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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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January 23, 2007 – The war on terror will "never" be won "as long as there are conditions in the world that make people desperate," like dehumanizing poverty, disease and ignorance, Nobel laureate and former Archbishop Desmond Tutu told ecumenical participants at the start of the 2007 World Social Forum (WSF) in Nairobi. "God is weeping," Tutu told the ecumenical gathering at Nairobi's Holy Family Roman Catholic Basilica, at the sight of the awful things happening in the world today. "God weeps and says: ‘Who will help me so we can have a different kind of world, one in which the rich know they have been given much so they can share and help others?'" January 26, 2007 – The Anglican Communion's Covenant Design Group's report to the February meeting of the Communion's Primates will include a draft covenant, according to one of the two Episcopal Church members of the group. Both the Rev. Dr. Katherine Grieb, associate professor of New Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary, and the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner, rector of Church of the Ascension in Pueblo, Colorado, adhered to the group's agreement to keep the details of its report confidential. Grieb said the report contains a draft of a proposed covenant. Controversy Intensifies over Proposed Bush Library at SMU January 19, 2007 – A group of United Methodist clergy and lay people have launched an online petition drive to pressure Southern Methodist University to drop its bid for the George W. Bush Presidential Library. But others in the denomination do not agree with that position. "What is now political controversy will, in a short time, become historical study," said one United Methodist bishop in response to the petition drive. A Story in a Glass of Muddy Water January 26, 2007 – A glass of water could tell a whole story. Like the glass Dunstan Ddamulira was offered recently in the Ugandan countryside. "In my country [Uganda]," Ddamulira says, "you can't be refused water to drink. So I stopped by at this house and asked for a glass of water. A girl gave it to me. It was 50 percent mud." And to prove what he says, he shows a picture he took with his cell phone. It is 50 percent mud. That glass of muddy water was offered to Ddamulira in Bijaba, a village of some 150 families in central Uganda. Taking Risks to Protect the Vulnerable January 24, 2007 – The international community's responsibility to protect endangered populations when their governments fail to do so – if necessary, by the use of force – and church support for such measures was the subject of a lively debate at a World Council of Churches (WCC) workshop at the 20-25 January World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. The "responsibility to protect" is an emerging, but controversial, international standard. Ecological Debt: Who Owes Whom? January 25, 2007 – "Mozambique is owed an ecological debt by those who constructed and have made profits from the dams of the Zambezi River, that is to say, the Portuguese government and the South African company Eskom," Malawian economist Francis Ng'ambi told participants at a World Council of Churches (WCC) workshop on ecological debt at the 20-25 January World Social Forum in Nairobi, Kenya. Ng'ambi was presenting a case study to illustrate the relatively new concept of "ecological debt." The idea is that industrialized Northern countries – their institutions and corporations – have a debt towards Southern countries because of the manner in which they have used these countries' natural resources, often devastating and contaminating natural environments. Seeds of Life – Looking for Alternatives to the Dominant Agrobusiness Model January 24, 2007 – Why have an alarming number of Indian farmers taken their lives over the last years? Why are people in the rural Jang Seong county near Kwangju, South Korea, getting involved in organic farming? Why are church-sponsored organizations in Brazil working to recover native seeds? The answer to these questions has a lot to do with the impact of economic globalization on agriculture, where two models are currently locked in a life-and-death contest. In the case of India, the story starts with the introduction, some 15 years ago, of genetically modified cotton seeds. Presiding Bishop Urges Congregations to Observe Theological Education Sunday January 24, 2007 – Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has asked all congregations of the Episcopal Church to observe Theological Education Sunday on February 4 "in a focused way" and as an occasion to "recognize and celebrate those who teach and learn in their search for a deeper knowledge and understanding of God." United Methodists Provide Shelter in Storm January 19, 2007 – With "high" temperatures in the 20s and days without sun, hundreds of thousands are finding a warm place to sleep, thanks to open doors at United Methodist churches across nine states. "Of course, anything God does is absolutely gorgeous, whether it is good or not," says Ed Hewlett, a member of Schweitzer United Methodist Church, Springfield, Mo. "But it looks like a bomb went off here." Hewlett and several other volunteers have been putting in long days at the church since Jan. 12, when a winter storm knocked out power and buried most of the city under ice. More than 150 people have been living in the church, and more than 200 have been finding hot meals there three times a day. Speaker Tells Abortion-Rights Opponents Not to Give up January 24, 2007, WASHINGTON – While ardent opponents of abortion rights filled subways and streets for the March for Life rally on the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a small group of United Methodists quietly worshiped together, renewing a call to change the church's position on abortion as a choice under certain circumstances. But the