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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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NCC Chief Says There Is ‘No Greater Imperative' than Ending the Genocide in Darfur March 3, 2006, WASHINGTON – The world has "no higher priority, no greater imperative" than to end the genocide in Darfur, National Council of Churches USA General Secretary Bob Edgar said Wednesday at a press conference organized by House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). The genocide, including mass murders and rapes of thousands of people in Sudan's Darfur province, is "the heaviest burden we bear in the 21st century," Edgar said. The press conference followed a meeting of congressional and political leaders with the Save Darfur Coalition. Also participating were Rabbi David Rubenstein, director of the Religious Action Center, and members of Congress who recently returned from a Congressional fact-finding trip to Darfur led by Pelosi. Two-State Solution for Holy Land Is Peace Advocates' Goal March 3, 2006, WASHINGTON – Recognizing that this is a time of both uncertainty and opportunity, advocates for peace in the Holy Land are pushing President Bush and the U.S. Congress to continue efforts toward a two-state solution. This week is particularly busy in Washington with Episcopal participation in a high level State Department meeting and press conference, grassroots efforts by the Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN), and meetings with the Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, Episcopal priest and director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. Religious Leaders Call for ‘Comprehensive Reform' March 2, 2006, WASHINGTON – As Congress prepares to debate changing immigration laws, prominent religious leaders, including National Council of Churches' General Secretary Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, gathered Wednesday in Simmons Chapel at the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill to call for comprehensive immigration reform. The religious leaders, representing the Catholic, Evangelical Christian, Protestant and Jewish communities, expressed their concern for the current system as well as pending legislation that would bring undue harm to legal immigrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees in this country. According to Edgar, the U.S. must develop immigration policies that uphold the dignity of all people and demonstrate justice to those who seek a home and a better way of life in our country. "Throughout history, politicians have tried to convince themselves and others that the biblical call to love, the ministry of hospitality and the Sermon on the Mount are naive, impractical and irrelevant to our complex world," said Edgar. "But one cannot – dare not – suspend biblical principles simply to advance a political agenda. It comes from an authority higher than Congress, higher than Immigration and Naturalization Services, higher than the President of the United States, and it cannot be ignored," he said. I was lucky enough to be in one of Professor Frederick Shriver's classes at General Seminary just before he retired. Father Shriver is not one to keep his opinions to himself and I especially recall his thoughts about ashes. "You know what I'd do if I were the rector of a church?" he asked our class. "You know what I'd do? I'll tell you what I'd do. At the end of the Ash Wednesday liturgy, I'd be at the back door with a big washrag. As people left the church, I'd wipe the ashes off their forehead and remind them of the words of our Lord, "Beware of practicing your piety before men in order to be seen by them" (Matthew 6:1). Father Shriver had no time for religious pretence or hollow religiosity. His sentiments are profoundly biblical, echoing the preaching of the prophets and the teaching of our Lord. Church Forms Coalition with Town to Defeat High Energy Bills February 27, 2006, DYERSBURG, Tenn. – A looming utility bill crisis, a result of the destruction of refineries on the Gulf Coast by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, was weighing heavily on the mind of Mayor Bill Revell. Predictions by the federal government of a 71 percent increase in natural gas prices meant the economically disadvantaged in his northwest Tennessee community might soon find themselves out in the cold and out of options. That's what made his meeting with the Rev. Esther Gant, pastor of Ross United Methodist Church, such a godsend. ELCA's Mosaic Television Is ‘Introducing Jesus of Nazareth' March 2, 2006, CHICAGO – The sights and sounds of Jesus' life are the subject of a video presentation released March 1 by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "Introducing Jesus of Nazareth" – the spring 2006 release of Mosaic