Front Page

ELCA Bishops Comment on Sexuality Studies Task Force Report

January 24, 2005, CHICAGO - Many of the 65 synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) wrote letters to professional church leaders, issued public statements or news releases in the wake of the Jan. 13 release of the long-awaited ELCA Studies on Sexuality task force report and recommendations. While the bishops differed on whether they agreed or disagreed with the recommendations, many sounded a pastoral tone in their responses, encouraging further conversation and discussion throughout the church about the report and recommendations.

The Tracks Leading to Auschwitz Are Still in Place

January 26, 2005 – "In a world of violence, poverty, disease and misery for millions" we should "ask ourselves which track we're on, and where it is ultimately leading," as many of the "tracks that led towards Auschwitz are still in place." This was underlined in an article on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, by Rev. Dr Keith Clements, General Secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC). The article will be published tomorrow, Thursday 27 January, in the "Baptist Times," Britain's Baptist weekly newspaper. "I visited Auschwitz in March last year," Clements stated. "Having read and viewed so much about it, it was hard to believe one was now actually there: standing on the most infamous piece of railway track in history, leading through the gate under the Birkenau guardhouse to the platform."

Ecumenism Can Be Key to Breaking Violent Cycles, Says Kearon

January 27, 2005, SAN FRANCISCO - A pyramid of violence, built on the fears of ordinary people and topped by the terrorists who express those fears, is what needs to be dismantled for peace and reconciliation in the world - and though people of faith are part of the problem, they can also form a major component of the solution, according to the Rev. Kenneth Kearon, newly appointed Secretary General of the Anglican Communion, speaking in San Francisco January 24. Kearon, born in Dublin in 1953, was keynote speaker at this year's Wattson Lecture at the University of San Francisco, a private Roman Catholic university in the Jesuit tradition. The Wattson lectures, named for Paul (James Francis) Wattson, the Episcopal priest who founded the Franciscan Society of the Atonement, are conducted each year around issues of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue.

General News

CafePress.com Works to Remove Item Offensive to Sikhs

January 26, 2005, COLUMBUS, Ohio - Responding to a complaint by World Sikh Council - America Region (WSC-AR), CafePress.com, a leading internet marketplace network, has worked with its store to remove an item that had the Khanda (Sikh religious symbol) printed on underwear for sale on its website. WSC-AR contacted CafePress.com this afternoon via e-mail and phone. In an e-mail to CafePress.com, WSC-AR wrote, "We are very disappointed to know that CafePress is selling an item offensive to the Sikh faith.. The (underwear) with the Sikh symbol and the accompanying language is racist and demeans the Sikh faith. This is especially hurtful because the Sikh community has been preferentially victimized after 9/11." WSC-AR requested CafePress.com to immediately remove this item from the website as it is offensive to the Sikh faith.

Church's Media Outreach Campaign Announces New Ads, Resources

January 28, 2005, HOUSTON - The United Methodist Church will expand its campaign to reach those seeking spiritual meaning in their lives with new commercials, training and resources for local churches this fall. The church will spend up to $25 million on television advertising and related efforts during the next four years, said Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton, speaking at a Jan. 28 press conference on the site of the denominational "Healthy Churches" event. More than 1,300 regional church leaders from across the United States are participating in the gathering. The denomination has 8.2 million U.S. members in more than 35,000 congregations.

Forgiveness Offers Hope for Healing after National Conflicts

January 27, 2005 – Wearing an embroidered purple suit, Nohle Mohapi sat straight and dignified as she recounted her imprisonment, the interrogations, beatings and torture under South Africa's apartheid government. Placed in solitary confinement after her activist husband died in police custody in 1976, she spoke of electric shocks, cigarette burns and the suffocating hours spent with a sack over her head as interrogators tried to extract confessions of terrorism. Mohapi's riveting testimony in 1996 opened a seven-year quest for truth by South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which has become a model for seeking national healing and forgiveness in a world where no country can claim a flag completely free of stains. While not the first commission of its kind, its process was unique and attracted unprecedented worldwide attention, emerging as a beacon of hope for many nations emerging from brutal civil wars and prolonged conflict and seeking to break the cycle of hatred and violence.

