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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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Tourism Industry Needs to Assume its Social and Cultural Responsibility, Says Kobia September 22, 2005 – "Tourism, while being a potent force for good, has sadly turned into an activity that leaves in its trail massive numbers of victims," says World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Samuel Kobia in a message on World Tourism Day, 27 September. Although "tourism can contribute to peace and justice in the world," its "benefits and burdens" are "very unequally shared," Kobia states in his message. "The tourism industry is dominated by a small number of enterprises focusing on high returns" while "millions of women and children are abused, cultures denigrated and exploited, and workers underpaid." September 21, 2005, NEW YORK – Global humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) announced details today of a national program to help relocate people still displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The program, says Erol Kekic, Acting Director of the CWS Immigration and Refugee program, "is intended to assist uprooted people recover their dignity and regain self-sufficiency in communities where they have found their way or been relocated." Church World Service – the only agency responding to Katrina that has both an in-house domestic emergency response unit and a refugee resettlement program – is applying its professional refugee case management experience to help meet the particular needs of Americans displaced by the hurricane.
Organizations accepting donations for Hurricane Relief Efforts – Click for list Out of Deep Waters: New Orleans Cathedral's Ministry Goes Beyond its Walls September 23, 2005 – The congregation and staff are scattered. There's a hole in the roof above the altar. Rain damaged the new plaster and paint from last year's restoration. Trees are down. The electrical area of the cathedral was once flooded. The humidity was threatening the organs, the pianos and the harpsichord until a generator could be installed to run the air conditioning. The valuable artworks have been evacuated. The Prayer Books, Hymnals, and the entire Music Library are in cold storage to prevent them from getting moldy. And the home page of Christ Church Cathedral New Orleans' website proclaims: "Christ Church Cathedral begins her third century facing the greatest opportunity for ministry in our history." Bush Cabinet Official Meets with Evacuees September 19, 2005, FRANKLIN, Tenn. – Elizabeth Kelly had no idea where she was going when she boarded a plane and left her flood-soaked home in New Orleans. She was 33,000 feet in the air before the pilot announced they were heading for Tennessee, Kelly said. Now home for Kelly and 179 other transplanted New Orleans residents is a warehouse-turned-Red Cross shelter in Franklin. On Sept. 16 – the day President George W. Bush proclaimed as a national day of prayer for survivors of Hurricane Katrina – Norman Y. Mineta, secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, visited the shelter and expressed support to the survivors and appreciation to the volunteers. Mineta is a United Methodist layman who has served in Congress and was secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Bishops Urge Safety as Gulf Coast Churches Brace for Rita September 22, 2005 – "Heed the warnings." Three United Methodist bishops and the denomination's director of disaster response are sending that message to people in the projected path of Hurricane Rita, the monstrous storm expected to make landfall on the Texas coast Sept. 24. "We encourage people to evacuate areas where they have been asked to evacuate," the leaders said. "Please do that early." September 23, 2005, ELGIN, IL – Looking at the new numbers of hurricane evacuees, the Church of the Brethren director of Emergency Response has issued a call to support local food pantries as another way to support the hurricane relief efforts. Roy Winter, director of Emergency Response for the Church of the Brethren General Board, explained that many food banks across the country have contributed food to the hurricane relief effort through America's Second Harvest. America's Second Harvest is a food bank network that serves as a coordinating organization for most local food banks, and is the largest hunger relief organization in the US. Child Evacuees Find Temporary Home Through Connection September 21, 2005, BATON ROUGE, La. – Keith Rhodes, executive director of the Methodist Home for Children in New Orleans, had planned to take a relaxing fishing trip on Saturday, Aug. 27. Instead, that morning Rhodes was rapidly arranging the evacuation of 36 residents and 13 staff members of the home to its sister facility in Ruston, La., the Louisiana Methodist Children's Home. Hurricane Katrina was approaching. "We knew this storm was going to be a serious event," Rhodes said. "The children prepared for the trip to Ruston, packing three sets of clothes and medication. We hoped that the storm would take the route of other storms and veer away from New Orleans, but we were wrong." Out of Deep Waters: Threats of Rita Damage Force Texas Relocations September 23, 2005 – Bishop Don Wimberly has relocated the Diocese of Texas offices to Camp Allen, the camp and conference center of the