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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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Jews, Presbyterians Share Anger, Hurt, Hope March 18, 2005, CHARLOTTE – Face-to-face and faith-to-faith, 250 Jews and Presbyterians came together here one rare and recent night to talk about finding common ground. "Disagreement and Dialogue," as the March 15 event was called, arose from two actions by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) General Assembly that provoked what a Charlotte Presbyterian leader called an "interfaith firestorm." The first involves support for Congregation Avodat Yisrael, a suburban Philadelphia Presbyterian church whose evangelical efforts are aimed particularly at Jews and interfaith families. The second arises from last July's vote to initiate the process of selectively divesting stock in multinational corporation operating in Israel. March 18, 2005, GENEVA – Eleven years after the genocide in Rwanda, an official of the Lutheran church there has called upon the United Nations (UN) to "learn from our mistakes of the past and to determine what approaches work in the prevention of genocide" in the future. Based on what he experienced during the 1994 killings in his country, Rev. John Rutsindintwarane, general secretary of the Lutheran Church of Rwanda (LCR), appealed to the community of nations to take seriously all warning signals that suggest an impending genocide. ELCA Boards ‘Mixed' about Recommendations on Homosexuality March 15, 2005, CHICAGO – The two boards of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Division for Church in Society (DCS) and Division for Ministry (DM) met here March 10-12 in small groups and in plenary sessions, together and separately, and drafted a joint response to a report and three recommendations on homosexuality that their task force for the ELCA Studies on Sexuality developed for the 2005 Churchwide Assembly in August. "We have indicated where we would come down, but we see our job as helping the Church Council constructively deal with the recommendations from the task force," said the Rev. James B. Martin-Schramm, DCS board chair and associate professor of religion, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. United Methodists Join in Reaffirming Beijing Goals for Women March 14, 2005, NEW YORK – Ten years after a landmark conference in Beijing, China, world governments have reaffirmed their commitment to the advancement of women. Some 80 ministers and 1,800 delegates from 165 members states, as well as seven first ladies, participated in the 10-year review of the result of that conference-the Beijing Platform for Action-during the Feb. 28-March 11 Commission on the Status of Women meeting at the United Nations. Participating with them were more than 2,600 nongovernmental representatives, including United Methodists and Methodists who were part of a 75-member coalition called Ecumenical Women 2000. In addition to formal sessions and panel discussions, the 12-day meeting included an array of presentations, discussions and other events at the Church Center for the United Nations and other locations. Theology Task Force Schedules Extra Meeting March 11, 2005, LOUISVILLE - Feeling the press of work needed to finish its final report by a Sept. 15, 2005 deadline, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church (TTF) has scheduled an extra meeting in Chicago in August. The task force had planned to meet just one more time, from July 18 through July 21, before releasing its final report, which will be taken up by the 217th General Assembly in June 2006 in Birmingham, AL. Agency Plans Ways to Promote Holy Communion Statement March 17, 2005, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Holy Communion should be seen as a "kingdom scene" in anticipation of what is to be, said the Rev. Daniel T. Benedict Jr., in a presentation to the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. "Holy Communion is not a funeral service; it is a time to remember all that Jesus did for us," said Benedict, a board staff executive. "It is body and blood, not milk and cookies. Diners beware!" When you partake of Holy Communion it should be done with an awareness of what you are going to do with the rest of your life, he said. ELCA Presiding Bishop Expresses Gratitude for Rural Ministry March 17, 2005, DUBUQUE, Iowa – Saying he wanted to express "a profound word of gratitude for your ministries," the presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) addressed nearly 250 people here March 13 at the opening session of the 24th annual Rural Ministry Conference. The Rev. Mark S. Hanson was a keynote speaker at the three- day event, organized by the Center for Theology and Land, a rural ministry program of the University of Dubuque and Wartburg Theological Seminary, one of eight ELCA seminaries. Several people attending a conference for potential seminary students were also in the audience. Rural small-town ministry is still the "backbone" of the Lutheran church in the United