Television – was recorded in Israel and the West Bank, and features interviews with ELCA pastors in Northern California and Southern Wisconsin. "The topic ‘Jesus of Nazareth' has been widely covered by broadcast television outlets from PBS to the Discovery Channel. What sets the ELCA's new production, ‘Introducing Jesus of Nazareth,' apart is a straightforward approach to the story," said Tim Frakes, Mosaic Television producer, ELCA Communication Services. "While others explore the historical Jesus, Jesus in the context of the Roman Empire, or Jesus and his relationship to Mary Magdalene, our program sticks to the four Gospels as source material. CREDO Adds Program in Spanish, Repeat Sessions February 27, 2006 – Citing growing diversity and accessibility as major motivators, the CREDO Institute is launching a new Spanish-language version of its health and wellness clergy conferences this November, said William S. Craddock Jr., managing director. "Our bottom-line commitment is, we want every eligible deacon, priest and bishop active in the Church Pension Fund to have the opportunity to attend a CREDO conference and we are in the process of making that a reality," Craddock said. The Rt. Rev. Wilfrido Ramos-Orench, Bishop Suffragan of Connecticut and conference leader for the new Spanish-language CREDO, called it "a very important initiative, given the significant growth of the Episcopal Church among Spanish-speaking people in this country and in Latin America and the Spanish Caribbean. Get Free Resources for `Concordia Sunday` March 3, 2006 The Synod's Board for University Education is offering congregations free materials to help them celebrate the blessings of Lutheran higher education on "Concordia Sunday," April 30. The annual observance highlights the value of a Lutheran education and calls special attention to the Synod's 10 Concordia University System (CUS) schools, which prepare students for church careers such as pastor, teacher, director of Christian education, director of Christian outreach, deaconess, lay minister, director of family life ministry, and director of parish music. Today's CUS schools also offer degrees in a number of secular fields, including business, human resources, marketing, management, information technology, health care administration, nursing, criminal justice, and public administration. Desmond Tutu: ‘We Can Only Be Human Together' February 23, 2006 PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil – "A united church is no optional extra," said Archbishop Desmond Tutu in an impassioned speech to the World Council of Churches 9th Assembly in Porto Alegre. Rather, he said, it is "indispensable for the salvation of God's world." Tutu's audience had just taken part in a plenary session on church unity. He referred to the film "The defiant ones," in which two convicts, one black and one white, escape handcuffed together. "We too can only make it together – we can only be safe together," he said. "We can be prosperous only together. We can survive only together. We can be human only together." Tutu referred in his address to the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and paid tribute to the support given by the WCC, particularly through its Programme to Combat Racism. "This was controversial but was quite critical in saying our cause was just and noble and that those who, as a last resort, had opted for the armed struggle were not terrorists but freedom fighters," he said. "Nelson Mandela was no terrorist." Líder Episcopal Estadounidense Se Opone a Embargo De Su País Contra Cuba 27 febrero 2006, LA HABANA, Cuba – El obispo primado de la Iglesia Episcopal de los Estados Unidos, reverendo Frank T. Griswold, afirmó que su iglesia se opone al embargo económico, comercial y financiero impuesto por su país a Cuba, tras calificar el domingo sus efectos de "devastadores," en un culto en la Catedral Episcopal de la Santísima Trinidad de La Habana. El obispo Griswold dijo sentirse apenado porque durante 40 años, las sanciones estadounidenses a Cuba "sólo han empeorado el sufrimiento del pueblo cubano" y advirtió que su iglesia, que reúne a tres millones y medio de feligreses, "está comprometida a acompañar en el testimonio" a su homóloga cubana. Consternación En Iglesia Cristiana Evangélica Por Asesinato De Pastor 3 marzo 2006, BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Oscar Muñoz Perea, pastor de la Iglesia Alianza Cristiana y Misionera en Buenaventura (Valle del Cauca), fue acribillado ayer por un desconocido cuando se dirigía de su casa al centro de la ciudad, informó el pastor Rodrigo Barreto, director regional de la Misión Iglesia Alianza. Muñoz, de 48 años, recibió cinco impactos de bala en la cabeza. Las autoridades policiales iniciaron las investigaciones de inmediato, pero rehusaron adelantar detalles sobre el crimen y