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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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"Who Makes the News?" Study Reveals Imbalance February 10, 2006, LONDON – The results of a global media study to be released next week chart the representation of men and women in the news and newsrooms of the world. The Global Media Monitoring Project, conducted in 1995 and again in 2000 and 2005 by WACC and its international affiliates, reveals the trend of imbalance in who makes the news-and who doesn't-in the areas of news content, news subjects and who reports on these stories around the world in its report entitled "WHO MAKES THE NEWS?" ELCA Presiding Bishop Urges Resolution of Hospital Tax Case February 10, 2006, WASHINGTON – The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), urged U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to ask Her Excellency Tzipi Livni, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel, for resolution of a tax case involving Augusta Victoria Hospital. Rice and Livni were to have met this week. In a Feb. 8 letter to Rice, Hanson said, "Augusta Victoria Hospital provides hospital and health services to Palestinian communities not otherwise served and [its] humanitarian efforts are both much needed and deeply appreciated by the Palestinian people." February 10, 2006, GENEVA – The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) has called for increased commitment to the pursuit of justice and reconciliation with people of other faiths, following controversy and protests in several parts of the world surrounding the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, first published in a Danish newspaper last September. The cartoons have since been reprinted in several European newspapers. While denouncing both the publication of the cartoons and the ensuing violent reactions, LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko says the crisis around this issue should not be falsely presented as a conflict between secular rights and religious values. February 10, 2006, JERUSALEM – The Lutheran bishop of the Holy Land, Munib Younan, has urged Christians and Muslims there and all over the world to be more sensitive to each other's religion and culture. Younan made his remarks in the wake of a worldwide wave of violence that erupted over the publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad. "If we fail to learn to understand one another, we may fulfill the forecasts of those calling this a ‘clash of civilizations,'" he warned. "We stand at a crucial juncture in the Middle East, Europe and the West; and these times call for thoughtful prayer and action." In a pastoral letter dated Feb. 9, the Palestine native condemned "the defamation of all religious symbols, prophets and holy writings, because it only provokes offence and builds walls of hatred between East and West." Archbishop Williams – Respect and Civility Vital to a Healthy Society February 9, 2006 – An extract from remarks at a dinner given by the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayor of London for the Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England at the Mansion House, London on 7th February. "It is impossible to speak about these things just at present without mentioning the events of the past week. The controversies over free speech versus blasphemy and offence have cast quite a shadow over the prospects of increased trust between different cultures and faiths and I don't want to take your time with detailed comment of analysis. But there are a few things that it might be worth saying in this particular context." Call for Comment: Race Relations in the Episcopal Church February 10, 2006 – The Anti-Racism Committee of the Episcopal Church's Executive Council, motivated by the stories and images of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the profound poverty and racism it revealed, is praying that the Episcopal Church will recommit to addressing institutional and systemic racism. In a recent statement, the committee expressed concern about the "apparent linkages between poverty and racism" and that "it was predictable that those who would suffer so much as a result of Katrina would be poor, forgotten, marginalized, and people of color." ELCA Task Force on Human Sexuality Begins Anew February 10, 2006, CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) Task Force on Human Sexuality met here Feb. 2-5, welcomed six new members and began discussing which topics to include in study materials to help the church develop a social statement on human sexuality by 2009. The work of the task force was mandated by the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in 2001. The ELCA's chief legislative body, the churchwide assembly, meets every other year; the next assembly will be here in August 2007. The 2001 assembly asked for recommendations on two key questions regarding homosexuality – whether or not the church should bless same-gender relationships and whether or not it should allow people in such relationships to serve the church as professional lay and ordained ministers. February 6, 2006, LOUISVILLE – The Rev. Jane Adams Spahr, a Presbyterian lesbian activist, will go on trial in California on March 2 for allegedly performing two same-sex marriage services. If found guilty by the Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) of