group acknowledged that revising the church's stance on abortion, as outlined in the Book of Discipline, is not an active battle within the denomination. January 26, 2007 – At the invitation of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Bishop Jeremiah Park of the New York Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Rev. Dr. David Henritzy joined Bishop Christopher Epting, the Episcopal Church's Ecumenical and Interfaith Officer, for a special Eucharist in the Episcopal Church's Chapel of Christ the Lord in New York on January 25, observing the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul and concluding the celebration of this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. January 26, 2007, GENEVA – "Ecumenism involves learning to work through the scrapes and bruises. We are changed agents in the church, but what that means will involve a long process." Adam Dichsen of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, Illinois, USA, made these remarks in a group discussion following a two-week study tour to church organizations based at the Ecumenical Center in Geneva, Switzerland, including the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). He was among a group of over 20 students from seminaries of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) who participated in the 7-19 January third annual course on "The Ecumenical Church in a Globalized World." ELCA Joins Inauguration of Christian Churches Together on February 7 January 22, 2007, CHICAGO – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is one of 36 churches and national Christian organizations that will be founding members when Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. (CCT) is inaugurated Feb. 7 at Pasadena Presbyterian Church, Pasadena, Calif. CCT will bring together families of Christian churches and organizations from across the United States. Another 18 churches and national Christian organizations are involved or are present as observers in the CCT decision-making process. The ELCA's 2003 Churchwide Assembly adopted an action to join CCT by a vote of 918 to 48. "The creation of Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. is an exciting development in the ecumenical world. It is an opportunity to broaden the ecumenical table or perhaps more directly to invite more people into ecumenical conversation," said the Rev. Randall R. Lee, executive, ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations. Benedicto XVI Tendrá Un Encuentro Con El Presidente Lula En Mayo 25 enero 2007, SAN PABLO, Brasil – El papa Benedicto XVI visitará Brasil en mayo, cuando será recibido por el presidente Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, participará del encuentro con la juventud católica, oficiará dos misas, una en San Pablo y otra en Aparecida del Norte, y abrirá la V Conferencia General del Episcopado Latino-Americano y Caribeño (CELAM). La nunciatura apostólica deberá informar, en los próximos días, el programa oficial de la visita de Benedicto XVI en el Brasil. Semillas De Vida: La Búsqueda De Alternativas Al Modelo Dominante De La Agroindustria 26 enero 2007 – ¿Por qué un número alarmante de agricultores indios se han quitado la vida en los últimos años? ¿Por qué la gente de la comarca rural de Jang Seong, cerca de Kwangju, en la República de Corea (Corea del Sur), está dedicándose a la agricultura ecológica? ¿Por qué trabajan recuperando semillas autóctonas organizaciones brasileñas respaldadas por las iglesias? La respuesta a estas preguntas tiene mucho que ver con el impacto de la globalización económica en la agricultura, donde dos modelos están atrapados hoy día en una lucha a vida o muerte. La Comunidad Cristiana Se Regocija En La Unidad 22 enero 2007, SAN JOSÉ DE LAS LAJAS, Cuba – La Semana de Oración por la Unidad de los Cristianos comenzó a celebrarse en Cuba a nivel comunitario, con el regocijo de católicos y evangélicos en el afán de echar a un lado las diferencias y hacer visible el mandato de Jesús: "Que todos sean uno." En San José de Las Lajas, un pequeño municipio cercano a la capital, tuvo lugar un servicio religioso en un apartamento de un edificio, devenido hoy templo de una de las congregaciones de la Fraternidad de Iglesias Bautistas de Cuba. 24 enero 2007 – La guerra contra el terror "nunca" se ganará "mientras haya en el mundo condiciones que lleven a la gente a la desesperación," como pobreza deshumanizadora, enfermedad e ignorancia. El premio Nobel y ex arzobispo Desmond Tutu habló así a los participantes ecuménicos en la inauguración del Foro Social Mundial (FSM) de 2007 en Nairobi. "Dios llora," dijo Tutu en el encuentro ecuménico en la Basílica Católica Romana de la Sagrada Familia de Nairobi, ante el espectáculo de las cosas terribles que suceden en el mundo de hoy. Luteranos Atentos a Los Temas Del Foro Social Mundial 25 enero 2007, NAIROBI, Kenia – Una delegación de la Federación Luterana Mundial (FLM), integrada por 40 personas, participó del séptimo Foro Social Mundial (FSM), reunido en Nairobi, Kenia, del 20 al 25 de enero, acompañando discusiones sobre derechos humanos, repatriación de refugiados, globalización económica, cuestión del agua, pobreza, HIV-Aids y derechos de la mujer. "La pregunta por una justicia social y la aplicación de recursos nacionales para el desarrollo y formación en lugar de promover la guerra es algo mucho más importante para mi, personalmente, pues vengo de un país destruido por la guerra," declaró el obispo Sumoward E. Harris, de la Iglesia Luterana en Liberia, en entrevista para el Servicio de prensa de la FLM. Kasper Aseguró Que Dialogarán Con Los Protestantes, Pero No Cederán En Temas Éticos 24 enero 2007, CIUDAD DEL VATICANO – En un comunicado difundido ayer por la agencia de noticias vaticana Zenit, el cardenal Walter Kasper aseguró que carecen de todo fundamento las acusaciones que se hacen a Benedicto XVI y a la Santa Sede de desinterés por el diálogo con las comunidades eclesiales surgidas de la Reforma. "En