diocese, while many of the congregations along the Gulf Coast evacuate in front of Hurricane Rita. "We have a number of offers for places to stay," said Wimberly, "but have not had any requests yet." Marjorie George, communications director in the neighboring Diocese of West Texas, said they had 15 homes of parishioners and their camp sites ready. St. Christopher's, Killeen, has also offered places to stay. "We continue to have people coming off the highway here, they find it like an oasis in the desert," Wimberly said. September 22, 2005, SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – With this prayer, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold led the House of Bishops, convening here September 22, in response to the presentations of Gulf Coast bishops who are rallying after Hurricane Katrina even as the nation braces for the imminent landfall of Hurricane Rita. "I'm aware that several of our meetings have taken place against the background of something large and disturbing," Griswold told the 120 bishops assembled with spouses, recalling House of Bishops sessions held shortly after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001; other environmental disasters; and the declaration of war on Iraq. "These larger events – some natural and some caused by humans – remind us of the context in which we live and move and have our beings." Houston Pastors Plan to ‘Stand with Our People' During Rita September 23, 2005 – In his seminary ethics class, the Rev. Jim Jackson learned an important credo: never desert your parishioners in time of need. So while Hurricane Rita aimed its wrath for the Texas Gulf Coast and 2 million area residents fled for safety, the senior pastor at Houston's Chapelwood United Methodist Church planned to stay put. "It never occurred to me to leave," said Jackson, whose church stands 35 miles from the coast. "Staying goes with the turf. We're here not to save our skins but to stand with our people. Shipments of Relief Goods Continue from Brethren Service Center September 23, 2005, ELGIN, IL – Church of the Brethren staff, on behalf of Church World Service (CWS), sent the first shipment of relief materials to areas affected by Hurricane Katrina on the evening of Aug. 30. The 5,000 blankets and the 5,040 Gift of the Heart Health Kits reached their destination, Baton Rouge, La., and were distributed on Aug. 31. As of Sept. 19, 18 more shipments from the warehouses at the Brethren Service Center in New Windsor, Md., have been sent to affected areas. Brethren, along with other CWS partners, are invited to celebrate this outpouring of relief. Following are summaries of relief materials received, by state: ERD Partners
with Episcopal Migration Ministries September 22, 2005 – Episcopal Relief and Development has partnered with Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) to help relocate people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The partnership will support EMM in providing initial funding assistance to dioceses where there are large numbers of people from devastated communities in the Gulf Coast region. "When the Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold asked EMM to assist evacuees, we knew we could apply our expertise in resettling overseas refugees," said C. Richard Parkins, EMM Director. "EMM counts on parish involvement, and in the days immediately following the hu rricane, we were not surprised to have over 1000 offers of sponsorship from dioceses, congregations, and church institutions. Gulf Coast Parishes, Clergy and Staff Get Help with Financial Issues September 22, 2005 – Hurricane Katrina created an unprecedented set of questions for parishes and diocese in her wake as well as for the national church. The Church Pension Group (CPG) is allowing any parish or diocese affected by Kathrina to defer making its required payments to the Church Pension Fund and for health and life insurance policies. There is no deadline for resuming those payments at this point, according to Nancy Fisher, CPG's communications director. The Rev. Pat Coller, CPG senior vice president for pastoral care and education, said "it's really new territory for us" to consider how to deal with so many parishes whose financial lives have been disrupted simultaneously. One question is whether those required payments might be waived entirely for a certain period of time but "at this moment they are simply deferred," said Fisher. September 22, 2005 – It might have seemed like a little thing but a lunch of gumbo in the midst of a gathering of Louisiana clergy last Friday culminated with the chef of Galatoire's of the French Quarter arriving to make café brulot. Especially for the New Orleans clergy contingent, the blend of strong coffee, orange zest, cloves, cinnamon, sugar and liqueur was a taste of home, a touch of the familiar in the strange land in which they now find themselves. As Hurricane Katrina bore down on Louisiana on late in August, clergy in the Diocese of Louisiana faced the same decisions as everyone else in her path: whether to evacuate, where to go, what to take along. Relief Agency Executive Offers Tips for Disaster Response September 22, 2005 – People of faith can respond in many ways to provide healing and support in the face of devastating hurricanes and other disasters, according to a United Methodist relief official. The Rev. Tom Hazelwood, disaster response executive