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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
Viacom, NBC-owned Cable Channels Become next to Reject United Church of Christ's TV Ads April 5, 2006 – Several prominent cable networks, which last year gave a green light to the United Church of Christ's national advertising campaign, have now backed away from that decision and are refusing to air the UCC's newest TV commercial. Nearly all of those cable networks now refusing the "ejector" ad are owned by either NBC Universal or Viacom (which operated CBS until this January) – two companies that last year rejected the UCC's "bouncer" ad as "too controversial" for its major broadcast networks. CBS Religious Broadcast Deals with Immigration Issues April 7, 2006, NEW YORK – "A Fair Harvest: Religions Response to Immigration Issues," an interfaith religion special, will be released to CBS affiliates nationwide on Sunday, April 23 (at 8-8:30 AM, ET; 5-5:30 PT) by the CBS Television Network. Local times will vary. Appearing on the program will be the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches USA, and the Rev. George Anderson, an editor at the Jesuit magazine, America, to add their perspective to the religious response to immigration issues. "A Fair Harvest" is a special religious program about fresh attempts to achieve dignity for migrant farm-workers. April 4, 2006 – On April 10, the Mall in Washington, DC will be the scene of a major rally urging the Senate to adhere to the principles embodied in the draft immigration reform bill set forth by the Judiciary Committee. Rallies in cities across the United States, coinciding with what is expected to be a push this week for final Senate action, continue to express support for key elements of the bill. The bill before the Senate provides for a guest workers' program that anticipates permanent residence and citizenship for a considerably expanded number of visas for workers, along with a process for allowing some number of those in now in the country without status to seek permanent residence and citizenship. Bishop Calls for Immigration Reform April 6, 2006 – United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño has asked Arizona lawmakers "to bring undocumented immigrants out of the shadows" and begin treating them fairly and justly in the variety of jobs they have assumed for society. Carcaño, bishop of the Arizona and Southern Nevada areas, made the plea April 4. She was joined by Bishop Gerald Kicana of the Roman Catholic Church in Tucson, Bishop Kirk Smith of the Episcopal Church in Arizona and other religious leaders in making a statement that urged state legislators "to lead us as one community in search of common good." "There is no question that Arizona is at the epicenter of what is now a national policy issue," the statement said. Sudanese Ex-Slave Registers Protest by Walking from New York to Washington April 7, 2006, LOUISVILLE – One day after the House of Representatives passed a bill that would step up pressure on Sudan's government to implement the peace agreement it signed months ago, Simon Deng is taking the train back to New York City. He had made the 300-mile journey from the United Nations building to the Capitol in Washington on foot. He arrived there Wednesday, the day before the House vote. Deng's trek was a personal protest against the slave trade in Sudan and the ongoing genocide there, especially in the eastern province of Darfur, where Sudan's government is accused of arming Arab militias who have killed and displaced more than 3.5 million black Africans. ELCA Presiding Bishop's 2006 Easter Message April 5, 2006 – The Easter Gospel lesson from John ends with Mary Magdalene's cry of faith, "I have seen the Lord." Mary – vigilant, faithful and weeping – is the first to declare her faith in the risen Lord. The joyous good news comes after a vigil of darkness and despair. The 40 days of Lent have been a time of vigilance for us as well. With ashes on our brows on Ash Wednesday, we commited ourselves to be vigilant through prayer, fasting and almsgiving. We sought to be vigilant and faithful, but our vigilance wavered. Like the disciples asked to keep watch, weariness overwhelmed our best intentions. Vigilance is difficult for us. Our minds wander and our spirits despair. We forget the good news for which the poor ache. We neglect our call to be public witnesses in our churches, in our homes, among all people. All Americans Are in Debt – to the Lord, Pastor Says April 3, 2006, DALLAS – Debt is something all African-American United Methodists have in common, says a United Methodist pastor and politician. Black Methodists are "indebted" for the vision of Black Methodists for Church Renewal, said the Rev. Emmanuel Cleaver III, senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church, Kansas City, Mo., in a keynote address to at least 1,000 people during the banquet of the 39th annual meeting of Black Methodists for Church Renewal. The meeting took place March 21-25 in Dallas. Cleaver said he had just entered the ordained ministry after the organization was founded in 1967 when he learned, "the founders knew what their mission was within the Methodist Church. It was about renewal. More Space for Creation in the Christian Calendar April 6, 2006 – More space