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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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March 8, 2007 – A world where no one is forgotten, no one is invisible, "is a world in which God's promise has been fulfilled," Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams told delegates attending the Towards Effective Anglican Mission (TEAM) conference in his keynote address March 8 in Boksburg, South Africa. "It requires absolute commitment to the whole community and everyone within it," he said. Bishops Learn of Successes, Possible Changes in Lutheran Disaster Response March 6, 2007, GALVESTON, Texas – The Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), expressed thanks for the generosity of ELCA members who gave millions of dollars and volunteered their time to help residents along the U.S. Gulf Coast recover from the devastating 2005 hurricane season. Hanson also expressed his appreciation to Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) for its "phenomenal capacity to be this church's public face to those who have experienced such tragic losses." Letter from the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church March 4, 2007 – Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ: We, the members of the Executive Council, met in Portland, Oregon on March 2-4, 2007. We are elected to represent the whole church between General Conventions. We are conscious that this is the first meeting of a major deliberative body of the church in the wake of the Primates' Meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. We are in a process of discerning what it means to be members of a global and multicultural Anglican Communion, autonomous yet interdependent, diverse yet living a common life as a family of churches. At this meeting of Executive Council, the following actions were taken: Presiding Bishop Calls All to Transformation All must be willing to gather under Jesus' wings, Jefferts Schori says in sermon March 4, 2007– Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told the 600 people who attended Holy Eucharist March 4 at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Portland, Oregon, that transformation begins when we are willing to be sheltered under God's wings. Jefferts Schori evoked the image of Jesus longing to gather Jerusalem under his wings from the morning's Gospel (Luke 13:31-35) and the image from the Epistle reading (Philippians 3:17-4:1) of "the body of our humiliation" being transformed into Christ's glory. March 8, 2007– Nancy Latham lives in Seaford, a short walk from one of my favorite haunts, Runyon's Restaurant. She wanted to tell me a story about her dad, a minister, earlier this month but interrupted herself to say that she was returning to work part time as a reading teacher in the Garden City School District, having absented herself in response to a diagnosis last March that she had acute leukemia. Under the categorical umbrella "We live in good times," Latham said that she had received an avalanche of generosity from colleagues and friends and neighbors who cooked and shopped for her family for weeks at a time, who sent holiday gifts and forwarded packages to her daughter, Kaitlyn, during her freshman year at Marist College, in Poughkeepsie, while Latham endured hospitalization, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and a stem cell transplant from a perfect-match donor, her brother, Jim Perkins, of Darien, Conn. March 6, 2007 GENEVA – The total membership of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches rose last year by 476,551 to just under 66.7 million (66,690,599). According to the latest LWF statistics, the LWF's 140 member churches, ten congregations and one recognized council in 78 countries registered a growth of around 0.72 percent for the period 2005-2006. The LWF member churches around the world totaled some 66.2 million members in 2005 and 65.9 million in 2004. The increase mainly reflects the development among LWF member churches in Asia, which together had an additional 900,000 members over the past year to reach 8.2 million. During the same period, the membership of churches in Europe dropped by over 550,000 to approximately 37.44 million. Native American Events Planned with New Leader March 9, 2007 – A Cherokee Indian who worked 20 years as a social worker in Native American communities and tribes, the Rev. Anita Phillips says her calling always has been "to work and be with my people, with native people." Today, she continues that calling as the new executive director of the Native American Comprehensive Plan, an initiative that emphasizes Native American spirituality, congregational and leadership development, and involvement in the life of The United Methodist Church. Phillips took the job last August and believes she "is in the right spot." March 5, 2007 – A leading international authority on liturgy says Roman Catholics can receive gifts of transcendence—and transparency—from Anglicans. The Rev. Keith Pecklers, SJ, professor of liturgy at the Pontifical Gregorian University, professor of liturgical history at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute, and an on-air expert on church affairs for ABC News, gave two talks in New York on February 26. At the General Theological Seminary (GTS), he presented an overview of a chapter written for the forthcoming book Receptive Ecumenism, edited by Paul Murray of Durham University, to be published by Oxford University Press. La Crisis Del Cuerno De África Requiere La Atención Internacional, 5 marzo 2007 – El comité ejecutivo del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) ha expresado su preocupación acerca del "deterioro de la situación de los derechos humanos en Etiopía y Eritrea," al mismo tiempo que alienta la creación de un "Comité conjunto cristiano y musulmán para la Paz en Somalia." En una declaración sobre la situación en el Cuerno de África aprobada en su reunión del 27 de febrero al 2 de marzo en Bossey, cerca de Ginebra, el órgano de gobierno del CMI califica este territorio de "la región más problemática del continente" y expresa su "cada vez mayor preocupación" por "lo acontecido en esta región de importancia estratégica." Iglesias Evangélicas Y Católica De Acuerdo Frente 5 marzo 2007, BOGOTÁ, Colombia – Oswaldo Pinzón, presidente de la Asociación Distrital de Ministros del Evangelio (ADME), en representación de varias iglesias cristianas evangélicas, y el sacerdote Jesús Orjuela, más conocido como el padre "Chucho," coincidieron en afirmar a la luz de las Escrituras, que José Luís Miranda no es la segunda manifestación de Cristo en la tierra como él categóricamente afirma. 