muchas ocasiones, recordó el presidente del Consejo Pontificio para la Promoción de la Unidad de los Cristianos, este Papa ha mantenido encuentros con los representantes de estas comunidades, y tres comisiones conjuntas han concluido trabajos importantes en 2006, a nivel de relaciones con anglicanos, luteranos y metodistas." God's Business Is Unfinished, James Carroll Tells Opening Eucharist for Trinity Institute January 23, 2007 – Author and Boston Globe columnist James Carroll told the congregation gathered for the January 22 opening Eucharist of Trinity Institute's 37th national theological conference that "the human presence is by definition unfinished because we know what we remember and we know what we want." "And how do we know this?" Carroll asked. "Because we ate of the fruit of the tree of knowledge, which is the knowledge of mortality." Carroll was preaching, in part, on this year's conference theme: "God's Unfinished Future: Why It Matters Now." The Future Can Be Filled with Hope, Moltmann and Gomes Tell Trinity Institute By Mary Frances Schjonberg Wednesday, January 24, 2007 – The 37th Trinity Institute National Theological Conference concluded January 24 with presentations by Jürgen Moltmann and Peter Gomes on the conference theme of "God's Unfinished Future: Why it Matters Now." Mission Team Helps Native Americans on Gulf Coast January 25, 2007 – Native American communities in Louisiana and Mississippi still reeling from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita received a third visit by a United Methodist Native American disaster relief team. "It's a God thing that they are willing to come to our community," said the Rev. Kirby Verret, pastor of Clanton Chapel United Methodist Church in Dulac, La. A 10-member team from the Southeast Jurisdiction celebrated the New Year with their native brothers and sisters from Dec. 29-Jan. 4, said Darlene Jacobs, executive director of the Southeastern Jurisdictional Agency for Native American Ministries at Lake Junaluska, N.C. A team traveled to the Gulf Coast after the hurricanes hit in November 2005 and returned in April 2006. United Methodist Pastor to Appeal IRS Levy on Pension Check January 23, 2007 – A United Methodist clergyman in Oregon and longtime "war tax" resister is fighting an Internal Revenue Service levy placed on his pension provided by the denomination. The Rev. John Schwiebert, currently a volunteer pastor of Metanoia Peace Community United Methodist Church in Portland, Ore., wants the United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits to remove the levy. He and his wife, Pat, will appear at the board's Jan. 26 meeting in Hollywood, Fla., to ask its directors to consider an alternative to complying with the IRS. Church Can Do More to Help Poor in Africa, Commissioners Find January 23, 2007, MARANGE, Zimbabwe – The daily life of a rural African woman is heavy-laden, and the governing members of United Methodist Communications experienced that firsthand. Members of the Commission on Communication spent hours doing what is known in rural Africa as "woman's work." They hauled water, broke wood and built fires, cooked meals for schoolchildren over an open flame and made drinks. They also unloaded tons of staples and delivered foodstuffs to homes in the countryside. Afraid to Return Home
– January 26, 2007, NAIROBI Kenya/GENEVA – Two years after the January 2005 signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the South-based Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, hope for the repatriation of Sudanese refugees has been dwindling by the day. In South Sudan, conditions do not favor their return, and the refugee camps in neighboring countries do not offer a long-term solution. Miles away in Liberia, people who fled the civil war there are still in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and some small groups in Ivory Coast, yet peace has been restored. Wealth,
Poverty, Ecology Tied to the Common Good, January 23, 2007 – At the World Social Forum in Nairobi, speakers at a workshop organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) said that wealth, poverty and ecology are strongly linked to each other and to society's commitment to the common good. Wealth, poverty and ecology are all closely related to the sustainability of life, said Dr Marcos Arruda, from Brazil. A social researcher and activist, Arruda called the current world economy "one of war and death" which threatens life because of social inequality, global financial crisis and militarization. It needs to be replaced by a "solidarity-based economy" that requires the "socialization and democratization of property." Middle East Lutheran Bishop Visits U.S., Calls for Peace among Palestinians January 22, 2007, CHICAGO – The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land, Jerusalem, is in the United States this month for a series of speaking engagements at Lutheran institutions and at the Global Mission Festival this week in Winter Park, Fla. Younan spoke Jan. 18 at Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pa., met with students and faculty Jan. 19 at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), and preached Jan. 20 and 21 at Trinity Lutheran Church, Lansdale, Pa. Winfred Vergara Named Director of Ethnic Congregational Development January 25, 2007 – The Rev. Dr. Winfred (Fred) B. Vergara has been named director of Ethnic Congregational Development (ECD) for the Episcopal Church, the Rev. Dr. James B. Lemler, director of mission, announced on January 25. The Office of ECD, an integral part of the church's work of evangelism, holds advocacy and congregational development as equal responsibilities. It is comprised of the offices for Asian American Ministries, led by Vergara; Black Ministries, led by the Rev. Canon Angela Ifill; Native American Ministries, led by Janine Tinsley-Roe; and Latino/Hispanic Ministries, led by the Rev. Anthony Guillén.
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