for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, shared five tips for responding to such disasters during an interview with the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of United Methodist Communications. "The most important thing people can do is support UMCOR financially," Hazelwood said. The relief agency provides a long-term response to needs resulting from such disasters, and the money raised will be used by UMCOR for years to come. Agency Equips Pastors for Digital Age, Offering E-mail for Life September 21, 2005, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – United Methodist pastors can count on several address changes during the course of their ministry. But now, thanks to the church's communications agency, one address will remain the same throughout their careers: their e-mail. The United Methodist Commission on Communication approved a plan to provide pastors e-mail addresses for life during the board's Sept. 16-18 meeting. "In this technological age that we're in, it just seems to me that it's absolutely critical, as we talk about United Methodist Communications, to have a convergence of resources together," said Bishop Thomas Bickerton, president of the Commission on Communication and leader of the denomination's Pittsburgh Area. Chaplain to Appear on Interfaith Religion Special September 22, 2005, VALLEY FORGE, Pa. – An American Baptist Churches-endorsed chaplain, the Rev. John Wilson, will appear on CBS Television Network's special, "Spiritual Caregivers: In Those Moments of Tragedy," airing Sunday, Sept. 25. The show takes a close-up look at how spiritual caregivers help traumatized people and addresses the self-care needs of those faced with such emotionally draining service. An American Red Cross survey taken following the 9/11 terrorist attacks indicated that 60 percent of Americans surveyed would likely seek help from a spiritual counselor, but only 40 percent would seek help from a mental health professional. Commentary: Remembering Delaware Conference, 40 Years Later September 20, 2005 – The old Delaware Conference remains a source of pride for African-American United Methodists, yet it also marked an era of shame for the church. Nearly 40 years after it was merged into other areas of the church, the conference will be remembered and celebrated at a black-tie gala Oct. 29 in Wilmington. The old Delaware Conference, as it is affectionately referred to, was organized after the Methodist Episcopal Church's 1864 General Conference, which authorized the creation of Negro annual conferences. Delaware was the first annual conference of African-American Methodists organized after that meeting. September 16, 2005, NEW YORK, NY – His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and Exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, announced today that the Thirty-Eighth Biennial Clergy-Laity Congress, National Philoptochos Convention, and Young Adult Conference of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America will convene next year in Nashville, Tennessee, July 16-21. The Congress, which will be held at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel, will be hosted by the Metropolis of Detroit and His Eminence Metropolitan Nicholas. NCC General
Secretary Urges Churches to Observe September 20, 2005, WASHINGTON, DC – The following letter to the editor is sent to newspapers and other media outlets by National Council of Churches General Secretary Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar to encourage churches and individuals to observe National Public Lands Day on Saturday, Sept. 24. Dear Editor: This Saturday, September 24, marks a day of importance for our nation, although one not marked on many Americans' calendars: National Public Lands Day. Each fall thousands of volunteers and several government agencies join together for a day of caring for and enhancing public lands. This year, the National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program is encouraging churches and individuals across the country to join the effort as an act of faith rooted in scripture. In the Book of Leviticus, God directs the Israelites to care for the land: "The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine; with me you are but aliens and tenants. Study: Clergywomen of Color Need Better Support September 20, 2005, CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Despite challenges particular to their race and gender, racial and ethnic minority clergywomen do not have a "substantive support system" within the United Methodist Church. In fact, these clergywomen feel their work is unappreciated by the denomination, according to a study conducted for the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry and its Division of Ordained Ministry. The study's authors, Jung Ha Kim and the Rev. Rosetta Ross, presented their data during the Sept. 15-17 annual meeting of the denomination's Commission on the Status and Role of Women in Cambridge. September 20, 2005 – The first meeting of the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion will take place Monday, November 7, at the Episcopal Church Center in New York. The 14-member commission was appointed by Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold and the Very Rev. George L. W. Werner, president of the House of Deputies.. They charged the commission with preparing the way for