States, and too often it is taken for granted, Hanson said. He said he has little personal experience in rural ministry, but that he and others are "the beneficiaries" of those who grew up in rural areas, including parents and spouses. Episcopalian Sociologist Finds Most Teenagers Are Inarticulate about Their Faith March 17, 2005 – Sociologist Christian Smith said that in researching for his book "Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers," he was "surprised" at "how inarticulate most teenagers were about their religious faith." "They think of themselves as religious and go to church and many will say that their faith is important, but if you go beyond that and ask anything about what they believe, how it is important and what difference does it make, the majority are just really helpless at articulating what they believe or what difference it makes," he said. Church Takes Ministry into Streets by Patrolling Against Crime March 18, 2005, TRILBY, Fla. – The stillness of Trilby's hilly countryside masks a growing problem for the small town. "There's narcotics crimes, drugs, robberies," said longtime resident Keith Moody. The Pasco County Sheriff's Department responds to as many calls for service as it can. But now, a small group of neighbors is providing backup. In January, Herb Green, the choir director at Trilby United Methodist Church, formed Trilby's first security patrol. March 18, 2005 – With James Dobson's Focus on the Family claiming victory over the SpongeBob Squarepants controversy, the United Church of Christ's pastoral leader called on people of faith to reject the Focus on the Family assault on tolerance as "bullying." "It is a sad day when Focus on the Family, a group claiming to speak for Christians in America, finds reason to celebrate assaults on tolerance in the name of its own version of family values," the Rev. John H. Thomas, the UCC's general minister and president, told United Church News. "For Focus on the Family to bully groups like the We Are Family Foundation because of their efforts to teach children about respect for those who are different only leads to bullying on the playground," Thomas said. "What's Christian ? or American ? about that?" Rural Women Face Poverty, Discrimination, Panel Says March 14, 2005, NEW YORK – Despite their important contribution to the world's breadbasket, rural women face challenges of poverty, illiteracy and gender discrimination, according to panelists speaking recently at the United Nations. In Africa, rural women work "from dawn to dusk" to produce 60 to 70 percent of the continent's food, according to Elmira Sellu, a United Methodist missionary serving in East Africa. "If it had not been for the rural women of Africa, we would not have enough to eat on our tables," she said. Yet those same women have no legal right to own the land they till, and they are further impacted by factors such as the HIV/AIDS pandemic and civil unrest across the continent, she said. ELCA Bishops Advise Approving Agreement with United Methodists March 16, 2005, DALLAS – The Conference of Bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) advised its church to commit to "interim Eucharistic sharing" with the United Methodist Church, a step that may lead to a full-communion agreement between the two churches sometime in the future. The ELCA Conference of Bishops is an advisory body of the church, consisting of the ELCA's 65 synod bishops, presiding bishop and secretary. It met here March 3-7. The proposal for interim Eucharistic sharing is to be considered by the ELCA Church Council for possible transmission to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly. The council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the legislative authority of the church between churchwide assemblies. The council is to meet April 7-11 in Chicago. Assemblies are held every other year; the next is Aug. 8-14 in Orlando, Fla. For the United Methodist Church, the proposal could be endorsed when its Council of Bishops meets in April, said the Rev. Allan C. Bjornberg, bishop of the ELCA Rocky Mountain Synod, Denver. Bjornberg is the Lutheran co-chair of the current dialogue between the two churches. House of Bishops Adopts ‘Covenant Statement' March 15, 2005, NAVASOTA, Texas – The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church adopted, by nearly unanimous vote late this afternoon, "A Covenant Statement" that includes "a provisional measure to contribute to a time for healing and for the educational process called for in the Windsor Report." Preparation of an additional "Word to the Church" document to accompany the Statement is a priority for the bishops' agenda tomorrow, March 16, the final day of their six-day meeting of retreat and private reflection at Camp Allen, an Episcopal conference center in Navasota, Texas. The bishops have widely praised the spirit of collaboration and collegiality that marked their framing of the Statement. Churches and the Challenge of Healing in a Sick World March 18, 2005 – Faith healing and spiritual cures have always been part of the church's