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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
| May 31, 2006 – Renewing commitment toward overcoming the global HIV/AIDS pandemic, people of faith joined in prayer at New York's St. Bartholomew's Church May 30 – the eve of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on HIV/AIDS, during which all UN member states will review progress of the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS. Supported by more than 70 organizations, the interfaith prayer service, "Standing Together: Love Keeps the Promise," brought together more than 200 people from Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other faith traditions, all uniting in a common mission – creating an AIDS-free world. Church Groups Renew Objections to Cuba Travel Restrictions May 30, 2006 – The National Council of Churches and Church World Service have joined with other organizations to renew objections to new U.S. government travel restrictions to Cuba. "The current U.S. policy toward Cuba restricts religious freedom and is contrary to the principles upon which our nation was founded," said the Rev. Brenda Girton-Mitchell, the NCC staff executive for justice and advocacy, during a May 25 news conference at the National Press Club. "We reiterate our call on the U.S. government to respect religious freedom and restore the less restrictive travel licenses that we have had for decades." June 1, 2006, LOUISVILLE – A group of Florida farm workers and members of the growing Alliance for Fair Food (AFF), which includes the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), recently descended on the Chicago-area headquarters of McDonald's Corp. As shareholders and executives arrived for the company's annual meeting May 25, the peaceful group of about 30 called on the fast-food hamburger giant to drop its "public relations campaign" by partnering with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) to address what they described as exploitative wages and a human rights crisis in the tomato fields of Florida. Earthquake Leads to Massive Aid Effort June 1, 2006, ENGLAND – Christian Relief agencies have swung into action following last Saturday's devastating earthquake which has left almost 6,000 people dead in Indonesia. Measured at 6.3 on the Richter Scale the quake has injured 20,000 and a further 200,000 are estimated to be homeless. Concerns that nearby volcano Mount Merapi might erupt is adding to people's fears of further destruction. Tearfund's partners working in the city of Yogyakarta, where most damage was caused, are appealing for prayer as they deal with the injured and homeless. Agustin Samosir, of Indonesian Baptist Aid reports: "Churches and youth group members in Yogyakarta are helping people who have not yet received major help. Lutherans Responding to Indonesian Earthquake June 1, 2006 LCMS World Relief/Human Care and its Baltimore-based partner, Lutheran World Relief, are providing emergency aid to victims of a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the island of Java, in central Indonesia, May 27. The quake and hundreds of aftershocks left nearly 5,700 people dead, 20,000 injured, and 200,000 without homes in this predominantly Muslim nation, according to news reports. Among buildings damaged by the temblor were at least three Lutheran churches, but details were not yet available. "Both domestic and international relief supplies have begun to arrive in the affected area," said Darin Storkson, Asia regional director for LCMS World Relief/Human Care, in a May 30 e-mail. "Health, shelter, and water supply are the priority needs." New Duke Program Will Address Rural Church Challenges June 2, 2006 – Rural areas have many strengths, including a sense of community and mutual caring, but clergy often hesitate to accept appointments to small towns. In an effort to draw more ordained clergy to small rural churches, United Methodist-related Duke Divinity School and Duke Endowment are developing a program to foster strong rural congregations and communities in North Carolina. "Thriving Rural Communities," to be introduced later this summer, will create six model United Methodist Church programs aimed at: June 1, 2006, LOUISVILLE – For six hours, Julia Thorne sat in the lobby of the Wyndham Arlington hotel in Dallas, listening to the worries of Presbyterian immigrant pastors. "The pastors came, one and two at a time, and they were really hurting," said Thorne, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s manager for immigration issues and immigration counsel. "They have immigration issues themselves. They have families with immigration issues. And it's very difficult." "They can't go back to their congregations and share because their congregations (also) are hurting," she said of the pastors gathered for the National Presbyterian Immigrant Leadership Training event held last October in Texas. Disaster Coordinators Brace for New Hurricane Season June 2, 2006 – Three men in particular are standing on the shorelines of the Gulf Coast praying for mostly sunshine and blue skies from June to November. "I haven't been looking at how many days until hurricane season starts; I am looking at how many days until it is over," says the Rev. Darryl Tate, executive director of the United Methodist Louisiana Annual (regional) Conference's Storm Recovery Center. Tate along with the Rev. Clyde Pressley, Alabama-West Florida, and Ed Blakeslee, Mississippi, lived through the one of the worst hurricane seasons to hit the United