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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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Immigration Conference Urges Hospitality to ‘The Stranger' February 8, 2007, LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – Participants at a conference in the cold Great Smoky Mountains were reminded that God created hospitality – not borders and walls. "God has concern for widows and orphans and marginalized outcasts, and there is nothing you can do about it," said the Rev. A. Clark Jenkins, pastor of St. Andrew-by-the-Sea United Methodist Church in Hilton Head, S.C. That message was sent home with more than 100 people attending the United Methodist conference called "Our Call to Hospitality: A Biblical Response to the Challenges of Immigration." ELCA, Episcopal Church Release Ecumenical Study Guide on Global Poverty February 8, 2007, WASHINGTON – A study guide on global poverty and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), produced by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Episcopal Church, is available for download and for purchase through Augsburg Fortress. "God's Mission in the World" is intended as a resource for congregations and other groups looking to "broaden their understanding of global poverty and become part of the worldwide movement achieving the MDGs," according to the guide's introduction. Presiding Bishop Brings Message of ‘Shalom' to Episcopal Urban Caucus Conference February 9, 2007, RALEIGH, North Carolina – Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori addressed nearly 200 members of the Episcopal Urban Caucus (EUC) on February 8 and commended the organization on its mission to relieve oppression and suffering in the world and encouraged members to further examine how its mission can connect to that of the larger church in reconciling the word of God because "the world is not reconciled as long as some live without." Bishops: Church Transcends National Borders February 8, 2007, LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C. – Hospitality to the stranger is not an option for Christians, say two United Methodist bishops serving in areas with large populations of immigrants. Bishops Timothy W. Whitaker, Florida Area, and Hee-Soo Jung, Chicago Area, were part of a conference sponsored by The United Methodist Church on the biblical responses to the challenges of immigration in the United States. "In Florida, we have watched families torn apart and children left behind," said Whitaker. "Can you be silent about public policy that leaves children orphans?" Meharry Scientists Seek AIDS Shield for Women February 7, 2007, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – With every experiment, Dr. James Hildreth and his team of researchers believe they are closer to answers about AIDS, a leading cause of death for African-American women ages 25-34. Working at Meharry Medical College, a historically black medical, dental and research school supported by The United Methodist Church, the scientists are developing a new drug to protect all women against the virus. "A vaccine for HIV may be a long time coming," said Hildreth, director of Meharry's Comprehensive Center for AIDS Health Disparity Research. "So the best alternative to a vaccine is a microbicide. And these are gels or creams that women would use to block vaginal transmission of the virus." Commentary: Even Bush Opponents Can Gain from Library February 5, 2007 – I am a Democrat, a United Methodist clergywoman, an ethicist, a Southern Methodist University faculty member at Perkins School of Theology and an enthusiastic supporter of efforts to bring the George W. Bush Presidential Library to SMU. As a Democrat, I have not supported President Bush in any election, but I am delighted to support the Bush library. Every day I think of another way that the presidential library would help my work as a teacher and scholar. In my ethics classes, when we talk about just-war theory, I could have students go to the presidential library to compare the Bush administration's rationale for the war in Iraq with various just-war arguments. Nueva Alianza Mundial De Iglesias Que Trabajan Por El Desarrollo Es Fundada En Nairobi 6 febrero 2007 – "La capacidad del movimiento ecuménico para responder a los desafíos del mundo actual depende en gran medida de la creación de redes y de formas de cooperación más creativas y orientadas al futuro," dijo ayer el Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, secretario general del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI), en la primera asamblea de ACT para el Desarrollo, una nueva alianza de iglesias y organizaciones relacionadas que trabajan en materia de desarrollo. La asamblea se celebra del 6 al 7 de febrero de 2007 en Nairobi, Kenya, tras un proceso de consulta con contrapartes interesadas que ha durado dos años. SS Bartholomeus Distingue Al Secretario Adjunto Del CMI 8 febrero 2007, GINEBRA, Suiza – El patriarca ecuménico SS Bartholomeus ha otorgado el título honorífico de "archon" al secretario general adjunto del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) Georges Lemopoulos, el 4 de febrero en una ceremonia que tuvo lugar en la Iglesia Ortodoxa de Chambésy, Ginebra. El título, que significa "oficial de la iglesia," se confiere raramente para honrar a personas laicas por sus servicios destacados a la iglesia. Nearly 10,000 Sign Against Bush Library at SMU February 5, 2007 – Two weeks after a United Methodist minister started an online petition against locating the George W. Bush presidential library at Southern Methodist University, the drive has garnered almost 10,000 signatures, including 14 bishops and more than 600 United Methodist clergy. "We've had an outpouring of support so far," said the Rev. Andrew Weaver, an alumnus of the private, United Methodist-related school in Dallas. Among other signers are the past president of the Methodist Church of New Zealand, two superintendents in the British Methodist Church and more than 9,000 United Methodists from across the United States and Canada. University officials, however, say the showing is modest "in the larger context of The United Methodist Church," which has 8 million members and 45,000 clergy in the United States. Regional Bishops Back SMU Process on Bush Library February 7, 2007 – Bishops representing United Methodists in eight south central U.S. states affirmed the process by which Southern Methodist University is seeking to host the George W. Bush presidential library and policy center. Ten of the 11 active bishops of the South Central Jurisdiction voted Feb. 5 in favor of a resolution to affirm the board of trustees of the United Methodist-related university for its process aimed at bringing the library to the Dallas campus. "We believe Southern Methodist University's trustees and administration are acting responsibly and in good faith," the College of Bishops said in the resolution. The body praised SMU President Gerald Turner's "careful stewardship and advocacy of the historic relationship between the university and the church" throughout the process. Lutherans in Florida Clean Up, Offer Emotional Care February 5, 2007, CHICAGO – Lutherans in Florida are now cleaning up after severe thunderstorms and tornadoes swept through central Florida Feb. 2. According to Danielle Kearney, search and rescue efforts are complete and 20 people have been confirmed dead. Between 1,500 and 2,000 homes were damaged and/or destroyed in Lady, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia counties. Kearney is director of church and community relations, Lutheran Services of Florida, Inc., Tampa, and a local Lutheran Disaster Response coordinator. New Global Alliance of Churches Working on Development Launched in Nairobi February 2, 2007 – "The capacity of the ecumenical movement to respond to the challenges of today's world depends to a large extent on more creative and future-oriented forms of co-operation and networking," said World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia today. Kobia was speaking at the first assembly of ACT Development, a new alliance of churches and related organizations working on development. The Assembly is taking place 6-7 February 2007 in Nairobi, Kenya following a two-year process of consultation with concerned partners. ACT (Action by Churches Together) Development brings together churches and related organizations mandated to work to eradicate poverty, injustice and the abuse of human rights, with a particular focus on long-term development. A Statement from the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East February 9, 2007 – Members of the Central Synod of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East met in Cyprus on 5th February, 2007 and unanimously agreed the following statement: Coretta Scott King Through the Eyes of a Friend February 8, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – During this Black History Month, Fortress Press is happy to remind readers about the book Coretta: The Story of Coretta Scott King, Commemorative Edition, written by her life-long friend, Octavia Vivian. In this first biography of Coretta Scott King, with foreword by Martin Luther King III, the reader meets a determined young girl who grew up in Alabama and worked her way through Antioch College only to discover that she was not allowed to teach in the white schools in Ohio. She pursued a musical career in Boston, where she met Martin Luther King, Jr.
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