ministry. But to many, they smack of magic, of mystical claims of "impossible cures," deeply foreign to "Western" patterns of religion. onversely, those patterns are sometimes seen as dry fruits of aging churches which have lost contact with the living source of healing power. In the midst of this tension, the world's greatest modern pandemic, HIV/AIDS, is changing the concept of what the healing ministry of the church can mean. By bringing together people involved in one or other of these multiple facets, this rich diversity will be at the centre of the forthcoming 9-16 May 2005 World Council of Churches (WCC) Conference on World Mission and Evangelism in Athens. The suburb is near Boston, one of the oldest and wealthiest cities in the United States. The church is middle-of-the-road Anglican. It is Sunday eucharist, and there is a "supply" priest instead of the regular incumbent. The supply priest however is a charismatic, Canon Mark Pearson, a clergyman who is co-founder of New Creation Healing Centre in nearby New Hampshire. New Anglican - Lutheran Publication March 16, 2005 – The Anglican Communion Office is pleased to announce a joint publication with the Lutheran World Federation as part of the LWF Documentation Series. This is a comprehensive volume that contains the texts of all the major Anglican – Lutheran ecumenical agreements between 1972 and 2002, bringing them together in one place. The book includes, amongst other papers, not only the international agreements such as the "Cold Ash Report on Episcope," and the recent "Growth in Communion" report by the Anglican-Lutheran International Working Group, but also regional agreements such as "Porvoo," "Meissen," "Called to Common Mission," "Waterloo" and "Common Ground" from Australia. Anglican – Lutheran relations across the globe have taken huge steps forward in the period covered by the book, leading to relations of ‘full communion' in North America, and significant progress elsewhere. By Thomas Goodhue, Executive Director, Long Island Council of Churches Recently the "Christian Life Times" took the LICC to task for joining with the Long Island Board of Rabbis, the Diocese of Rockville Centre, and the Islamic Center of Long Island in inviting pastors, priests, rabbis, imams and other preachers to a joint sermon preparation seminar. They also criticized us for sending interfaith education teams to teach children, "we are all serving the same God." Jesus prayed that his followers "may all be one" (John 17:20-21). It hardly advances the unity of the Body of Christ for Christians to condemn one another without cause. It also behooves journalists—and Christians—to make some attempt to get the facts straight. The editors of CLT never picked up the phone and asked, "Is it true that ….?" Nor did they show up for the sermon preparation session they criticized. Marcha Evangélica Contra Ley De Derechos Sexuales 15 mar 2005, LA PAZ, Bolivia – La oposición de un sector importante de las iglesias al proyecto de ley llamada de derechos sexuales y reproductivos, que dicen, da reconocimiento legal a la homosexualidad, promueve el aborto y contiene otras disposiciones que pueden contribuir a la desintegración familiar, motivó una concentración evangélica el sábado 12. El proyecto de ley ha provocado polémica en el país desde el año pasado, pues la organización Católicas por el Derecho a Decidir envió sendas cartas al presidente Carlos Mesa y al Congreso de la República, pidiendo la pronta promulgación de esa ley. Evangelismo Y Misión Analizaron Líderes Evangélicos 14 mar 2005, LA HABANA, Cuba – Durante dos días, el jueves y viernes de la semana pasada, se reunieron 130 líderes, pastores y laicos, de 24 denominaciones evangélicas y de siete movimientos ecuménicos, convocados por el Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba (CIC), para analizar colectivamente el tema "Evangelismo y Misión" en el contexto que vive Cuba hoy. El encuentro, denominado Asamblea de Estudio, tuvo lugar en la Iglesia Fraternidad Bautista "William Carey," y sirvió además para hacer un balance a la veintena de talleres regionales y locales que sobre ese tema se han venido realizado desde el pasado año, así como para preparar la posición que Cuba llevará al Congreso de Misión y Evangelización que organiza el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) para mayo próximo, en Atenas. Grecia. Instituto Metodista Pasa a Ser Centro Universitario 15 mar 2005, PORTO ALEGRE, Brasil – El Centro Universitario Metodista IPA (Instituto Porto Alegre) celebró ayer sus 82 años de existencia y recordó que algunas de sus facultades han sido declaradas Centro Universitario. La institución se propone presentar, el año 2007, un proyecto para transformarse en Universidad. La celebración por los 82 años de vida de la institución se caracterizó por un programa de índole cultural. Al empezar la tarde se abrió la exposición Ciencia y Deporte. 