General Convention to receive and respond to the Windsor Report, the February 2005 communiqué of the primates from Dromantine, and the actions of the June 2005 meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council. Sexual Harassment Remains Problem for Church, Survey Says September 20, 2005, CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Sexual harassment remains a problem within the United Methodist Church, and laity need more education about the issue. Those are among the preliminary findings from a sexual harassment survey distributed early this year by the denomination's Commission on the Status and Role of Women. A previous survey in 1990 defined sexual harassment as any sexual-related behavior that is unwelcome or offensive or fails to respect the rights of others. The Rev. Gail Murphy-Geiss, a Colorado clergywoman and past president of COSROW, presented data from the survey responses during the commission's Sept. 15-17 annual meeting in Cambridge. United Methodists Offer Resources to Help People ‘Be the Hope' September 23, 2005, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The United Methodist Church is urging members to "Be the Hope" in responding to the needs of people affected by the recent hurricanes. The church is providing a wide range of resources to help individuals, congregations and communities respond to those in need. Resources provided by United Methodist Communications urge church members and the wider community – in the words of the denomination's recent ad after Hurricane Katrina – to "Volunteer. Take action. Be the hope." Triennial Black Clergy Conference Offers Opportunity to Relax and Reconnect September 20, 2005 – With the theme "On Thy People, Pour Thy Power: Continuing the Journey," the 7th Triennial Black Clergy Conference, October 23-26, 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia, followed by the 1st Annual Convocation for Clergy Ordained 10 years or less on October 26-27 promises to be more than a typical meeting. "A big part of our planning was to ensure that when people come to the conference, [they will find] that it is not just another conference," said the Rev. Deon Johnson, assistant pastor of Christ Episcopal Church in Shaker Heights, Ohio. September 22, 2005, BARI, Italy/GENEVA – From September 23-29, members of the Lutheran – Roman Catholic Commission on Unity will gather in Bari, Italy, for the last meeting of the present phase of the international Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue. "The Apostolicity of the Church" is the topic of the current phase. Hosted by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), the commission members will discuss a comprehensive draft report on the current phase, after which a final editorial process will be put in place, with the aim to making the document ready for publication in 2006. The dialogue, which began in 1967, is conducted by the Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity under the auspices of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the PCPCU. Correspondent Explores Taize Ecumenical Ambiguities September 19, 2005 – Following a visit to Taize in France, the National Catholic Reporter's Rome correspondent John Allen has written that some ecumenists in Rome are silent on the ecumenical community founded by the later Brother Roger Schutz because Taize "almost pretends that divisions among Christians don't exist." Allen says the Rome ecumenists consider that Taize "never quite violat[es] rules on matters such as inter-communion, but downplay[s] the distinctions among the various Christian bodies." "This tension was clear, for example, in reactions to the news that then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger administered Communion to Shutz at the 2 April funeral Mass of Pope John Paul II," he said. "Some applauded what they saw as ecumenical generosity, while others complained about a compromise in the church's identity. Argentina
Debe Abandonar Compás Efímero Del Mercado, 23 septiembre 2005, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – Para que Argentina crezca sana "tenemos que dejar de movernos al compás que marca el mercado, efímero y engañoso, para organizar nuestra vida sobre los valores eternos e inconmovibles que emanan de las Sagradas Escrituras," sostuvo el pastor Salvador Dellutri, presidente de Sociedad Bíblica Argentina en la celebración del Día Nacional de la Biblia. El religioso precisó que los actuales momentos que vive el país están marcados por una falsa idea de la libertad, el uso de la mentira como herramienta política y de la corrupción como un método que muchos aceptan. Iglesias Cristianas De Cuba Celebraran Día Internacional Por La Paz Con Jornada De Oración 19 septiembre 2005, LA HABANA, Cuba Sept. 19 – Un llamado a todas las congregaciones cristianas del país para que se unan en oración el próximo 21 de septiembre, Día Internacional por la Paz, establecido por la Organización de Naciones Unidas (ONU), fue formulado por el Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba (CIC) y las Iglesias Metodista y Presbiteriana-Reformada. La pastora Rhode González Zorrilla, presidenta del CIC, sostuvo que la oración juega un papel importante en la lucha por la paz. "Ese instrumento personal y pequeñito se convierte en palanca del espíritu para mover al mundo a acciones concretas y de compromiso por la Paz, dijo. Pastor Analiza