Redwoods Presbytery, Spahr could be removed from the ministry. The constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) specifically states that marriage is a covenant only between a man and a woman. The trial will start at 10 a.m. at the Presbyterian Church of the Roses in Santa Rosa, CA. Spahr, 63, a resident of San Rafael, CA, is director of That All May Freely Serve (TAMFS), which works for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) Presbyterians in the life of the church, including ordination as officers. Producing Bible by Hand Is Labor of Love, Faith for Dallas Man February 7, 2006, DALLAS – The embodiment of James Pepper's life during the past 18 years is spread out over the floor and tables of his apartment and in a special room set aside for him at Highland Park United Methodist Church, where he attends and volunteers. Since 1987, Pepper, an investment manager, has painstakingly copied portions of the Bible word for word, and he's doing it the old-fashioned way, like scribes did centuries ago: with stylus pen and black ink on plain sheets of drawing paper, and with ancient styles of calligraphy. He shuns using a computer. After spending as many as 16 hours on some days sweating over handwriting the entire New Testament, a task he completed in 1995, Pepper is days away from completing another phase: an illuminated manuscript of the Gospels – 304 entirely handmade, highly decorative pages in a 550-page, four-year project. February 3, 2006, ST. LOUIS – The "cycle of gospel living" requires those with power to give it up, and those who are powerless to be empowered, keynoter Eric Law told the Association of Presbyterian Church Educators (APCE) Friday in his third address to the 1,200 Christian educators gathered here. In every situation, Law said, there are those who are perceived to have more power and those who are perceived to have less. A careful reading of the Gospel stories, he said, will reveal that Jesus had distinct messages for the powerful and the powerless, and often power-shifted between the two in the stories he told. In simplified terms, he said: "The powerful are drawn to the triumph of the empty tomb, while the powerless, who suffer the greatest, are more drawn to the cross." NCC Study Guide Focuses on Poverty Goals February 8, 2006, NEW YORK – To help churches take action on poverty, the National Council of Churches has released a new guide, Eradicating Poverty: A Christian Study Guide on the Millennium Development Goals. The Millennium Development Goals are a set of eight goals to end extreme poverty, hunger and disease by 2015, agreed to by world leaders in 2000. The 2004 United Methodist General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, supported those goals. The purpose of the study guide is to motivate people to make the goals a reality, according to Lallie B. Lloyd, one of its editors. Lutheran Services in America to Be ‘Trading Graces' on eBay February 6, 2006, CHICAGO – Lutheran Services in America (LSA) will host "Trading Graces," its first annual online auction, from noon Feb. 26 to noon March 8 on eBay to benefit Lutheran social ministry organizations across the United States and Caribbean. "Congregations and all sorts of people can partner with Lutheran social ministry organizations on this and spread the word, donate, volunteer and buy," said Jill Schumann, LSA president. "We're inviting everybody into this project, and we're partnering with those 100 million-plus existing eBay users to reuse, recycle and tell the LSA story," she said. Anglican Women's DVD Promotes Gender Balance, Equality in Communion and World February 9, 2006 – With the soon-to-be released DVD ‘Shall We Gather: Anglican Women Together,' Anglican women have taken another step toward making their voices heard loud and clear. ‘Shall We Gather: Anglican Women Together' documents the 2005 gathering of the Anglican Communion's delegates to the 49th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW). With the leadership of Anglican Women's Empowerment (AWE) and in partnership with the Office of the Anglican Observer at the United Nations and the Office of Women's Ministries of the Episcopal Church, a delegation was formed for the historic 10-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPfA). Reconciliation Is Hard but Necessary Work, Say Trinity Institute Speakers February 3, 2006 – This year's Trinity Institute conference – on the theme "The Anatomy of Reconciliation – from violence to healing" – brought together five strong voices who spoke from the crucible of their own experience that reconciliation is not easy work. The conference, Trinity's 36th national gathering, began January 30 at Trinity Church on Broadway at Wall Street in New York City and ended February 1. Set against what the institute called deep divisions in the United States and the world over issues of personal and cultural values, a growing chasm between the wealthy and the dispossessed, and the clash of religious traditions, the conference aimed to "explore freshly the meaning of reconciliation under these pressing circumstances," according to information on Trinity Church's website. By Daphne Mack Bishop Michael Bruce Curry of North Carolina opened Trinity Institute's national conference with a stirring call to reconciliation as the mission of the church. Curry, the first African-American bishop to serve as the head of an Episcopal diocese in