18 mar 2005 – Los derechos económicos, sociales y culturales del pueblo papú serán el foco principal de la participación de este año del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) en el 61* período de sesiones de la Comisión de Derechos Humanos de las Naciones Unidas. Como en años anteriores, el CMI apoya a representantes de organizaciones de derechos humanos del Sur que acuden al período de sesiones, el cual se desarrolla del 12 de marzo al 22 de abril. La delegación del CMI este año incluye representantes de Papúa, Nigeria, Pakistán, Nepal, Guatemala y Colombia. Las Iglesias Y El Desafío De La Sanidad En Un Mundo Enfermo 16 mar 2005 – La sanidad por la fe y las curaciones espirituales han sido siempre parte del ministerio de la iglesia. Pero para muchos huelen a magia, a pretensiones místicas de "curaciones imposibles," muy ajenas a las formas "occidentales" de religión. Recíprocamente, esas formas son vistas a veces como frutos secos de iglesias envejecidas que han perdido contacto con la fuente viva del poder de sanidad. En medio de esta tensión, la mayor pandemia moderna, el VIH/SIDA, está cambiando el concepto de lo que puede significar el ministerio de sanidad de la iglesia. Personas dedicadas a una u otra de estas múltiples facetas traerán esta rica diversidad al centro de la próxima Conferencia Mundial sobre Misión y Evangelización, que tendrá lugar del 9 al 16 de mayo en Atenas, convocada por el Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI). En una barriada periférica de Boston, una de las ciudades más antiguas y ricas de los Estados Unidos, una congregación anglicana ordinaria celebra la eucaristía dominical. Dirige el servicio un sacerdote suplente en lugar del titular. Pero el sacerdote suplente es un carismático, el canónigo Mark Pearson, clérigo cofundador del Centro de Sanidad Nueva Creación en la cercana Nueva Hampshire. La liturgia eucarística sigue el tradicional Libro de Oración Común anglicano. Pearson no es sólo carismático, sino también conservador, u "ortodoxo" en el léxico anglicano. Vision of Scientist-Priest Teilhard De Chardin to Guide April 8-9 Environmental Talks March 14, 2005, NEW YORK – In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the death of scientist-priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the City University of New York's Continuing Education and Public Programs Graduate Center will host three free programs April 8-9, including two presentations at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Chardin, who died in New York City on April 10 (Easter Day), 1955, was a leader among 20th-century clerics who sought to integrate scientific research with a religious vocation. At an early point in his career, Chardin, a paleontologist and Jesuit priest, made it his personal mission to reconstruct the most basic Christian doctrines from the perspectives of science and, at the same time, to reconstruct science from the perspectives of faith. March 14, 2005, NAVASOTA, Texas – Urging full protection of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church on March 14 adopted a resolution calling upon the U.S. Senate to oppose opening the pristine region to exploration for oil and gas. Alaska Bishop Mark McDonald, a leading voice for environmental protection and ecological justice, left the bishops' spring retreat, in session through March 16, to present the resolution (see full text below) to the press and to lawmakers in Washington, D.C. National Council of Churches USA Opposes March 16, 2005, WASHINGTON, DC – We express profound grief at the Senate's decision to include drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as part of the budget resolution. Rather than reduce our consumption of oil and begin to move our nation toward clean energy alternatives, our elected officials are once again charting a course that is both unjust and unsustainable. Sacred scripture teaches us unequivocally that we have a responsibility to care for God's creation and to be good neighbors. As people of faith, we also bear witness to the Biblical mandate to care for the least among us. Drilling for oil in such a fragile place contradicts both of these Scriptural commandments. Ten New Bishops Consecrated for Church of Nigeria March 15, 2005, ABUJA – The 3,500 capacity Cathedral Church of the Advent, Abuja, has a usual spectacle of being about half-full on an ordinary Sunday. But on 13 March, 2005, an ‘unusual' human presence filled the once idle pews and overflowed into white plastic seats stationed outside the periphery of the church. The reason? Ten new bishops of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) were being consecrated. And they came with some of their parishioners from the length and breadth of the over 17-million Nigerian Anglican Congregation. Beijing Platform for Action Aims to Empower Women March 14, 2005, NEW YORK – The Beijing Platform for Action, adopted by 189 U.N. member states at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, established a global agenda to promote equality and empowerment for women. Commitment to that agenda was reaffirmed five years later during a special session of the U.N. General Assembly titled, "Women 2000: Gender Equality, Development and Peace for the Twenty-First