Front Page

U.S. Religious Leaders Say Iranians Want Peace

February 26, 2007 – The Iranian people don't want war with the United States and say a sign of U.S. goodwill would go a long way toward preventing conflict, said a United Methodist leader who just returned from Iran. "Even with this tragic history we have visited upon Iran for the past 55 years, there is an amazing depth of appreciation and love for the U.S. people," said Jim Winkler, top executive of the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the denomination's social action agency. "I am hopeful if our government would capitalize on that and offer to sit down and negotiate with the government of Iran, our conflicts could be resolved."

Churches Urged to Support UN Peacebuilding Commission

March 1, 2007 – The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee has expressed appreciation for the establishment of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, and urged WCC member churches to encourage and support its efforts. In a statement adopted today at its 27 February – 2 March meeting in Bossey, near Geneva, the WCC governing body reiterated its welcome to the Peacebuilding Commission established by the UN in December 2005. It called the related peacebuilding fund launched last October a "major step forward." While urging WCC member churches to "encourage and support the efforts" of the commission, it also called on UN member states to "provide full moral, material and human resources, backing and support to ensure the successful functioning" of the commission. The UN Peacebuilding Commission is designed to support post-conflict stabilization initiatives, such as implementation of peace agreements and prevention of the recurrence of conflict. It is also expected to extend the period of attention by the international community to post-conflict recovery.

Presiding Bishop Briefs Church Center Community on Primates' Meeting
Time to Slow down and Rest in God, Jefferts Schori Says

February 23, 2007 – Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on February 23 told the community of people who work at the Episcopal Church Center in New York that the new structures asked for by the primates in Dar es Salaam, and the clarifications they want about the Episcopal Church's stance on blessing same-gender relationships and partnered gay and lesbian priests becoming bishops, can be a "container" in which the Anglican Communion can continue to discuss issues that many Anglicans would rather avoid. An mp3 audio recording of Jefferts Schori's statement is available. She told the gathering that the Episcopal Church is called to ensure that the conversation about the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the church continues in the Communion.

General News

For Kobia, India Visit a "Memorable Experience" of Churches' "Vibrant Life"

February 28, 2007 – Just before his departure for Geneva, Switzerland, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia summed up his impressions of his recently concluded visit to southern India by saying that it had been an unparalleled opportunity to experience the "vibrant life" of the churches and their local traditions. Beginning on 13 February in Chennai with an address to the top leadership of the Church of South India (CSI) and ending on February 20 by the laying of the foundation for a multi-purpose disaster shelter in a tsunami-hit village on the Arabian Sea in southern Kerala, his visit, Kobia said, had given him "the chance to visit the churches and to interact with their old and young members"; as such, "it has been a memorable experience."

Consultation Examines Court Ruling on Pastoral Authority

February 28, 2007, NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A ruling about pastoral authority by the highest court of The United Methodist Church revealed conflicts over church membership criteria, ecclesiology and the authority given to appointed leaders. Those conflicts were explored as pastors, bishops, theologians, seminary deans and denominational staff members gathered Feb. 15-16 in a consultation over implications of Judicial Council Decision 1032 in the case of a Virginia pastor who blocked a homosexual man from church membership. The consultation was sponsored by the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry, which oversees the church's licensed and ordained leadership.

Presiding Bishop Engages in a Live ‘Conversation with the Church'

February 28, 2007 – The program, moderated by the Rev. Jan Nunley, deputy for communication, opened with the Presiding Bishop's introductory remarks centering on the Primates' February 15-19 meeting near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Following her comments, she answered questions from a live studio audience as well as phone and e-mail inquiries. Access to the program is available for on-demand viewing through both the Episcopal Church's website at and the Trinity Wall Street parish website. In her introductory remarks, which lasted approximately 18 minutes, Jefferts Schori quoted the psalmist: "This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Presiding Bishop's Webcast Gets Reviews from Participants, Viewers

February 28, 2007 – People around the world, as well as the 25 in the webcast studio facilities of New York's Trinity Church, Wall Street, listened on February 28 as Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori discussed the recent Primates' Meeting and answered listeners' questions. One of the members of the invited audience for the webcast was Maori Anglican theologian Dr. Jenny Plane Te Paa, the "ahorangi" or dean of Te Rau Kahikatea (College of St. John the Evangelist) in Auckland, New Zealand. Te Paa said afterward that she was impressed with the "grace and dignity and clarity" she thought Jefferts Schori showed during the webcast.

