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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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February 15, 2005, LOUISVILLE – It was a three-day crash course on the Israel-Palestine conflict and where the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) stands on the issues, and by the time it was over participants had enough resource material to overload an empty briefcase. "Steps Toward Peace in Israel and Palestine," held here Feb. 10-12, brought together more than 200 Presbyterians from synods and presbyteries throughout the country to better understand the actions last summer of the 216th General Assembly related to Israel and Palestine. Jews Balk at PC(USA)'s Explanation for Divestment February 15, 2005, WEST PALM BEACH, FL – After months of talking the beat goes on. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) explains why it's considering pulling investments from some companies doing business with Israel, and Jewish leaders dismiss the church's position as unfair and misguided. "The problem with all of this is we are not talking with each other, we are talking at each other," said Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, director of interfaith affairs for the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). "And we're not saying the things that facilitate dialogue." The story was no different last Saturday when the Rev. Jay Rock, the PC(USA)'s interfaith relations coordinator, addressed ADL leaders to tell the church's side of the divestment story and to discuss interfaith relations. Theologians Warn of ‘False Gospel' on the Environment February 14, 2005, WASHINGTON – In an effort to refute what they call a "false gospel" and to change destructive attitudes and actions concerning the environment, a group of theologians, convened by the National Council of Churches USA, today released an open letter calling on Christians to repent of "our social and ecological sins" and to reject teachings that suggest humans are "called" to exploit the Earth without care for how our behavior impacts the rest of God's creation. The statement, "God's Earth is Sacred: An Open Letter to Church and Society in the United States," points out that there is both an environmental and a theological crisis that must be addressed. "Davey and Goliath" Story, Activity Books Now Available February 15, 2005, CHICAGO – Story and activity books about Davey Hansen and his talking dog, Goliath, are now available for children around the world. Scholastic Inc., the world's largest distributor of children's books, published two hardcover storybooks and two activity paperbacks about "Davey and Goliath," a property of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Davey and Goliath is a classic television series aired on commercial television in the 1960s and 1970s. The ELCA's mission with Davey and Goliath is to bring "moral and religious faith-based values to a new generation of children in lively and engaging ways." Our Commitment to Partnership in the Gospel: a Word to the Church from Executive Council February 14, 2005 – The Executive Council has begun its part in the consultative processes called for by the Windsor Report. We recognize that it will be a long pilgrimage as we press on to the goal of reconciliation and healing. We urge all of the Episcopal Church to join us in this process of considering the report and growing in communion with each other and with the whole Anglican Communion. Black Bishops Are Focus of New Poster, Booklet February 17, 2005 – Through the past 130 years, there have been 37 black bishops consecrated in the Episcopal Church. These bishops hail from the African Diaspora, as well as Africa, and they are the focus of a new poster and booklet just released by the Office of Black Ministries at the Episcopal Church Center. In recognition of these leaders, the Episcopal Church's Office of Black Ministries has updated its Black Bishops of the Episcopal Church 1874-2004 wall poster and for the first time added a 37-page booklet containing biographical sketches of each bishop's contribution to the church and community. A 38th bishop in this sequence will soon be consecrated now that Edward A. Gumbs was elected on January 29, bishop of the Virgin Islands. Young Adults Explore Wesleyan Heritage in Brazil February 18, 2005 – When 60 Methodist and United Methodist young adults met in Brazil, they not only explored their common religious heritage but also applied its principles to social issues in the larger world. For Shalom Agtarap, a senior at the University of Washington, fellowship was the key. "Whether it was being together at the table in the cafeteria or praying together in Bible study, impromptu jam sessions with the guitar and flute and even ‘dying' together as we walked up steep hills ... each time was fellowship that created a more sincere time to get to know the other and, eventually, how the other is being impacted by God," he wrote about his experience. Dedication Set for African