Century." At the same time, the U.N.'s Millennium Declaration in 2000 set goals for development and the reduction of poverty by 2015. The eight goals are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development. Beauty, Despair Mingle to Make Mozambique Unforgettable March 16, 2005,CHICUQUE, Mozambique – Chicuque, on the shore of the Indian Ocean, is breathtaking. Early in the morning, men are on the beach throwing out and dragging in heavy nets of fat, shiny fish. Coconut trees sway in the warm breeze, laughing children stream past on their way to school. Directly across from the beach is Chicuque Rural Hospital. People suffering and dying from AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and a high infant and maternal mortality rate flood through the front doors and spill out into the yard of this hospital every day. It is the contrast between the beautiful and the ugly that makes Mozambique a place you can't forget. And it is the genuine hospitality and passion of the people that make it a place you fall in love with. United Methodists from other countries who have experienced the spirit of Mozambique are responding with life-saving gifts and are being rewarded with lifelong friendships. March 17, 2005, WASHINGTON, DC – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, testified yesterday on the state of the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Turkey before the US Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (The Helsinki Commission) during a briefing held at the Rayburn House Office Building. The Helsinki Commission is comprised of nine US Senators, nine members of the US House of Representatives, and one member each, from the Departments of State, Defense and Commerce. U.S. Congressman (R-NJ) Christopher Smith, co-chair of the Helsinki Commission, began the session with a statement and background information. Archbishop Demetrios in his testimony entitled "The Unfair Treatment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate by the Turkish Government," stressed to the members of the Commission that the Ecumenical Patriarchate continues to suffer from unfair treatment at the hands of the Turkish state. He offered three examples of such treatment, including the closure of the Theological School of Halki, the continuous confiscation of Church property by the Turkish government and the refusal of the Turkish government to recognize the legitimate "Ecumenical" title of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, a title history established since the sixth century and internationally recognized by political and religious communities. Lutherans Learn Prayer, Money Best for Tsunami Aid March 17, 2005, CHICAGO – According to mission personnel of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) serving in Indonesia, prayer and contributing money remain the best methods to support recovery operations following a Dec. 26 tsunami that claimed more than 200,000 lives in several coastal countries of the Indian Ocean. Rosella Kameo said survivors of the tsunami in Indonesia are "going to need a lot of help to pick up the pieces and rebuild their shattered lives." Kameo, an ELCA missionary working in Indonesia, and her husband Daniel, who is Indonesian, received many inquires from individuals and congregations around the world asking what can be done to help survivors of the tsunami. NCC Offers Holy Week Bulletin Insert on Tsunami Asian Follow-up March 16, 2005, NEW YORK CITY – The media blitz is over, but the pain of thousands of tsunami survivors goes on. Shanta Premawardhana, the National Council of Churches USA's Director of Interfaith Relations, has prepared two resources to help U.S. churches that want to continue to be engaged with Asians in rebuilding their communities. Indonesian Province of Papua Main Focus of WCC Work at 2005 UNCHR Session March 18, 2005 – The economic, social and cultural rights of the Papuan people will be the main focus of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) involvement in this year's 61st session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR). As in previous years, the WCC is assisting human rights representatives from the South to attend the 12 March-22 April session. The WCC-accredited delegations this year will be from Papua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Nepal, Guatemala and Colombia. Bishop Played Important Role in Bringing Peace to Mozambique March 16, 2005, MAPUTO, Mozambique (UMNS)-Joao S. Machado has a burden on his heart. He has just returned from visiting a village where he witnessed women and children drinking "muddy, brown water" from a ditch. As he tells the story, he can hardly breathe or talk. He wipes tears from his eyes as he remembers the image. "It was brown, brown water, but they are drinking it," he says, his voice rising. "I want to tell you I was trying to be strong enough not to collapse there. I don't know how these people are alive with water like that, but God is always good. They are living by the grace of God."
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