El Fenómeno De Las Casas-culto 19 septiembre 2005, LA HABANA, Cuba – "El secreto del sorprendente crecimiento de las iglesias en Cuba estriba en los pequeños grupos que se reúnen en los barrios, las comunidades rurales o las nuevas urbanizaciones, y hasta en las cárceles, constituyendo las llamadas casas-culto o células de oración," escribe el pastor Francisco Rodés en un artículo publicado por el boletín Tribuna Ecuménica. El pastor bautista y actual director del Centro Kairós en la ciudad de Matanzas, hace un análisis sobre las nuevas maneras del evangelismo en Cuba, a partir de un trabajo titulado Reto del presente a la Iglesia Cubana. Aparecido en el último número de Tribuna Ecuménica, el boletín informativo del Consejo de Iglesias de Cuba (CIC), Rodés toca un tema neurálgico de la realidad eclesial cubana. Norte De Kenia: Cómo Transformar Una Región Volátil 21 septiembre 2005 – Una lanza enterrada en la frontera común entre dos comunidades nómade-pastoriles en la región de la Falla del Norte de Kenia marcó el fin de sangrientos enfrentamientos un par de décadas atrás. Hoy, las dos comunidades rivales necesitan la ayuda de las iglesias para detener una cultura armamentista en rápido crecimiento. Hace aproximadamente dos décadas, los líderes de los Pokot y de los Samburu, dos comunidades nómade-pastoriles de la región de la Falla del Norte, enterraron una lanza en la frontera común en presencia de políticos y líderes de otras comunidades. La ceremonia simbolizó que todos los instrumentos de violencia habían sido enterradas. Así, los Pokot y los Samburu vivieron en paz por años. Veinte Mil Evangélicos Celebran El Domingo Día De La Biblia Orando Por El País 23 septiembre 2005, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Unos 20 mil evangélicos se concentrarán el domingo en la Plaza de la Fe, al norte de esta capital, para celebrar el Día de la Biblia clamando a Dios para que retorne la estabilidad en el país, dijo el pastor y presidente de la Alianza Evangélica de Nicaragua Mauricio Fonseca. Los pastores agrupados en comités pastorales del Consejo de Iglesias Evangélicas Pro Alianza Denominacional (CEPAD), celebrarán en 33 comunidades ese mismo día actos públicos llamando al pueblo a unirse a la oración por la reconciliación y la paz en Nicaragua. La oración será pronunciada por el pastor Omar Duarte. Evangélicos Deben Unirse Y Apoyar a Sus Propios Candidatos Políticos 10 septiembre 2005, LIMA, Peru – Los votos evangélicos están decidiendo las presidencias de muchos países de la región, pero creo "que es hora de que las iglesias se unan para apoyar a sus propios candidatos," dijo el pastor y diputado nicaragüense Guillermo Osorno en la Primera Cumbre Latinoamericana de las Asambleas de Dios, celebrada del 13 al 16 de septiembre en esta capital. El líder religioso deploró que los evangélicos persistan en el error de no reconocer en la política un "espacio donde debemos participar," mientras el voto cristiano, lleva al poder a políticos tradicionales o independientes "que no aportan al progreso y transformación de Latinoamérica." Un Mundo Sin Pobreza Demanda El CMI En Día Internacional Por La Paz 21 septiembre 2005, GINEBRA, Suiza – El Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) ha urgido a las naciones este miércoles durante un acto con motivo del Día Internacional de Oración por la Paz a esforzarse para construir un mundo sin pobreza. "Juntos, como creyentes, tenemos fe en un mundo mejor," dijo el secretario general del CMI, Samuel Kobia, en una ceremonia realizada en la sede de Ginebra de esta organización. "Nuestra visión como iglesias es de un mundo protegido por Dios, dador de vida de toda persona, en el que todas los pueblos pueden vivir en paz con justicia, un mundo en el que la pobreza ya no es tolerada, dijo Kobia en una declaración. La Industria Turística Tiene Que Asumir Su Responsabilidad Social Y Cultural, Afirma Kobia 22 septiembre 2005 – "El turismo, siendo una poderosa fuerza benéfica, se ha convertido, desafortunadamente, en una actividad que deja por donde pasa un masivo número de víctimas," afirma el pastor Dr Samuel Kobia, secretario general del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), en un mensaje con motivo del Día Mundial del Turismo, que se celebra el 27 de septiembre. Aunque "el turismo puede contribuir a la paz y a la justicia, así como a superar modelos de interacción caracterizados por odio y violencia, y reforzar el respeto por las maravillas de la naturaleza," sus "beneficios y cargas" están "distribuidos muy inequitativamente," dice Kobia en su mensaje. September 20, 2005, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina/GENEVA – An international consultation on illegitimate external debt called for by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches in Latin America and the Latin American Council of Churches (CLAI), will take place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, September 21-23. The meeting's objective is to improve the ecumenical partners' knowledge of the Latin American perception about the illegitimacy of external debt. Thirty-five participants from Latin American LWF member churches, from Germany, Kenya, Norway, Sweden and the United States of America are expected at the consultation. The church representatives hope to develop common goals and strategic programs concerning illegitimate debt with a view to achieving the cancellation