Anglican Girls Seek Empowerment Through Radio

March 2, 2007 – Five Anglican women and girl delegates to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), currently meeting in New York City, took time from their busy schedules on the morning of March 2 to be interviewed on an internet radio program reaching two million listeners. Their hope was both to spread the word about what the delegates are achieving and to experience, for themselves, the power of the media. "I've never been on the radio before," said 15-year-old Deepti Steffi, representing the Church of North India. "I am here to tell the stories of girls from my country who, because they do not have educations, do not speak out for themselves."

‘E-learning' to Enhance Theology Studies in Europe

March 2, 2007, REUTLINGEN, Germany – United Methodist pastors and seminary students will be able to receive basic theological education though "e-learning" under a new long-term strategy for pastoral education in Europe. The online courses are to be available in German and English beginning in 2008. Bishops and representatives of seminaries and annual conferences mapped out a three-year plan during a landmark summit Feb. 10-11 in Reutlingen. The group is working to strengthen clergy and lay leadership development in the European Central Conferences.

Intervention from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams,
During the General Synod Debate on Lesbian and Gay Christians

February 28, 2007 – [Note: The debate was initiated by the Revd Mary Gilbert from the Lichfield diocese in the form of a private motion. The intervention came when amendments to the main motion were being debated; the Archbishop's contribution was intended to address the possibility that, if both amendments and the substantive motion were all defeated, the Synod would end up being heard to say nothing on this subject.] The Archbishop's intervention: "I hadn't intended to speak in this debate, but as the discussion has evolved I've been aware of a sort of looming dilemma which I would imagine to be in the minds of quite a number of people in this hall. It's quite clear that a number of us, that includes a very large number of the bishops as you will gather, are unhappy about the preamble to the motion as submitted, and unhappy about the background paper. Hence the amendment suggested on behalf of the House of Bishops. But I'm more and more aware of what message we would send by simply rejecting Mary Gilbert's motion and having nothing in its place. That's why I want to speak in support of the amendment, and indeed the amendment as amended.

Ecumenical News

Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue to Continue with ARC-USA Meeting in Washington

March 2, 2007 – The Anglican-Roman Catholic Consultation in the United States (ARC-USA) will convene for its 62nd meeting March 8-11 at St. Paul's College in Washington, D.C., to discuss recent developments in the Anglican Communion, consider a draft response to the 2004 "Seattle Document" of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC), "Mary: Grace and Hope in Christ," and work to prepare a pastoral guide for Spanish-speaking Christians. Bishop Christopher Epting, ecumenical officer for the Episcopal Church, observed that the ARC-USA dialogue is one of the Episcopal Church's oldest and most productive ecumenical dialogues.

Archbishop of Canterbury: Presidential Address at General Synod

February 26, 2007 – After the debates at the American General Convention last summer, I wrote directly to all the primates of the Communion to ask about their reaction and the likely reaction of their provinces as to whether the resolutions of Convention had met the proposals of the Windsor Report for restoring something like normal relations between the Episcopal Church and others in the Communion. The answers were instructive. About eleven provinces were fairly satisfied; about eleven were totally dissatisfied. The rest displayed varying levels of optimism or pessimism, but were not eager to see this as a life and death issue for the Communion. Of those who took one or the other of the more pronounced view, several on both sides nonetheless expressed real exasperation that this question and the affairs of one province should be taking up energy to the near-exclusion of other matters.

Editorial Page

Irresponsible Reporting on Religion Is Dangerous

February 23, 2007 – Normally I love writing this column, but this week I need to say something that gives me no pleasure at all. Here it is in a nutshell: Reporting on religion in the mainstream British press is not only sometimes dreadful, it's dangerous, and something needs to be done about it. Making such a statement does not come easy. Journalists are notoriously reluctant to criticize the work of colleagues, and not just because it's a great way to make enemies. We know the agonies of fact-checking and finding balance, especially facing ever-tighter deadlines. Since I occasionally write for the British press and give interviews in the U.K., I understand that religion reporting is up against a ferociously competitive media market and a highly secular audience, where some over-simplification and even exaggeration is the price of doing business.

Spanish News

Mujeres Voltean Su Mirada Al Paraguay Y Comparten Esperanza

1 marzo 2007, PUERTO ALEGRE, Brasil – Con los ojos puestos en Paraguay, mujeres de 170 países celebrarán, el viernes 2, el Día Mundial de Oración, a partir del tema "Unidas bajo el manto de Dios" y saludándose mutuamente con la bendición en guaraní "Nandejará tanderovasa," que significa "Dios te bendice." El programa del Día Mundial de Oración de 2007 fue preparado por 26 paraguayas, de diez iglesias. En la liturgia para la celebración de ese día, el Paraguay es presentado como un país de numerosos caminos de tierra roja, con morros y planicies donde nace el ipê rosa, amarillo y blanco, país del tereré (especie de mate), de riqueza musical y cultural, y donde mujeres tejen el "nhandutti," pieza de puntillas que se parece a una tela de araña con diversos motivos.