to honour God as Creator and to reflect on the preservation of the environment is needed within the Christian calendar. This is the message from a consultation on Creation Spirituality which was held in Geneva, 2-6 April 2006 under the auspices of the European Christian Environmental Network (ECEN) and the International Reformed John Knox Centre. Twenty-five theologians and liturgists from all over Europe and from all church traditions took part in the event. "We have reaffirmed the proposal to establish a ‘Creation Time' within the Christian yearly calendar," said the Swiss theologian Lukas Vischer, who chaired the consultation. Computers Will Help Congregations Stay in Touch April 6, 2006 – United Methodist churches in Louisiana and Mississippi devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita got a much needed delivery recently – computers. The donated computers – 115 desktops and 20 laptops – are the result of a joint effort by United Methodist Communications and the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits. The pension board was in the process of replacing the computers in the fall of 2005 when the idea of giving the computers to pastors and congregations was conceived by Sean McAtee, tech shop director for United Methodist Communications, and Linda Haas, a senior analyst at the Board of Pension. The computers were three to four years old. April 7, 2006 – At a March 28-31 meeting at Simpsonwood Conference and Retreat Center near Atlanta, Georgia, 34 churches and national Christian organizations, representing over 100 million Americans, made the historic decision to organize officially as Christian Churches Together in the USA (CCT-USA). CCT is comprised of national leaders from Christian familiesâ*"Evangelical/Pentecostal, Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic-whose mission is "to enable churches and Christian organizations to grow closer together in Christ in order to strengthen our Christian witness in the world." ELCA Council Finds Synod Resolution Conflicts with Church Rules April 7, 2006, CHICAGO – The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) decided a resolution the ELCA Metropolitan New York Synod adopted in a special assembly Oct. 29, 2005, "contains inherently conflicting statements that may be read as being in conflict with the constitution and bylaws of this church." The synod resolution addressed "the exercise of discipline" regarding lay professional and ordained ministers living in committed same-sex relationships. Laborers for Christ Seeks 100 New Workers April 6, 2006 – Laborers For Christ (LFC) is gearing up for a busy year and can use as many as 100 new people with "a heart for ministry" to help congregations throughout the country tackle building projects. The Synod's church-construction group, which uses mostly retired workers and on-site volunteers to keep costs low, plans to staff 25 projects this year. LFC organizers don't yet know if the organization will be assisting hurricane victims, since no requests for help have been received from that area. April 6, 2006 – Hispanic leaders in the United Church of Christ are expressing "deep sadness and disappointment" that the UCC's newest TV ad has been rejected by Telemundo and Univision, two widely-popular, Spanish-language networks that reach nearly 100 percent of U.S. Hispanic households. A Spanish version of the UCC's 30-second commercial, known as "ejector," was turned down on March 30 by NBC Universal, a family of broadcast and cable networks that includes Telemundo. A separate company, Univision – which also owns the Telefutura and Galavision networks – similarly rejected the UCC's ad on the same day. Bishop Finds Himself ‘Back from Where I Started From...' April 3, 2006, DALLAS – Bishop Melvin G. Talbert may be serving in an administrative role for the denomination's black caucus, but he says it's still part of his spiritual calling as an episcopal leader of the United Methodist Church. The national meeting of Black Methodists for Church Renewal, March 21-25, was held under the caucus' quadrennial theme, "If We Build It, They Will Come." The focus for the 2006 meeting was "Pathways to Faithful Leadership." Talbert reminded his constituency during the 39th annual meeting that "the mission of BMCR is to raise up prophetic and spiritual leaders who will be advocates for justice, peace and freedom in the United Methodist Church and society." ‘Non-Mainline' Protestant Churches Gaining Membership in United States April 3, 2006, NEW YORK – Pentecostal and so-called "non-mainline" Protestant denominations are continuing to grow in the United States while mainstream churches lose membership, according to the latest annual figures from the National Council of Churches (NCC). The largest U.S. Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, showed a decline in membership while the Roman Catholic Church, the largest single church body, showed a slight increase. The NCC this week released the figures in its 2006 Yearbook of American and Canadian churches. Of the 25 largest churches in the United States, those showing the largest increases in membership were the Assemblies of God, a Pentecostal denomination, up by 1.81 percent, to 2.78 million; the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, up by 1.74 percent, to 5.99 million; and the Roman Catholic Church, up by 0.83 percent, to 67.82 million. Roots of Latin American/Caribbean Methodism Go Deep April 6, 2006 – The roots of Methodism in the Latin America/Caribbean region were planted more than 240 years ago in Antigua. There, in the 1760s, a group of Afro-Caribbean slaves developed the first Methodist congregation outside of England and Ireland. While British Methodists continued their outreach in the English- speaking Caribbean and in Haiti, mission initiatives in much of Latin America were fostered by the predecessor denominations of the United Methodist Church in the United States. Prison Ministry Is Focus of New Documentary, Reporting Series March 31, 2006 – "Changing Lives: Behind the Walls at Angola" is the title of a new feature-length video documentary following the effects of an Episcopal chaplain's ministry inside a prison once considered the bloodiest in America: the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola, Louisiana. The penitentiary, known simply as "Angola," is Louisiana's only maximum security prison, located some 59 miles northwest of Baton Rouge. With an inmate population of 5,108, some 86 percent are violent offenders and 52 percent are serving life sentences. There are currently 84 male inmates and 1 woman inmate (at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women) on Louisiana's Death Row. United Methodists to Recruit New Missionaries April 7, 2006, STAMFORD, Conn. – The United Methodist Church needs at least 20 new international missionaries over two years. A recruitment effort-"The Next Missionary May be YOU"-was launched during the April 3-6 spring meeting of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries. "We are extremely pleased to be able to again actively recruit missionaries for international service," said the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the international mission agency. Chilenos Creen En Dios, Pero No Van a Templos Y Piden Apertura Sobre Uso De Anticonceptivos 4 abril 2006, SANTIAGO, Chile – Una abrumadora mayoría de chilenos (el 94 por ciento) confiesa creer en Dios, pero 6 de cada 10, nunca acuden o asisten raramente a un templo, según lo reveló una encuesta del diario El Mercurio publicada el domingo. La muestra abarcó a 1.000 personas de 24 comunas del Gran Santiago y ofrece un peculiar y contradictorio perfil religioso de los chilenos, en especial en el caso de los católicos; un 64,7 por ciento de la población, que mayoritariamente se muestra favorable al uso de anticonceptivos y al divorcio, dos temas que merecen la más cerrada oposición de la Iglesia Católica. El Negro Spiritual Es Un Canto a La Esperanza En Medio Del Dolor Afirma Profesora 5 abril 2006, SÃO LEOPOLDO, Brasil – Aunque poco difundido en las escuelas de canto, el género musical conocido como Negro Spiritual representa mucho más que bellas canciones, pues encarna la osadía de cantar la esperanza en medio del dolor, dijo la teóloga y profesora de música, Ruth Kratochvil, de la Escuela Superior de Teología (EST). El Negro Spiritual es una expresión de la presencia del Creador, afirmó Kratochvil, en el Encuentro de Ética del Instituto Humanitas de la Universidad del Valle del Río dos Sinos (UNISINOS), celebrado el lunes. Congreso Latinoamericano Sobre Religión Y Etnicidad Se Celebrará En Brasil 6 abril 2006, SAO PAULO, Brasil – "Mundos religiosos: identidades y convergencias" será el tema central del XI Congreso Latinoamericano sobre Religión y Etnicidad que se celebrará del 3 al 7 de julio en la ciudad de Sao Paulo, en Brasil, convocado por la Asociación Latinoamericana para el Estudio de las Religiones (ALER). La cita pretende abordar desde una perspectiva antropológica e histórica, con enfoques contemporáneos y comparativos, la dinámica de los sistemas religiosos simbólicos y de identidades en los procesos sociales. Entre las conferencias principales figuran: Obispo Luterano Revela Declaración De Pinochet Justificando Tortura Durante Dictadura 3 abril 2006 Cubanos Y Estadounidenses Oraron Juntos Por La Paz Y Mejores Relaciones 3 abril 2006, LA HABANA, Cuba – Cubanos y estadounidenses oraron a Dios por la paz y un mejor entendimiento entre ambos países, durante un culto especial realizado el domingo en la Primera Iglesia Presbiteriana Reformada de Cuba, con motivo de la visita a la Isla de una delegación encabezada por el moderador de la Iglesia Presbiteriana de los Estados Unidos, Rick Ufford-Chase. "En este momento las relaciones entre las iglesias de los EE.UU. y Cuba son más profundas que nunca, dijo el líder presbiteriano estadounidense, que refirió que esta misma semana tres delegaciones de diferentes estados visitan la Isla para conocer y profundizar la hermandad que existe con congregaciones cubanas. Intolerancia Religiosa Generalmente Se Vale Del Estado Y Usa La Violencia 31 marzo 2006, VALENCIA, España – La intolerancia religiosa engendra odio e inseguridad y da lugar a fundamentalismos y perjuicios contra los diferentes, muchas veces con apoyo del Estado y haciendo uso de la violencia, aseguró Máximo García Ruiz, presidente del Consejo Evangélico de Madrid, en la Mesa "Conflictos Religiosos" del V Foro Ciudades contra la Pobreza que hoy concluye en esta ciudad. La historia demuestra que detrás de la intolerancia, de las persecuciones, de la torturas