the south, approached the conference topic, "The Anatomy of Reconciliation – from violence to healing," from "a perspective of mission, from a perspective of the urgent necessity of the human species and of the creation of itself." "I want to speak tonight on the subject, very simple, not complex: we have a mission," he told those gathered. "We have work to do, we have life to restore, we have death to destroy, we have a mission." Both Arms of the Cross Can Reconcile Everyone, Prejean Tells Trinity Institute February 3, 2006 – Reconciliation begins when we venture into places of poverty and despair, Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, told Trinity Institute on February 2, and we are given the grace to practice that reconciliation, not before we begin, but while we are on the path. Prejean, author of "Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in America," advocates for restorative, rather than retributive, justice. She serves as spiritual advisor both to convicted prisoners and to the families of their victims. She began working in prison ministry in New Orleans in 1981. Her 2005 follow-up book is "The Death of Innocents." Forgiveness Is God's Work Done Through Us, Volf Tells Trinity Institute February 3, 2006 – Forgiveness and reconciliation pave the "hard path" that Jesus calls Christians to follow, Yale Divinity School's Miroslav Volf told the audience on the concluding day of "The Anatomy of Reconciliation – from violence to healing," a conference sponsored by Trinity Institute. Volf, a native of Croatia, used his struggles to deal with the psychological abuse he experienced in 1984 at the hands of a Yugoslavian army security officer as a way to explain his understanding of the practice of reconciliation. Volf is the director of Yale Center for Faith and Culture and Henry B. Wright Professor of Theology at Yale Divinity School. February 10, 2006, PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil/GENEVA – Since March 2005, Vera Roth has been co-coordinator of a women's group, meeting once a month and "working non stop like bees with order and peace," as aptly described in the group's name, Colméia (Portuguese word for beehive). The ten member inter religious voluntary team including fellow Lutheran, Elaine Neuenfeldt, is one of several working groups that have been getting ready to receive participants in the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) to be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, 14-23 February 2006. "God in your grace, transform the world," is the theme of the assembly bringing together around 3,700 participants from churches all over the world. Archbishop's Contribution to the Debate on the House of Bishops' Women Bishops Group February 9, 2006 – "This world will one day pass away and the ecclesiastical structures on which we expend so much time and energy, important though they are, will pass away with it. In the light of this fact, we need to give the highest priority to deepening the quality of our love for the other members of the Body of Christ, perhaps especially those with whom we most strongly disagree on issues such as the ordination of women to the episcopate. All else may pass away, but love we have shown to our sisters and brothers will remain and will bear fruit in eternity." In case you don't recognise them, those are words from the final paragraph of the Rochester Report and they are, it seems to me, an ideal point for beginning our consideration this morning. I want to start by setting in context the motion that you have from the House of Bishops. Roman Catholic Theologian, American Muslim Explore Reconciliation at Trinity Institute February 3, 2006 – The search for reconciliation will fall short of the mark if it is not undertaken from within "the sensation of sheer luck and spaciousness," author-theologian James Alison told those gathered for the morning session at Trinity Institute on January 31. "Faced with the various extremely painful and distressing circumstances in our lives and in our world where reconciliation is needed," he said, "we run the great danger, I think, of falling into the trap of seriousness, and even worse, of talking morals." Alison, a Roman Catholic theologian, priest and author, advocates a vision of non-violence based on an understanding of a theology of resurrection and the transformation of human desire. Evangélicos Colombianos Preparan Cumbre Por La Paz 7 febrero 2006, BOGOTA, Colombia – El Consejo Evangélico de Colombia (CEDECOL), invitó a cien personas claves que "pueden aportar para encontrar el camino que conduzca a la paz nacional," a participar en la Primera Cumbre Nacional de la Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica por la Paz, que se desarrollará en San Andrés del 13 al 17 de febrero. En la cita se discutirán los temas de Procesos de Paz, Desplazados, Conflicto Armado, Desmovilización, Ley de Justicia y Paz, Niñez víctima del conflicto y el rol de la Iglesia Cristiana y el futuro de Colombia, dijo Roosevelt Muriel, presidente de CEDECOL. Asamblea Despierta Expectativas Y Caravanas Comienzan a Movilizarse 10 febrero 2006, PORTO ALEGRE, Brasil – A pocos días del inicio de la IX Asamblea del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), en esta capital, aumenta la expectativa de congregaciones, de grupos y de organismos ecuménicos y sociales de Brasil. Desde Belem, estado de Pará, a 3.854 kilómetros de