Nurse Leads Bible Translation Effort in Ethiopia
after More than 30 Years, Anuak Project Nears Completion

January 24, 2005, LOUISVILLE - Marie "Breezy" Lusted was an unlikely candidate to guide a Bible translation project in Ethiopia. A registered nurse, Lusted had no linguistic training and no formal theological education. Yet when nobody stepped forward to translate the Old Testament into Anuak, Lusted volunteered for the job. Inspired by a love for the church, languages and the Scripture, this recently retired PC(USA) mission worker has spent more than two decades on the project. An estimated 90,000 Anuak people will have a complete Bible in their native tongue within two years thanks to Lusted and her colleagues. Lusted continues working on the translation as a PC(USA) mission volunteer.

Church Would Be Healthier If Bishops Elected Nationally, Dean Says

January 24, 2005, SAN DIEGO - Electing bishops on a national instead of regional basis could be good for the United Methodist Church, a seminary dean told denominational leaders. "We've become an increasingly regional church, (and) we would be healthier as a church if we elected bishops on a national basis," said the Rev. Russell Richey, dean of United Methodist-related Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. Speaking to members of the Connectional Table, Richey noted that before the 1939 merger of three Methodist churches, elections were conducted on a national level.

Ecumenical News

Communiqué from the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations

January 28, 2005, MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica - The Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations (IASCER) met in Montego Bay, Jamaica from Sunday, 4th to 10th December 2004. The Most Revd Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies, welcomed the commission on behalf of his province and the Bishop of the Diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. IASCER continued with its work reviewing the present international ecumenical dialogues involving Anglicans, and provincial and regional initiatives towards unity with other Christians. The commission addressed relations with the Oriental Churches as a matter of particular concern. The commission also considered the Windsor Report and its ecumenical implications as part of the process of consultation and reflection requested by the Primates' Standing Committee through the work of the Reception Reference Group under the chairmanship of the Most Revd Peter Kwong, Archbishop of Hong Kong. The response prepared by IASCER will be submitted to the Reception Reference Group.

"Wave of Faith" Multi-faith Fundraising Event February 6

An all community fundraiser for helping those affected by the tsunami tragedy in South Asia will be held on Sunday, February 6, from 6 - 10 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in Bellevue, Washington. "Wave of Faith: Helping turn the Tide" will bring together Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Sikhs and Buddhists. Tickets are $20 per person and dinner will be provided.

Spiritual Rebellion: Interview with Leonardo Boff

January 27, 2005 – "Is it possible to live calmly and happily when you know that two-thirds of human beings are suffering, hungry and poor?" The Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff, one of the founders of liberation theology, believes that the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth are real offences for any theology which struggles to bring about more justice. Boff was one of the guests at the World Forum for Theology and Liberation (21-25 January, Porto Alegre, Brazil). In this interview, given in German, he speaks about the prerequisites for a theology committed to social change and about his confidence that change is possible.

Seeking a Theology for Another Possible World

January 24, 2005 – "The other world we are thinking of is the one we have, not a world beyond," said Rev. Orlando Santos de Oliveira. The primate of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil was speaking at the opening session of a theological forum on the theme of "Theology for another possible world." Therefore "The only possible theology is one that engages with a liberating God on a concrete pastoral basis, in dialogue with new religious and social movements and the society we live in," de Oliveira declared. Bringing together 180 theologians from all parts of the world, the World Forum on Theology and Liberation is taking place in Porto Alegre, Brazil from 21-25 January, just before the 26-31 January World Social Forum (WSF).