American Episcopal Archive at Virginia Theological Seminary February 18, 2005 – The African American Episcopal Historical Collection will be formally dedicated in a ceremony at Virginia Theological Seminary, in Alexandria, on Thursday, February 24, at 1:30 pm. The African American Historical Collection solicits, preserves, and makes available for research and public education unique documentary evidence of the African American experience in the Episcopal Church of the United States and its colonial antecedents. These collections consist of written and printed documents, audio and visual recordings, and photographs. The keynote speaker for the dedication will be Bishop Herbert Thompson, of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, and preaching will be the Rev. Canon Angela Ifill, missioner for the Episcopal Church Center's Office of Black Ministries. Lutherans Count 69.5 Million Members Worldwide, 66 Million in LWF February 17, 2005, GENEVA – A one-year increase of 3.63 million Christians among member churches of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) put the total LWF membership at 65,927,334 in 2004, according to the latest statistical data from the LWF. LWF member churches around the world had 62.3 million members in 2003 and 61.7 million in 2001. Including Lutheran churches that are not LWF member churches, membership among Lutheran churches increased by 3.57 million to 69,527,817, representing a growth of 5.4 percent. Lutheran churches worldwide had 65.96 million members in 2003 and 65.39 million members in 2001. Between 2003 and 2004, Lutheran churches that are not LWF member churches lost 60,177 members for a total of 3,600,483. February 13, 2005 – Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold preached at the 11:15 a.m. Holy Eucharist today at St. David's Episcopal Church in Austin, Texas, where the Episcopal Church's Executive Council is meeting February 11-14. Here is the full text of the sermon. Sacred Space Can Enhance, Prayer, Meditation February 16, 2005 – If big family rooms and state-of-the-art kitchens reflect our love of food and family, shouldn't our relationship with God also claim a special space in our homes? For many, the answer is an emphatic "yes." "If you have one place where you settle down to pray or meditate on a regular basis, you can move into it faster and more gently; it's your space for that purpose," says the Rev. Theonia Amenda, a retired United Methodist minister and covenant guidance counselor in Slinger, Wis. "I have a room-it's a guest room, really, but it's also my meditation room-and I have symbols around me that help me focus." Prayer Pager Brings Hope, Healing in Trying Times February 18, 2005, JACKSON, Miss. – Hundreds of miles from their home and friends, Jack and Anita Culp felt numb, watching their son cling to life after a wreck. As they prayed for his survival, a stranger brought something that would give them hope in the family's most trying time. It was a prayer pager. Soon, the family's prayers were joined by thousands from across the country. "It's kind of hard to grasp sometimes that that many people care," said Brandon Culp, 23, who is now undergoing therapy at Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson. Tips for Organizing a Health Ministry February 17, 2005 – United Methodist health care advocates provide these tips for organizing a health ministry. Restating the Ecumenical Vision Demands Conversion, Says Kobia February 15, 2005 – To restate the ecumenical vision for the 21st century requires a profound change in churches and ecumenical bodies, Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia told the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) today. This "is not just a matter of structures," Kobia said in his first report as the organization's general secretary. To respond to today's challenges requires "a process of transformation" of the ecumenical movement "that must be rooted in the conversion to the source of our lives and the life of all creation, the Triune God whom we confess together." Eight New Member Churches, But Total WCC Membership Only Increases by Five – to 347 February 16, 2005 – Eight churches – from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean region – have been received into the fellowship of the World Council of Churches (WCC), but the total number of the Council membership increased from only 342 to 347, since another five member churches have merged into two joint memberships. At the beginning of its 15-22 February meeting, the WCC central committee welcomed the churches as new WCC members. Lenten Fast from Violence: Biblical and Educational Resource Guides Available February 11, 2005 – Lent provides an important opportunity to focus on the challenges of working together to overcome the violence in our culture. The US Committee for the Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV) invites Christians to enter into the Lenten season with a focus on the growing violence in our world and the need for peace and reconciliation. Members