y de las guerras, siempre aparece como causa alguna creencia religiosa, señaló. Evangélicos Emplazan Al Gobierno Y Tribunales a Hacer Justicia Para Detener Ola De Crímenes 7 abril 2006, CARACAS, Venezuela – El Consejo Evangélico de Venezuela (CEV) rechazó los asesinatos ocurridos recientemente en el país y advirtió sobre la impotencia y decepción que invadiría al pueblo venezolano si quedaran impunes, por lo que emplazó al gobierno y a los tribunales a hacer justicia para detener la ola de crímenes. La organización religiosa lanzó un llamado a los organismos de seguridad y justicia a que "tomen las medidas justas y efectivas que puedan detener esta ola de crímenes que está trayendo el dolor y la muerte a los hogares venezolanos." Demandan a Iglesias Mayor Acción Contra Trabajo Forzado Y Abusos Que Sufren Niños 6 abril 2006, CIUDAD DE GUATEMALA – "Ya no es posible que las iglesias se mantengan aisladas en sus parroquias, es necesario que salgan a atender a quienes nada tienen," sostuvo el exvicepresidente regional de Visión Mundial para América Latina, el pastor brasileño Manfred Grellert, que les pidió mayor acción contra el trabajo forzado de miles de niños, el trafico de órganos y la prostitución infantil. Crece Feligresía Pentecostal, Católica Y Mormona Mientras Iglesias Protestantes Pierden Fieles 5 abril 2006, NEW YORK – Las iglesias Asambleas de Dios, Católica y de Jesucristo de los Santos de los Últimos Días registran un crecimiento de fieles en los Estados Unidos mientras las grandes denominaciones protestantes históricas pierden miembros, revela el último anuario del Consejo Nacional de Iglesias de Cristo (NCC), puesto en circulación esta semana. De las 25 iglesias más grandes en los Estados Unidos, las que muestran el mayor incremento son las Asambleas de Dios, una iglesia pentecostal, que creció 1.81 por ciento, y registra ahora una membresía de dos millones 780 mil personas. Obispo Presidente Mark S. Hanson, Mensaje De Pascua Del 2006 April 5, 2006 – La leccion del Evangelio de Pascua de Juan acaba con la exclamacion de fe de Maria Magdalena: "He visto al Senor." Maria – llorosa, fiel y vigilante – es la primera en declarar su fe en el Senor resucitado. La jubilosa buena nueva llega despues de una vigilia de oscuridad y desesperacion. Los cuarenta dias de la Cuaresma han sido un tiempo de vigilancia tambien para nosotros. Con la ceniza sobre nuestra frente en este Miercoles de Ceniza nos comprometimos a mantenernos vigilantes por medio de la oracion, el ayuno y las obras de caridad. United Methodist Mission Agency Rejects Harsh Laws Against Immigrants April 7, 2006, STAMFORD, Conn. – As the Senate considered a compromise on immigration legislation, the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries called upon Congress to refrain from enacting harsh and intolerant laws against undocumented workers. That was one of the actions taken by directors during the board's April 3-6 meeting in Stamford, Conn. As noted by the statement adopted April 6, the United Methodist Church, including its mission agency, "has a long history of being in ministry with immigrants and supporting just immigration policies." Concerns of NCC Education Committee over NCLB Draw More Response April 7, 2006, NEW YORK – "Thanks so much for your ‘Ten Moral Concerns...,'" read an email responding to a redistribution of a list of concerns about the federal government's No Child Left Behind (NCLB) law. "It's the best summary I've seen of the problems inherent in the NCLB legislation," wrote a resident of Florida on April 2. Last November the National Council of Churches Committee on Public Education and Literacy issued a statement on "Ten Moral Concerns in the Implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act." Recently, excerpts of the statement were published online by the Public Education Network's Weekly Newsblast and picked up on the Daily Kos blog. United Methodist Women to Explore Immigrant Rights April 4, 2006 The Church as Counterculture in the Words of Brueggemann April 3, 2006, MINNEAPOLIS – In the last several years, Walter Brueggemann's writings have directly addressed the situation of Christian communities in today's globalized context, with its consumerist lifestyles, vast inequalities, and near-imperial exercises of power. His insights, forged in rugged encounters with the texts of the Old Testament, are sharp, painful, and indispensable. In the people Israel Brueggemann finds a model of an alternative community-anchored in YHWH, ever exploring new possibilities, and prophetically bent against empire. What You Need to Know to Understand Theology Today April 7, 2006, MINNEAPOLIS – No other movement or insight has challenged Christian theology so steeply in the modern period as historicism. The 200-year-old notion that concepts, ideas, and theories are all influenced by, or occasioned by, historical circumstances is today a commonplace in all fields, and lays bare the historical character of our most cherished convictions, honored traditions, and dogmatic formulations. Historicism: The Once and Future Challenge for Theology by Sheila Greeve Davaney, the latest in the Guides to Theological Inquiry series from Fortress Press, helps theology come to terms with historicism and its imperatives.
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