Body, Soul and Creation : Feminist Contributions to Another Possible World

January 28, 2005 – "It has always been the women who have refused the decisions of the powerful and the destruction of mother earth. It has always been the women who shout out: no more mouths to suffer hunger, no more hands to remain empty, no more children to became the target of machine guns." In her opening remarks at a 27 January panel on "Women's spirituality, life and dignity" during the fifth World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Rev. Eunice Santana from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Puerto Rico emphasized that women have always felt "the interconnection between human beings, the creation and the wholeness of life."

Spanish News

Pastores Comentan Informe De Transparencia Internacional

ene 28, 2005 – QUITO, Ecuador - Un informe de la entidad no gubernamental con sede en Alemania, Transparencia Internacional (TI), en el que se ubica a Latinoamérica entre las regiones del mundo con mayor corrupción, provocó reacciones de líderes de iglesias del continente. Según el llamado Barómetro Global de la Corrupción 2004, los políticos latinoamericanos se cuentan entre los más venales. El Barómetro es calculado sobre la base de una encuesta llevada a cabo en 64 países del mundo entre más de 50 mil personas, en la que se preguntó al público en general hasta qué punto percibe que ciertas instituciones (políticas, parlamentos, policía, entre otros) son afectadas por la corrupción.

La Rebelión Del Espíritu: Entrevista a Leonardo Boff

ene 27, 2005 – "¿Se puede llevar una vida tranquila y feliz, con la conciencia de que dos tercios de los seres humanos sufren, mueren de hambre y están empobrecidos?" Para el teólogo católico brasileño Leonardo Boff, uno de los padres fundadores de la Teología de la Liberación, el estímulo para una teología que lucha por más justicia es el grito de los pobres, el grito de la tierra. En la siguiente entrevista, realizada en idioma alemán, el invitado al Foro Mundial de Teología y Liberación que tuvo lugar del 21 al 25 de enero en Porto Alegre, Brasil, habla sobre los requisitos para una teología comprometida y sobre su confianza en la posibilidad del cambio.

Violencia En Los Medios Preocupa A Evangélicos

ene 27, 2005 – MANAGUA, Nicaruga - Cuatro empresas de televisión y algunas radioemisoras, como Radio Ya, libran una enconada disputa por la audiencia y cada día ofrecen a sus oyentes, como desayuno, notas rojas donde reflejan la violencia, denunció el pastor Félix Ruiz , de la Convencion Bautista de Nicaragua. El pastor William González, presidente de la Universidad Evangélica Nicaragüense Martin Luther King (UENIC) anotó que la violencia tiene sus raíces en la pérdida de valores morales, espirituales y éticos, pero que los actuales programas de televisión, desde los muñecos hasta la nota roja, no contribuyen a controlarla, sino más bien a incrementarla.

Iglesia Evangélica Pide Ser Tomada En Cuenta En El Diálogo Nacional

ene 26, 2005, MANAGUA, Nicaragua - Los evangélicos de Nicaragua empezaron a orar para que el Diálogo Nacional, que se inció el miércoles 19, ayude a resolver la crisis del país, pero pidieron que sus iglesias participen en el mismo. El pastor y rector del Seminario Teológico Bautista de Managua, Walt Morgan, comentó que el diálogo debe abordar los problemas más sentidos del pueblo, como son el desempleo, la salud, educación y créditos para los productores y discutir sobre las elecciones de funcionarios públicos. Si el diálogo actúa con una agenda oculta, lo rechazo, porque solo con una discusión abierta y sincera se arreglan las crisis políticas, indicó el líder bautista.

National News

2005 Faith-based Taco Bell Truth Tour to Demand 'Fair Food,' Justice for Farmworkers

January 28, 2005, LOUISVILLE, Ky. - People of faith are serious about "fair food" and ending exploitation of farm workers. That's the message that faith-based supporters of the consumer boycott of Taco Bell plan to deliver to Taco Bell's parent company, Yum Brands, at a mass rally March 12, 2005, at Yum headquarters in Louisville, Ky. The National Council of Churches USA (NCC) joins with a broad range of organizations in urging people of faith and conscience from around the nation to converge on Louisville for this peaceful rally organized by the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, whose members pick tomatoes that go into Taco Bell products.