sobre los presuntos autores. Evangélicos Fortalecen Espiritualidad En Los Días De Carnaval 3 marzo 2006, PORTO ALEGRE, Brasil – Incentivados por el Movimiento "Encontrão," centenas de personas aprovecharon los feriados de Carnaval para tener retiros espirituales en 17 regiones de Brasil y abordar temas relacionados a la salud espiritual y física y a la misión y evangelización. El pastor presidente de la Iglesia Evangélica de Confesión Luterana en Brasil (IECLB), Walter Altmann, saludó a los participantes en el "Encontrão"(Gran Encuentro") Regional de Ivoti, que reunió, en los días de Carnaval, 497 pessoas, 40% jóvenes entre 13 y 25 años. Pastor Evangélico Fue Rechazado En Hospital Por Huelga Médica Que Gobierno No Resuelve 28 febrero 2006, MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Ni el pastor José Ramón Maltés, líder de la Iglesia Apostólica de Managua y fiscal del Consejo de Iglesias Evangélicas Pro Alianza Denominacional (CEPAD), se libró de la huelga medica que dura ya tres meses sin visos de solución. El jueves 23 de febrero el pastor llegó grave a la sala de Emergencia del Hospital Roberto Calderón, víctima de una aguda crisis renal, pero no fue admitido debido a la prolongada paralización de los médicos. Pastor Bautista Que Era Jefe Policial Muere Baleado Junto Con Hermano Y Sobrino 3 marzo 2006, OAXACA, México – Un pastor bautista que ejercía como jefe policial en la comunidad de Calihuala, Oaxaca, murió baleado junto a su hermano y su sobrino, también policías municipales, a manos de una turba que reaccionó violentamente por la detención de un hombre armado y aparentemente ebrio, que también perdió la vida en la gresca. El hecho de sangre se produjo en la madrugada del 1 de marzo, cuando Aldegundo Villavicencio Camarillo, comandante de la Policía Municipal, intervino a un grupo de personas que salían de una fiesta, uno de los cuales, Germán Valeriano Ramírez, había sacado un arma y disparado varias veces. Informe De La WACC Revela Que Medios Deciden Qué Información Debe Recibir El Público 3 marzo 2006, LIMA, Perú – Lejos de lo que se pueda creer, los poderosos medios noticiosos no son una simple ventana de lo que ocurre en el mundo; por el contrario, los medios deciden en forma constante, qué información debe recibir la audiencia, qué debe ver, escuchar o leer. Según el Proyecto de Monitoreo Global de los Medios (GMMP 2005) que coordina la Asociación Mundial para la Comunicación Cristiana (WACC, por sus siglas en inglés), una organización internacional no gubernamental con sede en Londres, incluso la idea que tienen las personas sobre quiénes son como mujeres y hombres, sus valores y actitudes, está influenciado por los mensajes de los medios. Biblista Dice Que Nada Define Mejor Al Niño Que El Juego 27 febrero 2006, CIUDAD DE PANAMA, Panama – El biblista mexicano Edesio Sánchez apoyó la tesis que viene revolucionando los esquemas educativos sobre el enorme valor del juego en las etapas iniciales de la vida de un niño. "Lo que realmente define al niño como tal es el juego, no otra cosa," dijo en la Consulta sobre "Teología y Niñez" que se realizó en la ciudad de Panamá del 23 al 26 de febrero, convocada por la Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana y el Movimiento Juntos por la Niñez. Violencia Sexual Contra Niños Y Niñas Creció "Escandalosamente" En América Latina 27 febrero 2006, CIUDAD DE PANAMA, Panamá – El mayor número de casos de abuso sexual contra los niños en América Latina ocurre en el seno de la familia o su autoría corresponde a un pariente, aseguró Nils Kastberg, funcionario del Fondo de Naciones Unidas para la Infancia (UNICEF) en Panamá, en la Consulta sobre "Teología y Niñez" organizada por la Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana y el Movimiento Juntos por la Niñez. March 3, 2006 – After a nearly decade-long partnership with the Episcopal Diocese in Renk, Sudan, a group from a Barrington, Illinois, church traveled to see first-hand what their grassroots efforts have provided a world away. The Rev. Alvin C. Johnson, Jr., rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church, and two parishioners, Jackie Kraus and Laurie Michaels, were invited by Bishop Daniel Deng Bul of the Renk Diocese to the recently constructed cathedral in Renk, which was consecrated by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams on Tuesday, February 28. Missionaries Invited Back to Evacuated Area March 2, 2006, GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan – After an arduous weekend in which rioting and death threats forced them to evacuate, Christian Reformed Church missionaries in northern Nigeria report that order is being restored. "Four people have been arrested for the church burning and threats," Dave and Jan Dykgraaf said an e-mail to staff and friends at Christian Reformed World Missions (CRWM). "Two