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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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WCC Welcomes UN Panel Report on Climate Change February 2, 2007 – The World Council of Churches (WCC) programme on climate change and water has welcomed a report released today by the UN climate panel. The fourth major report in 20 years from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presents the overwhelming scientific consensus on greenhouse gas emissions. It is "very likely," the report says, that emissions from fossil fuels and other human activities are the main causes of climate change. In IPCC terminology, "very likely" indicates at least 90 percent probability, and is the strongest link to human activities made by the panel since it was set up in 1988. Brother and Sister Tie Religion, Globalization February 1, 2007, DENVER – Rising from humble beginnings as children of sharecropper farmers to become leaders in health care and the church, a brother and sister used their national platforms to explore how God is calling the church to respond to increasing global challenges. The Rev. Chester Jones, top executive of the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race, and his sister Dr. Joycelyn Elders, former U.S. surgeon general, declared "shalom is our mission" during the Jan. 22-24 Leadership Conference at United Methodist-related Iliff School of Theology. Elders is the oldest and Jones is the youngest of eight children in their family from rural Arkansas. Both served as leaders in the conference focusing on religion and globalization. Religious, Civic Groups Want Education Act Revised January 29, 2007 – As Congress considers reauthorizing the No Child Left Behind education act, civic and religious groups believe changes are needed to ensure that no child, indeed, is left behind in the U.S. public school system. The Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, United Methodist Board of Church and Society and the National Council of Churches are among more than 80 national education, civil rights, religious, children's, disability and civic organizations backing the "Joint Organizational Statement on No Child Left Behind," issued by the Forum on Educational Accountability. While "committed to the No Child Left Behind Act's objectives of strong academic achievement for all children and closing the achievement gap," the group says changes are necessary to make the law "fair and effective." Church's New Web Site Fosters Online Community January 30, 2007, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – UMC.org, the Web site of The United Methodist Church, has been retooled to incorporate innovative technologies to bring together people around the world in new ways. The pioneering site is home to the first large-scale social networking community developed by a mainline denomination for people of faith. The redesign was unveiled Jan. 29 during an online news conference with media and other audiences. "UMC.org is more than a Web site. It's about relationships," said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of United Methodist Communications. "... Now, information about spiritual enrichment is as easy as the click of a mouse." United Methodists Join Christian Unity Conference February 2, 2007, WASHINGTON – While waiting for worship to begin at the National Cathedral, United Methodist Bishop Charlene Kammerer surprised Archbishop Vicken Aykazian of the Armenian Church in America by showing him the Armenian cross around her neck. Kammerer, bishop of the Richmond, Va., Episcopal Area, also dazzled the archbishop with her knowledge of Armenian geography. She had visited Armenia a few years ago to get a first-hand experience of Project Agape, a partnership of United Methodists in the North Carolina Conference and the Western North Carolina Conference and the Armenian Apostolic Church. El CMI Se Congratula Por El Informe De La Onu Sobre Cambio Climático 2 febrero 2007 – El programa del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) sobre cambio climático y agua ha recibido con satisfacción un informe publicado hoy por el grupo sobre el clima de la ONU. El cuarto informe principal en 20 años del Grupo Intergubernamental de Expertos sobre el Cambio Climático (IPCC) presenta el consenso científico aplastante sobre las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero. Es "muy probable," dice el informe del IPPC, que las emisiones de combustibles fósiles y otras actividades humanas sean las causas principales del cambio climático. Una Historia En Un Vaso De Agua Turbia 29 enero 2007 – Un vaso de agua puede contar toda una historia. Como el que le fue ofrecido no hace mucho a Dunstan Ddamulira en el interior de Uganda. "En mi país [Uganda] -dice Ddamulira- no se puede negar agua para beber. Así es que me detuve en esa casa y pedí un vaso de