from the US Committee for the DOV prepared ‘Lenten Fast from Violence' resource guides highlighting responses of people of faith to overcoming violence with non-violent means. These guides have been organized into six weeks corresponding with the weeks of Lent starting Sunday, February 13, 2005 through Sunday, March 20, 2005. "Ecumenical Conversation" on Human Sexuality Models New Way to Approach Difficult Issues February 17, 2005 – Dialogue and conversation took centre stage at the WCC central committee meeting on Thursday as members broached the subject of human sexuality. Using a proposed new consensus model for conducting meetings, information was presented and discussed without the heated atmosphere that often surrounds such controversial issues. "This is our first encounter with this type of session," central committee member Anne Glynn-Mackoul of the Orthodox Church of Antioch said in introducing the process for the hearing. Glynn-Mackoul, a lawyer from the United States, helped to draft the proposed new consensus rules. "We would ask that you enter into a spirit of discernment," she said. Healing Transforms, Empowers and Reconciles, Moderator Says February 15, 2005 – Ninety years ago, the Ottoman empire began to kill the Armenians within its borders. ystematic genocide took up to a million and a half Armenian lives. By 1923, almost the whole Armenian population of Anatolian Turkey had disappeared. "The past haunts the victims," Catholicos Aram I told the central committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) today, using the painful story of his own people as an example. "We cannot free ourselves from the past unless that past is duly recognized," Aram I said, in the last report of his term as moderator of the committee. Iglesias Del CMI En El Pacífico Piden Solidaridad 18 feb 2005 – Representantes de las iglesias miembro del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) en la región del Pacífico hicieron un llamado a la solidaridad en la reunión del comité central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI). En ella compartieron con los miembros del comité su preocupación por temas como el cambio climático, el VIH/SIDA y los efectos de los ensayos nucleares. Tres oradores, presentados por el pastor Jabez Bryce, de la Iglesia Anglicana de Aotearoa/Nueva Zelanda, expusieron sobre cómo estos asuntos amenazan su cultura y modo de vida. Bryce también agradeció al CMI por su presencia en una región donde hay 19 iglesias miembros y que fue descripta más tarde como un "continente líquido," ya que consiste en pequeñas islas distribuidas en millones de kilómetros cuadrados de océano. Replantear La Visión Ecuménica Exige Conversión, Afirma Kobia 15 feb 2005 – Replantear la visión ecuménica para el siglo XXI requiere un cambio profundo en iglesias y cuerpos ecuménicos, dijo hoy el Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia ante el comité central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI). Este "no sólo es un tema de estructuras," dijo Kobia en su primer informe como secretario general de la organización. Responder a los desafíos de hoy requiere "un proceso de transformación" del movimiento ecuménico "que debe estar enraizado en la conversión a la fuente de nuestras vidas y de la vida de toda la creación, el Dios Trino que confesamos juntos." La Sanidad Transforma, Fortalece Y Reconcilia, Afirma El Moderador Del CMI 15 feb 2005 – Hace noventa años el imperio otomano comenzó a asesinar a los armenios dentro de sus fronteras. El genocidio sistemático se cobró la vida de un millón y medio de armenios. En 1923, casi toda la población armenia de Anatolia turca había desaparecido. "El pasado atormenta a las víctimas," dijo hoy el Catolicós Aram I ante el comité central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), citando la dolorosa historia de su propio pueblo. "No podemos liberarnos del pasado a menos que éste sea debidamente reconocido," dijo Aram I en su último informe en calidad de moderador del comité. Los Jóvenes Quieren Participar En La Transformación Del Mundo 17 feb 2005 – Más espacios de participación en la próxima asamblea del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) fue el reclamo que jóvenes de todo el mundo hicieron oír ante el comité central de la organización. "Dios, en tu gracia, permite a los jóvenes transformar el mundo" fue la vuelta de tuerca al tema de la novena asamblea del CMI ("Dios, en tu gracia, transforma el mundo") que introdujeron los jóvenes que participan como asistentes en la reunión del comité central del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias que tiene lugar del 14 al 22 de febrero en Ginebra. Ocho Nuevas Iglesias Miembros, Pero La Membresía Total Del CMI Sólo Aumenta En Cinco – a 347 16 feb 2005 – Ocho iglesias – de Asia, África, América Latina y la región del Caribe – fueron recibidas en la comunidad fraternal del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), sin embargo el número total de iglesias miembros del Consejo aumentó de 342 a 