local chiefs and the military commander in Kontagora [a town in northwest Nigeria] have encouraged us to return and assured us that things will be fine." Lutherans Respond to Food and Water Crisis in Kenya March 2, 2006, CHICAGO – Up to 3.5 million people in Kenya are in danger of dying if food and water are not delivered soon, according to Action by Churches Together (ACT). Drought conditions severely cut food and water supplies there. In response to an ACT appeal for funds, International Disaster Response of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $100,000 to support the distribution of food and water and other drought-related recovery operations in Kenya. ACT is a worldwide network of churches and related agencies that meets human need through organized emergency response. March 2, 2006 – One of Episcopal priest Brian Cox's first challenges before leading a reconciliation workshop for Pakistani and Indian Kashmiris was to convince them he wasn't a covert CIA operative or embarking on a sheep-stealing expedition. It's all part of the ministry, says Cox, a senior vice president for the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy (ICRD), an independent, Washington, D.C.-based nongovernmental agency that seeks healing and reconciliation in a variety of global hotspots. Russia Initiative Emphasizes Ministries with Young People March 2, 2006, FALLS CHURCH, Va. – Ministries with children and youth are high on the priority list of the United Methodist Church in Russia and surrounding areas. An emphasis on the young was clearly evident in the verbal and visual presentations made Feb. 23-25 at the 12th consultation of the denomination's Russia Initiative. These ministries include evangelism, formal and informal education, and social services, especially among the many orphans spread throughout the vast territory. Most are congregation-based; some of the 12 districts are beginning to organize youth ministries. Camp Veronezh, near the city of Voronezh in the Central Black Soil District of Southern March 1, 2006, JERUSALEM – An Arab-Israeli cleric and winner of international peace awards has been elevated to the rank of archbishop of the Greek Catholic (Melkite) Church in the Holy Land. Elias Chacour is the first cleric born and raised in Israel to hold the position. Chacour, a well-known, longtime partner of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), was installed as archbishop on Feb. 25 at the Mar Elias College he founded in Galilee. "I plan to work for reconciliation and dialogue among the three religions of the Holy Land," Chacour told The Jerusalem Post after his appointment was announced. "I hope to be a moderating voice in the conflict that has spilled too much blood." Palestinians Bow to Chinese Pressure, Won't Let Dalai Lama Visit Bethlehem February 27, 2006, JERUSALEM – The Dalai Lama met with religious leaders during his visit to the Holy Land, carrying a message of non-violence, religious tolerance and hope, but wasn't able to take that message to Palestinians in Bethlehem. The spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists urged Jewish and Muslim leaders to help make peace Israelis and Palestinians, even if it means talking to their bitterest enemies. "Any noble work is bound to have obstacles," the Dalai Lama told religious leaders in a Feb. 19 meeting. "We need determination to pursue justice and truth." The exiled Tibetan leader, whose five-day visit ended on Feb. 20, intended to travel to the West Bank city of Bethlehem to meet with Palestinian Muslim and Christian leaders and to see the Church of the Nativity, but the Palestinian Authority cancelled the visit because of pressure from China, Palestinian sources said. A Revealing Look at Young Men's Spirituality March 1, 2006, MINNEAPOLIS – What is the state of faith today among younger men in the church? How is the church responding to the spiritual needs of a new generation? Armed with these questions and many more, authors Roland Martinson, Paul Hill, and David Anderson conducted interviews with eighty-eight young men (ages 18-40) of differing life and faith experiences, and differing ethnic backgrounds in six regions of the U.S. This new book, Coming of Age, is based on the results of this study. Jesus on Trial – What Really Happened February 28, 2006, MINNEAPOLIS – How did Jesus, a much-loved and highly respected Jewish teacher, get sentenced to death as a criminal? The questions of students and scholars about the actual circumstances, legal situation, and subsequent development of the Passion Narratives are here answered in Sloyan's second edition of this reliable resource, first published by Fortress Press in 1973. This second edition includes additional text, updated bibliography and notes, and a new preface.
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