of external debt. Multimedia: Consultation of Religious Leaders on Global Poverty September 16, 2005 – A consultation of international religious leaders delivered a consensus statement to the United Nations on the eve of its 60th annual General Assembly in New York, reaffirming support for the Millennium Development Goals and calling for increased collaboration between churches and governments to augment their work for the poor. An interfaith service of music and prayer, held at Washington National Cathedral September 11, marked the beginning of the three-day Consultation. North Rift, Kenya: Changing a Volatile Region September 21, 2005 – A spear buried on the common border of two nomadic-pastoralist communities in the North Rift region of Kenya marked the end of bloody clashes a couple of decades ago. Today, the two rivals need the churches to help them arrest a fast-growing gun culture. It was about two decades ago when elders of the Pokot and the Samburu, two nomadic-pastoralist communities in the North Rift region of Kenya, buried a spear on the common border in presence of politicians and leaders of other communities. The ceremony was a symbol that all weapons of violence had been buried. New Global Impetus for Justice Needed after UN Summit September 20, 2005 – "The outcomes of the UN world summit, the largest gathering of heads of state in history, fall far short of the vision and the expectations of churches and people during this critical period in world history," said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, speaking on the eve of the International Day of Prayer for Peace, 21 September. "The results of the summit reveal that member states have failed to live up to commitments made in the areas of poverty reduction and disarmament, both fundamental areas affecting the lives of millions of people worldwide. Poverty now needs to be addressed without the strong commitment of UN member states to deliver. Peace and security must be built without clear support for disarmament. WCC Official Visit to Ethiopia September 21, 2005 – The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the largest and oldest church on the African continent, is hosting an international ecumenical delegation headed by World Council of Churches' (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, 24-30 September 2005. "Ethiopians have been part of the church from the very beginning, and Ethiopia is a country with a profound spiritual ancestry," underlines Kobia. "The ancient church and the culture of Ethiopia continue to offer a source of identity and dignity for many Africans and to humankind. Ethiopia is going through challenging and trying times, and the WCC desires to be with the church and the people in times of difficulty as well as joy." Lutheran World Relief Working to Reverse Food Deficits in Niger September 22, 2005, CHICAGO – Kathryn Wolford, president, Lutheran World Relief (LWR), visited West Africa in early September to see firsthand the effects of chronic food deficits in Niger, to offer additional assistance to partner agencies there and to return with information for U.S. Lutherans. LWR is the overseas relief and development ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. "I am pleased to report that due to our incredible partners, our staff and our supporters, LWR was among the first aid agencies to get food distributed to severely affected communities in Niger," Wolford said in an LWR news release. Trip to Israel and
Palestine Showed ‘Christians September 23, 2005, NEW YORK – Sixteen Jewish and Christian leaders returned today from a week-long trip to Israel and Palestine, September 18-23, with members expressing the conviction that "we have demonstrated that Christians and Jews can work together to seek peace even when there is disagreement on specific policies and solutions." "As a result of these days," delegation members said, "we will now be even more effective advocates for a secure, viable and independent Palestinian state alongside an equally secure State of Israel, affirming the historic links that both the Jewish People and the Palestinian People have to the land." Delegation members returned promising "to mobilize each of our communities of faith ... in a concerted effort to bring reconciliation and peace to Israelis and Palestinians alike." "That Jewish and Christian leaders representing their denominations and organizations are going on this trip together is in itself a significant statement of trust and hope," said Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, National Council of Churches USA Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations, when the journey began. Latino/Hispanic Missioner Appointed September 20, 2005 – The Rt. Rev. Arthur B.
Williams, Jr., Acting Director of Ethnic Congregational Development,
has announced the appointment of the Rev. Anthony Guillen as the
Latino/Hispanic Missioner on the national church staff. Guillen
will begin his work at the Episcopal Church Center on November 15.
Guillen was the rector of All Saints Church in Oxnard, California,
a bilingual/bicultural parish in the Diocese of Los Angeles, for
the last twelve years. Before coming to All Saints he served on
the staff of St. Clement's by-the-sea in San Clemente and as a missionary
in the Diocese of Western Mexico where he established two missions
and worked as diocesan youth coordinator. |