States last summer as disaster response coordinators. Resolutions Address Iraq, Sudan, Inclusiveness June 1, 2006, ADRIAN, Mich. – Resolutions condemning the war in Iraq, genocide in Sudan, and criticizing a recent Judicial Council decision regarding pastoral authority and inclusiveness were among six approved by Student Forum delegates. Of 16 resolutions introduced at the May 25-28 student leadership development conference, 14 dealt with issues of inclusiveness, particularly regarding homosexuality. All 16 resolutions were supported by a majority of the students voting, but only six received the necessary two-thirds support to become an official position of the United Methodist Student Movement, which organizes Student Forum. New Observer at the UN Sought for Important Global Role May 30, 2006, LONDON – The post of Anglican Observer at the United Nations will shortly become vacant with the retirement of the current post holder, Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea, in July. A tribute to the Archdeacon will appear in the next issue of Anglican Episcopal World and she was honoured with the Cross of St Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury during the resent Joint Standing Committee Meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council and the Primates. "The good work begun over these past years must be continued and increase in its scope if the post UN Observer truly serves the Communion," said Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion to ACNS. Church of Greece Primate Says Way Open to Ecumenical Renewal May 30, 2006 – New perspectives have been opened for renewal of the ecumenical movement as well as for Orthodox participation in the World Council of Churches (WCC) by the Council's 9th Assembly, Archbishop Christodoulos of Athens and all Greece said yesterday in Geneva. At the start of his 29-31 May visit to the WCC, the primate of the 10-million-strong (Orthodox) Church of Greece referred to "new perspectives of the ecumenical movement after the significant decisions taken by the 9th Assembly." According to Archbishop Christodoulos, the Assembly, celebrated in Porto Alegre last February, was "historic" not only because it satisfied many long-standing Orthodox demands, but especially because "it strengthened the perspectives of renewal of the ecumenical movement's mission in the new reality of the world." ELCA's ‘Understanding the Roman Catholic Church' Available June 1 May 31, 2006, CHICAGO – Following centuries of mistrust and indifference, Lutherans and Roman Catholics today are engaged in formal dialogue and cooperating in a variety of ways and at many levels. The June 1 issue of Mosaic Television, the video magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), focuses on the Roman Catholic Church, its history and its basic beliefs. Mosaic Television is the quarterly video program produced by ELCA Communication Services. It is intended for educational use in a variety of congregational settings including Sunday school classes, adult forums, youth groups, women's and men's groups, new member classes, congregational councils, committee and other organizational meetings. Ecumenical Conference Held in Syria June 1, 2006 – The Centre of Oriental Studies & Research of the Syriac Patrimony (Lebanon) in cooperation with the Council of Churches in Aleppo, held the XIth Syriac Patrimony Conference in Aleppo, Syria, from May 11 to 14, 2006. The Conference theme was "St Ephrem the Syriac, a Poet of our Times" in remembrance of the 1700 year of the poet's birth (306 – 2006). It was organized within the celebrations of Aleppo as a Capital of Islamic Culture 2006. The opening session on Thursday 11th May was marked by the presence of high level church and government officials. New Latin American Sensibility Is Being Born in the U.S., Says Richard Rodriguez May 26, 2006 – The United States is facing the return of the native. In the American scheme of things, the Indian disappeared from history: reluctantly, sadly, tragically, he was eliminated. He went into retreat in our memory. Yet, suddenly, spilling out from over our southern horizon are people who were supposed to no longer exist. The discomfiting thought occurs to us that history has not ended. Instead, we are in the middle of another turn of the wheel our words can't describe. We are facing a future we can't name. So we have decided to call the newcomers "Hispanics" in reference to the Spanish king who once ruled Mexico and the American Southwest. Dios No Es Masculino Ni Femenino Dice Agente Pastoral 30 mayo 2006, BRASILIA, Brasil –"Dios no es masculino ni femenino," enfatizó la agente pastoral católica Therezinha da Cruz, al criticar cierta tendencia de las iglesias de referirse a Dios con atributos masculinos. "Debemos analizar los textos bíblicos a partir del contexto en el cual fueron escritos, y no necesariamente como contenidos de la revelación," afirmó. Para Da Cruz, integrante del equipo de coordinación del I Seminario de Mujeres Ecuménicas de Brasilia, el lenguaje usado por las iglesias para hablar de Dios y de las cosas importantes puede revelar desigualdad de género. Organismos Eclesiásticos Critican Restricciones De Viajes a Cuba 31 mayo 2006, NUEVA YORK – El Consejo Nacional de Iglesias de Estados Unidos (CNI) y el Servicio Mundial de Iglesias (SMI) reiteraron sus objeciones a las medidas dictadas por el gobierno estadounidense para restringir los viajes a Cuba. "La actual política de Estados Unidos hacia Cuba restringe la libertad religiosa y es contraria