Diálogo Entre Iglesias De Los EE.UU. Y América Latina

27 febrero 2007, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – En una sesión de la tarde de la Asamblea del CLAI que se realizó en esta ciudad la semana pasada, una discusión sucedió con respecto al estado de las iglesias en Estados Unidos (EE.UU.) en relación a América Latina. Un grupo grande entró en diálogo, moderado por el Servicio Mundial de las Iglesias, sobre la realidad de las iglesias en los EE.UU. frente a su situación política y los desafíos que esta situación tiene para el acercamiento y relacionamiento con América Latina. La pregunta predominante que surgió durante el diálogo fue "¿Saben las iglesias estadounidenses cómo los EE.UU. funciona, lo que hace en el mundo, y que están haciendo las iglesias frente a esa realidad?"

La Convención Episcopal Reconoció El ‘Ministerio Profético' De Jefferts Schori

28 febrero 2007, QUITO, Ecuador – La Diócesis Episcopal del Ecuador Central, reunida en Quito el 16 y 17 de febrero en su XXXII convención anual, oyó al obispo Wilfrido Ramos Orench afirmar que "Dios nos invita a trabajar no aisladamente, pero en colaboración y armonía unos con los otros." El dijo a la Convención, "No fue por puro capricho que Jesús enviaba sus discípulos de dos en dos. Dios no quiere ‘llaneros solitarios.' Dios nos invita a ser colaboradores en el discipulado y ministerio a todos los niveles eclesiales." La Convención aprobó dos resoluciones que afirman este sentido de la colaboración y el compañerismo diocesano dentro de la Iglesia Episcopal.

Autoridades De Migración Retienen a Obispo Panameño

27 febrero 2007, PANAMÁ – La Iglesia Católica denunció la retención del obispo de Darién, Pedro Hernández Cantarrero, en el Aeropuerto de Albrook por parte de funcionarios de Migración. El Obispo estaba acompañado del padre Felipe Madriga, tres colombianos y dos panameños más que llegaban desde Jaqué, Darién, en una avioneta privada. Madriga y los extranjeros mostraron sus pasaportes y visa, pero los funcionarios decidieron mantenerlos retenidos hasta que llegaran sus superiores. Luego de un tiempo de espera, llegó un alto funcionario de Migración quien revisó el equipaje a los retenidos.

Partido Evangélico En Crisis Por Disputas Internas

1 marzo 2007, LIMA, Perú – Luego de haber obtenido resultados electorales positivos en los comicios generales de abril, y en los municipales de noviembre, el partido evangélico Restauración Nacional (RN) se debate ahora en medio de divisiones internas y de enfrentamientos entre las facciones existentes al interior de este movimiento político. El 26 de febrero, Gino Romero, personero legal del partido, junto al secretario general Marcos Morón, anunciaron que el líder de la agrupación política, el pastor-arquitecto Humberto Lay Sun, había sido expulsado del partido.

Para Kobia, La Visita La India Es Una "Memorable Experiencia" De La "Vida Vibrante" De Las Iglesias

1 marzo 2007 – Justo antes de salir para Ginebra, Suiza, el secretario general del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia resumió sus impresiones de su recién concluida visita a la India del sur diciendo que había sido una oportunidad sin parangón de experimentar la "vida vibrante" de las iglesias y sus tradiciones locales. Comenzada el 13 de febrero en Chennai con una plática para los dirigentes de la Iglesia de la India del Sur (CSI) y terminada el 20 de febrero con la colocación de los cimientos para un refugio multifuncional para casos de catástrofe en una aldea afectada por el tsunami en el Mar Arábigo en Kerala del Sur, la visita de Kobia, según sus palabras, le había dado "la oportunidad de visitar a las iglesias y de dialogar con sus miembros de más edad y con los jóvenes."

Human Rights News

Church Leaders Seek U.S. Intervention in Philippines

February 28, 2007, NEW YORK – U.S. and Filipino church leaders are urging the U.S. Congress to address human rights violations and killings in the Philippines. Specifically, church leaders are asking Congress to hold a hearing or face-to-face meetings with a delegation from the Philippines scheduled to visit Washington March 12-14. United Methodist Bishop Solito Toquero of Manila is a delegation member. During its Feb. 26-27 meeting in New York, the governing board of the National Council of Churches approved a resolution supporting a congressional hearing or "other meaningful measures that address the deteriorating human rights situation in the Philippines."

