios stated, "Through this special emphasis on the family, our goal is both to affirm the importance of the family as a blessed gift of God and to address the specific needs of families as they try to live in a very challenging culture and world. As Orthodox Christians we know that each and every family needs to be connected to the Church, a place where true relationships with God and one another are nurtured and sustained. Thus, through this program we will be working to bring more aspects of our faith into the home and to bring more families into the Church."

Icons: Kanuga Workshop Set to Write Theology in Paint

January 4, 2005 – "Icons: The Gospel in Line and Color" will be the theme of a five-day retreat/workshop sponsored by Kanuga Conferences in North Carolina February 12-18. Many Christians, especially those in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, regard the icon as a sacred image expressing what the Church teaches, offering theology "written" in paint. Suzanne Schleck, who experienced a call to write icons in 1989 and began studying with the Rev. John Walsted, master icongrapher and expert on 14th to 16th century Russian icons, will lead both beginners and those experienced in writing icons during workshop sessions. Schleck will engage students in a process of creating art as a way living out each person's identity as being made in the image of God.

Tsunami Disaster Response

See Photos of the Tsunami and its Devastation – Contribute Online

United Church of Christ Provides Prayer and Monetary Aid to Tsunami Survivors

December 31, 2004, CLEVELAND - The United Church of Christ today announced that it has already sent nearly $100,000 in support of ecumenical and interfaith efforts to aid survivors of the devastating earthquake and tsunamis that struck Asia. "Fifty thousand dollars has been wire-transferred to Church World Service to cover the cost of shipping a 40-foot container of medicine and supplies to Asia," says Susan Sanders, disaster relief executive for the United Church of Christ. "The value of the shipment is $500,000." The funds were provided from the UCC's One Great Hour of Sharing offering. Church World Service is the disaster relief arm of the National Council of Churches.

Lutheran Churches in South Asia Continue Tsunami Recovery

January 5, 2005, CHICAGO - Lutheran churches in South Asia, in partnership with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), continue to raise and provide funds and distribute emergency supplies to survivors of a tidal wave that struck southern Asia Dec. 26, when an underwater earthquake created the tsunami that claimed lives in several coastal countries of the Indian Ocean. According to the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), as of Jan. 3 more than 150,000 people in 12 countries were confirmed dead. The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the Lutheran tradition. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, the LWF has 138 member churches in 77 countries. The ELCA is a member of the LWF.

'God ... Had His Hand on Us' in Disaster, Pastor's Daughter Says

December 31, 2004 – The phone rang at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, Dec. 26, and when the Rev. Andy Pearson picked up the receiver, he heard his daughter's voice on the other end of the line. "Dad, we're OK." Susan Sweat and her husband, Maj. Scott Sweat, were vacationing on the Thai island of Phi Phi when a tsunami hit that day.

United Church of Canada Launches an Emergency Appeal for Tsunami Relief and Reconstruction

January 4, 2005, TORONTO - The United Church of Canada announced today that it has launched an emergency appeal asking its congregations for donations designated for tsunami relief and reconstruction. The United Church's Tsunami Appeal will enable global partners in Asia and East Africa who are working to address the need for immediate relief and long-term reconstruction following the devastating earthquake and tsunami on December 26, 2004. Funds raised through this emergency appeal will be transferred directly to United Church partners in the regions affected by this natural disaster. Some of the funds will also be channelled to Action By Churches Together (ACT), a global alliance of faith-based agencies associated with the World Council of Churches. ACT has the capacity to quickly assess and intervene in emergency disaster situations. Its members based in South and Southeast Asia were able to mobilize humanitarian relief operations in India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand hours after the tragedy struck. On December 29, ACT issued an $8 million dollar (US) appeal for financial support for disaster relief in the region.

United Methodist Chaplain Serves in Mission of Mercy

January 6, 2005 – In a sea of despair, Navy Chaplain Lt. Gregory J. McCrimmon sees himself as a lifeline representing God's love. The Rev. McCrimmon, a United Methodist, is one of four chaplains aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, operating in the ocean near Thailand and Indonesia. Helicopters make repeated trips to areas devastated by the Dec. 26 tsunami. Crews bring in supplies and take out the wounded most in need of medical treatment. "There are a lot of bodies," he says. "I would say at least 30 to 40 percent of the dead have been washed to sea. The percentage may be higher than that; I think that is a very conservative estimate."

United Methodists Tap Ingenuity, Compassion to Raise Relief Funds

Jan. 3, 2005 – He wasn't sure it would work, but the Rev. Dann Houghton was willing to give it a try. As pastor of two small churches in Oregon, Houghton decided to hold a "Tsunami Sing" before the Jan. 2 Sunday service. "For a donation to the relief fund, we sang requested hymns,"

Christian Reformed Agencies Respond to Tsunami Disaster

January 4, 2005 – The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRC) is sending its international relief team leader to work with staff already on the scene in countries hardest hit by the tsunami in South Asia. Jacob Kramer, a Burlington, Ont. resident working with the Canadian branch of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), will leave this weekend for a two-week trip to assess needs and plan for emergency aid in India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Meanwhile, CRWRC is working with partner organizations to bring relief to those in desperate need. Its plans for the short and medium term call for providing immediate food, clothing and shelter to thousands of displaced people, establishing water storage and wells and providing livelihoods assets, and looking ahead to long-term community rebuilding and housing projects.

Bishops' Urgent Appeal for Indonesia

December 27, 2004 – The Church of Ireland Archbishops and Bishops tonight issued an urgent appeal for help in getting aid to the thousands of people who are suffering following the earthquake in Indonesia. The Most Revd Robin Eames, Archbishop of Armagh, and the Most Revd John Neill, Archbishop of Dublin said: "This has been a truly catastrophic event and we are appealing to everyone to help save lives and bring some comfort to those who have been devastated by this disaster. Please give generously and be part of the relief work that is now underway. "

Tragedies Giving Birth to Miracles: a Missionary Letter from the Risakotta-adeneys in Indonesia

January 4, 2005. YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia - Today is New Year's Eve and also our wedding anniversary. Normally it is a day of celebration. But we don't feel much like celebrating. There is a knot in the stomach and tears just behind our eyes as we are engulfed with the news of the earthquake and tidal wave. Thank you to the many who sent emails asking about our safety. We are about 1,500 miles south of the devastation in north Sumatra. The only indication we felt, as we camped on the South coast of Java at the time of the earthquake, was gale force winds, whipping the rain from all directions. In Yogyakarta there is no physical disaster, but the emotional impact is incalculable. On every street corner there are students collecting money for Aceh. Almost everyone in this university town has friends from Aceh (the northernmost province in Sumatra). Very few know if their families are alive or dead. "But there will be no resurrection on this earth for the 100,000 dead in Aceh. Instead the numbers will swell like the bodies that are putrefying in the rain."

People in the News

Prominent United Methodist Political Leaders Die

January 4, 2005 – The deaths of two political pioneers - Shirley Chisholm and Robert T. Masui – are bringing outpourings of praise for their faith and service to their country and to the United Methodist Church. Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and one of the first women to vie for presidency, was also a devoted United Methodist who "cared deeply for children." She died Jan. 1 at a nursing home near her home in Ormond Beach, Fla. She was 80. U.S. Representative Robert T. Matsui (D) California, a former Japanese-American prisoner during World War II, died suddenly Jan. 2 following a rare blood disorder. Matsui was baptized in 1980 at Sacramento (Calif.) Japanese United Methodist Church. Though he lived on the east coast, Matsui and his family considered the Sacramento church their home church.