347, ya que otras cinco iglesias miembro se unieron en dos membresías conjuntas. Tsunami: Assessment Team to Indonesia Identifies Crucial LWF Accompaniment Role February 18, 2005, GENEVA – A Lutheran World Federation (LWF) assessment team to Indonesia in the aftermath of the devastating tidal waves (tsunamis), says the LWF has a significant accompaniment role in the short and long term. The report of the seven-member LWF Pastoral Team to Indonesia, January 16-25, has been presented to LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko. The group visited Banda Aceh and Nias Island, regions of Indonesia severely affected by the tsunamis that swept across the southeast Asian coastline, following an undersea earthquake off Sumatraís coast, 26 December 2004. Indonesia was the worst affected, accounting for around 70 percent of the 220,000 people reported to have died as a result of the catastrophe that affected 11 other countries. February 16, 2005, ABUJA, Nigeria/GENEVA – The president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), Bishop Mark S. Hanson has appealed to LWF member churches worldwide to mutually share the different resources with which they are endowed for the continued "growing together" of the Lutheran communion. Hanson is leading an LWF delegation to West Africa, February 10-17. "The maturing of the Lutheran World Federation and its true nature as a communion in which member churches share their gifts with one another, as reflected in the rapidly growing Lutheran churches in Africa, Asia, Central and South America are becoming teachers for the Northern Hemisphere churches," Hanson said February 12, at the end of the delegation's first stop, Nigeria. New ‘God, Why?' Study Resource Addresses Tough Questions February 11, 2005, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – When people experience tragedy or loss, the questions often asked are: Why did God allow it to happen? Why did it happen to me? Where was God? Those questions swirl in the aftermath of any catastrophe such as the Dec. 26 tsunami that struck Asia and Africa. "Kosovo must Not Be Forgotten": CEC Delegation Visits Serbia February 16, 2005 – A delegation from the Conference of European Churches (CEC) has just completed a four-day visit to Serbia, including Kosovo, 10-14 February 2005. The aim of the visit, which was hosted by the Serbian Orthodox Church, was to renew and strengthen the links between CEC and the Orthodox Church and other member churches of CEC in that country. It was the first such official visit by CEC to Serbia since 2001. King of Norway to Name Oslo Bishop Early March Bishop Gunnar Stalsett to Retire March 1 February 14, 2005, GENEVA, – During the first week of March, Norway's King Harald V will name a new bishop for the diocese of Oslo. The incumbent Bishop Dr. Gunnar J. Stalsett, who was General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) from 1985 to 1994 will retire on March 1. He turned 70 on February 10. The search process for a new bishop of Oslo has been going on since August 2004 when the diocesan council nominated seven candidates. Since then one more candidate was added after a vote by the parish councils and pastors of the Oslo Diocese. St. George's Baghdad Praises Response, Continued Support Necessary February 14, 2005 – The last remaining Anglican church in Iraq has praised the level of support it has received from the Anglican Communion and wider faith communities and has appealed for further assistance to meet its immediate needs and future goals. St George's Memorial Church in Baghdad, part of the Anglican Congregation of the American Embassy Chapel, is an important centre for the Iraqi Christian community – with some 300 regular worshippers – and has become a focus for the work of the wider church in meeting the humanitarian needs of the parish. In a letter to the Anglican Communion Office, the church staff have reported that their initial appeal, started in November of last year, has greatly enhanced the church, which was founded in 1936 but forcibly closed for 10 years under Saddam Hussein German United Methodists Elect New Bishop February 17, 2005 – United Methodists in Germany elected a new bishop – the denomination's first woman named to that office in Europe – on Feb. 16. The Rev. Rosemarie Wenner received the needed two-thirds majority vote of the 100 delegates of the Germany Central Conference on the fourth ballot. February 18, 2005, GENEVA – A former Lutheran professor at the Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France, who converted to the Roman Catholic tradition has resigned from his current position as chairperson of dogmatics at the Lutheran School of Mission and Theology in Stavanger, Norway. After his conversion two years ago, Ola Tjørhom, 51, was allowed to continue as professor of systematic theology and ecumenical theology at Stravanger. However, the faculty leadership later on decided that he should be moved to a more neutral field, namely theory of science.
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