a los principios bajo los cuales nuestra nación fue constituida," dijo Brenda Girton-Mitchell, ejecutiva del CNI para temas de Justicia y Abogacía, durante una conferencia de prensa realizada el 25 de mayo. Evangélicos Piden Que No Se Usen Fondos De Programas Sociales Para Apoyar a Candidato Oficialista 30 mayo 2006, XALAPA, México – El coordinador de la Asociación Ministerial Evangélica (AMEV) en Veracruz, Armando Díaz Salazar, pidió al gobierno federal que no use los fondos de los programas sociales para apuntalar a Felipe Calderon, el candidato presidencial oficialista. "Pensamos que eso es una competencia inequitativa," afirmó. En su habitual rueda de prensa de los domingos, Díaz Salazar refirió que: "como evangélicos, hemos oído que el Gobierno Federal, emplea esos fondos para apoyar al candidato del Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) y como AMEV hacemos un llamado para que esto no se dé y haya una mayor supervisión." May 29, 2006, NEW YORK – Rev. John Carmichael of the Church of Scientology and Imam Abdul Baqui Hamed (host of the popular "Al Islam in America" radio show) were among the New York human rights advocates on Capitol Hill last week to honor four individuals who have made a real difference to human rights at a grassroots level. "We are inspired by the people we saw honored, and we intend to get people from New York recognized in the future," said Rev. Carmichael, who coordinates the New York City branch of Youth for Human Rights. The awards, presented by actresses Anne Archer and Jenna Elfman, were sponsored by a coalition including the Church of Scientology Human Rights Department and Youth for Human Rights International. NCC Chosen for Faith-Based Health Care Survey The first nationwide, in-depth, systematic study of health services provided by religious communities is being undertaken by the National Council of Churches USA. The project will survey more than 100,000 congregations to determine the level of health care education, delivery, and advocacy being offered. The study, made possible by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will be conducted by the Rev. Dr. Eileen W. Lindner, deputy general secretary of the NCC and head of its Research and Planning Office. On Capitol Hill, Episcopal Bishops Oppose Constitutional Marriage Amendment May 26, 2006 – The Rt. Rev. Larry Maze, bishop of the Diocese of Arkansas, and the Rt. Rev. Joe Morris Doss of Louisiana joined a diverse spectrum of clergy and other religious leaders on Capitol Hill May 22 to speak against the so-called "Federal Marriage Amendment" (FMA). May 30, 2006 PHNOM PENH, Cambodia/GENEVA – The first thing you notice about Chea Phan is the right sleeve of his shirt hanging empty at his side. His arm was severed just below the shoulder during the civil war. His wife's disability is not so obvious. She walks with a minor limp. It is not until Saw Pheap points downward to the parched earth that you notice the plastic mould where her left foot used to be. Phan and Pheap live in Kauk, a dry, dusty village of about 270 people in poverty-stricken Oral District in the Province of Kampong Speu, Cambodia. The couple and their eight children sleep in a very small bare hut, propped up by one-meter-long stilts of roughly hewn timber. ELCA Provides Funds to Support the Humanitarian Response in Darfur June 1, 2006, CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) provided $200,000 May 31 to support the humanitarian response in the Darfur region of western Sudan. A three-year conflict in Darfur has resulted in the deaths of some 200,000 to 400,000 people, and more than 2.5 million people have been displaced from their homes. There also have been "many reports of rapes, looting, burning of homes and other untold atrocities committed against primarily ethnic Africans living in Darfur," said the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, ELCA presiding bishop, in a May 19 statement to members of the church. June 2, 2006, HELSINKI, Finland/GENEVA – Bishop Dr Eero Huovinen, vice-president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Nordic region, says the medieval Porvoo Cathedral, partially destroyed in a recent fire, is a significant historical marker. Its importance is not only in relation to local congregations of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF) and the country but also to global ecumenism. The cathedral in Porvoo, 50 km east of the capital Helsinki, was damaged by fire early in the morning of 29 May. Reports from the Finnish media say police had questioned three suspects – two young men and one young woman, who had given themselves up claiming responsibility for the fire that burned the cathedral's roof. New Primus for the Scottish Episcopal Church May 19, 2006 –
The Episcopal Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church has today elected The Bishop
of Glasgow & Galloway, The Rt Rev Dr Idris Jones, to serve as Primus of the Scottish
Episcopal Church. Bishop Idris spoke of the serious task facing the Church in
its mission and says: "The Episcopal Church is well poised in many areas to make
a significant contribution to developing the life of our Nation. I call upon every
Congregation and every Diocese to join with the College of Bishops in making sure
that our Church puts forward the Kingdom of God in serving the communities of
which we are a part." The Election took place at a re-convened meeting of the
Episcopal Synod (College of Bishops) in Dunblane, which was chaired by the former
Primus, the Rt Rev Bruce Cameron. |