7 marzo 2007 – El Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) lanza una iniciativa internacional e interreligiosa de sensibilización para la paz en Palestina e Israel -Foro Ecuménico Palestina/Israel- en una conferencia que tendrá lugar del 17 al 21 de junio de 2007 en Jordania. La iniciativa supone un gran paso hacia el objetivo del CMI de movilizar a las iglesias de todo el mundo en aras de una paz con justicia en Oriente Medio. Las Iglesias Deben Estar "Atentas" a La Proliferación Nuclear, 5 marzo 2007 – En una declaración aprobada en el transcurso de su reunión de Bossey, cerca de Ginebra, que tuvo lugar del 27 de febrero al 2 de marzo, el comité ejecutivo del Consejo Mundial de Iglesias (CMI) hizo hincapié en la necesidad de las iglesias de estar atentas a la proliferación nuclear. El órgano de gobierno del CMI reiteró "el llamamiento constante de las iglesias a la eliminación de las armas nucleares," que hoy día es "más urgente que nunca" pues los recientes acontecimientos políticos y militares a nivel mundial están ejerciendo presión sobre mecanismos de control como el Tratado sobre la no proliferación de las armas nucleares (TNP). Human Rights Critica a Alan García Por No Acatar Fallo De La CIDH Víctor Liza Jaramillo 7 marzo 2007, LIMA, Perú – La organización de derechos humanos Human Rights Watch criticó duramente al presidente peruano Alan García, por haber rechazado un fallo emitido en diciembre por la Corte Interamericana de Derechos Humanos (CIDH), que ordena indemnizar a familiares de caídos en una matanza en un penal, ocurrida en 1992. La sentencia contempla la indemnización económica, así como un homenaje, a los familiares de 41 presos por terrorismo que fueron muertos en medio de un motín carcelario, durante el régimen del ex presidente Alberto Fujimori, actualmente con libertad condicional en Santiago de Chile. March 3, 2007 – After more than five years of debate, a bill offering same-gender couples the right to enter into "civil unions" in the state of New Jersey went into effect at midnight February 19. New Jersey is the third U.S. state to offer civil unions, after Connecticut and Vermont. Massachusetts permits same-gender marriage. That was just about the same time that the Primates of the Anglican Communion said in a communiqué at the conclusion of their meeting near Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, that the Episcopal Church has until September 30 to "make an unequivocal common covenant that the bishops will not authorize any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in their dioceses or through General Convention ... unless some new consensus on these matters emerges across the Communion." United Methodist Women to Examine Mercury Dangers March 8, 2007, NEW YORK – United Methodist Women are raising awareness about the use of mercury as a preservative in some vaccines and other drugs. Educating the faith community on the issue is the goal of "The Truth is Coming to Light," a conference set for June 6-7 at Simpsonwood Retreat Center near Atlanta. The event is sponsored by the Women's Division of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the UMW's administrative arm. In an effort to protect children from unhealthy toxins, the conference will explore the dangers of vaccines and other drugs that contain the mercury preservative Thimerosal. Latin Americans Tell Stories of Faith March 6, 2007, PANAMA City, Panama – When the Rev. Juan Alberto Cardona, the Methodist bishop of Colombia, was kidnapped and briefly detained by a guerrilla group in his country, he shared a copy of The Upper Room with the group's leader. The guerrilla leader later released Cardona-and asked for more copies of the United Methodist devotional guide. Cardona shared the story with participants in a March 1-4 consultation of the Methodist Churches of Latin America and the Caribbean and The United Methodist Church. The consultation, in Panama City, was sponsored by a committee studying the relationship among those churches. Cardona is the first bishop of a small but growing church that was formally organized only 10 years ago but has received national recognition both for its inclusive membership of women, youth and various ethnic groups and the respect it has gained from both the guerrillas and paramilitary at war in Colombia. WCC to Launch New Effort for Peace March 7, 2007 – The World Council of Churches (WCC) is launching an international, inter-church advocacy initiative for peace in Israel and Palestine – the Palestine Israel Ecumenical Forum – at a conference June 17-21, 2007, in Jordan. The initiative is a major step toward WCC's goal of mobilizing churches around the world for peace with justice in the Middle East. Its launch will take place during this year's observances of 40 years under occupation for Palestinians. The plan was approved by the WCC Executive Committee in early March. WCC member churches and related organizations from different regions of the world and especially churches from the Middle East will take part in the inaugural conference. The forum they launch will coordinate existing church advocacy work and promote new joint efforts for peace. Black Community Leaders to Address Crisis in the Village March 5, 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 Leadership Center at Morehouse College on Thursday, March 15. He will be joined by guest panelists. Leading Ethicist Offers a Third Way to Understand and Think about War March 8, 2007, MINNEAPOLIS – In the newly released The Horrors We Bless: Rethinking the Just-War Legacy, Daniel C. Maguire asks some important questions. Is war inevitable? Is it so woven into the fabric of our being that it always was and always will be? "Early Christians," says Maguire, "were unanimous in opposing this view." They didn't see war as normal but an outrage and even a sacrilege. Maguire argues that later Christians succumbed to the supposed "normalcy" of war and developed what later became known as the "just-war theory," which was actually devised as a deterrent to the rush to war. In this provocative and helpful book, Maguire proposes that state-sponsored violence can only be justified in a community context with legal and internationally enforceable restrictions comparable to the restraints we put upon our police. This understanding of war would put an end to "vigilante war" practiced by Adolph Hitler and others as well as the "preemptive war" policy currently emerging in America. Maguire's proposal brings clarity and hope to the conversation about war in contemporary times.
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