agua. Una joven me lo dio. Era lodo en un 50 por ciento." Y en apoyo de sus palabras, muestra una foto que tomó con su teléfono móvil. Es realmente lodo en un 50 por ciento. Esto ocurría en Bijaba, una aldea de unas 150 familias en Uganda central. Una Historia En Un Vaso De Agua Turbia 29 enero 2007 – Un vaso de agua puede contar toda una historia. Como el que le fue ofrecido no hace mucho a Dunstan Ddamulira en el interior de Uganda. "En mi país [Uganda] -dice Ddamulira- no se puede negar agua para beber. Así es que me detuve en esa casa y pedí un vaso de agua. Una joven me lo dio. Era lodo en un 50 por ciento." Y en apoyo de sus palabras, muestra una foto que tomó con su teléfono móvil. Es realmente lodo en un 50 por ciento. Iglesias Luteranas Reflexionan Sobre La Diaconia En El Contexto Regional 30 enero 2007, SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras – "Diaconia es el servicio realizado por las personas que siguen a Jesús Cristo, en la perspectiva del discipulado de la vía crucis, siendo por eso, una actitud de fe," afirman las Iglesias Luteranas de Centroamérica, que desde ayer y hasta el 2 de febrero realizan una consulta de Diakonia en San Pedro Sula, Honduras. En los documentos preparatorios, todos ellos de la Federación Luterana Mundial (FLM), quien sostiene un Departamento de Diaconia en Centroamérica, se define la diaconia como central para lo que significa ser Iglesia. Lutherans in Central Florida Stand by to Help after Deadly Storms February 2, 2007, CHICAGO – Lutherans in Florida are standing by to respond after severe thunderstorms and tornadoes swept through central Florida, killing 19 people Feb. 2. The storms prompted Florida Gov. Charlie Crist to declare a state of emergency for Lady, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia countries, according to CNN. According to James Wells, president and chief executive officer, Lutheran Services of Florida, Inc., Tampa, state officials have asked that no one enter the affected areas and "state officials have it under control." Lutheran Disaster Response coordinators remain on stand-by until search and recovery efforts are completed, he said, adding that about 700 homes across three or four counties in central Florida have been damaged and/or destroyed. British Methodists Fear Fallout from New Casinos February 1, 2007, MANCHESTER, England – Manchester will be the home of the United Kingdom's first super casino, ushering in new "hard forms" of gambling never before seen in the island nations, including unlimited-prize jackpot machines. British Methodist Church officials say the new Gambling Act has paved the way for the Manchester super casino, announced on Jan. 30, and 17 smaller casinos around the country, expected to put huge profits in the pockets of the gambling industry and the UK government. The British Methodist Church is challenging the government and industry to channel "substantial resources to help those many thousands, if not millions" who will develop gambling-related problems, said Anthea Cox, the church's coordinating secretary for public life and social justice. United Methodist Bishop Elected as Senator in Congo January 31, 2007 – Bishop Ntambo Nkulu Ntanda, a United Methodist bishop in the Democratic Republic of Congo, has been elected to that country's senate. The new Senate is expected to be installed Feb. 3. Congo's Parliament has two chambers, the Senate and the National Assembly. Ntambo, 59, has been bishop since 1996 and was active in the peace process in his region. He leads the denomination's North Katanga Area in the Congo and also serves as chancellor of United Methodist-related Africa University in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Holy Land Lutheran Bishop Says past 6 Months ‘Disaster' for Middle East February 2, 2007, CHICAGO – Describing the past six months as "a disaster for Palestinians and indeed the whole Middle East," the Lutheran bishop in Jerusalem urged U.S. Lutherans to join their Middle East brothers and sisters and say they are "fed up" with stigmatization, bloodshed, hatred and occupation affecting both Israelis and Palestinians. The Rev. Munib A. Younan, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), visited the United States Jan. 18-31. During that time he gave a series of lectures on the situation in the Middle East and the future of Palestinian Christianity. A Call to Action for Black America January 31, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – Fifty years after the Civil Rights Movement, far too many African American communities, and especially children in those communities, are losing ground. Robert M. Franklin, author of Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities, will address these issues when he speaks at the Fortress Forum at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on February 20th, 2007.
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