New York Metro News

Christian Endeavor Rally March 17 in Jamaica

March 3, 2007 – You are invited for a day of singing, testimony, fun, and lunch on Saturday, March 17 from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM at the First Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, 89-60 164 Street, Jamaica, NY 11432. The youth rally is sponsored by the New York State Christian Endeavor (CE) and will feature a presentation by Teen Challenge. A donation of $ 5 to defray lunch costs is requested, but not required if you can't afford it. We hope you can come to this exciting event!! Christian Endeavor is the oldest and largest youth movement in the world. It was founded in 1881 in Portland, Maine and has grown to be an international organization for training young people for leadership roles in the church.

International News

Horn of Africa in Crisis, Requires International Attention Says WCC Executive Committee

March 2, 2007 – The World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee has expressed worries about the "deteriorating human rights situation in Ethiopia and Eritrea," while encouraging the establishment of a "joint Christian and Muslim Peace Committee for Somalia." In a statement on the situation in the Horn of Africa adopted at its 27 February – 2 March meeting in Bossey, near Geneva, the WCC governing body labels it as "the most troubled region of the continent" and expresses its "growing concern" about the "developments in this region of strategic importance." The committee appeals to the international community "to focus its attention on Somalia and the Horn of Africa as a whole."

Churches Need to Be "Vigilant" about Nuclear Proliferation WCC Governing Body Says

March 1, 2007 – The need for churches to be vigilant about nuclear proliferation has been stressed by the World Council of Churches (WCC) executive committee in a statement adopted at its 27 February – 2 March meeting in Bossey, near Geneva. The WCC governing body reaffirmed "the churches' consistent call for the abolition of nuclear weapons," which today is "more urgent than ever" as control mechanisms like the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) are being put under pressure by recent global political and military developments. Among those developments, the statement highlights North Korea's nuclear weapon and ballistic missile tests; Iran's "failure to assure the international community that its civilian nuclear programmes are not camouflaging its intention to develop nuclear weapons capability"; Israel's refusal to subject all of its nuclear facilities to inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); the "unilateral initiative" by the United States to accept India as a nuclear weapon state; and the "ongoing nuclear modernization programmes of the nuclear weapon states" – namely the US, UK, France, Russia and China.

"Bishop of Poor" Leads Paraguay Presidential Race

February 27, 2007 – Defying a demand from the Holy See that he withdraw from Paraguay's presidential race, retired Bishop Fernando Lugo has become the frontrunner in polls in the lead up to the 2008 election. The International Herald Tribune reports that Lugo, who resigned from all priestly functions in order to take up his campaign, is strongly influenced by the theology of liberation, which emerged in Latin America in the 1960s and argues that the Catholic Church has a special obligation to defend the oppressed and downtrodden. But he is reluctant to position himself on the political spectrum, arguing that he is interested in solutions, not labels, the Tribune says.

People in the News

Latin American Council of Churches Elects First Black President

February 28, 2007 – The Latin American Council of Churches, known under its Spanish acronym CLAI, has elected Panamanian Episcopal (Anglican) Bishop Julio Murray as its first black president in a tightly contested election. ‘This is a new day for CLAI,' the 48 year-old Bishop Murray told Ecumenical News International after his election. ‘Son of the world, man of God, man of Panama. You are going to find a new direction here.' The voting took place on 22 February at Ward College in the city of Ramos Mejia, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires during the 5th assembly of CLAI, with different regions represented in the council jockeying for different candidates. ‘I am very happy about this election,' the Rev. Antônio Olimpio de Sant'Ana, the executive secretary of Brazil's National Ecumenical Council to Combat Racism told ENI. ‘We need to have more black people represented in this church body and we also need to have women in the leadership.'

ELCA's Texas Lutheran University Names Ann Svennungsen President

March 1, 2007, CHICAGO – On Feb. 26 the board of regents of Texas Lutheran University, Seguin, Texas, named the Rev. Ann M. Svennungsen to become the university's 14th president. Effective July 1, Svennungsen will be the first woman president in TLU's 116-year history. TLU is one of 28 colleges and universities of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). "It is an honor to be chosen to serve as president of Texas Lutheran University. This is a vital community of faith and learning, where rigorous academics and strong relationships prepare students for lives of success, meaning and service. In partnership with its excellent faculty, staff, students, regents and alumni, I am confident we can lead TLU to an even stronger future," said Svennungsen.