Porto Alegre, parten dos ómnibus, mañana, con pastores y laicos luteranos, anglicanos, metodistas y católicos que participarán en el encuentro mundial que se inaugura el martes 14 de febrero. Líderes Evangélicos Se Unen Para Analizar Riesgos De Propuesta Anti-immigrante 8 febrero 2006, LOS ANGELES – Lideres evangélicos hispanos dijeron que la propuesta sobre el control de la migración, pendiente de aprobación en el Senado estadounidense, constituye una "amenaza" porque cualquier familiar, empleador o pastor, podría ser acusado de traficante de indocumentados. Los dirigentes cristianos, entre quienes hay pastores, educadores y periodistas, dijeron al periódico evangélico El Inter, que acordaron tomar una posición para detener la propuesta anti-inmigrante, después que la Cámara de Representantes la aprobó. Pastores Evangélicos Piden Pronta Solución a Huelga De Transporte 9febrero 2006, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Pastores evangélicos llamaron al gobierno y a los propietarios de las empresas de buses, a llegar a un arreglo que ponga fin al paro del transporte que afecta a unos 800 mil nicaragüenses, al cumplirse 4 días sin que se vislumbre una solución. Los transportistas alegan que si el gobierno no les da el subsidio que están solicitando, aumentarán el pasaje en 20 centavos de dólar, mientras que los pobladores rechazan el incremento indicando que sus sueldos permanecen congelados. Candidato Presidencial Del Pan Abre Listas a Líderes Evangélicos 9 febrero 2006, MÉXICO – El candidato presidencial del oficialista Partido Acción Nacional (PAN), Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, anunció que integraría en sus listas de candidatos a diputaciones federales por Chiapas y Tabasco, a líderes de iglesias evangélicas, demostrando así que "está comprometido con las libertades religiosa y de credo en el país." El postulante, a quien se considera un católico conservador, se reunió el miércoles con representantes de varias denominaciones cristianas. Caricaturas De Mahoma Sublevan Al Mundo Musulmán 7 febrero 2006, GINEBRA Suiza – En su apacible oficina en Harvard, lejos de los violentos tumultos que estremecen al mundo musulmán, el profesor Samuel Huntington puede sentirse satisfecho. Diez años atrás, la aparición de su obra "Choque de civilizaciones" provocó un álgido debate y un amplio rechazo en la comunidad académica. Hoy, los hechos parecen darle la razón a la tesis fundamental de aquel ensayo: ‘La última fase en la evolución del conflicto en el mundo moderno, estará caracterizada por la confrontación entre civilizaciones.' Amazing Work Around the World February 10, 2006, TUCSON – I just finished an "around the world" trip with General Assembly Council member Edwin Gonzales. A quick snapshot of each of our stops. We met with leaders of the Presbyterian Church of Korea and the Presbyterian Church of the Republic of Korea. They need our support as they work for reconciliation between North and South Korea. It was exciting to hear about their work planting churches in North Korea and their calls for church partners throughout the region to take the lead in reconciling the Korean people. Advocacy Campaign for the African Child February 6, 2006, NAIROBI, Kenya – The All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) will, on February 8th, 2006, launch its 2006 Advocacy Campaign for the African Child. The event will start at 9:00 A.M. The theme of the campaign is The Church Awakens: New Hope for the African Child. The AACC has produced an advocacy video documentary on the issues facing children in Africa that will premier during the launch. The documentary is a tool for the advocacy purpose. Indonesian Church Leaders: ‘Door Has Opened' February 3, 2006 – Three Indonesian church leaders who are involved in confessional Lutheran renewal say at least one blessing has emerged from the tsunami that devastated their country just about a year ago. "People (in Indonesia) see that Christians care and want to help them," said Rev. Mangisi Simorangkir, bishop of the 400,000-member Christian Protestant Church in Indonesia (GKPI), one of 14 Indonesian synods with Lutheran affiliations in that heavily Muslim country. "A door has opened." Israel: World Adventist Leaders Visit Knesset, Meet Parliamentarians February 8, 2006, JERUSALEM – Responding to an invitation from the Israeli Parliament's "Christian Allies Caucus," 12 leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist world church, including general vice presidents Armando Miranda and Michael L. Ryan and Trans-European regional church president Bertil Wiklander, visited the Israeli Parliament, known as the Knesset. Pastor Richard Elofer, president of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Israel, was also part of the group. "We are here to look for a better future and how we can work together to improve the safety and quality of life of people in Israel," says Gila Gamliel, a Likud member of the Knesset, who was the speaker in the meeting. Jerusalem Bishop Brings Message Following Palestinian Elections: February 9, 2006 – In an interview with Episcopal News Service, the Rt. Rev. Riah Abu El-Assal, Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, speaks about the relationship between the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Jerusalem and responds to the January 25 Palestinian elections, when the Islamic militant group, Hamas, won a landslide victory. |