International News

'Devastation of Biblical Proportions' PC(USA) Navy Chaplain Aids Tsunami Relief Effort

January 25, 2005, U-TAPHO NAVAL AIR BASE, Thailand - Chaplain (Lt. Cmdr.) Michael Hogg is no stranger to Phuket, Thailand. The 17-year military veteran had visited the region in 1998 during a liberty port call after six months in the Middle East. "Phuket was beautiful. We called it Fantasy Island," said Chaplain Hogg, a PC(USA) Navy chaplain who's a member of Los Ranchos Presbytery. "Thailand is known as the place of a thousand smiles, and for good reason. It's beautiful, with great people." But on a flight into Phuket Jan. 9, Fantasy Island was nowhere to be found.

ERD's Online "Crisis Center" Provides Updates on South Asia Response

January 28, 2005 – Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) has launched a special "Crisis Center" section on its website [www.er-d.org/tsunami/] following the tsunamis in South Asia, featuring program updates and useful resources such as reflections, bulletin inserts and sermons. "ERD is actively working in South Asia to provide initial emergency relief and staff is currently in affected countries evaluating our long-term response," said Sandra Swan, ERD president. "Our site can be used to get the latest information about our work and find out how the overwhelming generosity from Episcopalians is helping rebuild lives."

ERD Provides Relief after Drought in Burundi

January 28, 2005 – Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is providing emergency assistance to people in northern Burundi suffering from a severe drought. In the provinces of Kirundo, Muyinga, and Ngozi, rain shortages have caused crops to dry up, food shortages are affecting an estimated 20,000 children who are suffering from malnutrition, and at least 350,000 people are in danger of starvation. The number of livestock has decreased dramatically, resulting in a loss of income and food for many people. "For the last three years, the rains have either been insufficient or have come at the wrong time for crops to be planted, to grow, or to be harvested," reported the Church of Burundi. "Hope diminishes as the little amount of food people have disappears and they become totally dependent on help from others."

Reviews

Complete Edition of the Hammer of God Now Available in English

January 28, 2005, MINNEAPOLIS - This classic work of fiction by Bo Giertz features three novellas on the theme of spiritual regeneration. In them, we meet three Swedish pastors who learn the necessity of relying on God's grace the hard way-by failing. They fall short of their pastoral duties through public humiliation, self-doubt, inability to accept God's promises in their own lives, and divisions and quarreling among their parishioners. Ultimately each man rejects temptations and permits the Holy Spirit to work through him. This new edition features the final chapter, never before published in English bringing the story of Pastor Gosta Torvik and his friend Gunnar Schenstedt to conclusion. It also includes a new introduction to the book, which provides more historical and theological background to deepen the reader's understanding of the stories.

Twentieth Anniversary Edition Celebrates the Power and Beauty of Guerrillas of Grace

January 27, 2005, MINNEAPOLIS - Augsburg Books is happy to announce the release of Guerrillas of Grace: Prayers for the Battle–Twentieth Anniversary Edition. This classic collection of challenging and inspiring prayers by Ted Loder has sold more than 75,000 copies since it was first published in 1984. Loder, called "the poet of prayer' by Tex Sample, explains, "prayer . . . is always guerrilla action in the world of time on behalf of the eternal."

A Spiritual Exploration of Human Emotions

January 27, 2005, MINNEAPOLIS - You may have decided to begin, or to continue, the rewarding process of exploring your inner life and living in harmony with your outer world. Emotional Wisdom: A Journal of Prayer and Reflection from Augsburg Books is a tool for such personal discovery and development, in company with your God. Emotions are the spice of life. Author Robert Maclennan leads the reader on a spiritual exploration of human emotions. Each of the forty-four meditations begins with a biblical quotation; moves into a reflection on an emotion's purpose, expression, and metaphorical connection with nature; and finishes with thoughtful questions for reflection.